Hokey-Pokey in the lepresy colony

FRIDAY, June 6
Today we are going to the leprosy colony to teach the children English. We are the very first volunteers here. I'm definitely nervous on the way- I have no idea what to expect, but the whole idea of lepresy really freaks me out, even if Bandhu's convinced me I won't catch anything. The man who greets us has mangled hands and feet, but super-kind. He introduces his daughter Priya, who is wonderful and beyond her years (only 13!). She tells us firsthand that she wants to become a doctor. She goes to boarding school in Gurgaon and is her father's shining star, the apple of her eye. The colony has different stations that were donated by several people, including a Christian school donated by a couple in Georgia! There are bathroom stations, a binding/medical station and a workshop with hand looms. Since the people here have mangled limbs, they cannot work and depend on donations. The looms are great because it allows them to make textiles and sell for $. They become completely dependant on their children to take care of them and help with work. I think growing up in such a village really teaches the children humility, responsibility and certainly acceptance- of all people. The be honest, I was terrified to go to a LEPER colony- sounds straight out of a horror film! When we enter the school, I peer in looking for lepers, but there are none. Lepresy is now a cured disease but these people still have the marred and disfigured body parts...some are missing fingers, toes, noses and many are on crutches. But you also get an incredible sense of community around here. I think this is also why Priya acts so much older than 13- she has the responsibility of taking care of others and other children. She's clearly born to be a leader. I ask her how many siblings she has, but she calls all the children her brothers and sisters.
A couple of guys set up the room for us with fans and rugs. Slowly the kids trickle in, some with notebooks and pens, others not. Some are very dark-skinned; I learn later that they come from all over India, esp the state of Tamil Nadu, to live in this colony.
Annie and I split up the group into 2: big girls and little girls. Ohmigod they are so adorable the little ones, but I take on the big girls. Of course, I have NO idea what I'm doing, with no teaching tricks up my sleeve. We start with me asking: "What is your name?" How old are you?" They are so shy to respond and make fun of each other in Hindi, giggling all the time. We continue with writing sentences, like "What is your favorite color/movie/actor/animal?" - Priya is a big help in translating for me and helping me to understand what level of English these girls are at. There is one girl- Chantra- who is absolutely beautiful...She's only 15 years old but looks 20! She has a bone structure, kinda like Linda Weisz weird enough, and a beautiful smile. All the children have great smiles with contrast beautifully with their dark skin. We write sentences for over 2 hours and finish the day with two rounds of the HOKEY-POKEY! Man, did they laugh at this game!!! Especially the "shake it all around!" part.... I'm sure they like I'm half-crazy the way I dance around!
We shoo shoo the kids out the door who don't really understand that school is over! They are just so excited to be learning English. Priya shows me and Annie around her village- it's super poor, with trash, stray dogs and cows everywhere. But there's also a certain charm to it, neighbors are practically family and you can feel the sense of community. People on crutches walk around, old men with stick thin legs and a knob for a foot...Priya also shows us her school- the one donated by the Georgians. The windows are broken and the place is run down, but she is so so proud. The look on her face when she says, "This...is my school," is unmistakable. She also keeps telling us how much she loves Jesus (her school in Gurgaon is Christian). The center of the village has a bunch of different little shrines, respecting all the religions of the families who emigrated there.We sat for two whole hours waiting for Bandhu to pick us up.
When we get home, I immediately take a nap and then go to teach the streetchildren. Jyoti and I do some subtraction problems. Afterwards, while Bandhu heads to the pub, Annie and I head to the market to buy some junk food and stop in at the tailor's for alterations. I have been sick, you know, all day- the opposite of what was happening before. Something is off- the water maybe? It seems like it's inevitable though that you are going to get sick. Reena cooks us supper and we play with ViDit! Little monster....

