The Progressive Masterpiece: Thrift Shopping

So, you realized you can't stop spending thirty dollars on blouses, forty on jeans and fifty on dresses- and who knows what on shoes.

...Or maybe you realized you don't want to?

Especially when you aren't wearing them as much as you had thought you would.

Look at this adorable classic film camera! Retails for an average of $60 or so. We ended up paying $20 at a group garage sale last summer for this beauty. Part of the film is still broken so most pictures are blurry, but come on, it's worth it.

Well then fear not! If you're trying to live on minimum wage and still look like a million dollars, then I might be able to help. I've worn all sorts of brands like Elle, Converse, Downeast and more while paying a tiny fraction of the cost. Thank goodness. Because I like clothes, a lot. And shopping is my favorite guilty pleasure. I don't have to wait for a huge paycheck because of this, all I need is twenty dollars for a cute outfit- sometimes, even less!

As summer begins, look out for large garage sale groups and such! Many will host them in their streets or town parks. See all this jewelry and those two vases? And the hats? We had everything stuff in one bag, and that bag cost us $2. That is all. That is not a joke.

Step One: Scouting
I like to be aware of my surroundings, and I get lost easily. So when I visit a new place, I have a tendency to go from the front to the back, look around, and know where I am. Scouting also has the elements of making a plan.

My shirt was $4 at Goodwill in Oregon. My pants were $3 at another thrift shop. Ka-ching!

This includes people as well. Is it crowded? I hate crowds, so I don't like shopping during the normal times, like Saturday afternoons. But even so, it's like Kohls on a normal day- maybe a few folks in line but that's it!

Did you bring anyone with you? You need to know what you are doing while thrift shopping. And shopping can get tiring for someone who doesn't enjoy it. I enjoy going a few places with Katie Barnes, because in the right mood, I can keep her going for a while and we can have a blast. But my preferred pal (sorry, Katie), is definitely my sister Jordyn. It's kind of our thing. My only objection is she doesn't always last long either- has to be the mood. But while Katie is sometimes more fun about shopping, Jordyn has the more proved skill. (Although Katie is getting REALLY good. She found me the cutest shirt last time!)

 Ignore the two lace dresses, as adorable as they are. And the far right one, because I bought it at H&M for about $7 dollars (their clothes aren't made of the best material but they DO have good sales!) Anyways, the five pieces on the left were all bought from thrift shops. The green army dress, the flower maroon, the teal (my sister bought a copy of that for three times the price because she bought at Target), the purple, and the zigzag one.

Do not bring anyone who gets super bored of shopping and will drag on you- thrift shopping is supposed to be fun. Kick them out. Don't bring anyone whiny, they'll annoy everyone else. Find someone with an open mind and open time!

If you look out for details at basic shops, that's not too hard, either! This outfit cost $22.36 about, total. And that includes the pretty necklace you can barely see- it was part of the above picture of jewelry. The pants were $8 after tax and I wish I had bought more because they are the best things ever. I got the shirt for $4 at Kohls during a sale day. Although it would have been less, because if you join their club, you are always getting 15-30% off extra! And the shoes were $10 that Katie bought me with a school discount.

Step Two: Purpose
Do you have one? Majority of the time, I go because I can spend like ten bucks and I need something to do. It's fun hunting for the perfect find. It's a bittersweet adventure when you are looking for something in particular- mostly because you don't know if you'll be able to find it there or not.

Thank you Jordyn for being a beautiful model. Now, there is the great occasion of finding lovely dresses. But for some reason, I've always found it fairly sparse to find very nice dresses at thrift shops. So if you still don't want to pay $20 but you can't find what you want, GO TO ROSS! I don't like most of their deals, but I got a bargain last time I went! I ended up buying all three dresses (with help of my mother, thank you!), and they ranged from $12.99- 16.99 all three).

You never know what to expect with a thrift shop because it's always changing and you never get the same thing twice. It's a blessing and a curse. So if you love it, you better go for it!
If you are going with a goal in mind, focus on that or you'll be distracted! Pleasantly distracted, but still. There's even a chance you might need to go a few different shops in order to find your necessities- but if you look a map over, they usually have a few shops on the same street. Two to three is your average!

