My Kind Of Weekend

My weekend has officially come and gone, but what a great one it was! It was the perfect balance of fun, sun, exercise, food, friends, adventure, sleep...and a wee bit of wine :)

I'm now on service training, which takes place in the evening, so Thursday night was spent in training college until nearly midnight. Friday was beautiful in Dubai, and I took full advantage of the 80 degree weather and caught some rays on top of our building with a group of girlfriends. I'm trying to start incorporating the whole running thing back into my life, so I spent a little time Friday on the good ol treadmill. That evening a group of about ten girls all went out for dinner and drinks at this super cute restauraunt right on the water. Watching the sunset above the water and yachts was absolutely gorgeous!

This afternoon my two friends Charlotte (English) and Charlene (Irish) and I went on our very first desert safari! We really weren't too sure what to expect, but saw the deal on Groupon, and decided that dune bashing, camel rides, and a traditional Arabic barbecue for only 200 durams ( about 55 US dollars) was a fairly good deal. An adventure guide picked us three up from our apartment in a land rover equipped with roll bars on the outside and extra safety handles on the inside. A middle aged couple who were vacationing from India were also inside the suv with us girls. We drove about twenty minutes outside the city into the legit, I cannot see any signs of life, desert before we came to a randomly placed, hole in the wall convienince store where we were instructed to use the bathroom before we began our adventure. Following this, the six of us loaded back up into the land rover and we drove about five minutes further before the driver pulled off the road and right onto the sand. He was a man of very few words, so he turned around and very matter of factly told us to remain seat belted at all times, and that if we puke we pay a 300 Durham fine. With that, he turned back around, shifted into drive, and hit the pettle! I've experienced some adrinaline rushes in my life, but NEVER have I ever experienced anythig like this. It was non stop craziness for a solid 20 minutes. It was full speed up sand dunes, down the other side, donuts on the side of mounds, and slamming down incredibly hard after flying off of peaks. I cannot even begin to come up with ways to describe this insanity. With that being said, I loved it! At one point my body, as well as all of my belongings, were being tossed around so much that we resembled little shirts in the dryer, my Capri sun being one of those items. At the time I was honestly not sure if the violent tossing had caused my juice box to spill on me, or if I had just wet myself. Jury is still out on that one!

After that little joyride we were brought to the campsite with about 100 other tourist. One of the main things I was excited about doing at the campsite was riding the camels, which I did do as soon as we arrived. I reverted back into a 6 year as I literally ran to get in line for a ride. I do like animals, but I've never been a huge huge animal lover, so I have no idea where my camel fascination came from, but I was seriously dying to ride these beasts. It just felt so Sex and The City II ish!

After my camel ride, us girls went inside the dinner area were they had lots of touristy activities (henna paintings, Arabic costumes, tea tasting) in which I fully partook in!

Just as the sun was setting over the sand dunes, the meal portion of the evening began. We started out with appitizers consisting of small pitas stuffed with chicken and vegetables. After our appetizers, there were a few different entertainers who came out and performed traditional dances, very talented. We were then invited to eat the main dinner that was served buffet style. The meat was definitely the best part, as they had been grilling chicken and beef kabobs on these massive grills for the past hour and they smelled heavenly. Other then the meat we were served hummus, rice, potato soup, and various fresh vegetables. By the time we finished it was completely dark out. And I do mean completely dark. The desert at night is not a place I enjoy too much! It got very cold and windy. As I type I'm still crunching on sand in my mouth...yummy!!!

So that pretty much was my weekend in a nut shell. Can't say I've ever really had one like it :)

Side note, my computer is on the fritz. That does mean I just wrote this entire post with my iPhone...impressed?

The Most Shallow Day Of My Life

So as my title states, today was in fact the most shallow day of my life, in Emirates language it was Image and Uniform Day. In all reality the day was pretty fun, and a welcomed break from SEP and medical training. It's just that I think I've spent more time today thinking about my hair, makeup, and nails than I cumulatively have throughout the course of my whole entire life!

Last Thursday we received our luggage, shoes, and most importantly, our uniforms! Today marked the first day we actually wore them. I must admit, it was pretty awesome putting on the emirates outfit this morning. Probably would have been a lot cooler had it not been 5 A.M. My class arrived at training college bright and early, and were greeted by two grooming specialists, who of course encompassed the Emirates look to a T. The room was surrounded by mirrors, bright lighting, huge bottles of hair spray, and a display of Clairens makeup large enough to make me question whether I was at training college or Macy's cosmetic department. During the morning session we discussed skin care methods, appropriate jewelry, and various Emirates' approved hairstyles. After the sessions, we were instructed to touch up our hair and makeup, and then line up for our image checks, dun dun dooon! So after nervously waiting in line, I stood before the perfectly groomed trainers as they carefully examined me. After doing several twirls, removing my jacket, and closing both eyelids for a closer look at my makeup, it was determined that my skirt is about a half inch too short and must be himmed to meet company standards, my makeup was perfect (thank you, thank you), and that my dark roots needed to be "delt with." These finding were all noted in my company file, and away I was sent for lunch. During the afternoon we discussed nail care, and then spent an hour polishing, buffing, and painting our nails. Then, following a talk on physical health and fitness (aka please don't get fat), our session ended.