At the orphanage, DIDI is my new name

I love my little apartment Bandhu has rented out for me. I ring the doorbell and someone opens the big gate for me. I have one of those big keys, the medieval kind, which opens to one small room, with a bathroom and a "kitchen." There's no shower, so I use a bucket to dump water from the faucet over my head; there's also no toilet, only a hole in the ground, but it's actually OK :) I like my little room to myself.

Thursday, June 5th
I have a new name: Didi. In Hindi it means "big sister," and it's what every little girl calls an older girl, even if it's not her sister. So, I am not Julia anymore, I am "Didi! Didi! Didi! Come herrrrrre chaya chaya chaya Didi!"
Me and Nicole head to the girls' orphanage today. We sit on the carpet as all the girls wander in and crowd around us, so excited for a new person. I tell them my name and they all want to touch me! For real! Nicole is already so comfortable with them...She chats with them while they just sit around and adore her. We all talk and gossip for a while...Well, they gossip in Hindi and I just smile like an idiot. Soon we go upstairs to a barren room, with other rooms nearby. The children were coming out the freakin' woodwork! Everywhere I turn around, a new child showed up. But they have BIG white smiles and love to laugh laugh laugh.
Chavla (Lisa) is the big sister ("Didi") of the house. I believe she's about twenty or twenty-one, and grew up in the orphanage but studies outside of it now. She comes up to me and asks me politely to teach her French. "French?" I ask her! She looks at me with such determination on her face. I have never seen anyone so excited and eager to LEARN. We go through her exercise book; I pronounce the words for her, she repeats them and writes the sounds in Hindi into her notebook. Sometimes I'll get her to repeat a word three or four times, and she still doesn't get it quite right but I encourage her anyways, like "Good! You got it! Great job!" ...And she smiles at me, does that little Indian head nod to the side and says "Ok, one more?" She is positively radiant and I love her hunger for knowledge. This is the kind of girl who deserves a scholarship to a university; I wish I could provide more opportunities for her.
When Lisa has to leave to go teach the young girls downstairs, the others grab my hand and we all make paper airplanes outside and eat crackers. There is one little girl (who I thought was a little boy for the longest time! Then I realize that's it's a girl, I mean duh it's a girl orphanage, but they shave everyone's hair for lice) who is so so cute and makes me laugh. We run around the rooftop together, flying our paper airplanes and laughing laughing. Everyone is so so excited I'm there that it keeps me upbeat the whole day. We run to every corner of the rooftop where they show me the houses and temples nearby. There is a beautiful tree that hangs a bit over the big rooftop that is dripping with bright red fruit. Yum!
Later Lisa comes back and we do more French lessons together. She has big round glasses that kind of make her look like an old lady! We kind of give up on the French and just talk and talk and talk on the floor with the other 13 and 14 year old girls. I ask them their favorite Bollywood actors and actresses, their favorite Bollywood movies, what they want to be when they grow up, their fav. American actresses....The little girls all crowd around my lap and we all read a vocabulary picture book.

I tell them I like dancing and we all run over to another room to blast the music! At first I thought they would all be dancinggg and show me some moves and show off, but no! They were all too shy!! Some of the little ones dance with me and the other slowly ease into it- the big girls refuse. I am surprised how shy they are here, in front of each other and in front of me. Soon I was just making up my own moves and we are all laughing, laughing, laughing.
It's lunchtime now and about 8 of them grab my hand and pull me down to the first floor. It is amazing how well I get by with them off just hand gestures. Only a few of them speak English, but somehow we all manage to communicate by facial expressions, body language and hand gestures. It's amazing how well humans can communicate without sharing a common language.
For lunch we all sit on mats and they slide out big buckets of rice, lentils and yogurt. Adi is the boy who lives across the street but comes here regularly to hang out with the girls. He has a flashy white smile and is quite the ladies' man, despite being only like ten years old. He's wearing an American Eagle polo and has quite the attitude with the ladies. He slides the bucket around the room and slops the food on to every plate.

