I’ve officially been away for five months and have been told that it’s time for a blog post on feelings…

Moving makes it abundantly clear how you feel about people. You quickly realize who you’ll stay up late and lose sleep to talk to; who you wish could be by your side for each and every moment; and whose presence it is you just generally crave. Two hour Skype calls with my family have become the most precious thing to me. Followed by a significant amount of time dedicated to vacation planning. Rome for the weekend to meet the cousins? Done!

Moving also makes it abundantly clear how people feel about you. Distance doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. Especially, if at some point you’ve made someone feel some type of feelings. But you can’t force someone to be present. And you can’t force someone to acknowledge your value. Let that shit go and move the eff on.

And now for the juicy stuff…

“OMG, Princessa! How is dating in Dubai??”

I kid you not, I am asked this question easily twice a day (and that’s on a slow day). With that being said, I decided to categorize what I’ve noticed over the last few months.

Disclaimer: The best moments of my life do not make it online – I keep the really significant experiences safely guarded and tucked deep in my heart! With that being said (outside of the categories below), I have met some really spectacular humans too! 🙂

The fall-in-love-ASAP-ers: A friend of mine told me a few weeks ago that relationships here tend to move at lightening speed. This is largely due to the fact that no one has family here; so if you find someone you’re attracted to and have a decent connection with, you’re more likely to get attached quite quickly. And when I say quick, I mean moving in together three weeks later type quick. While this seems to work for the small group of people actually open to having a relationship, there’s a thin line between easily attached and overly emotional.

The so-far-goners: I don’t usually refer to people as damaged; but there’s a large pool (maybe even an ocean) filled with people who have been burnt and are not looking for anything serious. Some of them had their hearts broken trying to maintain long distance relationships with partners in their homeland; some actually moved here to be with the one they thought they were going to marry and had their hearts shattered when it didn’t work out; all of them have fallen into the routine of non-permanent love. They ask you to dinner and tell you how much they like you and do it all again with someone else the next day. It’s fine if you are in a similar frame of mind; but if not, pay your half of dinner, say sayonara, and at the very most offer them a place at the bottom of your friend-zone list.

The Instagrammers: From the bottom of my heart, thank you Instagram for allowing me to filter my direct messages. Apparently, sliding into someone’s DM is as common as being stuck in morning traffic. Special shoutout to my most consistent Instagram suitors who send me a message every few days to remind me that they’re still waiting for my response. I really, really admire your dedication. In need of a good laugh? Ask me for some screenshots and I’ll send them your way.

The snapchatters (aka the guys with girlfriends): Ahhh, snapchat. The seemingly most untraceable method of communication for guys in relationships. So popular in fact, it deserved its own category. The first time I was asked for my snapchat username rather than my phone number, I thought “oh great, what kind of pictures am I going to be getting?” The answer is none. He’ll still stalk your Instagram to see pictures if need be, but snapchat is to have an untraceable virtual life chat and slip in the “do you want to go to dinner tonight?” line.

The dating app-ers: Everyone has Tinder in North America. Everyone has tinder here. However, don’t even bother opening it. No seriously, don’t bother. Save yourself the aggressive messages and drop the app into your ‘Extras’ folder. More often than not, you’ll see the same people on the app by your pool anyway. And they’ll hopefully be slightly more respectful in person. Probably not, but I like to keep things optimistic.

Till next time! Xo