Gilligan’s Isle

Boudoir Interior

Monday, I went to the Boudoir club for Halloween. I was dressed as a sailor. To find a Halloween costume, I went to the Mall of Emirates (on Friday), and the first store I went to was Carrefour. They had one women’s costume. I am not exaggerating. ONE WOMEN’S COSTUME! I was sad because I needed a costume in the Carrefour price range.

Every clothing store we went to, we asked where we could find costumes. We ended up going to a toy store. The only presentable costume they had that was in a large was cat woman costume for $100. I tried it on in the employee lounge (a closet with a child’s chair to sit on).

The costume was crap. It looked like a $20 costume. It was poorly made and falling apart. The “crystal” fingernails looked like I sewed them on. It was horrible. Needless to say, I wasn’t going to by that janky costume for $100.

So I called my study abroad mentor (SAM), Seham, and asked here where to go to get a costume. We ended up going to a Halloween store at Jumierah Beach Centre. It was a crazy experience. I wish I had taken pictures. They had a very wide selection, I’ll give them that, but the aisles were too skinny, and they had make-shift fitting rooms. It was so busy. It reminded me of Christmas Eve. This is why I like shopping online…

I tried on a Marilyn Monroe costume, a diner waitress costume, Egyptian, Bettie Page Devil, a sexy mechanic but the one I really liked was the sailor costume. Every time I look for Halloween costumes online, it’s the sailor costumes that catch my eye. Not only that, but they had it in large, and it fit perfectly.

I felt sorry for my friend. She wears a small, and all of the costumes were too big on her, even the extra small. We ended up shopping from 10am-5pm, but at least I found something I really wanted.

At Boudoir, I had loads of fun. It was my first time dancing in public! We made some new friends that had a table. We partied with them all night. We went out with them again yesterday at a private party. It was so fun! The food was good, the music was good, everything was good. I’m starting to really like it here….

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!