Hi all!
Well, I think I'm all caught up with photos! I found that if I work on it during the day, they upload without a problem. Now, here are some other "fun" facts about Dubai. Dubai, like any otehr place on Earth likes to get money. So here is the new way to do that...
They have made a "National Card". Now no one has told us directly that we need one, but the rumor is that everyone needs to get one including all children. Not sure of the exact cost but it is over $100 each! Now we already have a gate card (to use to get in and out of the airport), a driver's license, a labor card, and an insurance card. All that we had to pay for (of course). So here comes this new card. Now remember, no one has told us that we need it, but if so we need to have it by this December or January 2011. No one really knows the correct date, rumors are December but the website says January. Apparently if you use the website you can make an appointment, but if you go on to the website it states that it is no longer accepting appointments, so you must go stand in line to see if you can get it done at one of their facilities. Their facilities say that they process about 700/day, but from what we hear they only process a few a day. You wait in line at 7:30 am for the doors to open at 8:00 am. They let in about half the line and send the rest home because they have decided that they are only working until 1 pm that day and they can't handle any more. So, still think this is a great place? I have two more beautiful stories.
In October the powers that be decided that people were not buying/renting all the buildings that have been built. (By the way, they are talking about places like Palm Jumeirah that go for 450,000Dhm rent/year...$125,000!!!..RENT!!!) So they made it illegal for people to live in the same house if they were not related. So if you, and your 2 buddies shared a three bedroom house, you would have your electricity cut off, be fined some outrageous amount of money and eventually be thrown out (because your land lord would also be fined). This is happening now since the final date was end of October. Now if you signed a contract stating and paid until past October you were out of that money. The landlord does not need to pay any rent back to you from what you will not be using. So if you signed a contract in September until Sept 2009 you are SOL!!! Now they are stating that they made this law because of the problems they were having with landlords renting their house to 20 people at a time (literally you would buy a bed for 8 hours/day and that bed would be used by 3 people, in a room that had 6 beds) I agree that that type of rental should not be tolerated, but instead of fining the landlords for that behavior they have penalized everyone that cannot afford the rent here on their own. Add to that the landlords everywhere are upping their prices. We are moving this week because our landlord refused to fix our water heater then upped the rent by $25,000!!!) We decided that for the price we can get better. We found a place that is smaller but is in a nice community with a big pool, basketball court, and picnic area, (and dead end street to ride bikes!!!) Still think this is a great place? Okay, I have one more for ya...
My neighbor here is from South Africa. She has been here for 3 years. They are trying to get Canadian Passports and live there when they ae finished here. They have a little girl who, when they first arrived, had beautiful blonde hair. When they stopped at a gas station a man came up to them and said that he was taking their daughter. They physically had to pull their daughter away from this man. They got in the car and drove home. At school kids would cut her hair so that the could keep it as a keepsake.
Now, anyone else want to come to Dubai? Okay, done venting for another day. I know that things like this happen everywhere, but it's the fact that I haven't heard anything "good" about being here, and people are being driven out of this place faster than they are coming in. Soon they will have all this work to be done and there will be no one to do it for them because they could not afford to stay here.
Well, I'm hoping to be home soon. One interesting thing...I asked Samir what he wants to do when this year is over and he said that he wants to stay in Dubai. So I am happy that he has finally made some friends and is getting used to the school. Khalid, wants to see his friends from the Montessori school and does not want to stay here, but he is getting used to the school more. Ziyad told me yesterday that he has one friend now. That makes me feel better about bringing them here. All I got last month is that this place is boring and that there is nothing to do and that the kids at school are mean. If they are happy then I can be happy (maybe I will take up belly dancing some place?)
See you all soon! One month left before we get back to the States!!!