My camera always sucks. But you can see this slinky piece Katie bought for $4! This picture does not do the velvet masterpiece justice.

Step Three: Know Your Limits/ Be Self-Aware
How much money can you spend? Twenty dollars is usually my max point- yes, I'm serious. I've gone away with two bags of stuff for less than ten dollars- that included mugs, shirts, a dress and old Disney music records. There's been a few times where I spend about twenty, and only come out with four things (Thanks, DI... they've upped their price! Pants are now $6. That is not a deal. It is a rip off).

Did I tell you I found (faux) two leather jackets, black and white, for $6 each on one occasion? It was my best day every, essentially. You can always find some cool pieces in the jackets shelves!

Money wise and stuff wise. I often buy the occasionally useless thing. I have a mug collection for goodness sake. Can your closet fit more stuff? Is there room on your nightstand? One of my goals is to toss something out every time I get something new- it becomes more of a trade. Granted, it doesn't always happen. But I do my best.

Self-Awareness includes what you are trying on. I bought an absolutely adorable and modest dress for $8 ( a splurge for me) once, and I never wore it. So consider this:
Do you think it looks good on you?
Is it comfortable, moveable?
Are you all right with how you have to put it on and take it off (I hate anything too tight)?
Does it fit you?
If not, do you have an idea how to fix it- and can you fix it?
Consider these carefully! I've made an exception once or twice and only sometimes does it work out. Think about what you take seriously about your wardrobe. Does it need to match with more than two items? Does it need to be comfortable? What matters to you? If not, don't do it. You must be positive you will wear it. Make sure it will work, and make sure there aren't any hidden stains you'll find out about after wearing it in public for a while.

There is always fun stuff to try out! But be careful: I've tried things on as a joke, only to realize they're actually kind of cool which suddenly becomes AMAZING and I end up buying them. EVERY TIME. Hopefully I'll learn my lesson soon!

Step Four: Brave it Out 
Self-Awareness comes in many forms.

Sometimes, you need to have the courage to try something different. I've been encouraged to do so  many times. And about half of those times, I end up buying the goofy thing I try on- even if I'm the one making myself try something stupid on. Sometimes, it just really works. If not, you do get a good laugh. But the thing is, you can look good and use things that you never thought you would- just give it a try!

Seriously, you just have to give it a try. You'll find a huge selection, and there are endless possibilities. But definitely give them a good look over before you take them to the register. Look for frayed threads and stains- look over the item at all angles. Putting it on can help as well.  And just to be safe, you don't know if you'll be able to get out the stain, so consider it carefully before you buy!

In addition to being brave: not all thrift shops have dressing rooms! Only the "nice" ones do. Wear a simple, easy and uncomplicated outfit to try things on and off whether there is someone by the mirror doing the same thing. Tip for trying on bottoms: Find a huge skirt, put it on over your clothes. Take off your own pants and try on whatever you want and then take off the skirt!

Speaking of skirts, I bought this adorable pleated thing at the thrift shop a short while ago for $3. The shoes were the same price. 

Step Five: Decision Time
So there are a lot of fun things to be found. But just because you found that great movie on VHS... are you really going to use it? Do you even still have your VHS machine? Decision time is such an ugly time, I know, but it must be done. I bought two leather jackets one day and it was the right decision. I bought two pants once and that was not the right decision. It depends on how much money you have, how much you are willing to use, and what you really want/need.

The main questions I ask myself are:
Are you going to regret it if you don't?
Do you know how you will use it?
How much do you really love it?

Both the jacket and the shoes were 50 cents each. The local Catholic Thrift shop does end-of-the-month sales with all clothing items just that price. I bought the skirt there as well, but I think at different times and it might have been $2-3 max. These are perfect condition pieces and I still absolutely adore them. 

And hopefully that helps you make your decision! Try out that new blouse or funky boy jeans. Try those platform shoes and wear them well!

Step Six: Brag it out!
I think this is rather obvious. I mean, seriously. How could you not? And still, you can do it subtlety- or not. All the time I'm asked where I get my clothes. "Thrift shop, fifty cents. Yeah." It's a great feeling! I've had band members compliment me on them. I also helped a friend find a GREAT party dress that was half off of $10 at a store. I'm still jealous, too. But it saved her so much money and she looked amazing in it!

