3rd time's a charm

Dubai is ever-changing, a city still coming into its own, revising its sky-high dreams each and every day.

What a difference 7 weeks can make.

The Burj Dubai is taller than ever.
Buildings sprouted where I am fairly certain there was only hazy blue sky.
Completed buildings glow in the Barsha night, while the sounds of construction ring out around the clock on even more new additions.
The twisted streets of my 'neighborhood' sprout new flags and bizarre detours each day.
A beige concrete metro track follows Sheik Zayed Road, interspersed with spindly red station beginnings.
The dreaded "Arabian Ranches Roundabout" is now a twisty maze of ramps awaiting Dubailand visitors, while colossal billboards show the glorious 'cities' that will be built just down the road.
A few dear faces are missing from the school hallways.

but some things are the same.

Middle school girls still shriek. especially after a two-month hiatus.

Friends still return from summer travels, meeting back in this place we're all calling home for awhile.

Trips are still being planned, even as we're barely recovered from the jet lag of the last one.

I still have one night where i just can't sleep, because my body thinks it's the middle of the afternoon.

The mall is still the busiest place on earth at 5pm on a Friday.

The so-not-a-dry-heat heat is still stifling.

I still love looking out my window at night, when the city sparkles.

I still look around ay my colleagues and friends and smile at the joy of being BACK.


And, of course, 2 plus 2 still equals 4.