I can tell all eyes are on me as we eat our meal. Every time I look up, I make eye contact with someone. I have trouble maintaining my appetite and not focus on what I'm eating. Plus, I haven't gone to the toilet since I got here! That's like 5 days, ouch. And am now feeling so constipated from the rice and chapatti and naan for like a week straight. After lunch we sit downstairs on the carpet and watch terribly bad, dramatic (but amazing at the same time) Indian soap opera and gossip some more. Soon after a rickshaw comes to pick up me and Nicole and take us to the Sector 10 market for MEHANDI! We both get beautiful henna designs on both sides of our left hand. We walk up and down through the outdoor market, alllllll eyes are on us. We wait in a bakery, away from the stares, for an hour waiting for the mehandi to dry and waiting for Annie. We both talk about being summer nannies and Nicole gives me some great advice on how to deal with Sam at age 12. She tells me about the magic of Costa Rica and how she plans on volunteering in Africa next summer, either Ghana or Kenya.

When we returned by motor rickshaw back to Bandhu's, the streetchildren are already here with their notebooks out. I work with the most adorable little boy; we sing our ABC's together and write our letters; I teach another little one how to write the alphabet. This is the only schooling they'll receive.
At night, me and Annie head to the market with Reena (Bandhu's sister-in-law) and Vidit (her 2-yr-old son) to pick out some fabric for my suit. I go to two fabrics shops in the market and look at alllll different colors and patterns, and choose one that has a white top with flowers and blue bottom. Actually, now that I think about it, I really hate it :( I got so overwhelmed by the storeclerk who was pulling out so many for me to choose from- I freak out and just choose one. Next stop, we buy some Frooooti juice for Vidit, my little monster. He is not even 2 and a half, and is SO smart. He understand English and does things like turn off the TV and lights for his mother when she asks him. He runs and teeters all the way to the market, like a little spinning top. He loves : dirt, motorcycles and tractors. Whenever one passes by, he points and jumps up and down. He always comes right up to my face and says very quietly "Apka naam kia hai?!" (What is your name?) and "Where's Emmy?" - Emmy is a volunteer who just left who's he's obsesssed with !
On the way home from the market, we stop at the tailor and he takes my measurements for my suit- Indian style. He takes his little tap and measures my waist, my leg, my hip, my bosom, my shoulders. His little shop is in an alleyway guarded by stray dogs, this tiny little hole in the wall. But apparently he's popular in the marketplace because there are always women in there.
We stop at Reena's friend's house where we sit around and crack open litches and eat the white fruit inside. So good :) We eat freshly sliced mango and peaches....and play, always, with Vidit. At night, me and Bandhu make vodka and Limca drinks and stay up talking (about GC, again.)

