Skip to main content

Let it rain!

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're not use to these driving conditions. It's scary seeing all these people drive around you with little to no experience driving in rainy weather.

When we approached our school, we noticed that many roads were flooded! Yes, FLOODED! Obviously, because they don't often get rain here, they aren't exactly well equipped for such a downpour of water! We had to drive through some pretty big puddles to get to the staff parking lot. As we were driving in, we could not help but think that maybe, just maybe we would get a day off school! We were planning what we would do if we arrived and they sent us back home. A nice breakfast out was part of the consensus! 

Flooded football pitch.

Once we entered the school, I noticed that there was water everywhere! A classroom had been flooded, the football pitch was drenched and the little path between the primary and secondary buildings had become a river. Later on that morning, I witnessed some classes taking advantage of that little river. They created paper boats and had them floating in there! How cool!?

Paper boat floating in the rain that had fallen and created a river between buildings.
 In the end, the sun came out, they managed to clear out the water after a few hours and everything was pretty much back to normal (besides the one classroom that flooded).

So, although most people would think rain is not that exciting; witnessing the rain in Dubai on Thursday, November 22nd 2012 was an incredible experience! I’m already looking forward to the next time…if there will be a next time…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ready. Set. Go.

 “Once in a while, it’s good to challenge yourself in a way that’s really daunting.” Since returning to Dubai in January 2020, I have participated in numerous fitness events around the city, mostly in pairs, trios or teams of 4,5,6 athletes ( aside from our internal community weightlifting/powerlifting throwdowns ). Many of these events have challenged me with new formats ( e.g. Hyrox and Primal Race ), movemenents ( e.g. swimming and sled pulls ) and/or equipement ( e.g. the worm and the yoke ). Being part of a team has been a whole lot of fun, and I’ve been so incredibly blessed to team-up with some really good athletes who have pushed me to achieve great things, both in training and in competition. That said, for a little while now, I’ve sort of wondered what it’d be like to compete individually again. Are my body and mind still up for this kind of challenge?   Throughout my time living in Vietnam, from 2017 to 2019, I became fully invested in the sport of CrossFit. I thoroughly enj
Post a Comment
Read more

The power of a PAUSE

 “Don’t underestimate the power of a PAUSE; it allows you to reflect, recharge and refocus.” We live in such a fast pace world. These days, when people ask how we’re doing, we regularly say “I am so busy!” and “I am so tired!” When we are not occupied, we think something is wrong, we feel lazy, and we immediately try to find things to do to fill up our time. We’re constantly looking to move forward; to go, go go and to do, do, do. Why is it so difficult to stop and take a break? For me personally, when I am in ‘work mode’, my routine is pretty consistent; work, gym, eat, sleep, repeat. In the past, I was really hard on myself when I didn’t feel productive and accomplished, but over the last few years, I have really tried to look for and embrace ‘down time’. Now, I am more aware of my needs and my boundaries. I am capable of laying on the couch and watching TV without feeling guilty. I can also turn down weekend plans if I don’t feel like socialising and would prefer to have a restful n
Post a Comment
Read more

Jack of all trades, master of none

  “Sometimes we strive so hard for perfection that we forget that imperfection is happiness.” At a very young age, my parents signed me up for ice skating. They invested lots of money over the years, on skates, outfits, coaches, private lessons, and competitions, and I of course invested lots of time into improving my skills. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, you could find me at the ice rink most days, trying to prepare for my next test, competition or show. Now, I was a decent skater, but realistically, I wasn’t on a path to the Olympics. Once I went off to university, some difficult choices needed to be made, and for some reason, I decided to quit skating and invest more time in my education and career, as well as playing soccer during the summers. For several years after college, soccer became my main sport. Especially when I first moved to Dubai; I played indoor, outdoor, 7 aside, 11 aside, womens leagues and mixed leagues. Some weeks, I was playing 6 consecutive nights,
Post a Comment
Read more