The soccer field just outside my window
It's always hard to believe it when it happens. The weather actually does change in Dubai from time to time. Every now and then a few clouds appear in the sky and the weather becomes quite pleasant. The part that is hard to believe is when the clouds turn gray and the sky begins to pour sheets of rain. It has been raining off and on for 5 days and Dubai is flooding! Who would have thought it would ever rain like this in the desert. I have been in Dubai for three years now and never have I seen this much rain. The problem isn't how fast the rain is coming down, the issue is that Dubai does not have a sewer system or gutters on buildings. As I drove to school this morning at 6:30am I wondered if I was going to find a small lake in my classroom. I was one of the lucky ones... the school driveway looked like a river, the parking lots looked like lakes and many of the classroom in the high school and middle school were taking in water. Thank goodness for 1/2 days of school. The children were leaving at 12:30 because of a teacher workshop day. Consequently it wasn't just the children that were able to leave at 12:30. Not only was school canceled for the rest of the day but they have already canceled school for tomorrow too! Wednesday wasn't the only day school was canceled this week. It was also canceled yesterday when our fearless leader GW himself graced us with his presence in Dubai for a Middle East Peace Conference. With the level of security that was needed for his arrival and this conference to take place, all major roads were closed in Dubai from 6 am- 6pm. You might be asking yourself, "How can someone leave their house when all major roads are close?" The answer is, you can't! Therefor, Dubai declared January 14, 2008 and public holiday so school was canceled and no one had to leave their house in honor of George Bush. Now those snow days that I have been jealous of for the last 3 years have come to me in the form of rain and George Bush. Enjoy the photos!
