my shipment arrives and updated apartment pics.

many of my new colleagues showed up in dubai with a bag or two.

pretty casual, i thought...for the amount of things you're willing to move around the world with.

i showed up with two bags.

and then 37 boxes arrived about a month later.

insert cringe face.

now, to be fair, i once lived in a three bedroom, 2.5 bath condo and i've pared down quite a bit over the last eight years.

but leaving milan i was given a shipment, so sending all my worldly possessions didn't cost me a thing! and while i sold quite a bit to my coworkers in milan, i still had a lot of stuff.

and having lived in tiny italian apartments for the last 7 years, i thought for sure that my apartment in dubai would be bigger.

but i was wrong. my apartment here is the exact same square footage as my last italian apartment- about 55 sq. meters, which is just under 600 sq. ft. for all you fans of customary measurements out there. in other words, it's small.

my shipment arrived mid-september and i was terrified of how all the boxes, let alone all the actual things would fit in my apartment. this apartment does not have the built in storage my last place did.

i anxiously awaited the arrival of the shipment and i caught a glimpse of the truck as it was arriving.

of course, the very nice men wanted to unpack for me.

i nearly had a panic attack.

as there would be absolutely no space to sit everything while you figure out where to put it. and they were just randomly putting it anywhere.

i had to sign my life away that nothing was damaged and that they did everything i wanted.

there were boxes everywhere.

boxes upon boxes. upon boxes.

after i convinced the workers to leave i was able to start tackling the boxes one by one. doing this allowed me to try and find space for each thing and determine what other storage i would need to find.

and while it took several weeks, and a large ikea order, i've sorted everything in a place and now my little place feels enough like home to enjoy it.

here are a few updated pictures of my living room and kitchen area.

i've arranged all the art i've bought from my travels.

there's pictures on the wall from my very first trip from milan to the south of france, trips to amsterdam, rome, barcelona, iceland, london, venice, denmark, siena, warsaw, budapest and a parting gift from caitlin of the duomo in milan.

i bought a rug and ottoman from a local furniture store and combined with my "tiny" tv on the ikea stand, the living room was nearly finished.

i ended up taking apart the coffee table that was put in the apartment and hiding it under the couch. i moved the kitchen table along the wall and only kept two chairs with it. you can see the other two chairs hiding in corners.

and i had a big january clean out here to reduce even more of what i wouldn't need in this apartment or in dubai. with that, i had space to get these two fun bar stools.

i bought a bookcase of sorts to line the hallway and hold some of my travel knickknacks.

now i'm ready for visitors! i don't have a ton of space, but i'll make room for you!

who's coming first?

my new job.

now that i'm here in dubai, i've gone back to the classroom and am teaching 4th grade.

having my own classroom after so long in the tech department has been quite a change, but it's full of challenges and rewards, and it feels like it was definitely the right decision.

here are a couple pictures of my classroom before the munchkins arrived.

the school has a lot of cool resources and spaces as well. like this olympic size pool.

and this huge track and soccer field.

and doesn't every school have a drone aviary?

this is the front entrance.

as professional development for all new teachers across the organization, we were invited to the atlantis resort on the palm for a day of networking and learning before school started.

it was definitely pretty there!

lots of people were coming!

um, just some blown glass in the lobby. maybe you've heard of the artist? #chihuly

the schedule for the day.

loved these glass dividers and how they reflected in the sun.

subtle.

also in every hotel, yes? stay in the hotel and visit the aquarium and water park for free.
#whatadeal

seriously, this place is crazy.

the pool isn't half bad either, i suppose.

and really, given the crowd i expected lunch to be mediocre and, in fact, it was quite delicious!

every job has its ups and downs, but i'm loving dubai and all of it's new challenges!

odds and ends. dubai style.

welcome back, 51500 faithful. 

when i arrived in dubai, i was handed a wad of cash. literally. the equivalent of $1000 usd. it was over 3500 dirhams. this is the moving allowance provided by my new school. 

time to learn a new currency.

the apartment building i live in has a gym on the ground floor. it's decent. and there's a pool. unfortunately, it's the world's least exciting pool. maybe sometime i'll show you.

here is the view from my apartment. through the haze you might see motor city, a dubai suburb in the distance.

if you angle yourself the other way, this is the view. up front is my school, with our field and track in the distance.

my commute is horrible. view from my front door to the school.

talk about a time saver in comparison to milan.

there's starbucks here! lots of them, in fact!

i don't go all that often, but i just like knowing that i can.

some interesting things in the grocery store...the world's smelliest fruit: durian. #pass

in italy i was always amused that there was an entire aisle of pasta. here we have every variety of rice on the planet.

this cracked me up. no, it is not red WINE vinegar. it is red GRAPE vinegar.

i was also happy to find lots of american comforts available in dubai. spent the summer eating these with my mom and you would never find such a thing in milan, so to turn up here and find that almost everything you could want is available? amazing.

and they bag your groceries too! no more sheer panic that you won't be able to bag your own groceries fast enough to avoid the evil stares of the next person in the line.

i played with rearranging my furniture. because realistically, they bought too much furniture for the size of the apartment i was given.

i went out for ladies' night early on in my time in dubai. it was one million sweltering degrees but we chose to stand outside because smoking is still allowed indoors here. probably one of the big fails of this country.

marina views.

and if you remember back to the time i went skydiving.

oh wait, that was caitlin. she jumped out of a plane.

i went to one of the world's most beautiful starbucks tucked inside the ibn battuta mall. i made sure to come back here early in my time in dubai. it's so pretty!

the group of new teachers went to a karaoke bar. this is so terrifying for me.

but we had these private rooms and it ended up being a lot of fun.

more american goodies. seriously, i couldn't help myself when i saw this red velvet cupcake at magnolia bakery.

the newbie group also took a field trip to the dubai frame.

according to the website, "the uae’s latest cultural landmark, dubai frame is an iconic structure that ‘frames’ impressive views of old and new dubai, while serving as a metaphorical bridge connecting the emirate’s rich past with its magnificent present. offering spectacular panoramic views across the city, dubai frame celebrates the story of dubai from its early establishment to its ambitious plans for future development."

the floor was see-through, and terrifying.

danielle had to hold my hand to get me out on the glass.

but there were pretty cool views.

here's what the whole inside looks like.

and there's this shiny gold backdrop to pose in front of! meet my fun friend, lynn!

i would recommend a quick stop off at the frame when you're in dubai. it wasn't too expensive and was a fun, but quick experience!

until next time readers!