The Rooftops of Faridabad

At the market, I haggled for scarves, slippers, bangles and a silver elephant ring for myself :)
We had a delicious meal at the market, and each drew maps of our respective countries on our hands, talked about marriage, virginity, weddings- CP wants me to marry him to he can come to the States - HA! Next was the Lotus Temple- shaped like a....lotus! Four huge processions of pilgrims made their way barefoot up the steps to pray inside. It's very hot though...
I took a nap on the way to Faridabad, fifteen minutes and before I knew it- we've arrived at the house of Bandhu. Dr. Bandhu...He doesn't really greet me at all, but speaks directly to CP. I don't realize that this is his house, not the actual orphanage where I thought I was being dropped off. He shows me how to make chai (I spill it everywhere :) and suddenly all these bright faces show up!
"These are your students," he tells me. I've been here 5 minutes and I am already thrown into it!
"What will I teach them?" I ask...
"Everything!, says Bandhu. Math, English, writing...."
I don't realize that these are the street children who come every afternoon for schooling they can't afford. They all have these big, wide brown eyes and are all holding these dilapidated notebooks but are so eager and excited to learn...
We practice some English phrases. My best student is Jyoti- she is very bright, good at spelling, reading, writing and math. She always wobbles her head to say "yes," and she has a big smile.
There is one little boy who is so positively adorable. Three other volunteers walk in: Nicole, Nadine and Annie, who immediately get settled in with a kid to work on something.
I work with Jyoti on reading and writing flashcards. We give them cookies, they grab their shoes and leave. Soon after I head to the sector 15 market in Bandhu's dilapidated car which we squeeze into. We stop at a house in a neighborhood so Dr. Bandhu can fix a hearing aid (he's an ear doctor). Next is the market where we brave getting stared down by lots of curious Indian men. We pop into a bakery so Nadine can buy some gulab jawal - like Entenmann's doughnuts!
Faridabad has a couple main markets but for the most part, it is a very poor city. In the distance are big smoke chimneys spewing out nasty-looking fumes. Me and Nadine head up to the roofdeck as the sun is setting; we watch some boys playing cricket in the park, as dirty streetchildren play on the playground. Beyond that is the slum- dilapidated tents covered in rags and cloths. I no longer see the bright colors of India but gray and dull slum colors. There is movement in the slum as others throw more rags on top and dig holes in the mud. Stray dogs are everywhere, and rule the streets at night.
Bandhu went out and bought us Kingfish beer- we head up the roof and pull out 2 cots to sit on. It was Nicole and Nadine's last night so we celebrate with drinks and smooth Indian cigarettes. The breeze was nice and cool up on the roof, but soon it started to rain and lightning. We head under the little shack and let the rain hit our toes. Nadine, Bandhu and I stayed up until midnight talking mostly about Bandhu's woes about how little he is paid for all the work he does. And how websites like Global Crossroad take the money from the volunteers and keep it for themselves. Bandhu or the orphanages don't see a dime. If you go on websites of Jaipur or Kala Marg orphanage, they are either free of cost or charge very little. Such a scam!

India: First Impressions

Stream of consciousness upon entering India:
rubble rubble rubble
dark men, only men
a woman in a bright orange sari wtih a stack of sticks on her head
a little dirty girl working on the side of the road
more girls, 8 or so, digging in the middle of the highway
an autorickshaw traveling directly across a toll road and nearly, by an inch, hitting a car from the side
HONKING!!! Like it's going out of fashion!!
everyone honks at everything, so it becomes completely ineffective
my first cow on the way to Faridabad- horns and a big hump, eating trash
sitting on our haunches is the national pose of all Indian men
motorists not heeding cars at all, no lines on the road

It's the best when everyone is trying to merge and it's a near-accident every second with lots of beeping! But surprisingly, there are no accidents....
A baby, fast asleep, squished in between Amma and Bubba on a motorbike, her little bangle-covered wrist hanging out
Slums with vendors selling fresh fruit, pomegranates from Afghanistan, cashews!
A boy sitting in the dirt on the side of the road, his leg stretched out with his entire foot flat on the ground doing it's own weird thing...not normal...

The drive to Agra was fantastic. We got stuck in traffic in nearly every village; at one traffic jam, the monkey boy with a drawn-on moustache swingin' a rope on his cap, and his brother playing a tin lid like drums
Camels, dinkeys, monkeys, cows, the chakka- transvestite (lady boy in Hindi)
snake charmers entertaining us at the toll
"take photo!" with the foreigners, Vicky the vendor
Traffic jam at the train crossing and everybody pushing through a tiny bridge at once

Taj Mahal- letdown? I mean, it's beautiful and magnificient, but once you've seen it, what else is there to do but admire? Agra Red Fort- gorgeous
Poor villages with men sitting on their haunches and women in bright orange/yellow/pink saris with pierced noses
How many people there are!!! How bad living conditions are but how it's accepted
Women carrying pots on their heads
Agra was so poor

DRIVING= chaos!!! no rules to obey, use your hand to indicate you are there
Donkeys carrying laods of bricks, camels pulling big wagons of cotton
Pet monkeys
Where the vendors are as annoyng and pertubing as the flies...
Saw Agra Fort! So beautiful, with the Taj Mahal in the background
5 long hours back

