Layover in Dubai

Well that was a really, really long flight! 16 hours in a middle seat. But the worst part is over and the next leg is only about an hour and a half. Currently I have a 5 hour layover. When I first got here, I did my usual thing of finding out where my connecting gate is located before I went to explore the offerings of the airport. As I walked past the waiting area it was already pretty full. Most of the women were pretty well covered leaving me to wonder... when exactly am I supposed to put on my abaya? Obviously not in the Dubai airport, but do I put it on in the plane? After we land? I'm going to feel a little ridiculous. Also, I am not looking forward to hearing my husband's comments regarding my new attire. I'm hoping that the novelty wears off pretty quickly, but who am I kidding? If the shoe were on the other foot, most likely I would be relentless.

People were definitely staring at me. I guess that I don't blend as well as I hoped. I was feeling a little overwhelmed, so decided to hang out in the Starbucks along with all of the other westerners. Not that I didn't have my choice of western establishments. There is of course the Micky D's as well as the Burger King. Also, there was Pinkberry and a couple of others that I am forgetting at the moment. Still, Starbucks always feels like home.

In general, the airport feels like any other international airport, it was really just the section that was going to Saudi Arabia. That is probably because Saudi Arabia does not offer tourist visas. If you don't have business in Saudi Arabia, then you have no business being in Saudi Arabia. Just to recap, my husband got offered a hotel job in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, he also got offered a job in Dubai so we did have a choice of where to go. We both were kind of leaning towards Saudi for various reasons, but for me, the biggest reason for wanting to go to Saudi Arabia was because it is a such very rare opportunity to get to go there and it sounds like such a strange place with such odd rules. My curiosity has gotten the best of me and I simply have to see it for myself. Besides, in the grand scheme of life, two years is nothing. The first year flies by and the second tends to at least feel a little more comfortable and familiar. Just for the record, I am not going there thinking that I am going to love it. I just want to experience something new and different.

This move has been in the works since January. They originally wanted my husband to be there on the 1st of February, however, the whole visa process takes forever! They needed to do background checks on my husband and both of us needed to have extensive medical tests done in order to qualify for a visa. It took almost 3 months for Matt to get his visa. Once he was in Saudi, they could start doing the paperwork for me. Again, it took another 3 months for me to get my visa. This is probably why I can't believe that this day has finally come!