Home Is Where The Heart Is

It's official - I am now a resident of the UAE.

What does that mean?

• I can now apply for an alcohol licence which means that I can go to a large supermarket full of booze, buy it and drink it at home
• I can get a full driving licence and be subjected to waiting in queues for hours in a government building to get it
• I am now, statistically, another single women living in Dubai amongst a growing sub-culture that come here for great job opportunities
• I don't have AIDS; the blood test that is done when you apply for residency is to check that you aren't HIV positive. Remember, we are talking about a country where homosexuality is illegal
• I can purchase property with the millions of dirhams that I've saved here

Now, officially I exist in a country where I haven't existed for 10 months.

Praise to Allah.