God Bless America! (Written 9/3)

I am trying not to complain. Be positive, Lara! I have not yet experienced culture shock, but I’ve noticed a lot of differences. First of all, why can’t the U.S. switch to the metric system like everyone else?! It’s really hard getting used to currency AND measurement differences. Luckily, there’s an app for that. I just type it into my handy dandy phone, and viola! I know how many dollars or inches an item is.

Yesterday, my roommate and I took a taxi to shop at Carrefour in the Mall of the Emirates. That’s where the indoor ski slope is located. It is the biggest mall ever!! It’s like a city. It was sooooo crowded, it was like Black Friday. They have three food courts and the escalators are lake ramps instead of steps.  WooooooW!

Carrefour is like the Walmart of UAE, but I’ve noticed some differences. It’s huge:

like three Sam’s Clubs but together, but the variety is lacking. I was looking for a bath math and all they had was the cheap rubber ones with flowers on it. I would say it’s more like a Dollar General than a Walmart. Also, when I ask the workers were something is, they barely speak English and they don’t understand me.

Based on what I’ve seen in Carrefour, it seems like I would have to spend an arm and a leg to get what I am accustomed to. So I’m going to make some adjustments. After all, I’m only going to be here three months.

After Carrefour, we went back home to put our groceries away. It is a long walk to the dorm from the gate, so I will make sure not to buy any more water from Carrefour (the Unimart on campus delivers for free). We took a break, then went to Dubai Mall to get my roommates contacts. By then, it was around ten and not very busy and we could actually enjoy the mall without worrying about getting ran over. Dubai has wonderfall malls. I can’t wait to explore the rest of the city!