So yeah, what's with these blonde Western chicks wearing abayas? Or worse, covering their faces?

One thing is to convert, another thing is to adopt local Gulf culture - how does one relate to another? You can be a Muslim and remain Western, you know. It's not like you'll turn into an Arab by wearing this stuff - you won't. And why should you want to, anyway?

If it is by virtue of marriage that you are now all covered up, then what, you aren't good enough for your husband and his family unless you try to look like one of their women? And that makes you happy?

Islam calls for modest dress, not for abaya and niqab. Look at Haya. She's Muslim alright. And she's an Arab, and married to Emirati, but doesn't feel the need for black overalls and face mask. So why do you do it then?

I'd really like to know.

Hi there!

Been a while, eh?

To be honest, I forgot about my blog. I am online every day at work, but I didn't have anything to share and I didn't even think about blogging. Well now that I finally have a little bit of good news, I can write about it.

Some of you might know that in February my husband lost his job. It threw us off balance financially (but not enough as to panic), and forced a whole chain of events in rapid succession. First, we moved out of our new house into our old house (our lovely landlady is one in a million). Then, I moved to another, higher paying job, which took the financial pressure off. And a few days ago, my husband finally got a job offer he was hoping for, and accepted, and now he will be working in Doha. I decided to stay in Dubai with my new job as my chances of finding a similar job in Qatar are next to zero. So we shall see how that works out. I suppose I'll commute every 2 weeks or so, make Emirates Airlines happy :) Actually, I am quite looking forward to all this. We've been stuck in our routine far too long and I am ready for a change.

I am thinking of bringing my mom over to stay with me as I don't think I'll enjoy living alone long term. If she accepts, that is. Don't know whether she will like to live in Dubai. It's fun to visit, but living here is another story altogether. I suppose if she drives and has things to do, she won't be bored out of her mind... but we'll deal with this when we get there.

For the time being, I have my hands full with handing my work over to my assistant before I move to my new job. As soon as I start, I will fly to Singapore for training and orientation, and yearly regional meeting (the timing was great). I can't wait! Never been to Singapore, and I will have some free time to explore. No idea what to see, haven't gotten around reading up on it, so suggestions welcome.

And that is all for the time being. Talk to you later! :)