Ramadan Mubarak

Gentle Readers,

A few of you have been pestering me to update. The problem is, theres not much to report from the home front. Not much of significance at least.

The weekend quickly came and went. It being the first weekend of Ramadan, the campus was more dead than usual, as everyone returned home to be with their families. Ed, his neighbor Zaid, a guitarist named Seth and I sat in the courtyard of Ed's building Thursday night smoking Cuban cigars, eating Chinese food and jammin' with the guitar and a harmonica. It was quite the relaxing night I'd been needing.

All of the nightclubs and many of the bars across the country are closed for the next thirty days in recognition of the holy month, however, all hotel venues are still open. Last night, Ed, Saad, and I paid a visit to the Kempinski, our new stomping grounds until the Outside Inn re-opens. I must say, quite the nice place; quiet, on the beach, and shitty American bar food (though food nor beverage are served before 7pm). It reminded me of the glory days of luxe travel in the 60's. Think, One Mint Julep by Ray Charles playing in the background; if you don't know it, look it up. I'm looking forward to the coming month:

http://www.kempinski-ajman.com/shared/nps/vtours/beach_night.mov

http://www.kempinski-ajman.com/shared/nps/vtours/poolbar_night.mov

http://www.kempinski-ajman.com/shared/nps/vtours/sabellas_outside.mov

*To view links: highlight and copy paste to address bar

On campus, Life is a little difficult as it is illegal to be seen eating in public during daylight hours. On the bright side, it'll be a easy month on the food bill.

My first 10 day break is rapidly approaching. With Eid break just three and a half weeks away and no solidified plans (I refuse to buy a plane ticket 'til I get my passport back from UAE immigration), I am really working on my comfort level with the phrase fly by the seat of your pants. Currently, I'm planning on soaking up some rays on the beaches of Sri Lanka. It'd be nice to hit up a diving excursion too. Right now, it looks like I can get by for the 10 days on just 450 dollars including airfare. Thats my kind of vacation.