And hey, you can always invite them to shop with you and test them out as a shopping buddy- you never know!

someone else's find. you can seriously get almost anything at a thrift shop!

Tips:
* Try out garage sales as well, those are always the cheapest!
* Look into your local thrift shops- a lot of them will do SALES! In Arizona right now, Epic Thrift has everything for a dollar. I'm not kidding. I already went over my budget a million times this month, so I've got the self control to not go for a while. But it would have been great, I know it!
* Flea markets! Sometimes people will sell real branded and boxed items. Be careful because they might be the cheap versions. But the thing about flea markets? You can usually bargain a little.
* Ross is decent if you're looking for cheaper brands. It seems a lot of stores will turn their unbought items over to them. However, they ARE growing more expensive. Their shoes average about $10 now which to me isn't normal.

AND DON'T FORGET: Don't be afraid.  Try, try again. It has taken me YEARS to perfect this. It's not like a department store where they will show you everything and you just pick your size. You look for the material and the patterns you like. Don't trust the sizing categories, because they are often in the wrong spots. (My last trip, I found a skirt and shirt, both small, in the XL sections. Totally normal)

I know, I'm a dork in a cheese car, I don't care. But both shirts I was wearing were from DI's. And they made for a cute outfit! To be honest, I found a hole in the green shirt, a little above the belly button. So all I have to do is keep it covered and so I layer it for the cold days! Thrift shops are great to boost your creativity!

Well, I hope this helped all you ladies and gents! Just so you know, I don't hold a grudge against you or anything for enjoying your department stores, preferred brands, and so on. But this is my personal preference. I am a huge penny pincher (of sorts because let's face it, I go thrift shopping WAY too often). But it's fun and I can still stay on a pretty small budget in doing so.

I continue to buy gifts for others as well as myself at thrift shops. And clothes aren't your only option: they have an assortment of books (if you need an extra Bible, I swear they will have several), movies (check for scratches on DVDs), electronics, sunglasses (I have the cutest round vintage sunglasses for less than a dollar), art (Katie bought a framed Rockwell painting for about $2), and more!!

So please, have fun! And share about your adventures, I would love to hear about how it goes!

Helpful Links:
Click here to find your local thrift shop(s)!
Why you should shop at thrift shops and how to make it work for you.
Thrift your gift
Here's another guide on how to thrift shop.

Playlist #3: The Songs You Haven't Heard But You Really Need To

If you could describe me in one word, what would it be?

I'm curious.

But really. And do you know how you would describe yourself, in one word? There have been some variations, but eventually the simple term of "quirky" will have to be satisfactory for me. And you'll probably believe that after I share with you these awesome songs!

1. Safety Dance by Men with Hats.

2. When Mountains Fall by Stratovarius (though I cannot take much credit since my sister showed it to me)

3. All Izz Well by 3 Idiots (film) Which is very worth it, by the way.

4. The Master's Song by Dracula (Broadway). I am dying to see this in person someday. I'd treasure that moment. And though I'm not musically inclined by any means... this song is a masterpiece. Clever, intriguing, and just incredible!

5. Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus

And that's the list for now. I hope this comes in very handy for your three day weekend. Celebrate what the men and women have done for this beautiful nation. Personally, I'm off to Movies in the Park and watching a childhood favorite, the Little Mermaid with towels, a notebook, fruit snacks and my favorite: a peanut butter and cheetoh sandwich (don't knock it till you try it!)

Arizona and the Sun Devils

They say when you make plans that God laughs.

I'm beginning to think they're right.

My first summer plan was the same thing I've had in mind for the last three years: achieve a professional internship with the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA. Unfortunately, it's very difficult and quite competitive. Last year I managed to secure a phone interview, but I have yet to get any further that that since.

Then I had a plan B: Alaska. I've always wanted to go there, and I might as well spend a summer there so I don't have to endure the heat everywhere else. Makes since, doesn't it? I thought so.

So I went ahead with that plan. And it worked. Twice, actually. I procured at least three interviews, in which I was offered two jobs. I couldn't find housing for one, and turned that down after a week. And the other, I accepted. I thought it would work. It seemed like a good set up. 