So I figured while I had time, and since I was already on a vanity role, I'd go deal with my roots. So thankfully after today my nails are bright red, and my the top of my hair is a shade blonder.

In other news, I'm really hoping the good Lord above decide to take me home today because I'm pretty sure if I had to stand in front of Him and answer when He asks, "So, Kelsey, what did you do to better the Earth on your last day?" I would not be able to come up with one flipping thing. I feel pretty, oh so pretty....

Happy Valentine's Day

As you may have read on facebook, yesterday (or today, depending upon which time zone you're in) was Valentine's Day. Although I don't exactly have a significant other sending me chocolates and flowers, I try not to get too caught up in the whole cliché "I'm single, I hate Valentine's Day," bandwagon. I even busted out my red- heart underwear for the occasion!

This week's training has been focused on medical issues onboard. Luckily, I've been a lifeguard since I was 16 and already have a lot of basic knowledge on how to handle heart attacks and chocking, perform CPR, cool burns, apply direct pressure to cuts, etc. Interesting side note, although different countries use variations of CPR techniques, Emirates uses the American Heart Association's method because globally the US has the highest rates of heart attacks, therefore has done the most research (thanks McDonalds).

Yesterday's topic, which just so happened to coincide with Valentine's Day, was childbirth. Yes, this did involve watching an actual real life birthing video. It actually made me very grateful to be flying solo on Valentine's Day, and any other day for that matter. The way I see it, if that's what "love" leads to, then leave me the freak out! Clearly this video left an impression on me, and I'm still disturbed. Prior to watching this featured presentation, we all got the chance to deliver the baby via the prego mannequin, complete with umbilical cord and placenta! One word: SICK!

Week in Review

1-I passed my Safety and Emergency Procedures (SEP) section of training!

2-I celebrated passing my SEP...a lot! Fun weekend for sure! Thursday night I went out with a group of girls to a fun night club called The Lounge. Friday I went to an all inclusive brunch that lasted untill about 7:00 p.m. Saturday was my recovery day, which involved a lovely dinner out to a local restuarant called Coco's with my friend Charlene.

3-I've deveoped an intense addiction to Nutella since I've been over here. I could eat in it in a car, in a house, with a fox, or with a mouse!

4- I was literally heart broken when I woke up to find out Whitney Houston died this morning. That woman has seen me through many a break ups! I got dressed this morning listening to Step By Step, It's Not Right But It's Ok, and, obviously, I Will Always Love You.

5-This morning I had to get Vaccinations for both Typhoid and Hepatitis A. My arms are sore and my neck is stiff, and I'm feeling slightly flu like ish!

6-I'm not a big TV watcher, however, I have missed having at least a little mindless entertainment in my life. Thankfully, a girl who lives in my building has loaned me ALL The Office seasons! I'm in Heaven!

7-Today I started the Group Medical Training section of training. It seems to be easier than the last two weeks, however, the session goes from 3:45-11:30 each night this week. That might be a little rough, even for this night owl.

A Big Win

Exactly a week ago training started in full swing, and I have pretty much had my nose in my flight manual every since then. Studying is a foreign concept to me. I was always a fairly average student in school, I never was one to spend long hours in the library reading chapters and chapters of textbooks. So this whole studying thing is not my forte, to say the least!

However, I have gone through flight attendant training, and know that there is no other way around passing the tests than studying my arse off! So with the exception of two dinners out with friends this weekend, I was in full-blown study mode! Today we had our first comprehensive test on safety procedures, and I passed with a 100%! I would have been more than happy with an 80% (the just passing mark), so I was elated when I found out I had a perfect score!

One of the things I was most dreading about going through flight attendant training again was practiceing ditching, or landing in water. One of my top 5 least favorite things in this world is swimming, bathing, being splashed, etc by cold water. Fact: In 2008 when I worked at Cascades, a summer camp in Seattle, on a lake, I was the sole counselor who did not enter the water all summer long on account of it being freaking freezing! So last Thursday was the dreaded day that my group had to jump out of a raft, fully clothed into an indoor pool that was all of about 35 degree in order to "get us used to the water in a real life situation." Whatever! Anyways, I jumped, I shivered in the water for a good five minutes, and I lived to tell about it, but am VERY glad that part is behind me!

Side note, I miss fresh, inexpensive, quality meat, fruits, and vegetables! It's all imported, and all of the produce seems to be drenched in preservatives. No good!

A little shout out to one of my very favorite people in this world, Kristen Bell! Happy Birthday my beautiful friend!!!!