First of all, this is Jesse -- of course, we've been super busy getting moved into our villa. My better half has been quite preoccupied acting as part project manager, part pigeon English translator...but more on that later. We're both proud to say that we've successfully moved out of the closet-size hotel room into our quite large villa. I'll admit, it feels a bit elitist to refer to our home as a villa, but that's the term everyone uses here...and, well, it is definitely appropriate.
Yeah, so we use like 3% of the house...right now would be an appropriate time to mention that we openly welcome guests! Right now would also be the time to mention that we have resorted to sitting in lawn chairs (with cushions, mind you) watching our new LED TV. Priorities. Unfortunately, our sea shipment won't arrive until April 30th (...inshallah -- more on that later, too). The house is definitely full of character. That's my politically correct way of saying that we have pink, blue, green, light pink, white, and gray bathroom fixtures. How else are you going to dress up white stone? All kidding aside, we are definitely fortunate to have stumbled upon such a great house literally one block from the corniche (beach).
Here's a picture of Allison in the gargantuan living room:
There are, however, a few things to note here. First, when someone moves out of a villa here, they take everything...from appliances to the light fixtures. Those are just light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Second, note the excessive use of stone. That's polished limestone with a granite inlay. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful, but it every word out of my mouth sounds like I'm yelling down the world's deepest mine shaft.
And here's the pool area, so tastefully decorated by Allison.
So, Allison took the following two videos of our place. You are absolutely obligated to watch them because they took 8 hours each to upload to YouTube. Really.
There are definitely some great qualities of Abu Dhabi...just to name a few:
- Anything can be delivered. Usually for free. Seriously, you could literally call Burger King, order a single Whopper and a little man on a motorbike would bring it to you, wherever you are. It's truly magical.
- It is always sunny. Even when it is cloudy...nope, still sunny. I've never seen more sunglass shops in my life. We were actually fortunate to feel a few drops of rain last week. I feel like Mother Nature was taunting us.
- There are these super secret liquor stores. You feel very sneaky walking into these seedy unmarked buildings...but once you are inside, it is like an expat's safe haven. I have an official liquor license, which required us doing a lot of paperwork and going to another unmarked building...naturally. The UAE limits the amount you can buy on a monthly basis based on your salary. If that isn't a ploy to bring down the rich expats, I don't know what is!
- EVERYTHING revolves around your cell phone number. When I got my driver's license I got a text alert. When I take money out of the ATM, I get a text. When Allison leaves the country, I will get a text. The roads are all radar controlled, so when you speed and get caught, you get a text telling you... Okay, it's pretty cool.
I'll leave the rest of the adventure telling to Allison! Tomorrow's project management includes her supervising the installation of a light fixture (usually with too short of a ladder, so they stand on their toes on the top step...) and the replacement of one of our six air conditioning units.
Jesse
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