Hi from the Middle East!

Am a currently typing this in a internet cafe in Dubai, UAE. There are guys sitting on couches all around me smoking on those big pipes that you see in the movies, serious! Its a little hazzy in here and I'm going to make it quick because it's hard to beathe! This is a pretty cool country, I'm more a fan of the SA country: lots of wildlife and green areas. This is mostly concrete followed by more concrete. I arrived yesterday morning on a flight from Jo-burg. It was pretty long, about 10 hours (but with the 2 hours that we sat on the runway in Jo-burg becasue something was wrong with the front wheel...it was more like 12 hours). I got more stamps in my passport...this one is pretty cool. I exchanged some money for Dirham...it's about 3.5 to one dollar. When I collected my bags from the belt, I noticed that one of the zippers was sort of open so I looked into that pocket in the bag and there was a pair of smelly, old sneakers that I had never seen before! All my stuff was still in the bag but I took out the shoes and left them on the floor...yucky! There was a guy waiting outside with my name on a sign and they drove me to the hotel, checked in, ate some breakfast and fell asleep for 4 hours. When I woke up, I put on a bikini and went up to the pool on the roof and fell asleep again! Later in my room, I got a call from one of the race directors saying that a van was going to a 50m pool for some swimming. We left at about 4pm...45 minute drive to the pool, I swam about 4500m, and then we headed back to the hotel. I saw a little of the area on the drive, but most of the time I was sleeping! Back at the hotel I ordered some room service dinner (first time doing that) and ate a huge steak and salad and fruit dinner! Then guess what...I fell asleep again!
I just realized that I haven't wrote about the great time I had in SA after the meet was over...and why when I arrived in the UAE I was so darn tired! That will have to be in another post because I will need some fresh air soon...this room is terrible!
This morning I knew that there was a van going back to the pool around 9am...I was waiting with the British guys for it to arrive...we waited and waited...no show. But guess who did show...the rest of the USA team! They got in around 9:30. When I was chillin' with them in the lobby...we got a phone call that a van was coming to take us to the pool...so I split and went with the british guys to the pool. I swam a little bit, 2500m, but mostly sat on the wall and talked with the Brtish guys (I've got to figure out their names so I don't have to write 'British guys' again!). The vans took us back to the hotel and I met the USA team eating lunch.
That's pretty much been the story so far...in a hour there is suposed to be a van taking me to the beach (the USA team is going to the pool but I've had enough of that)!
I'm off to find some fresh air...later!