Dubai? Really?

Friends and coworkers who I've spoken to in the past week or so know that I'm going through a what I affectionately call a "Wow, Dubai really sucks!" phase. To be fair, this is the first of these I have experienced in close to a year, which I've been told is actually quite impressive by other expats.

I can think of a few causes for this relatively sudden change of heart about our sandy concrete jungle.

First, we went to Europe for about six days a few weeks back. Have you guys been to Prague? It has to be one of my most favorite places in the world. The cultural experience and diversity here are unmatched, but in my opinion, nothing here comes close to the beauty of Europe. The air was cold and crisp and perfect. When we got too cold or our feet hurt from walking, we found an invariably charming little pub and enjoyed a ridiculously cheap (and really good!) beer. In addition to the amazing beer, Czech cuisine is almost entirely pork and potato based, so my husband was obviously perfectly content.

Here we are are after a hike to the beautiful Prague Castle:

We also took a road trip through the Czech countryside and spent an extra day in Vienna, another perfectly endearing city. Here's Rob in front of the new Ritz-Carlton there:

The entire trip was incredible, but like kryptonite for my seamless Dubai experience.

It is also our first fall here in the Middle East. But alas, my favorite season just isn't the same here in the desert (it's 97 degrees today!) No pumpkin lattes at Starbucks, no cozy scarves and sweaters, no leaves falling. Fall is all but unrecognizable here except for the smell of Trader Joe's pumpkin coffee wafting through the air of our apartment (thank you again to my friend Jackie for surprising me with reminders of fall from home!!)

Finally, our washing machine is broken again. Again! It's been on the same cycle for the last 14 hours and it pains me to think of the state of the clothes inside. Yet another broken, inefficient, nonsensical thing that is difficult to accept on tough days, even though we know they are part of daily life here.

The best advice I've been given for times like this from other similarly minded expats is to begin planning. Something, anything. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, then Christmas, then our second (already!) wedding anniversary, so at least I'm not at a loss for things to plan.

Here's to brighter days, cooler temps and functioning appliances!