Midsummer Random: It's Been Real, Dubai: Tuesday, August 19, 2014

We are finally on the next leg of our journey. The jet lag is real people. I woke up at 330 am. Being the stubborn minded person that I can be, I refused to get out of the bed. Even though I was wide awake. Shortly after, Daniel gave up on sleep as well. We turned on the lights at about 4 am. Just in time for the call to prayer. I heard this for the first time at the airport when we touched down last night, but I have forgotten this is done 5 times a day (I went to school with a Muslim who would be excused for his prayer rituals). Today marked the first day that I had coffee outside of North America. We made it in the room with the percolator, and used the instant coffee packets. I'm not sure if it was because I hadn't eaten in over 12 hours, or if it was that my body rejected the idea of instant coffee, but it rebelled anyways and gave me a nasty stomachache. I blame the mixture of the two. I digress that the coffee was not bad, just that I'm not used to it. We then packed up, checked out, and took picture of Old Dubai. When we were leaving our hotel. We saw a young guy who was about to set up an early morning photo shoot for Esquire magazine. I ran into his partner outside and had to direct her to where the hotel was (like I said, VERY hard to find, but I would recommend staying here). So if any of you catch an issue and see the XVA Art Hotel mentioned, that's where we were. I guess it was a bonus we got up super early.

After our mini photo shoot, we made the journey back to the airport. I may be stating the obvious here, but I stand out like a dolphin in a sea of whales. I can attest that I was the only blonde I saw in our metro cars today. Which is okay, just different than what I am used to. Daniel stood out too. I kept catching people glancing at our badges, and then I realized that I didn't see any metro witnessing. Which seems odd, considering how very large Dubai is. It being a predominantly Muslim country, I wonder if it's even okay to witness here. Or, if it is, is it frowned upon? Do the Witnesses have a hard time? If anyone knows, please let me know! It's going to drive me crazy. Getting back through the Dubai airport was a breeze. I expect it's because it's enormous, so they are prepared and have plenty of attendants everywhere. Our gate was C39, which is far from security. Yesterday, they advised that sometimes it will take up to 45 minutes to get to your gate. Which is NOT something you say to someone like me. We made good time, however. After grabbing a bit to eat at Paul (French bakery and cuisine), we went to our gate and checked in. It was a beautiful thing to see that the line was filled with witnesses. I remarked that it felt bad for those who weren't, as they don't have such a beautiful brotherhood as we do. I know this is just a foregleam of things to come. In my whole life, I have known that there are Witnesses everywhere, but never have I seen such an outpouring of Witnesses from all other countries. So far, we have met the mother and daughter duo from yesterday (they were on our flight again today!), a special pioneer couple serving in Myanmar and their group, others from Germany, even Oregon and California. I don't think any of us are from the same place, which makes this a tremendous experience. Amazingly, no one has broken out in song yet, but it's just a matter of time. It's another long flight for us today, with a layover in Lusaka, Zambia. One of our flight attendants is a Witness from Florida! We really are EVERYWHERE. Places we don't even really think of. It truly is a testament to Jehovah sending the truth in 'all the inhabited earth.' We should touch down in Harare around 6. But with the friends, what better place can you be? I can not wait to see what else this trip has in store, but I expect it will be life changing.