Different, but good different

Our first week…

From the second we reunited with James at the airport the past 6 weeks faded into the past and a feeling of calm washed over me. We were back together again, ready for a new adventure.

My first thought was, WOW, it’s really hot! I don’t think I’ve ever experienced heat like it. I can only describe it as having your hairdryer on full heat, full speed in your face. We soon cooled down in the car, after playing a game of Tetris trying to get all the cases in. We’ve bought a Ford Explorer which fits seven people in, it’s huge but will be great for us especially when we have visitors over from the UK. You definitely need a bigger car on the roads over here, my heart was in my mouth the first few times we drove but I’m getting used to it now. Honestly, I am not looking forward to driving on them myself.

After we dropped James’s friend off at home, we headed for our apartment, we can’t get into our new home until 30th August, so it’s an Air BnB for now. The Apartment is situated close to where we will be living in Townsquare. We wanted to get a feel for the area and used to the travel times between work and school. The Apartment is on a lovely complex, close to lots of really great neighborhood restaurants, which you can also order from on Deliveroo. There are plenty of shops and we can use the pool and play area too.

One thing that took a bit of getting used to was the ‘Call to Prayer’, we’re right across from the Mosque and it can be quite loud sometimes. Sienna referred to it as the ‘Mosque Alarm’ initially so we had to explain to her she couldn’t call it that.

My first visit to the supermarket was a bit of an eye-opener. The closest to us is Spinneys, which sells Waitrose products and I’d already been forewarned it was expensive. However, I was not ready for what greeted me. The exchange rate is currently around 4.34 AED to GBP. This is where I regretted my ‘I’ll just buy it there’ attitude before we left. We needed sunscreen and this was nearly 70 AED, £16. I now realised I need to stop converting the price, or it will drive me crazy. I’ve had a few good tips from some other Dubai Mums about where is best to get particular things from. Definitely a live-and-learn situation.

On our second day, we woke up in a sandstorm, another surreal moment. We carried on with our plans and headed to Tr88house for some fun activities with the kids. We did trampolining, laser tag, and mini golf, it was so much fun and the kids had a great time.

Next up was The Dubai Mall. It’s spectacular, no other words for it, from my point of view anyway. The kids loved Hamleys and the ice cream afterward. They were not overly impressed with the mall or the Dubai Dino. They were very impressed by the Burj Khalifa it is magnificent. We went back the following day after a quick trip to the uniform shop and Kite Beach.

On Wednesday we headed back over to Kite Beach with my friend Louise and her two girls. Louise has been amazing, and made my first week here not so daunting, and has given me so many tips to help us out. We went early before it got too hot. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. In the evening we ate at Maison Mathis, which is situated on the Arabian Ranches Golf Course. The food was so good and because we were at the golf club I was able to have wine with my dinner.

On Friday we got a taxi over to Louise’s for lunch. It was the first time I had used the Careem app to order a taxi, you can pick cash or card which I didn’t realise and had booked cash, another live and learn moment luckily he had a card machine. I also met Louise’s friend Lucy, who wrote down a list of everything I need to know about Dubai, where to shop for various things, good GPs, the best A&E to go to and the best shops. People here are so kind and always ready to help if they can, it’s made the first week a lot easier.

Saturday was IKEA day, we need to get a move on with ordering furniture for the new place. We didn’t see much so the search continues. I did get a salad bowl and a dustpan and brush though so all was not lost. Sienna also got her puppy, a nice fluffy one that she said will do until the real one arrives. She can be quite scared of dogs sometimes, I remember being the same when I was little.

At night we went to see the fountains on the Palm at Pointe. It did feel like we were at Disney again, just missing some fireworks. We went into Bar Social and the kids played pool and a few games, coincidently, the Everton match was on the big screen too.

Sunday came and our first week had gone so fast, we went to Fire Lake at the Raddison in Damac Hills for Sunday Roast and it was delicious. Definitely going to be trying to find the best in Dubai, this will take some beating though.

We ended the week perfectly with a little trip to the desert, which is about 10 minute’s drive from our Apartment. It was a stunning night, core memories made, even saw our first camel. They have their front two feet bound so they can’t run away. At one point Sienna and I had headed back to the car and the boys were still out in the dunes. I did start to panic when they looked like they were in the middle of the herd but all was well they said they got close, but not too close.

Toward the end of the week, the kids got a bit down about missing home and friends. It’s been hard for Zach as he has gone from playing out morning to night with all his friends to being in an apartment with no outside space or boys his age. I never thought it would be Zach that we worried about during this transition, he’s always been so excited since the whole process began. I’m sure once he’s at school and with a football team he will feel much better. For now, I’m doing everything I can to make them feel better, we have a few play dates and activities booked for the week before they start school. I hope one day they will look back and realise this move was as much for them as it was for us.