But it didn't work out and I knew I wasn't meant for that, which broke my heart twice over. The plan had every opportunity to work out until I found that this summer had to be elsewhere.

My parents have friends. They talk to people and of course they mention their kids. They said they'd try to help out and I started applying to jobs in Utah. After all, all the way back in January I resolved that there was no way that I would spend a third summer in Cedar City- I was over and done with that many times over. It was fine on occasion but I have spent too much time there and I wasn't getting anywhere in my life, so I knew I needed to be moving on.

I was offered multiple jobs and positions and interviews around my parents home near Provo. In most places after all, I had more than enough experience for several places and such, but I would be willing to do whatever it took to have a job and continue earning the money I needed.

And then my parents talked to Rich. Rich talked to me. I talked to my parents, and we discussed the opportunity. And two days later, I bought a plane ticket for a job I needed to be at the following week. In Arizona.

I didn't know what would happen, and it's only been about 10 days so I don't really know what else will happen, to be honest. It's been a wild ride of staying in a few different homes, meeting people with names I cannot recall and researching anagrams that I don't fully understand in an industry I never thought I'd be a part of.

But, here I am. In Arizona. I've already gotten lost a few times, I've made up my new room, I've (hopefully) made a few friends, and there's a lot coming my way. I'm just hoping it will be all good in the end.

Sometimes, that's all you have. Hope.

Insight Dubai: Day Five!

Myth-

There is no time to rest during the conference.
KINDA

Normal breakfast of fruit, pancakes that didn't even need syrup, fish, pasta and flaky rolls.

It was on and off. Our schedule was full enough that I couldn't take naps or go between the college and the hotel, though it was maybe a three block radius. But I never felt rushed. We really did take our time between things.

All right. Well. It was crazy. Our last day! Yikes!

We met in our Orange Group one last time and talked for a while. We weren't too busy on too much but it gave us time to do some hanging out and discussing how the entire event had gone.

Eventually we gathered to return to the multipurpose room for the speakers. Like the day before, our three planned speakers were unable to be there but the night before they were able to ask several professors at the women.

They didn't have that much time to prepare, but they worked hard and it was very impressive. All three women talked about their growing up. It was they, themselves that demanded the right to education and sought out their Masters degree after their Bachelors. They were willing to do what it took- move away and live away from their family, into other countries- to get the education they wanted all bad.

I haven't been able to find my notebook with the names, but the final speaker was absolutely incredible and she was quite inspiring. She pointed out such a thing:
You may think that one person may have little influence and cause little change. But what about when there is one mosquito in your room. Doesn't that mosquito make a difference? And if it can, can't you?

So think about that next time you're scared to make a difference, think on that. WE CAN DO ANYTHING.

And then it was lunch time. Our final lunch there, awwwww.

When lunch was over, there were awards. Lots of awards everywhere, everyone getting pieces of papers and so on. I'll skip over that. It was super nice (plus a mike session where people sang and we were in tears so obviously I can't do that) and grand and quite the nice closing to such an amazing adventure with these women.

Then, we had about a three hour break. why?

TO GET READY FOR THE GRAND FINALE.

A dhow cruise down the river.

The first was a fun boat ride. This was a dinner cruise, my friend, a lovely little dinner cruise. We all got dressed up and pretty for the evening. Of course it all took us a while. It's always the theme of cultural dress, but not everyone does that nor do they need to. Some were fairly casual, others really dolled up.

Main thing, it was awesome.

We all got in buses and drove for a while down towards the river. We all met up and obviously had to stop for lovely pictures on the little red carpet up to the boat, where they handed us lovely dates on toothpicks (didn't taste good but looked good).

Of course most ladies headed straight up to the second floor (there was two of them), but I knew that would get crowded fast and besides, I saw food on the first floor so I figured that would work. There was only about two tables of us ladies full for the downstairs, and that was just fine for me.

I sat with some girls from Boston and their buddies, and it was great hanging out with them. They had so much to share and I wish I had had the opportunity to hang out more with them during the conference. We enjoyed chatting and trying the different foods they supplied. There was also a delightful juice, but we were only given one cup before it was all gone.

Oh, and of course we needed one more incident on the trip:

One of the employees helping put out the food dropped one of the burners beneath and the floor caught fire!

