My Story in Dubai

you know that kind of trips you didn´t even thought of, like the destination was not on your bucket list but you went and it was amazing? That´s my story of Dubai. Though I wanted to write this blog already weeks ago, I just got in front of the computer now, in a bar on Bali :)

After 2 years of living in Germany and the last year being the toughest year in my life, I just knew that I urgently needed a break. Like a real break. If possible, in a totally different environment. As my friend from Dubai asked me when am I coming to visit them, that was it! :) The Universe sent me exactly what I needed. Thank you for that!

I will not describe how the sight seeing and the must sees were. My story is that I was privileged to hang out with the "locals" so I got to see their way of living, if I can say that. Quite a lot of things were going on exactly in the time of my staying there. But since my whole trip was in the spirit of being thankful, I should also write about things I really appreciated and was grateful for :)

1.) Friends of 9 years: I met Iztok in 2008 in Ljubljana. Almost neighbours. 9 years is a long time. They know a lot of your jokes/sayings and history when you were like very young :) In no hotel a paper like this would be waiting for you :) It´s written: "Nena #from Novo mesto to Munich, #from Munich to Kijev, #from Kijev to Dubai. Welcome." I arrived in the morning, totally exhausted and first went to bed for 10 hours :)

 2.) New friends: woman talk and walk on the beach, roadtrip to Abu Dhabi. Nastja was probably the best company at the moment. It´s not hard to exclude things at home when you are having that kind of fun :)Another interesting person, new friend, I met at the airport and we flew together from Kijev to Dubai. Talking for hours about all the possible topics, from philosophy, psychology, to movies I could not believe when the crew said that we are landing in Dubai in the next minutes! :) On the picnic I met girls from Slovenia with whom I spent the whole next day. So I am also thankful for this day full of laughter. It was like Sex in the City 3 or 4, hehe :)

3.) Picnic in the desert / sandstorm: the Slovenes in Dubai celebrate the 8th of February, our big national holiday, in the desert. They prepare a picnic and read the poems. What a luck for me, to experience even this. Seeing how cars like Mercedes are being rescued out of the send by a jeep. I saw somewhere in Dubai "Life is too short to drive a boring car." I guess the jeeps are considered not to be boring, hehe. Also our prime minister was there and we went to this meeting in some fancy golf place. But since he was my professor, it was not the first time I saw him :D Oh, I should not forget the sandstorm while we were driving in the city!

Rescuing cars out of the sand is like nothing special there. My friend in the jeep, picture taken by me :)

4.) Extremely friendly people/staff: that was such a balsam for my soul. Sales people at the groceries talk to you, smile at you. In a shopping mall in Abu Dhabi, where I was waiting for my friend in some book store, the salesman came to me and talked with me for about 20 minutes. Not intrusively, not at all. He just asked where do I come from, what I am doing in Abu Dhabi and recommended me couple of books. And then I recommended him couple of books :) I miss this attitude at home. Where people would take time for each other, and not being seen as just a number. The guy at the swimming pol (they have a swimming pool in front of their apartment building! :) was even cooler. I asked him to take one picture of me but he took his task very seriously and did a real photo shooting, hehe :) 

Chilling in the pool 

5.) Universe: so, these was my experience of Dubai. Somehow it was in the spirit of the Universe and love. And being grateful for exactly this trip, at this time and at that place!

“I was born to join in love, not hate - that is my nature.” This quote by Antigone came to my mind after the day in the desert. 

"Follow your soul, it knows the way."

What were your passions when you were 10 years old?

Oscar Wilde once said: "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."    When you look back on your life, what did you once love to do but somehow forgot about it later on? Which interests/hobbies and passions did you have as a 10 year-old kid? I think we knew pretty well back then who we were. At least I did. I was in love with reading, badminton, playing piano and inline skating. Only my skates went everywhere with me. Of course I discovered also later activities that make me enthusiastic: bike and hiking. In my best days 100 km per day were a piece of cake. I lived for cycling. And I liked to said that I am a person of many interests. But anyway, it can happen very fast that you simply forget about your passions. You forget about yourself. Searching for a job or working 9-18 for example. It´s scary, how fast one can become a "soon is weekend again" zombie! Additionally being in a new environment, where you first have to organize your life. And there you are, asking yourself what it is, that makes your soul dance. 

Hiking in Bavaria

Last summer I started playing piano again. What an irony, we even had a pianino in our living room, but somehow I haven´t played it since ages. Starting playing again was so amazing, I felt so alive again! Our brain is such a remarkable thing: the songs I played ages ago, are still there. People don´t say without a reason that piano is the most romantic instrument :) At the same time I began playing badminton again. Similar feelings. As if that voice would say to me: "That´s it. Why did you even stop?" Recently I have even learned some basics of squash. Reading is again frequently on my schedule. Oh, and hiking. What a perfect getaway in a big city! Even more exciting in snow. If I would have to choose 2 coolest things in Munich so far, they would without a doubt be skating through the city (also to work :) and ice skating on a frozen lake.
I believe we often forget that we only have couple of decades on this planet and that we should express ourself as much as possible. No matter what is going on in our life at some particular moment. Because retrospective, days like these are the ones that make us alive. And our souls sing. :) Do you also have some passions you forgot about? You should go do them! 

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."