Order of vehicles on the road:
Cars
Lorries- on the back, drawn on is HORN PLEASE/BLOW HORN, use dipper at night, Tata: OK!
"India is great", speed 40 km/h

Auto rickshaws
Cycle rickshaws
Bicycles
Donkeys/Camels/Ox/Pony-pulled carts
And finally...pedestrians

J A I P U R
I woke up today at 6:30am with Ryan for the 5-hour drive to JAIPUR- The "Pink City." Roads were much better than the way to Agra, with somewhat of a "highway" with lorry upon lorry. Not so much to see along the way except for the occasional camel pulling a wagon overflowing with cotten. Crossed the border into Rajasthan to see higher ground and foothills. We passed through a couple villages with sidestreet fruit/veg stalls and dark women in bright bright saris. C.P. was with us again today, with just me and Ryan. I wore my linen white pants, my new top and my Nepali shawl from Susan- it sort of worked. I was hassled less than Ryan! And he's Indian! And no one wanted to take a picture with me anymore cuz I was dressed like them...:)
We saw Amber Fort first, C.P didn't join us because he was too tired! Me and Ryan walked alllll the way up steep cobblestone roads to the main, faded gate. The fort is like a maze once you get inside past the main plaza. We got lost in long hallways, stairs going up and down. There are old columns with beautiful, intricate designs around the doorway. When you look out the windows is all hills in the background; amazing view. A pink wall goes straight up the mountain, like the Great Wall of China. After Amber Fort, CP, Ryan and I get delicious food downtown. Bursting with flavor and so so yummy.
Next we pass the Jal Mahal, or Water Palace, a palace built in the middle of a lake with gold towers on top. Going through the town is so depressing because it is SO poor and there is trash everywhere. The worst is when you see the stray dogs, cows and pigs eating it. More fruit+veg stalls on the side of the road. I love being covered in a shawl- I just feel safer. Next was the City Palace, all in pink! Where again CP doesn't join us.... Inside, the intricately designed city gate opens into a main square with a palace in the middle. A group of Indian schoolgirls are practicing painting designs of Hindu gods. Overhead are big glass chandeliers, big silver pots at the doorway. We have a look inside a museum with preserved clothing from the rulers in the 17th and 18th centuries - absolutely stunning. The long dresses had hundreds of ruffles and were sequined with real gold. The men working at the museum have bright red turbans and white suits. This is the old India of turbans and palaces that I know and love.

I got my palm rad, where I was told I would be successful, self-starting and get married only once (most likely) between the ages of 25-28, have a boy then a girl. I am open-minded, and optimistic and like the real, not the artificial life, but I am easily taken advantage of (!). Hmmm...money is good !

After City Palace, CP takes me a textile workhouse where I choose between hundreds of fabrics, patterns and block prints. I was in heaven. I buy a couple shirts, scarves and a tablecloth for the G family. Next was the silver shops- I buy two beautiful hand-crafted silver bracelets, but apparently even though I bargain for them, I pay way too much according to Rajan.
After an hour of shopping, we drive through the worst poverty I've seen yet....so sad.
We drop Ryan off at this orphanage project in Jaipur and hit the road for Delhi. We see a long line of camels along the way and a great big ELEPHANT!!
I stretch out in the backseat on CP's lap so I can sleep for two hours. When I wake up, CP and I manage a conversation (in his very broken English) about the type of not-so-nice people he encounters in this program, and how I don't want to be associated anymore with America. He teaches me some Indian dance moves and we danced the rest of the way home :)
Back at the hostel, the rest of the girls were finishing 3 bottles of wine (!) and all had red-stained teeth haha. They even managed to get Rajan drunk ahha :) He just sat there with the biggest smile on his face
We stood in front of the TV learning Bollywood dance moves and took loads of pictures with our new T-shirts. Rajan reads my palm again! Says similar thing..... Delhi tomorrow!

