Home

After two long years I am finally home. On first inspection, nothing had changed at all, other than the multitude of new buildings that had crept up against the Dubai skyline. On taking a closer look though, a lot has changed. It's still home nonetheless, and a very comfortable home at that, where I can eat a nice, spicy Sri Lankan meal instead of Ramen every night, where I can walk the streets at 4 am and not have to worry about my safety, and where old friends are waiting to welcome me back.

I've been here only a few days and a sandstorm that has apparently come in from either Saudi Arabia or Iraq has prevented me from really going out and enjoying myself. As if the heat wasn't enough to contend with, the thick layer of dust in the air has left me coughing and sneezing incessantly.

From the moment I landed, it felt like I had never left. Friends were doing the exact same things they were doing when I left and my house looked exactly the same. Well my parents did throw out most of my belongings thinking I wasn't coming back for a while, but life had not changed one bit; I had.

Although I talk mostly about Dubai, I live in the emirate of Sharjah, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Not much is said about this emirate since Dubai has remained in the spotlight for quite some time so I'm going to make sure I highlight as much as I can about Sharjah as well in the blog.

While Dubai is overly modernized, Sharjah has maintained some of its antiquity while transitioning into the new age. Instead of rambling on I'll let the pictures show you my life here. Below are pictures of my sisters cat Joey, the area I live in, and the local vegetable and fish
markets.