Author Holly Warah's novel is a compelling read. Filled with intricate details of mixed cultural marriages, the novel never fails to intrigue and satisfy the reader. 

Where Jasmin Blooms is a refreshing novel that delicately and adroitly navigates the divide between cultural and religious beliefs and customs of Palestinian Islamists and American Christians. 

Following the joys and challenges of three women from different decades, and two different continents, whose lives are entwined by marriage, the novel enlightens the reader to the joys and frustrations each face. This book was so compelling that I actually read it in one sitting.

In today's world of clashing cultures, this is a must read for anyone interested in understanding cultural and religious differences. I heartily recommend it for its honest and thoughtful commentary on cross-cultural families.   

Where Jasmin Blooms

Deep Deceit . . . a must read thriller!

Living in a foreign country is a lifestyle not for the faint-hearted, even for a professional expat like Deep Deceit’s protagonist Celeste.

Navigating unfamiliar rules and customs when things go awry can be heart wrenching. Throw in the mysterious allure of Dubai and Saudi Arabia and you have a double whammy that makes for an intriguing thriller.  

Anne O’Connell,in her second novel, gets it right. Set in the tumultuous Middle East, the pace quickens and the plot thickens as Celeste battles an abusive charlatan husband, searches for her kidnapped 18-year old temperamental daughter and defies death threats from Saudi nationals while trying to cope with her own fragile mental health.

Not only is this novel an exhilarating “can’t put it down” page-turner, it also is an excellent look into what an expat can expect living in the Middle East. Woven in this excellent read are the essential elements  needed to survive in the unfamiliar world of a Muslim country.

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a real thriller but also for anyone interested in knowing what it is like for an expat to live in Dubai and the Middle East.  

Deep Deceit is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback. In celebration of launch week, it's free to download on Kindle March 10th and 11th! Amazon.com link - http://amzn.to/1zZrxEU and the Amazon.co.uk link - http://amzn.to/1BXWpXB

Follow Deep Deceit on Facebook. 

Making the Most of Your Expat Experience

Moving is recognized as one of the most stressful activities known to man.

Add to that moving to a foreign country, and the anxiety scale goes wild. One needs a lot of coping skills to survive and enjoy expat living.

I am delighted to pass to you a great article, Making the Most of Your Expat Experience, written by my good friend and fellow expat Holly Warah, a 12-year resident of Dubai, UAE.

Holly writes a blog, Arabic Zeal, that is packed with very useful information of interest to expat.  Whether you are newly moved or considering the opportunity, Holly provides you with some great insight.

MALALA YOUSAFZAI is ONLY one of many children seeking education.

Note: I feel compelled to repost this blog in support of Malala's speech on July 12, 2013, before the UN advocating for education for all children. On her 16th birthday, having survived an attack by the Taliban, this young girl inspired an entire world with her worlds of compassion, courage and determination.  If you feel compelled to help a disadvantaged orphan child in the UAE receive an education please read the post below and contact me. 

The media is full of reports of the young Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai who was shot by the Taliban for speaking out for the education of women. This inhumane act has sent reverberations around the world rightfully denouncing the Taliban, supporting Malala and everyone's right to education.

Malala is not alone in her quest for education. There are many more Malala’s in the Middle East and Asia who must struggle each day to obtain their education.

I was fortunate to meet such a young woman through the Al Ihsan Charity Association. While this young woman is lucky to live in the United Arab Emirates where education of women is encouraged, nevertheless she had to overcome many obstavles to obtain her education. 

Here is her story . . .    

A Culinary Voyage Through the Streets of Old Dubai with Frying Pan Adventures

Frying Pan Adventures foodie explorers 

Varshik, Donna,Kate, Bob & Arva

Many times on my explorations of old Dubai I pass by multitudes of hole-in-the-wall restaurants lining the streets.  Each cafeteria, as these small street-restaurants are called, advertise their offerings with grainy pictures of peculiar looking plates of food and strange – or maybe exotic - aromas settling over the sidewalk.

I always wonder if some really delicious foodie finds are lurking inside. I must confess that I have been tempted but never found the required courage to drop in for a bite.

But that all changed when I met Arva Ahmed. I ran into Arva online through her blog I Live in A Frying Pan. I was instantly taken by her fresh wit, funny take on life and sheer joy of exploring. I was certainly intrigued by the hidden food gems she featured. When I read she was developing ethnic food walking tours in Dubai, I jumped at the chance to try one.  I was not disappointed.