Wednesday, June 4th 2008: Dilli Haat Market
CP picks me up from the hostel at 10am- I stayed up late the night before talking with Ray- she's on a trip around the world, from India to Dubai to Tel Aviv, Paris, Amsterdam - how cool!
CP and I had a fun day, we laughed about words like "Butter naan", which he has so much difficulty saying. He's been teaching me Hindi saying like Sookriya, ferme lengue and nihil jihal.
We first go to Minal to see an ancient temple built long ago, around 1300 AD. The stones look so ancient
Next stop, Dilli Haat!! Great market...we listen to constant Hindi music as we batter through the Delhi market.

Drinks at the Burj

We don't all leave for Dubai until 2pm in the afternoon and make a long pit stop at the Emirates Palace- gorgeous! Huge! Again, like nothing I've ever seen before. Everything, right now to the last tile, is ornate, luxurious and drenched in splendor. And it's absolutely enormous. It just keeps going...We look at the Pablo Picasso exhibit for about an hour, which was incredible to see the real thing. The paintings are unreal and almost emotional, like you can see the workings of his mind (sounds like Alan Smith, eh?), his pain and his low opinion of women. I also liked the evolution of his paintings, from his first self-portrait to the reconfigured, distorted human body. Very odd, but amazing. We hadn't left for Dubai until 5pm and drove all the way to the Global Village, which was...CLOSED! So we drive and drive and drive, Bill getting more and more stressed and in a bad mood with the traffic, the detours, the construction - they hate Dubai. He's not very nice in the way he speaks to Diane... I won't go into how uncomfortable I felt (for the very first time this week) but I didn't want to be in that car and felt like this disaster was my fault...
We end up at Mina'Al Salaam, where I check my bags and we eat Chinese Dim Sum. Craig is not himself and this is actually the first time I've seen him stressed- ever. Diane is very pleasant to talk to but things are still strained. Craig and I peace out 20 minutes later to just get out of there. I say my goodbyes and a sincere thank you. Now for more partying! And literally, right on the beach with the Burj Al-Arab rising above us. This place is so scene, with gorgeous Europeans and Australians everywhere, Persian carpets under big tents with people smoking shisha. Craig and I grab some drinks and meet up with Danna and her friends on the beach. I start talking to some cute French guys who are party-planners here. They teach me French swearwords. We leave the beach party and walk alllll the way to 360°, a bar but out in the ocean. So cool. As we approach it along the jeti, we hear the pumping House music. It's amazing up on the roof, with the Burj and Jumeirah in front, all lit up. We order more drinks, I talk with Sam and my friend Harris (from UPenn) and then go dance really silly with a girl Kaitlyn, her fiance and Sam.
I peace out with Danna, Craig and Alisha around 2am, but not without picking up this delicious cheesy bread from a Lebanese place. So freakin good. Alisha is hilarious and so drunk. Danna and I get along gret and I tell her I'll come visit her in Barcelona next spring. Craig and I sleep on the floor at her place and I keep dreaming that I'll miss my taxi....
6:30am: I have TWO minutes to get ready because my taxi is already here. Craig is half-asleep, throws my stuff in the back and says a sleepy and hasty goodbye. I am so sick and out of it. I barely have time to register I'm leaving when I get in the car. Sharjah is lot more Arab, with few Westerners. My flight is all Indian men...and I believe I'm the only white person on the plane! Waleed got me a nice seat........

