One Rising Star

Today, I had my first "shopping" experience in Karama. This area is best known for selling counterfeit branded goods for very cheap. Bags, clothes, watches…whatever you want, they have it. I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but I looked at many items and I could not tell that anything was a knockoff. Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Lacoste...everything looked real to me. I even had a guy prove to me that a bag was made out of real leather, by him using a lighter on it. I don’t know if this is true proof, but I heard this was the way to know. Almost immediately, I had mixed feelings about the market I was in. Part of me wanted to buy things because they were so cheap and they looked so real. Another part of me was thinking about how illegal it is for them to be selling and for me to be buying these things. Some part of me was thinking about how the people who made these things were so poorly paid. Then, I thought about how I would be supporti

On Thursday, November 29th I made my way to Abu Dhabi (for the first time) with a few of my new friends. It was a last minute planned trip for me, but it ended up being a great 2-day getaway!  I found Abu Dhabi to be a very interesting place. It seemed to me like a great mixture of old and new, shabby and chic. While I was there, I got the opportunity to experience the nightlife, visiting some great places in a few of Abu Dhabi's beautiful hotels. Emirates Palace in particular was no doubt the nicest place I have ever set foot into!  Besides experiencing the nightlife, I treated myself to a manicure, some amazing meals, a nice walk along the Corniche (near the water) and some market time. The Central Market and The Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre were among my stops. Besides Emirates Palace, another thing that really took my breath away in Abu Dhabi was the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. I did not get the opportunity to visit it yet, but when the sun goes

It was Thursday, November 22nd 2012. I was getting ready to go to work when I glanced outside and I noticed that it was darker than it usually was at that time in the morning here in Dubai. I walked out the doors of my apartment building when all of a sudden I saw...drops of RAIN!  Dubai is in the desert. People have told me so many times that rain is a very rare thing here. I've only been living here for 3 months and already, I've been able to witness rain twice! Now, to be honest, the first time was just a few tiny drops, but this time...DOWNPOUR!!! I was driving to work with two of my friends and colleagues and the rain was insane! For a short little while, I felt like I was in a rainstorm back in Canada. Unfortunately, most people here don't drive like the people back in Canada. On our way, we saw 2 accidents, many cars driving just as fast as they would in good weather conditions, but also many cars pulling off to the side because they&#

I’ve been on a mission lately to see all 7 New World Wonders. Before moving to Dubai, I had already seen the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brasil, Machu Picchu in Peru and Chichen Itza in Mexico. When I found out that I had a 5 day break in October, I knew that I needed to go to the close country of Jordan to finally see Petra, my fourth Wonder. Now, I must admit, all I knew about Jordan before leaving was that the capital is Amman, you can float in the healthy waters of the Dead Sea and there is an old city carved in rock called Petra. I definitely got more than I bargained for! Jordan is a place with beautiful landscapes, beautiful people and a beautiful, spiritual history. The man who took us around during our stay was a passionate, spiritual, hard-working man. He showed great pride and joy towards his city, his country and his religion. He repeatedly tried to show that people of different cultures and religions can live side by side, respecting each others traditio

Many people have been asking me how things are going in Dubai and the truth is: things have been difficult! It’s not easy leaving everything behind, moving to a new country, starting a new job and making new friends. After almost 2 weeks, I still have no internet, no car and very little furniture in my apartment. If I break down my day (from Sunday to Thursday), it looks something like this: I get up at 5:55 a.m., go to work, come home around 4:30-5:00 p.m., eat dinner (in my bed), do some work (in my bed), write in my journal (in my bed)…then, I go to bed (in my bed)!!! Ok, wait! I forgot to mention that I do go for a walk almost every night (not in my bed)! :) Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done some fun things as well! I’ve gone to many malls, I’ve had some great meals, I had a barbecue on the beach and I’ve met some pretty cool people. It’s obvious that moving away from everything you know will have it’s ups and downs, but one thing is for sure…I wi

Salam alikoum (Hello in Arabic) Well, I have made it to Dubai everyone! Here is a very QUICK breakdown of what I have been doing or noticing since I arrived in Dubai. 1 .      The long trip The trip was very long; I left from the Buffalo airport, stopped in Chicago, Houston and Doha before arriving in Dubai. I won’t lie…it was painfully long. Seeing my apartment when I arrived though made it all worth it! 2.      TID (THIS IS DUBAI) Dubai is not the most organized place I have visited. Thankfully, many people had warned me about it so I wasn’t too surprised. People are often late and plans change all the time! 3.      The truth behind the glitz and glamour Behind all the nice big buildings and the beautiful malls are lots of labor workers who are underpaid and mistreated. I am blown away! 4.      Shop till you drop I’ve gone to the malls way too many times since I arrived, but I still don’t think I have made my way completely through any of them sin

I know many of you want to know how my trip to Orlando went, so here I go... The 2012 Zumba Instructor Convention officially kicked off on Thursday, August 9th 2012, but I was anxious to start my "ZUMBACATION", so I got right in on the action Wednesday, August 8th 2012! I started with some much needed shopping followed by a Master Class with the great Alejandro from China-Venezuela! Thursday morning, I woke up early and waited in line for the Zumba Outlet Store to open...At 6:15 a.m. I was already sitting in line! I finally got in the store around 9:15 a.m.!!! I made my way to the official kick-off where I was lucky enough to hear some great people speak and some very inspirational stories. Already, I was feeling the Zumba Love! In the afternoon, I had my very first workshop, which was Brazilian Carnival! I LOVED IT!!!! I got to do some samba...more samba...and more samba! At night, we were invited to attend a "Party in Pink Fitness Concert". The venue was

When I was younger I dreamt about visiting Mexico. I had an apparent passion for learning Spanish and new things about the latin culture. Little did I know, this passion would go far beyond Mexico and Spanish.  5 years ago, I started teaching at an amazing French school called Pavillon de la jeunesse in Hamilton, Ontario. This school brought forth many challenges, but with every obstacle I surpassed, I learnt so much about myself and the World around me. I was lucky enough to work with a very multicultural group of kids who in the end probably taught me just as much as I taught them. Thank you to all the students and staff members I was privileged to work with in the last 5 years!   After my first year teaching, my passion for learning about new cultures and for helping others fuelled me to go on my first humanitarian trip. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time, but the experience was absolutely life changing. Within about 3 years, I went to the Domi