Update from Dubai

First of all, I want to thank you all for the wave of unprecedented encouragement. It was phenomenally reassuring and comforting to have your collective support. I'm currently sitting in the airport terminal in Dubai, waiting for the third and final leg of my flight to Tanzania. This airport is quite a unique experience. Not only is this my first time out of the US (with the exception of a visit to Canada while I was still in a stroller) but this airport is unlike any other airport ever visited. It feels actually more like a cross between a shopping mall and a bazaar in many respects. There are some small, cute shops selling nuts and hookahs and genie-esque lamps; next to these will be massive, department store sized behemoths catering a variety of consumer needs. The most common stores were sold duty-free cigarettes and alcohol (usually with a small candy selection as well), and would have at least eight available checkout lines.

However, reminding me that I'm not completely isolated from the American lifestyle, I found two Starbuckses, a McDonalds, and a Burger King. The Starbuckses and Burger King seemed fairly ordinary (no surprises on the menu), though the McDonalds had a few new options including a “McArabic Chicken.” I decided that this was one of those things better left un-tasted. I have, so far, been very pleasantly surprised by the food provided to me on Emirates Airlines. On the 12-hour flight from New York to Dubai, I received a surprisingly good Indian lamb dish, which, because of crossing nine time zones, was followed by breakfast (another nice Indian dish, which included potatoes in a curry sauce and a variation on scrambled eggs). Not thinking about how the time zones were changing, I ordered a martini at 10:30 p.m. EST, moments before the breakfast was served at 7:30 a.m. Dubai time. And so, breakfast became brinner, and the world was good.

My flight to Tanzania is boarding, so I must go. Best wishes to all of you.