Dune Bashing

Craig and Mel wake me up by drawing a little Hitler moustache on my face hahaha. Shayne's parents' cook us a delicious barbecue, fresh with corn, cole slaw, beans, steak, salad and sausage. I laugh at Craig and how much he really loves meat, I forgot how hilarious he is and how much he makes me giggle. Love when he does his Hindi accent and when he yells "For Fuck's Sake!". By the way, on the ride to Dubai there are signs everywhere for "bin Laden constuction" - yup, that's the one. Bin Laden's Saudi family is big in construction, and he's their crazy son. I can't even accurately describe the incredible amount of construction literally everywhere you look on the way to Dubai and in the actual city. It is literally unbelievable- there is no skyline without a crane in it.
After lunch, we crack up watching "Fun With Dick and Jane" before heading out to go...
DUNE BASHING! Great fun....
The drive out there, we get a sneak peek at the future look of Dubai, with a Marvel theme park, Jurassic park dinosaurs (the real ones), Global Village and a future Six-Flags. There is construction along the entire way, with the Burj Dubai on our left, shooting out of the sky.
Then, we are in the desert. Big red dunes rise up, sprinkled with scarce bushes. We see a pack of camels being herded by a shepherd in a long, white tunic and white turban. In the distance are "mountains". Finally, Big Red looms in the distance- its the highest dune in the UAE. As we drive up, the heat reaching over 100° F, a decorated camel guards the front, with a saddle on its hump. As we wait for our hired driver, we visit the camels and donkeys- so dirty! But I think camels are so cute with their long eyelashes. An Arab midget with a red-checkered turban and a fake rifle waddles up to us to take a picture. He shakes my hand- so tiny! He's all sweet and friendly. I feel like I'm with an Arab Mini-Me. When Craig takes a picture with him, he kisses him on the cheek! After, he tries to charge us 10 dirhams - bullshit!! We see a little baby monkey on a leash- ah! Our driver pulls up...The adventure begins.
Our driver is dark-skinned, with a big smile and liquid brown eyes. He takes the air out of his tires while Mel and I grab hands, terrified. It was actually not bad at all but we had heard stories of other being scared shitless. Mom would think it was more than a bumpy Jeep ride...
We drive up the dune and....oh, how do I describe it? Like being on a rollercoaster that's not attached to a rail. We ride along ridges, with the back of the car sliding down as he shifts it forward. We roar into pits and roll back up with the car bouncing up and down, with no shocks. Bouncing up and down, bangin' our heads! My stomach lurches a few times as we roar up a dune and then come crashing down. The car almost flips over a few times- so scary! Craig is up front laughing he head off while I am whooping in the back. The front is even better....We get out of the car at the very top of Big Red and see miles in the distance. Mel's feet and mine are burning in the red-hot sand; meanwhile, our driver walks barefoot. Mel and I fake jumping pictures a top the dune and balance along a steep ridge, leading right into a pit. The ride back is even bumpier, we go flying through the air and nearly break off the bumper. Talk about car sickness... We pass a camel farm and a Porsche SUV stuck in the sand. Right on a ridge and up shit creek!
The ride home is tough, both me and Craig have come down with Shayne's virus and have killer sore throats, esp after being in the desert. I nap some more, in the car, at Shayne's house, on the ride back to A.D. - I can't stop sleeping! We go right to Joe's for drinks. Jeff and I take some more tequila shots and Mel and I jump like crazy on the trampoline. Later, I totally crash, feeling so ill. We watch Ricky Gervais for hours...Mel and I have to say goodbye after a very fun week together. She's great. Loves grilled cheese like none other....
We head out around 1am and I say goodbye to Shayne. Love him- so down to earth and such a sweetheart despite his punk-rock attitude.
I pass out and sleep until 12pm- much needed rest. Pack all the next morning cuz Craig and I and his parents are going to Dubai for the day, or so we thought...

