This is my last post before I come home for Christmas. AH! I have a lot to talk about before I go. *Also, some of these paragraphs were written on different days, so the time scale is a little wiggity wack, but it's aight.*
Yesterday, for the first time, I got to float around in the air uncontrollably for 60 seconds. Twice. Yes, I went indoor skydiving, which is really a deceptive name for it. There was no diving involved, nor parachutes and harnesses. I just fell face-first off of a little platform into a little round chamber, below which was a giant steel net and a giant wind generator. As soon as I fell into the chamber, the air would catch the flappy extraness of my loose flying-suit and I would take to the air like a flying squirrel. And, actually, for my first flight I felt quite like a flying squirrel. It was nearly impossible to focus on my arms and legs with the powerful gusts pushing on every centimeter of my suit; I could just feel my disembodied head trying (and probably failing) not to look too stupid in front of the 14 other faces watching me as my cheeks rippled back and I forced a smile just to keep my mouth still. Also, I faceplanted into the wall, hard. Then came attempt number two. After landing, I had the chance to watch everyone else fly again and I noticed that the most successful flying happened when people looked like a tacky superhero. So, for my second flight, I pretended I was Superman, shooting off to the far corners of the globe to save humanity or something; ...it was incredible! After a highly successful mission of outspeeding airplanes and beating up bad guys, I landed back in the queue and knew that I had saved the world.
...
On the exact opposite side of the emotional spectrum: You know those dreams where you feel like you were abducted by aliens? And then you wake up and you know the aliens are still watching you? And you try desperately to forget the dream because the aliens can read your mind and if they find out you know too much they will activate their deadly trap against you? Yeah, I had one of those last night. And before I woke up I was in a kind of half-dream state for a while, so I could feel myself lying on my bed but it was burning and there were bright lights everywhere. When I woke up fully at 2:36am (or 2:56) I crawled to the opposite side of my bed and sang the Sailor Moon theme song in my head to try to calm down, all the while almost in tears expecting a hand to punch through the wall or my roommate to become possessed by them and turn against me.
Two nights ago I was walking back to Sama Tower from the Downtown Campus and Yannick showed me the BEST PITA BREAD PLACE EVER (wow, Yannick, you keep coming up in my blog. This is really just a coincidence, I promise I am not stalking you; well it's not entirely coincidence--you just happen to know all the awesomest things about Abu Dhabi). Ho my god, and it's only one dirham for the hugest slab of bread you've ever witnessed. And because Yannick goes there so often the owners let him cut in line because he only orders one piece while everyone else is ordering like freaking dozens of pieces for the best parties ever (presumably).
My final request from the spirits of the desert of Abu Dhabi before I leave for home next week is that I will be able to get in enough Christmas shopping amidst my cascade of essays and exams.
Yallah shukran bye!
Yesterday, for the first time, I got to float around in the air uncontrollably for 60 seconds. Twice. Yes, I went indoor skydiving, which is really a deceptive name for it. There was no diving involved, nor parachutes and harnesses. I just fell face-first off of a little platform into a little round chamber, below which was a giant steel net and a giant wind generator. As soon as I fell into the chamber, the air would catch the flappy extraness of my loose flying-suit and I would take to the air like a flying squirrel. And, actually, for my first flight I felt quite like a flying squirrel. It was nearly impossible to focus on my arms and legs with the powerful gusts pushing on every centimeter of my suit; I could just feel my disembodied head trying (and probably failing) not to look too stupid in front of the 14 other faces watching me as my cheeks rippled back and I forced a smile just to keep my mouth still. Also, I faceplanted into the wall, hard. Then came attempt number two. After landing, I had the chance to watch everyone else fly again and I noticed that the most successful flying happened when people looked like a tacky superhero. So, for my second flight, I pretended I was Superman, shooting off to the far corners of the globe to save humanity or something; ...it was incredible! After a highly successful mission of outspeeding airplanes and beating up bad guys, I landed back in the queue and knew that I had saved the world....
On the exact opposite side of the emotional spectrum: You know those dreams where you feel like you were abducted by aliens? And then you wake up and you know the aliens are still watching you? And you try desperately to forget the dream because the aliens can read your mind and if they find out you know too much they will activate their deadly trap against you? Yeah, I had one of those last night. And before I woke up I was in a kind of half-dream state for a while, so I could feel myself lying on my bed but it was burning and there were bright lights everywhere. When I woke up fully at 2:36am (or 2:56) I crawled to the opposite side of my bed and sang the Sailor Moon theme song in my head to try to calm down, all the while almost in tears expecting a hand to punch through the wall or my roommate to become possessed by them and turn against me.
Two nights ago I was walking back to Sama Tower from the Downtown Campus and Yannick showed me the BEST PITA BREAD PLACE EVER (wow, Yannick, you keep coming up in my blog. This is really just a coincidence, I promise I am not stalking you; well it's not entirely coincidence--you just happen to know all the awesomest things about Abu Dhabi). Ho my god, and it's only one dirham for the hugest slab of bread you've ever witnessed. And because Yannick goes there so often the owners let him cut in line because he only orders one piece while everyone else is ordering like freaking dozens of pieces for the best parties ever (presumably).
My final request from the spirits of the desert of Abu Dhabi before I leave for home next week is that I will be able to get in enough Christmas shopping amidst my cascade of essays and exams.
Yallah shukran bye!
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