Dubai

If you've followed my twitter you'll know that I am currently in Dubai. I'm fortunate to work from home so traveling while working is possible as long as I have an internet connection. Here in Dubai I've learned a few things.

1st.) Being an american is a privilege. I see people who are disadvantaged simply because of the country in which they are born. It amazes me to realize the amount of privilege I have in my little upper middle class lifestyle. I'm college educated, speak only english & know nothing of the middle east except what I'm learning here and from CNN. None of these have hindered my privilege or pleasure while I'm here. Every door is opened, all meals are cooked and all clothes are washed without even a thought from me except to tell someone else to do it.

Trust me, you are privileged if you live in any country that considers itself "Western" because we have rights, liberties & privileges that we will never truly appreciate because we can't truly lose them unless we act a fool in a country that lashes people. I am in a country that drunk driving receives 80 lashes. Think about that...In america we lose our license, pay fines & court fees and eventually get our license back. (Note: I've never had a DUI so there are probably harsher penalties I'm not aware of but still you're not lashed)

2.) Dubai is the largest purchaser of Porsche in the world. It is crazy. I've seen Porsches before but not 10 in the same mall parking lot. There is a level of wealth that we can't comprehend. But with that, there is also a level of poverty completely unbelievable to anyone from a western country. People who will never see a doctor, dentist or the internet in there entire life and they are born today.

3.) Dubai is a city fighting it's own roots. In places in Dubai it seems like NYC and then suddenly you're in the middle of the desert. It's odd to imagine this city has been raised out of sand and water into skyscrapers & islands but when you have money I guess anything is possible.

4.) Seeing people in modern dress and in traditional dress is a bit odd. To see someone in a suit or tee-shirt speaking to a completely covered woman (Must be related by blood to speak to women in traditional clothing) is a bit weird but you can see that the middle east is draped in tradition but being swept up by the materialism of western society.

5.) Come to Dubai if you have friends, family or any amount of money to spend on frivolous items. It's worth it simply for the experience of seeing a landscape change so quickly. The city is in constant construction. Roads change without any warning and it seems like people have no idea how to navigate their own city because they city grows and changes faster than they can even update their in-dash GPS.