Luckily, it was contained fairly well. Granted, it did give us enough time to stand up, spread and scream a little. But we flipped it over, got the flames out, and the employee ran off with the burner to safety. Things were fine, nothing was damaged- not even the floor.

The food was good. There was even dessert- fruit, some strange rice pudding, and cream puffs! Those ran out really fast. But some of the food was good and we had fun trying some of the different sorts. It was small collections of exotic dishes- none of which were amazing, but they were edible and it was fun to try them!

Taking a picture of the river and lights!

When the food was gone, there was music! Mostly on the top floor. And holy cow that got them going fast and hard. The floor- our ceiling- was shaking and shuddering and part of me wondered if it would hold. I wouldn't have been surprised if it had collapsed on top of us.

I went up there for a short while to say hi to everyone, see how they were, start exchanging snapchat and instagram usernames and the like. Taking a few pictures, dancing for half a second but then leaving back downstairs because it was so hot.

The night was lovely and it was so nice.

Me and Cookie from the Orange Group. She's such a doll, very smart, and from China. Which kinda seals the deal.

And suddenly we were back at the dock, piling out and realizing we were most likely never going to see each other again. People were taking pictures, grabbing hug over hug over hug, again sharing information on their mobile devices, and so on. The leaders had to tell us and beg us over and over to get going because the buses didn't want to stay there forever.

So finally, we parted ways. The international girls in one bus, locals in another. Some of us ladies talked on the way back, but we were all pretty tired. It was hard to believe that the trip was coming to an end. I wouldn't be seeing these girls again. How strange time and life is.

Anyways, it happened. We parted ways. I went up to my room, and made sure I had everything packed up (which yes, I already did because it doesn't take me three hours to get ready for even nice events like a dinner cruise).

The stupid keys that never worked.

My really cool roommate Chiara was flying out early in the morning, so we parted ways and I dozed on and off after that. But I had to be out of there around 4 AM so that limited my amount of sleep. I was up every twenty minutes, making sure my phone was still charged with a working alarm.

Then it was time to go! One of us SUU girls' alarms didn't go off right away, but luckily we were prepared and out by the deadline or else we would have lost our bus to the airport. We got in all right, fortunately, with a little more than we had arrived with.

We were exhausted, but we survived. It was a fun trip coming back- that's always refreshing. More movies when I was restless- I dozed off every time I tried to study so I finally stopped trying to work on all the homework I desperately and terribly missed out on (3+ tests, etc).

It was also fun because right before our flight back into the states was one of those duty-free shops! With souvenirs and such! Which was incredibly fun and awesome and I spent the rest of my money there which was definitely worth it.

It was a fun, beautiful trip home.

We reached Vegas late, were picked up and went to a hotel. Just something I'd done about two weeks ago, actually, for spring break... Anyways, we ran back out for burgers before showering and calling it a night.

In the morning, we stopped at a local Indian shop for food he was going to do a presentation with for school in the coming week. It was fun seeing the food we had just eaten, as well as the ingredients to make everything! That was pretty awesome.

Then we were on the road again, and heading back to town. I rolled my stupidly big suitcase down three streets and was home. No one was there to greet me, ehm, but overall, it was good. Things went well and it was a good trip.

I would go again. It was worth it. Granted, it was essentially free. I spent about $70 getting everything ready and about $100 in shopping (if I had more time, I would have spent more), so that was all I had to spend on an exciting trip to Dubai.

I learned a lot, both good and bad about cultures, people, humanity, and women. But that's the thing- there's always two sides to everything, to every story. I saw history and beauty and met people who made an impact on me. Parts of the trip were ridiculous (and personal), but I learned to deal with it and try to work it to my advantage. And you know what? That doesn't always happen, I'll admit. But I'll take every bit of hardship I've had to experience all the good that I've had.

Dubai was incredible, and if you get the chance: go for it.

I also got Pinkberry at the airport. I put it on my bucketlist a long time ago, though I don't even know why. But I can cross that off!

Insight Dubai: Day Four!

Myth:

1. IT IS SO HOT.
KINDA YEAH. In the evenings, it was actually quite perfect. Mornings were humid. But nothing was unbearable. Everything said it was in the 80's-90's but it really didn't feel that bad, seriously. I couldn't get over it. Yeah, it was pretty hot but it was definitely manageable.

