My first post... FINALLY!

Dear all:
I apologize for the long delay! Had anybody asked me before I left if it would taken me this long to add my first blog post, I would have never imagined so! Anyhow, here I am. As you can all imagine, adjusting to life in a different world is never wasn't meant to be easy, and at some points, it really wasn't! In the days that follow, I will be sharing bits and pieces of information that I believe that people will find most interesting. What would be best, however, would be if you all ask me question either via email or directly on the blog, this way I can answer them for everyone to see. As for pictures, they will be a bit slow to come for a very good reason: the humidity ruined my camera! That's right, I went out on a boat for a day and my camera case got a little wet, but being that it's a waterproof case, I figured that it wouldn't effect the camera. It turns out, however, that the humidity built up inside the case and the camera just went wild. Now it has a mind of its own and works when it wants to work. Where does this bring me? Unexpected expense #1: a new camera! Anyway, here are some of the photos that I took on that little boat trip two weeks ago. I was thinking of you all, of course!!!!
This is a photo of the boat that we went out on. The international mix here is truly UNBELIEVABLE, probably unlike anything anywhere else in the world. On that day, I went out on a boat with two Americans, two New Zealanders, and one Englishman. The boat belonged to an English guy. Very cool man. Living here is totally cheap. Anyone here with a descent job can afford the real amenities, like this guy with his boat. I even drove the boat, which was the first time that I've ever done that. It was amazing!
This is a photo that I took on one of the many, many islands surrounding Abu Dhabi. It was a big, natural patch of sand. I specify that because here it's difficult to distinguish between which islands are natural and which are man-made. The building here is incredible. There are cranes everywhere and buildings going up like mad!

This was my island hopping buddy. She's also American (from Las Vegas). She kept me going all along the coast of that little island until I got tired out and made us head back!

A little about my living quarters. There are tons of apartments that the staff live in, and whatever reason, I totally lucked out with where I live. There are four of us in our apartment. It is huge and is in one of Abu Dhabi's premier buildings, and the trade-off is that we live in 4 instead of the other apartments that only have two people. We are also the farthest away from work, which means a 45-minute bus ride to and from work. Here are some pics of the apartment:

Kitchen, of course...

Living room...

Dining room (our table has become our makeshift ping-pong table, as well)...

The big empty hallway. I still haven't quite figured out why there's a batman poster there, but apparently it has something to do with the teacher's that lived here last year. As for the bare white walls in the rest of the apartment, could you expect anything less from four guys living together??? We need a push to decorate, but right now we all have no money because our first payday is next Thursday!!!

I don't think I will ever live in a bigger apartment. There are five full-sized bathrooms for four people that live here! It is immaculate.

This is a date tree, which is the famous product that grows here. They're very, very good and also naturally sweet, which is why I only tried one. Having anymore would send my famous hypoglycemia into a total fit!

Anyhow, I will cut it short for now. It is 8PM and I'm getting ready to head out, but stay tuned! I just wanted to set this up and share a few pictures. There are plenty, plenty more things to share with you. There is an 8 hour time difference between Abu Dhabi and NY, and it will become 9 hours when the clocks change because the UAE does not change its time.

I'm really relying on many of you posing questions so that I can answer them for all to see. Any finally, for those who are wondering, I have yet to see a camel... That may change next week however, when I head out to the desert in Oman...
Thanks!
- Paul : )