Please take note of the quotation marks. I say "strangers" because well, I know them but I don't know them well enough...hahaha!
Stranger # 1 is Hitesh whom I met in an interview a week ago. We were all waiting for our turn to be called. After my interview, he asked what had happened. Without going into detail, I said we had been called by a placement agency and they are offering a lifetime membership for 150 dirhams. I said goodbye, smiled and waited for the lift. Inside the lift, I fixed myself and untucked my blouse. The door was about to close when he suddenly entered. "I'm joining you." He became suspicious of the company and decided it was not worth going through the interview anymore. I thought to myself, "Hey this guy is kinda cute (I already noticed him when he entered the office and sat right across me...hehehe)...I might as well make small talk until we reach the ground floor (Please note that the office was located in the first floor)." As we were walking towards the door, I learned that like me, he only arrived in Dubai about a month before. Hitesh grew up in Dubai but went to university and subsequently worked in Canada. Feeling a little bold, I asked for his number. I fumbled for my phone which was conveniently hidden in my bag. It took some time but I finally found it! While searching, I managed to even ask for directions going to the mall. He said, "I would have dropped you off but I am going the other way." That was very nice of him. Since I haven't memorized my number yet, I just said that I was going to send him a message. We went our separate ways soon after.
Unfortunately, I went on a mini-adventure because I got lost. I took the correct bus but it was going the opposite direction. It was hours later when I remembered to send him a text message. It took him a day to respond and the message I got was corrupted. When I texted him again that night, he called. We talked for twenty minutes. I enjoyed the conversation and probably the novelty of meeting someone in an unconventional way. Apparently, we live in the same area and was just a few minutes away. Trying to push the envelope, I said that maybe we could hang out soon or if he had the time, perhaps he could show me around the city. Hitesh was very nice and agreed to a meeting soon. I smile in disbelief.
A few days later, he asked if he and I could get together. Unfortunately, I already made plans for the night. I said maybe we can try the next day. Friday came and my friend decided to take me to the Mall Of The Emirates. I wondered if we would ever get to meet. Saturday came and after a flurry of messages and calls, we decided to meet up that night. I was going out with a stranger I met only six days before and he was picking me up from my place. Yikes!
As I was preparing, I asked myself if this was a good idea. We did not have concrete plans. What if he was evil and decided to drive me to the desert and rape/kill me? With eyes closed, I decided to push through and prayed that he would be a nice guy. I asked a male friend to wait with me at the designated place, not far from our flat. At least, if something happened to me, he would at least be able to describe the appearance of my companion.
A few minutes passed and I saw this black car stopping in front of us. I already forgot how he looked so I was also a bit scared. When he rolled down the window, I instantly recognized him. I said goodbye to my friend and inhaled deeply. My adventure has officially begun.
The first thing I did was to inhale. I smelled perfume. Good. I feared that if he smelled weird, I would have gotten out of his car as fast as I could. Hehehe. After exchanging pleasantries, we immediately immersed ourselves in free-wheeling conversation. We still had no concrete idea where we were going so he just decided that we drive around town.
He took me to Jumeira Beach Park so I could get a glimpse of the coastline. It was filled with lots of vehicles so we decided to move along. Cruising along the long stretch of Jumeirah Beach Road, we began to talk about ourselves. I asked for his last name. It turns out that I am just a few months older (How lucky can I get? I never found new friends my age back in Manila.). We talked about the similarities and differences of our cultures. We even discussed religion (He is a Hindu by birth) and history (his family arrived in Dubai twenty years ago, when the city was virtually an unknown). He talked about his life in Canada and I told him about my life in the Philippines. He has done some travelling himself and has a few Filipino friends here. We both have one sibling and have the same phone model. We talked about languages and he even asked me how to say "I like you" in Filipino. As he was doing some business, our conversations would get cut off several times. We even made a sidetrip to Sheikh Zayed Road because he had to get some documents. Hitesh also got to meet Whiskers but did not want to have a picture taken with him. He said that he never does anything for free (I stopped pushing the topic, it sounded scary already..hahaha!) and that it would cost me a lot if I insisted on taking his picture (signs of star complex maybe? hehehe).
We grabbed some grub along the way. It was a toss between shawarmas and McDonald's. I chose the latter and confessed that I have not had any shawarma since I got here. He was very surprised (there are lots of shawarma stalls along the streets of Dubai). We stopped to get some chicken shawarma, soda and manakish (it's like a rolled up pizza with cheese and minced lamb). The shawarma was good but the manakish might take some time to get used to (I am not a fan of lamb). Nevertheless, I was happy to have had my fill of Arabic fare.