2. I WILL LEARN A LOT
SO TRUE. so true.
Wow. From the conference, from the city, from the lovely women I met and spoke with. I learned a lot, both good and bad. It was incredible. 


We had all recovered as best we could from the other day's incident. From what I saw, it looked like most of us international ladies handled it well and were ready for another day abroad. Unfortunately the local girls didn't feel the same way and we were missing out on quite a few of them.

In addition to everything, it was the day I was most anticipating, because we would be in groups again for most of the day, discussing human trafficking.

Still, when I arrived to the Orange Group's room, it seemed that our party had about shrunk into half. Again, my buddy wasn't there, nor several of the other girls.

This did not deter us, and we dived right in. We began with some morning activities and then started discussing human trafficking. There are essentially three variations of human trafficking:

-Forced Labor
-Sex slavery
-Organ Trafficking

These can happen to men, women and children. 80% women, 45% children, I believe it was. I could be wrong, you'll need to check the technicalities but I know I'm pretty close.

It makes about $32 billion a year, and is thus the second growing industry, right behind drugs.

One thing that I have since learned, is that everyone thinks it happens the least in their own country. It is everywhere. Most people have come across it, whether or not they knew it. But once you begin diving into the news, you will find another story. In my research, I came upon a story from Salt Lake City, where a woman narrowly escaped being taken to Vegas- and she had already been taken (from Florida or New York).

There is another man, LDS with a family, who left the FBI/CIA (one of them) to start his own cause and just busted a large ring of child sex trafficking in Southern America. It is happening everywhere, and nowhere is free.

Of course, there are government and even private units that are seeking to stop this trade. But obviously, it hasn't been stopped. Few people escape. And those who do, are affected forever- scarred both emotionally and physically.

Before we gathered together again, we were given the responsibility to focus on sex trafficking and to make a poster about it. Our leader really, really, really wanted a skit. None of the other girls were interested in it. In fact, none of them were a lot of help to get things started. I tried to share some suggestions, but I think there was some miscommunication at some point and we couldn't seem to agree.

(Oh, subpiece. The Second day I joined a few girls to wander around campus and enjoy the area during lunch. We entered the gym where the girls were having a mini fair with free tea (their popular stuff tastes like chai), snacks, and wandered around to take pictures for instagram and stuff. It was an event for well being and super cute!)

Anyways, we eventually sorted things out to make three posters, and spent about two hours on that until lunch. After lunch, we tried again to finish things up, and I wrote a short script that sort of counted as a possible "skit" and finally managed to get Cookie to read it since no one else was willing, and I don't find it appropriate reading my own things.

Then we gathered together in the multipurpose room with our presentations!

A few of them were fairly humorous, which I had wanted to attempt but the subject doesn't have much room for that. They carried many of the same themes in nice presentations and similar scripting, portraying those who had suffered.

It was a powerful message and I think it resonated with all of us.

After the presentations, we were supposed to have a speaker to discuss the topic. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to be there and so we never ended up having that happen. All the same, we made it work for us. We hung out for a while more, discussed the topic in our group, and then the conference bit was over and we were ready for the night's activity!

Ehm, a desert ride.

Yup!

They went around strongly suggesting girls to take the "calm" one with no bumping... but that wasn't about to stop me! Possibly my own chance so obviously I'm going to go all out for some dune bashing and driving and jumping around!

And it was amazing. Long drive, unfortunately, which I was not prepared for. But we dozed a bit and finally reached the sands. Drivers stopped to let out some air in the tires, and then we headed out! It really wasn't that dangerous, but it was fun and bumpy and pretty exciting. They stopped about three times for us to run around, take pictures, and attempt to climb the dunes.

This sand was so pure and soft and orange with no litter. It was so refreshing, I loved it.

Plus, the weather was even perfect at the moment. Warm with a slight breeze, but essentially perfect, okay? Do you know how rare that is? TOO RARE. I loved it. And it was a small desert, but it looked like it went on forever. And I would have been all right staying there.

