I will pool my thoughts on the political debate I’ve been having in my head soon enough, I promise. Many of you have – and continue to – ask for a sort of ‘brief’ on the already mentioned idea of Jewish fear/identity that I touched on in several personal conversations, referenced in a couple of my Beirut dispatches. I promise that blog entry is coming. In the next couple of days, I’ll force myself to do this, but for now am still enjoying the residue of Dubai that sits on my skin.

And here’s a little bit of that for you…

Mornings handed me quiet swims in the Arabian Gulf, lunch offered fresh grilled fish and vegetables, afternoons took my money to shopping malls and evenings swallowed whole by family.

Although it was a much too short trip, it was one I needed desperately and which went to prove that I simply can not stay in one place for too long. Had originally made a promise that I would not travel for a year, but that took flight a few months back and I’m a happier girl for it.

Wanderlust is something I believe I’ve finally come to terms with, quite happily.

Most interesting about this trip to Dubai was that it was the first during which I’ve ever beached. My trips always amount to discovery; a lot of walking, hiking, walking, walking and walking…with the occasional run for a bus or a train or a car or some place where I can plant my ass and take a break. There’s always a full schedule with things to do, sites to visit, restaurants to sample and people to meet up with. To better understand how I usually travel, just visit my 35 things to do in London, and forgive that your webMum obviously needs to learn how to relax.

But not this time. In fact, I would say that this time, I could have taught people how to relax, as my entire trip sort of reminded me of Baby J’s retelling of her vacation to Hawaii. And if anyone knows how to relax, it’s Baby J. Although I can’t remember which part of Hawaii it was, it sounded like a paradise, filled with great music and food, where everyone surfed during the day and sat out on the beach at night, eating and drinking. (Sounds like the ideal place to live, not merely vacation.)

Swimming in the morning was a little surreal. Since I was alone with the water for the most part (except for one morning), it felt like I had the entire beach to myself. My uncle didn’t know because he feared I’d get sunstroke (for God’s sake!) and so this was kept quiet, and before the kids woke. There was no one out in the waters and I would lay out on the beach like a little whale, or should I say swan? or maybe a seal? do they beach? Anyway, whatever animal it was, I was imitating it quietly and happily. I didn’t think about anything or anyone or Beirut or Palestine or politics or even tomorrow.

And then there was the outdoor shower, something I’d never used before. Now I want one in my backyard, even when it snows. Actually, especially when it snows. The water is scalding, and in the desert heat one would think that a bit of a nightmare when it is, in fact, ideal. You have the hot air, the hot sun, and the hot sand between your toes and then this boiling water pouring over you.

Obviously, I enjoyed “beaching” and being completely unaware of the world outside. Don’t know when I’ll have the chance to do that again, but right before I left for Beirut, H had finally officially purchased that home in the Azures, and she’s invited me up for New Year’s celebration. It would be friends from all over the world, doing nothing more than excessive drinking and lounging, it sounds. After this recent experience, that seems the perfect holiday and is something am seriously considering at the moment.

Wrap up on Beirut coming soon, I promise.

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