Tequila Sunrise

We all get dressed up and Bill and Diane take me out to this amazing revolving restaurant that literally has a 360° view of Abu Dhabi. Bill and Diane point out the evolution of the city- the first low-rise apartment buildings, then a clump a big higher, then higher and higher! So you can actually see the city at different stages. They also show me where the Corniche, or shoreline, was built out and the parks where there used to be ocean.
We order a bottle of Chilean Cabernet and a bunch of gourmet appetizers, from raw salmon with cream cheese, scallops and prawns, bruschetta. For dinner, I order the sea bass with potato gnocchi and dried cherries. Exceptionally delicious. After dinner, Craig and I head out to Shayne's and meet up with Joe and Jeff. Jeff is quite the character- he reminds me of that guy from "Road Trip" or American Pie who's always tits and naked girls. He's totally obnoxious but kind of in a fun, lovable way. At least for a bit, then he's just kind of annoying. We move out to PJ's for a wild night, one of the crazier I've had since my Italy days. I feel fabulous- I'm wearing Lill's little black dress, big earrings and red heels and just strutttt. PJ's is just great- the music is boooming, its packed and atmosphere is great. Mel and I head back down alone where she shows me how to work the scene, whispering who anyone who's important is, what to watch out for, how to get a free drink and who's a betch. I love her instantly- she's such a gossip queen. We head to the bar where we get free drinks from her bartender friend- an old dirty man hassles me to dance, putting his slimy hands on me. I run upstairs, losing Mel- but strike up a conversation with my man Nate. Nate is basically gorgeous, with beautiful skin, a nice white smile and dance moves to blow me out of the water. I find Mel and we take silly pictures with Big Mo and Shayne. Craig, Jeff and Joe head to another bar so I get to hang out with Nate. We hit it off, dance wildly in the corner to techno and are totally flirting. I am a goofball-dancer for some reason, but he loves it and doesn't stop laughing. Shane, Mel and I have a ball dancing to the Grease remix and do a bit of swing-dancing...how fun! Mel and I make our way up to the DJ booth and flirt/take pictres with the DJ- he even lets me work the booth for a while, mixing songs :)
When Mel's sister Natalie arrives, she really brings the party. I have so much fun dancing with her, until we try to drop it low but my legs are so weak/sore that she yells out "You kneed me in the p***!" I feel so bad...but we just laugh. Mel and I go on an adventure taking pictures, one with this wasted old man and then pretend to take one of ourselves to get this blonde hairpiece in the backgroumd. We get yelled at by the bouncer. Its funny when we get yelled at for "inappropriate dancing" when there's a blonde chic with mad long hair and her stomach hanging out dancing explicitly!! Joe and them come back and we all decide that we're not going to Emirates Palace club without a table. I'm with Joe now, good decision I've decided in my state. Blonde chic still tango dancing and whipping people in the face with her hair....
Joe and I head with Craig, Shayne and Jeff to Rock Bottom for some Phillippine phun. Shayne literally hits rock bottom and leaves. Joe and I dance a bit but I make him protect my ass...so many sketchballs around here. It was fun walking into the bathrooms and seeing prostitutes. For real. After the place closes around 4am, the place is swarming with hookers trying to pick up at the end of the night...blah! Joe and I head back to Craig's place, him teaching me Scottish swearing :) We walk out to the beach and look up at the stars. Pretty soon we see Craig stumble by, drunkenly, with 4 glasses and ice. He says hi and walks on by. Joe and I stay there until...wait, it's getting light out! Before we know it, light is appearing in the sky. We walk down the ocean wall, me skipping and doing cartwheels and Joe picking me up and twirling me around. Jeff and Craig are wayy down with a girl Vanessa, drinking tequila sunrises with...the sunrise. The name suddenly makes sense to me. It's 6am. An enormous, flaming orange ball rises from behind the skyline and casts a glowing light over all our drunked faces. Jeff and I take a tequila shot each to greet the sun. Rowers pass us on the water and we salut them. We stumble home, carrying bags of empty bottles..Jeff is a riot.
Now for the world's worst hangover. I've had a headache all day- literally. I take a quick shower and get into bed at 7am. Craig wakes me up at 9am- 2 hours of restless sleep. My body hates me.
Shayne picks us up at 10am, Jeff is still wasted haha. We drive to Dubai and I sleep the whole way. Upon arrival at Shayne's parents' house in a wealthy Dubai suburb, I am so out of it. I can barely stay awake, nevermind hold a conversation. I take a refreshing, hour-long, much-needed nap to be coherent.