So after that thrill, we finally went back in the cars (the men driving were a little restless with all of us going nuts), and we finally arrived at our little spot in the desert. You can rent these little places out and host large parties. You can get a variety of "specials" like camels, henna, food, and so on. It's set up with pillows and tiny tables around a nice dance floor, and little spots around in the shelter with some sandy but still sanitary bathrooms....

The whole evening was chill and relaxed with no plans, so we took our time. We sat down on pillows, chatted, had drinks, I rode a camel for like twenty seconds, I got henna, and eventually the food was ready after dark.

So I definitely took a chance in the clear night to look for constellations (that was dizzying) but I couldn't find the few I knew, so that was a bummer. But the food was good, I tried real falafel and wasn't really impressed, but it wasn't too bad!

And soon after that, music played! It was fun watching all the girls really relax, destress, and jam out to all these songs! Which is always interesting when I go abroad- I never really know or feel like America has its own culture, you know? But then I go places, and I see people embracing it, and I realize we do. Fun clothes, funky music, and more. I even brought basic candy that I thought had traveled around the world by now- and they hadn't! Not everyone has Reese's Cups, you guys!

So yeah, that was our super fun desert safari sort of event, and it was great! We were there for a few hours- some girls still dancing and others ready to fall asleep- before finally heading back to the hotel. We were all exhausted by the time we finally got around to returning to the hotel for the evening.

A very, very good end to an intellectual and stimulating day.

Insight Dubai: Day Three!

Day Three:

Two Myths (since I forgot one)

Few People Speak English:
FALSE.
Essentially everyone can speak English. In fact, they have several courses in their own language in which, apparently (I heard, so I don't know how true it is), that a lot of students actually fail classes in their language more than English.

There is street food:
FALSE. At least not where I was. Yes, I was incredibly bummed. For those who have never enjoyed a street vendor's food, I'm sorry.

Day three! We were finally beginning to get into the run of things. It was only Tuesday but goodness gracious, the week was coming along well. And Day three held such promise for us. We were headed to the capital of the UAE: Abu Dhabi!

Not only were we headed to watch the government in action, but we would also have the opportunity to tour a mosque. All of our Dubai buddies brought us shelias and abayas in order to attend the lovely religious place. (Because that's the only way we can enter a mosque, to be fully modest and covered).

We all piled into large, comfortable busses. With all the excitement going on lately, my buddy couldn't personally make it. But another lovely lady's international buddy wasn't making it so I still have a covering to use to go inside.

It took four buses to fill everyone up. And off we went!

Except two busses never got there.

I never got there.

Traffic issues, drivers, and finally the biggest crash I have been in before and hopefully the last!

See the chair right behind the benches in open air? Yeah that's where I was.

So yeah. That sort of took us all off by guard. I was on the second bus, the one that bumped into the one before. A few of the girls on my bus saw what was about to happen and called out. I peaked up to see the collision but had no time to brace myself before banging my face on the seat before me.

My glasses went flying into the seat beside me. Girls fell out of their seats. Mass confusion spread around as we were stopped whilst on the freeway. And then we saw blood. Tissues, bandaids, scarves- anything we didn't need at the moment went to helping the girls around there.

Glass was everywhere and after a few minutes, we started collecting our things and staggering off the bus. We were by a gas station stop and girls were running over there for ice. It was incredible to see how everyone came together, pulled together and started helping out.

Dubai's culture may still be traditional, but they do it well. Women are considered very special, and the police acted accordingly. They arrived quickly and started assessing the situation, taking care of everything. An ambulance arrived and we split into two parties: those injured and headed for help, and those uninjured.

About forty women were taken to the nearby hospitals. Most pictures weren't taken because that isn't considered polite, especially since most women were taking off their abayas and such. The rest of us headed inside to take a seat out of the heat. We took cups of ice, and tried to calm down.

We were there for about an hour or two, trying to decide what would happen, to see about getting a ride and seeing what we would do for the day. At first, we were very hopeful about still reaching Abu Dhabi.

But all of a sudden, it was too late and we would be heading back. Another bus came around to pick us up. One Mcflurry and a tense bus trip back to the hotel (with everyone wearing their seat belts this time around), and we were all lightly achy, tired, and bored.

I gathered up with us SUU girls- all of us were fine, and we didn't want to waste our time in Dubai. We finally decided on the Global Village, which we had considered doing Sunday but hadn't had time. We parted ways to shower and clean up and then met downstairs.

