Expect the best, plan for the worst and prepared to be surprised.
Dennis Waitley
Dennis Waitley is one of my favorite authors - he has a great way of saying the obvious to his audience, it's usually not new, but puts it in a new way, so you pay attention. For example, thinking about winning and losing, is it by chance or it is a frame of mind?
Events don't just happen in our lives, we create them by our choices. Waitley's words help you see the best in yourself and then challenges you to act on it. The foundation of everything in your life comes to your self-esteem, the pride in oneself and your self-respect. It was not a revelation of any kind this past year, but an introspection of how did we come to be here? While much of the discussion a year ago was about where Duane and I were headed, for us it was never about the destination, but truly the journey.
Simply, the UAE, Abu Dhabi is a great place to live and work. What we have learned this year is immeasurable. We have found that this is not for everyone and moving from family and friends is very difficult. We had our challenges, but were blessed to keep a balance and are so grateful for social networks including Skype, e-mail, Facebook and our Magic Jack phone - making every call we make as if we are calling from Arizona. This has kept us in touch with many and we treasure hearing news from home. We know it's a big time difference, 8 hours to the East Coast, 9 to the midwest and Arizona an 11 hour difference - with that said - we love hearing from all of you.
We are very fortunate that we have brand new housing. We love our flat and brought some art and knick-knacks with us to make it feel like home. In our area there are four high rises with primarily teacher residents has it's plus and minuses, mostly pluses. We share a common bond of experiences, creating many friendships, many that will be life long friends. These relationships of friends, couples and families make this not just where we live, but it's home.
We began our exploration this year - slow and steady. We had big plans, twice side tracked, but we managed to travel almost the entire UAE, six of the seven emirates. Our goal is to go to the last one, Fujairah, and while there we will visit Oman. This summer we are going to Greece to Kitaro Island, and Rhodes or Rodos is where we are staying. Hoping to take a ferry into Turkey and looking to spend at least two days in Athens before heading back to the UAE.
While we look forward to our travels, we are excited to have visitors in coming to the UAE. We have plenty of room and promise you an experience of a life time. Best shawarma you will ever eat, desert dune bashing, desert safari, camel rides and tallest building in the world with panoramic views to just name a few of the exciting events that await you.
This summer will bring many new memories of new cultures, new languages, new friends and new foods. It's not the miles traveled, but the smiles we will see on each others face that we both look forward to most.
Three Words: LOVE YOU ALL!
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