I've Arrived...

Hello all... attempting to blog again in hopes of keeping in touch with home & keeping you informed of my adventures in the Gulf Coast. For those of you who don't know, I'm in Dubai for my fall co-op work term as part of my Health Services Management MBA program at the DeGroote School of Business. I'm working with a Canadian healthcare consulting firm whose Middle Eastern office is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. My work term goes until just before Christmas, after which point I will be returning to class.

For my debut post, I'll just copy/paste the initial mass email home to set the stage for things to come!

"Hello everyone from sunny (and hot) Dubai,

I've landed, I've moved in, and I've started work... with a view (horizontal, of course) of "The World" islands project from my desk on the 19th floor (http://www.theworld.ae/), it's safe to say that I've arrived. I left Toronto last Thursday night on a red-eye flight to Istanbul and arrived in Dubai in the middle of the night on Friday. I'm 8 hours ahead of you here, soon to be 9 when you all "fall back"... so I hope you're all sleeping soundly as I write this.

It hasn't been a completely smooth ride so far... I found the first days to be incredibly challenging as I was very much on my own, with no contacts in the city (aside from work contacts, who sadly did not immediately shower me with invites to dinners etc.)... in a giant apartment by myself, with no access to internet. I know that the isolation is all part of the experience, but I am optimistic that things will change over the next few weeks. As usual, the initial transition to work was slow, and I was disappointed to find out that the workday has been shortened to 3pm during Ramadan, which ends early next week. Imagine being sad about a shortened workday... I must be going crazy!

Thankfully, things are already starting to look up. I received a note yesterday informing me that I was gaining a roommate... a charge nurse who will be working at one of the local hospitals. I have yet to meet her as she arrived at 2am last night and wasn't up this morning, but I'm hoping she'll be delightful. Even if she's not, I'll be happy to have someone to talk to at the end of the day! Work has ramped up very quickly as well, and I've found myself as project lead of a business proposal for the development of a new hospital -- everything from market research to financial analysis and scenario planning needs to be completed within the next few weeks, so it will be busy. The process is not exactly the same as it would be at home... for instance, when my boss recommended that I "get a feel for the (low income) neighbourhood where the hospital will be situated by exploring the area alone at night". No joke. Don't worry, I'm not taking her up on the suggestion and will continue to be safe and vigilant about my decisions... but I had to laugh!

Some interesting/funny Dubai-isms that I've encountered already:

- the cops drive BMWs

- I have a driver. Fancy shmancy.

- descriptions of new healthcare facilities always seem to be part of a '5 star resort complex complete with a hotel, spa, and shopping centre'

- the weekend here is Friday/Saturday... so I'm already at 'hump day' on Tuesday!

- for all the heat (and it's hot... though not as bad as I thought it'd be), I'm freezing most of the time thanks to turbo A/C

The upcoming week holds a visit to the trauma centre managed by my company, the celebration of Eid al Fitr (the end of Ramadan) early next week, and hopefully an opportunity to venture into the city and start sightseeing.

I'm hoping to get online again sometime soon to start a blog so that I don't spam your inboxes with these long emails again... but for now, know that I'm safe and thinking of you all! Updates and notes from home are very welcome. :)

Talk to you soon,

Meaghan"