As I have said a hundred times before, one of my favourite things about being an expat is meeting people from all different backgrounds. Dubai is a great place for that. It’s a literal melting pot of every single nationality there is I think.

This week was the Omani’s turn to shine! And shine he did… mostly!

Hisham decised we all needed a bbq and movie night in the desert. There is literally nothing I could think of that I would have preferred to do after the week I had had. BBQ good. Movies good. Desert good. This was going to be gooooood.

Off we all popped into the cars and headed for the desert past Al Qudra. It’s the closest and easiest access to the desert there is to us, but you can still drive out further into the dunes and not see the city lights. 45 mins until you don’t feel like you’re in Dubai any more. Worth it every single time.

The BBQ and bonfire parts went without a hitch. Loads of food, good music, stars twinkling, people laughing. A couple of the chaps even had bought and managed to successfully operate a shisha! This was absolutely what Thursday nights should be about. The perfect start to a weekend.

Then it was time for the movie.

Hisham had pulled out all the stops. He had a camera and a projector. There was a huge screen. It was super impressive. Apparently this was something he grew up doing. What a magical childhood that must have been!

This for me is when the evening went a little wonky though.

Like I said… I had a bit of a week to say the least. Not one I would have liked to repeat at any point. It was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting. I knew that everyone going were much more movie buff types than me but that’s not hard at all. I like Hallmark movies and things. I didn’t think the movies that were picked would be my kind of thing. Especially when they were short films – that’s worse than showing me one episode of a TV show and then not letting me see any more! But, I’m all for new experiences and broadening my mind.

Sadly, they were really NOT my kind of thing at all. Suicide, funerals, shoot outs, murder and bereavement. Nope. Not joking. They had all been critically acclaimed and won a bunch of nominations and awards, but it was the final straw for my week. I knew after the first 2 minutes of Jim Broadbent’s emotional telephone call it wasn’t going to be me. Would I have been able to view them differently and even may be enjoy them had I not been in the headspace I was? I honestly don’t know. All I knew is that if I had watched even the ‘dark comedy’ ones, I probably would have cried. So I didn’t. But this is when I fixed my night and had the best time in my own little bubble!

Instead of watching the movies, I laid back and watched the stars while listening to my favourite songs from Love Never Dies – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s follow up to Phantom of the Opera. It was mindblowing! I even managed to find and download an app that would show me the stars I was looking at.

There was one star that was a different colour though, and it shone brighter. This fancy little app told me it was Mars and I see no reason to question that! It also mapped out and named the constellations. My little geeky self was having a wonderful time.

All too soon on one hand and also not on the other, the short movies were over. While there was some good natured joshing, everyone had enjoyed them. It was a fantastic night and we have November and Decembers planned. Hisham no longer gets a say in what we watch. We have taken a vote and so Rocky Horror Picture Show and Elf are up next!

I will give you one guess who chose Elf!!