A Glimpse Into the Life of an Expat When Ramadan Falls in July

If you had asked me only about a month ago, I would have told you I really love our life in Dubai. That I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly we acclimated, by how much we're learning and how grateful I am that we took the leap into this experience.

If you ask me about Dubai now? Well, let's just say that my words wouldn't resemble those. And they probably wouldn't be nice.

It's so damn hot here. I feel like we live in a city-sized steam room. In my 32 years, I didn't know there was a place on the planet where the heat of the sand and the temperature of the ocean actually make it too hot to go to the beach. Quite the departure from my days in Northern California.

And it's Ramadan, which means no eating or drinking (or even chewing gum) in public until the sun sets. So what do we do on a day off when temperatures reach 120 degrees with no water? There's the mall, the movies....aaaand I've named everything there is to do when Ramadan falls in the summertime. No lunch out, no going for coffee, no drinks in the bar (they open at 8pm if at all), no going for walks or to the beach or doing anything but spending money in one of many cavernous buildings full of overpriced stores we can't afford.

And while I fully appreciate the invaluable cultural experience of living in a Muslim country that so stringently observes Ramadan, I've had enough and I want to go home now.

But alas, we leave it all behind us (at least for a couple of weeks) in exactly one week from today, when we'll be at the airport, waiting to board our hideous but much anticipated flight to Detroit. I'm just one sleeping pill, a book or two and five movies away from home!

I'm excited to sit outside and drink my morning coffee. I'm excited to sit outside and drink my evening wine. I'm excited to drink wine in public. I'm excited to drink good wine. I'm excited for greenery and fresh air and chirping birds. I'm excited to see two friends get married and I'm excited to see my dog Zoe, who I miss more than I could possibly articulate in a blog post. But most of all, I'm excited to see my family: my mom and dad and my parents-in-law, our siblings and our and sweet nephews who have gotten way too big during our time away.

Just for fun, and perhaps because it illustrates his heat induced delirium, here's a photo of my husband in a monkey hat, resembling a character in a certain beloved Disney film set in Arabia.