kittycat1

this is turning to such a happy thread

Lets post the London bus with the roof torn off picture to put people off London too....

kittycat1

15th is best for me too

irich

I deleted the pics but some of us who have been here a while have been bombed and shot at, which kinda puts things in perspective.

kittycat1

Irich, the joys of the middle east eh! Stories to tell your grandkids. My home town was bombed by the IRA in the 80's. I've never been shot at though although my local pub in London was closed down because two people were shot and it was 50 yards away from my flat. Shit happens everywhere- wrong time wrong place for some poor souls, but if you worried about it all you wouldn't leave the house no matter where in the world you are.

Having said that though having been around most of the furniture shops myself I have at times wanted to be shot...(painfully hideous decor) and as for the service I have been tempted to shoot a few people myself.

I believe Dubai is the worlds largest arms trading country or something like that. Says it all. Live life to the full is the answer.

Bahtatboy

Bollocks. My mum was with me when I was born, she swears she was.

Spugsy

You're a bit of a miserable twåt eh?

Paracletus

And the milkman? Sounds like hearsay to me.

irich

Not really. Laugh a minute usually. Been here long enough to understand the region a little however, and witnessed life at the sharp end here in KSA back in 2003-04. Compounds blown up, neighbours beheaded, friends blown through windows, guys shot in the supermarket car park, that kind of thing.

So an ex-pats shopping woes in the microcosm of materialism that is Dubai doesn't generate a ton of sympathy from me. Sounds like you are ideally placed to pop down there and offer some consolation though.

Toodle along, there's a good fellow.

Victor Meldrew

Jadawel, Al Hamra and Vinnell compounds May 12th 2003

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riyadh_compound_bombings

Luckily my light bulb is still fairly OK (apart from after a few wines)

irich

The Al Hamra blast cracked the plaster in our villa. I thought the water heater had exploded.

As events unfolded that night I remember making petrol bombs with a german guy in case Al Romaison was attacked. Not that smart looking back on it. If they had bombed the compound we would have gone up in flames

You don't forget stuff like that. Strange days. Glad it's peacefullish these days.

norsk

Most people struggle when they initially arrive in a new place with no friends and no family. I remember my first week spent in a shitty hotel in Khobar really missing my family and having nothing but the local supermarket for entertainment. It sucked big time, but I used that feeling as motivation to meet new people and 'acclimatise'.

My advice. Stop being a victim. It only makes you feel bad about the whole situation! Focus on getting to know some people. This will help tremendously. Oh and yes I am probably a prick, but I usually tell people the truth

Spugsy

Nice reply.

Just because you've seen horrific things doesn't mean that somebody else might be having a rough time, they haven't seen the things you've seen.

So drop the superiority complex and don't say anything unless it's going to help.

paca

find something to do that you can do by yourself and not feel left out or you need someone else to do.

ie.

Join a gym and get involved, you will meet people and almost everyone will also be there by themselves.

Look for sports clubs if your into that

Join some social groups

http://www.meetup.com/find/

http://socialcirclesuae.com/

get a time out magazine and there are loads of things listed weekly

Madam Medusa

i agree with this, i really think it's what you make of it...make some effort and you'll start to have fun, people aren't going to come to you...

i went out and met loads of people and did loads of things i wouldn't usually do when i first arrived, made some good friends, and haven't felt homesick once...

MM, xx

Tillybean

I agree with the posts about getting out there and trying new things - I appreciate it might be out of your comfort zone, but you never know, something may just "stick" and by jingo, you have a whole different circle of friends.

I ended up joining the Scottish Society and also attending functions with the Irish Society - great way to meet lots of people in one swoop.

I also went on every activity that I was invited to - bowling, cinema nights, coffee out, quiz nights at the local pub etc. If I got invited, I went to it basically!

One of these invites ended up with me discovering how to off-road in the desert and now this is my mainstay of what I get up to in the Middle East - I am out most weekends with the club, off-roading, camping, go-karting, socialising. Great group of people and a very diverse group.

It can be very difficult and hard to "break in" but there are a lot of people in a similar boat, and if all you do is go to work and then go home and watch TV, I think you would soon crack. I get the whole shopping on your own bit and thinking that everyone else around you is all loved up/in couples, but here is no different to anywhere and there are plenty of singles out there, doing exactly the same as you are doing.

I am that person who goes to the movies on their own, will go on holiday on my own, but I also love being with other people. I decided that being on my own really wasnt that terrible and I like my own company...sometimes!

Anyway, if you ever fancy coming along to see the desert, you are more than welcome to be my passenger on a 4x4 drive.