We had a great idea, but a bad key to the plan: don't take the hotel's car. Just don't. It was about double the price for any taxi- and yes, that includes a taxi van. It also took a long time to arrive, and limited our time there which is a HUGE bummer.

The bus crash was horrendous. They arrested two men and it was an accident for both of them. There were fractures and broken bones. But it did give us time to go to the Global Village and that sort of made my trip.

It was a global shopping spot, essentially, and it was awesome.

If you've been to Epcot in Disney World, then you'll know about Around the World. The Global Village is sort of like that- it's a segregated area by country. And it's not an American creation so the countries aren't just Mexico and European nations. No, it included more countries like Lebanan and Syria and so on! Gah, so awesome.

We only had like two hours and that's the saddest thing ever. 

We dived in. We walked past all the cute little food stands and such and started shopping! And what's better, in a place like this: YOU CAN BARGAIN. As long as there are no set prices/price marks, then say what you will and work for your money.

I talked guys down at UAE for scarves half their price. We went to India and bought discounted jewelry- and because we already bought so much, they gave us freebies. They tried so hard to make us buy more- almost as bad as when I was in China, but they won't touch you so that was nice. But it was so fun! They were so friendly and that was awesome! :D And in Syria I bought some really fun "gypsy" pants that yes are too big but yes way comfy. And I don't remember where, but I bought chocolate covered dates. I never liked dates but holy cow they were good.

I could have stayed there all day long, shopping everywhere and bargaining and having a blast. Yes, there was an America spot. It had Carls' Jr.

Then we had to leave too soon.

We caught a taxi van and headed off to the mall.

Huge malls by the way. I think there was a ferrari shop in the one I went buy- so many nice brands seriously. I don't know if I could have really afforded anything. But we were there on time in the spot to: Burj Khalifa.

Seen Mission Impossible: Ghost Patrol? Because there's a spot where YES, that building Tom Cruise runs on is YES in Dubai (but they did inaccurately portray much of the city in the film), and YES it's the tallest building in the place.

And we went up in there! It was awesome. THe elevator was amazing too: you could only tell you were going up by how often your ears popped!

And no, we didn't get to go straight up: you buy tickets for a particular time and if you miss that, you miss it. People are expected to stay up there for maybe half an hour- and only that long because there's a gift shop up there. Supremely overpriced, by the way.

Anyways we still had about an hour so we grabbed some food: shwarma! It wasn't too bad, except mine had beans in it and we all know how I am about beans: only jelly beans. Still, it was pretty good and the food court was really nice. I was with Elisa and she got a very popular drink there. I forgot what it's called, but it's just ice, water, real mint leaves, and lemons (powder, some form of lemonade).

It's very refreshing, and you should all try it. No measurements are necessary and summer is right around the corner! I'm not a fan of lemons in any form, unfortunately, so I'll be sticking with chilled dairy products and milkshakes.

Anyways, we finally got to head up! Super long line. Serious security- we had to leave our bag behind because there was food in it. But it's apparently free so we were fairly all right about that. So we waited in line for a very long time, kind of like a Disney ride.

And then we were there!

Dubai looked so tiny. Seriously. Tiny little town. It was ridiculous. And awesome. And beautiful. There is glass obviously so no one is allowed to fall or jump. I sort of thought it would have more space, but it does make sense why there isn't that much floor space... All the same, it was very fun and I took some pictures that didn't come out well but I tried my best.

I browsed the shop and went to find some friends. One of them had been injured in the busses that day and she asked for a wheelchair. I joined them after a short while and got to cut the line to go down, so that was pretty fun. And they were a blast to hang out with, of course! Then like in Disney, you are sent right into the gift shop.

In which I obviously had to buy things: personalized key rings for my brothers and a super cool sand art piece for Katie. It was so awesome! We didn't hang out too long though because we wanted to be on the first buses back home, so we headed back out. It was already growing dark out and it had been such a long day!

We had to wait a while and we couldn't seem to find our bus with the group of us girls around. But eventually it came around! And we all dozed off on the bus ride back. In which again we wore our seatbelts, of course.

And that was Tuesday: definitely the biggest rollar coaster I have ever been on. But it was worth it.