We're in Dubai!!!

After many months of planning, packing, preparing and praying, we are finally in Dubai! This place is unbelievable indeed! We arrived, after two flight delays and 14 hours in the sky, in the late hours of Friday evening (Dubai time). The staff welcomed us and took us to our new home which was only minutes away. We slept a bit, then awoke early to unpack, etc. We spent Saturday shopping for needed items for our apartment, and basic grocery items. We have now been to 3 different malls, and they are all unreal! Every kind of store you can imagine, and Mirdiff City Centre is only a short walk from our apartment.
Now, after working at school the past 4 days, learning everyone's names, trying to set up new phones/internet/etc , blood and x-ray tests, blowing an X-Box AC adapter, shopping every day for something, adjusting to being 8 hours ahead of NC time, remembering to not open a bottle of water in public (because of Ramadan right now), learning to be more enunciated when talking so people understand us, getting used to sunrise at 5:30am, and many other NEW things I could go on and on about, we are feeling somewhat normal! The staff at school is FANTASTIC! Grant has met a new friend across the hallway, whose parents also teach at the school. We have eaten out every night, and enjoyed a dinner cruise with the new staff last night. Many of you are probably wondering about the heat, and yes it's hot, but this NC summer has indeed prepared us. As Blair puts it, "it's like opening an oven door, but once you're in, you get used to it." Honestly, for me, it's not as hot as I expected. There has been a bit of a breeze each day, and that helps tremendously. Well, guess that's enough for now. We'll be heading to the mall shortly, to go bowling, check on cell phones, buy a few groceries and have dinner. Thanks again for being interested in our journey, and know that we appreciate you all... If you ever thought of visiting Dubai, my suggestion: start working on your plane tickets now... it's really pretty incredible!