After almost two-and-a-half hours of driving through the streets of Dubai, the joyride came to an end. My first outing with a stranger was a success. I have finally found my first non-Filipino friend in Dubai. :)
Watch out for Part 2! ;)
Stranger # 1 is Hitesh whom I met in an interview a week ago. We were all waiting for our turn to be called. After my interview, he asked what had happened. Without going into detail, I said we had been called by a placement agency and they are offering a lifetime membership for 150 dirhams. I said goodbye, smiled and waited for the lift. Inside the lift, I fixed myself and untucked my blouse. The door was about to close when he suddenly entered. "I'm joining you." He became suspicious of the company and decided it was not worth going through the interview anymore. I thought to myself, "Hey this guy is kinda cute (I already noticed him when he entered the office and sat right across me...hehehe)...I might as well make small talk until we reach the ground floor (Please note that the office was located in the first floor)." As we were walking towards the door, I learned that like me, he only arrived in Dubai about a month before. Hitesh grew up in Dubai but went to university and subsequently worked in Canada. Feeling a little bold, I asked for his number. I fumbled for my phone which was conveniently hidden in my bag. It took some time but I finally found it! While searching, I managed to even ask for directions going to the mall. He said, "I would have dropped you off but I am going the other way." That was very nice of him. Since I haven't memorized my number yet, I just said that I was going to send him a message. We went our separate ways soon after.
Unfortunately, I went on a mini-adventure because I got lost. I took the correct bus but it was going the opposite direction. It was hours later when I remembered to send him a text message. It took him a day to respond and the message I got was corrupted. When I texted him again that night, he called. We talked for twenty minutes. I enjoyed the conversation and probably the novelty of meeting someone in an unconventional way. Apparently, we live in the same area and was just a few minutes away. Trying to push the envelope, I said that maybe we could hang out soon or if he had the time, perhaps he could show me around the city. Hitesh was very nice and agreed to a meeting soon. I smile in disbelief.
A few days later, he asked if he and I could get together. Unfortunately, I already made plans for the night. I said maybe we can try the next day. Friday came and my friend decided to take me to the Mall Of The Emirates. I wondered if we would ever get to meet. Saturday came and after a flurry of messages and calls, we decided to meet up that night. I was going out with a stranger I met only six days before and he was picking me up from my place. Yikes!
As I was preparing, I asked myself if this was a good idea. We did not have concrete plans. What if he was evil and decided to drive me to the desert and rape/kill me? With eyes closed, I decided to push through and prayed that he would be a nice guy. I asked a male friend to wait with me at the designated place, not far from our flat. At least, if something happened to me, he would at least be able to describe the appearance of my companion.
A few minutes passed and I saw this black car stopping in front of us. I already forgot how he looked so I was also a bit scared. When he rolled down the window, I instantly recognized him. I said goodbye to my friend and inhaled deeply. My adventure has officially begun.
The first thing I did was to inhale. I smelled perfume. Good. I feared that if he smelled weird, I would have gotten out of his car as fast as I could. Hehehe. After exchanging pleasantries, we immediately immersed ourselves in free-wheeling conversation. We still had no concrete idea where we were going so he just decided that we drive around town.
He took me to Jumeira Beach Park so I could get a glimpse of the coastline. It was filled with lots of vehicles so we decided to move along. Cruising along the long stretch of Jumeirah Beach Road, we began to talk about ourselves. I asked for his last name. It turns out that I am just a few months older (How lucky can I get? I never found new friends my age back in Manila.). We talked about the similarities and differences of our cultures. We even discussed religion (He is a Hindu by birth) and history (his family arrived in Dubai twenty years ago, when the city was virtually an unknown). He talked about his life in Canada and I told him about my life in the Philippines. He has done some travelling himself and has a few Filipino friends here. We both have one sibling and have the same phone model. We talked about languages and he even asked me how to say "I like you" in Filipino. As he was doing some business, our conversations would get cut off several times. We even made a sidetrip to Sheikh Zayed Road because he had to get some documents. Hitesh also got to meet Whiskers but did not want to have a picture taken with him. He said that he never does anything for free (I stopped pushing the topic, it sounded scary already..hahaha!) and that it would cost me a lot if I insisted on taking his picture (signs of star complex maybe? hehehe).
We grabbed some grub along the way. It was a toss between shawarmas and McDonald's. I chose the latter and confessed that I have not had any shawarma since I got here. He was very surprised (there are lots of shawarma stalls along the streets of Dubai). We stopped to get some chicken shawarma, soda and manakish (it's like a rolled up pizza with cheese and minced lamb). The shawarma was good but the manakish might take some time to get used to (I am not a fan of lamb). Nevertheless, I was happy to have had my fill of Arabic fare.
After almost two-and-a-half hours of driving through the streets of Dubai, the joyride came to an end. My first outing with a stranger was a success. I have finally found my first non-Filipino friend in Dubai. :)
Watch out for Part 2! ;)
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