Dubai, Part 1 - Surprise

I just got back to Aberdeen from spending four days visiting my dear friend, Joanna, in Dubai. Jo has been a teacher at the Dubai American Academy for the last three years, and I've heard so much about this amazing city that I was thrilled to have the opportunity to go visit her. We finally made it to her flat at about 12:30 am on Friday, and Jo promptly said, "I have a present for you." Well, I told her that buying my ticket was present enough (isn't she great?!), but took that back when she opened her fridge and pulled out a jar of PICKLES!!!! What an awesome friend!! She knew that I've not been able to find real pickles here in Scotland, so she bought some for me (of course, I find it ironic that you can't find pickles in Scotland, but you can in the Middle East - something is wrong with this picture!). Well, even though it was after midnight, I promptly opened the jar and ate a couple - it was only 9:30 pm Aberdeen time, so it was okay. Oh, they were wonderful!