Quick story...Since I always do my part to take a bite out of crime, a few weeks ago, while I was riding the metro with Uncle Leo & Aunt Carol to take them to the Prado, I noticed a Japanese couple get on the train loaded with camera bags, backpacks, violin case and suitcases. Talk about overkill. A few stops later, a teenage Romany girl got on the train. She started casing the Asian woman - looking at all her stuff, and then pretending to need to get close to where the metro map was, right next to the woman. Well, little ladrona didn't know I knew what she was about to do, so I stroll over with my big fat wallet in clear view in my front pocket and stand across from the thief and the Asian woman. The thief looked directly at my pocket, and then back at the Asian women's backpack, and I said, "Chica, yo se que estas haciendo. Estoy te mirando. Deja la China! Necessitas salir en la proxima estacion, si estas intelligente, ladrona." ("Girl, I know what you're doing. I'm watching you. Leave the Chinese woman alone. You need to leave at the next station, if you're smart, thief.") She was so surprised that I think she actually got scared. Her eyes darted around, she moved away from the woman towards the doors, and as soon as the train pulled into the next station, she was outta there! She probably robbed someone else on the next train, but at least I saved La China!
We had the opportunity to chose our new place, so we opted for a top floor apartment in Wafi City, in the center of Dubai. It is 2/2.5 on 11th floor, with a BIG kitchen, cool looking LR/DR, balcony, pool, gym and underground parking. Though I will be working in Sharjah, the flow of traffic is opposite if you commute from this part of Dubai.
I spent the day touring the facilities of the HCT campus in University City, Sharjah. It w
as very impressive. 
Everything is new, technologically advanced and spotless, not to mention well-landscaped. The 1st pic is of the entrance. Everyone was very friendly and professional. Later in the day, my future boss, Anne, picked up Ingrid and me at the marina behind our hotel and took us on an incredible boat ride around Dubai Creek just in time for sunset over down-town Dubai. Cheers to her husband Rob for his boating and catering skills! We saw wild flamingos and had to compete with a school of flying fish to get back to shore where I took a photo of our hotel at night.
Well, here we go! We went to UAE to check out my job offer at Higher Colleges of Technology in Sharjah, which is the Emirate directly east of the Dubai airport. We took an extra suitcase to leave with Fabien just in case we made a decision to return - no sense flying suitcases to the US in June only to take them to Dubai in late July. Well, no one told us we were limited to 1 suitcase each, so Swiss wanted to charge us $700 for the extra suitcase! NOT! So we took a cab BACK home at 80 mph, dropped off the suitcase, rushed back, paid the $90 fare, and ran to the gate. Where the plane was no where to be found! It was delayed more than an hour. We could have taken the metro for $6.50! AHHH! When we finally got to Zurich, our Swiss flight had already left, so they rebooked us on Emirates. WOW! Best coach experience ever. Large personal tvs, hundreds of channels, great food and super service. By the time we got to Dubai, it was almost midnight, but still 90. Here are some pics of us on the plane and around the hotel. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Festival City. It is on Dubai Creek and connected to a HUGE mall. On Saturday, it was 113F! But is was a dry heat. Yeah, right! 
If there's one thing a colder than normal winter is good for is great spring roses. All of these pics were taken in the Rose Garden of the Parque del Oeste...
After a dry spell in the visitor department, we finally got some company from the States!
Here are some shots around town. We had a great day even though it was close to 90 degrees!
