If nothing else, this photo-a-day challenge is showing you that being an expat isn't always traveling around and exploring new and exotic places. Most days are just the same, old thing - just as it would be wherever you are, whether your home country is the US, the UK or anywhere else in the world! I guess the difference here is the scenery.
Downtown Al Ain is certainly not flashy sky scrapers like you would find in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It has a much more middle eastern feel - a bit similar to what I saw when I visited Morocco aaaaages ago. It sort of looks like it has been completely unchanged since the 70s, which is probably the case since that's about when the UAE began to be modernized.
To be completely honest with you, I really don't like downtown Al Ain. It makes me feel very uncomfortable, and I avoid it as much as possible! I am getting a little more used to it as the routes Bryn likes to take go straight through those areas, but you won't catch me going there on my own. (That being said it's not a safety issue...it is perfectly safe here!).
Yesterday I wanted to go to the fabric shops to look for some fabrics for a couple of little projects I have in mind, so I asked Bryn to stop by there on our way home from having a coffee at the mall (Caribou Coffee's gingersnap mocha...mmmmm). The light was so pretty along the roads that I had to try and get a picture on my phone! Unfortunately the photo doesn't do it justice, and the dirty windshield certainly doesn't help! You'll just have to take my word for it!
It's crazy how views like this one no longer seem foreign to me, just as the sight of shrines and temples became very normal after five years of living in Japan.
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