What is one of the great losses of expat living in Dubai? American Football!

First touchdown of the inaugural Desert Bowl Game

is scored by the Abu Dhabi Wildcats.

“Who let the dogs out!” Or, should that be camels?

Guess what my lovely husband Roger finds in Dubai? American football! What a great surprise for poor football-starved Roger.

One of the great losses of expat life in Dubai is watching a good American football game. 

Grocery Shopping in Dubai . . . A Never-ending Scavenger Hunt

Oh Dubai! How I love the adventure of living with you! 

The thrill of navigating your roads, the adrenalin-pumping gauntlet of your bureaucratic mazes, the tongue-twisting test of translating your many English dialects  . . . and the adventure of foraging for groceries! 

Life is a never-ending adventure here!

When one relocates to a new locale, it doesn't have to be as exotic as Dubai just any ordinary city will do, it is always a challenge to locate the right outlets to purchase the food stuffs with which you love to cook. In my case, we are talking American food products.

Be you a lowly beginner, a seasoned chef or an intrepid food explorer we all face the same dilemma. Where do you find the ingredients for that most perfect dish that makes your family sing your praises?

Read on, you will be very surprised to learn what is the hardest product to find in Dubai!

Battle of the Chefs - Who is Dubai's Top Chef?

"Battle of the Chefs"
Nineteen at The Address Montgomerie

Ok. So I admit it! I am a rabid foodie – a person having an overly zealous interest in food.

I love Food! I love to read about it, I love to shop for it, I love to experiment with it, I love to cook it and I really love to eat it!

I love nothing better than to slosh around my kitchen trying out new dishes, new techniques and/or new ingredients. And God bless Roger for willingly eating the good, the bad and the ugly.

So when my friend Theresa Dommett invites us to Dubai’s “Battle of the Chefs.” faster than Emerile Lagasse can say “BAM, I accept!”  

“Roger, we have another adventure!” I proudly announce. “We are going to watch the top chefs in Dubai battle it out in the kitchen and then we get to taste and judge their unique creations just like the Iron Chef on TV.”  Words cannot express his delight!

2012 Best Restaurant Experiences In and Around Dubai

One of life's great pleasures is a perfectly prepared meal enjoyed at a nice restaurant. It doesn't matter how fancy or how expensive the restaurant is but it is the ambiance of the setting, the care taken with the foods and flavors plus the graciousness of the staff that makes it memorable.

As we approach the new year, Roger and I reflected on the past year’s dining adventures. For those of you who live in Dubai, or will be visiting, we hope that our list helps you to pare down the overwhelming dining choices in Dubai. It is not an all inclusive list for we know there are many more excellent restaurants in Dubai that we haven’t yet discovered, but here are our favorite dinners from 2012. You may want to try them in 2013.

"Thai Hands On" Cooking in Dubai

Chef Roger

Dubai is an intriguing international city that vibrates with an unbridled appetite for grandness. This grandness can be seen all over the city, but tasting it in the city’s vast offerings of restaurants is an experience.

For the adventurous there are small ethnic food “cafeterias” tucked into every nook and cranny in the old section and for the rest of us there are the 5 star restaurants operated by some of today’s most celebrated chefs.  

Lynn & Katie

But once a year, the most sought after reservation in Dubai is at a stylish private villa on the infamous Palm Jumeirah Island, the world’s largest man-made island. 

Where is the most unique shopping scene in Dubai?

Dubai, like everything else here, takes shopping to the ultimate!

This amazing city is infamous for the extravagance of its shopping experiences. You can gorge yourself at the mega malls, one has more than 1200 stores, packed with every ultra-expensive designer and luxury brand known to woman. You can click right through ever expanding online shopping sites, save at multiple Duty Free Stores at the airport or scrounge for bargains at an outlet mall located in the desert. Shop around the world at Global Village or wander narrow passageways scavenging the traditional souqs for spices, textiles and heaven knows what else.

To tempt shoppers even more, Dubai offers two city wide shopping festivals a year where more than 6,000 stores offer heavy discounts. In fact, retail accounts for around 30 percent of the gross domestic product in Emirate of Dubai.

This is all well and good but maybe you are looking for something more? . . . something priceless?

Where is the most unique shopping experience in Dubai?

International Day of Peace Sparks a Personal Comment on “The Film” . . . The Mobs . . . The Violence

Today, September 21, is International Day of Peace. It was established by the United Nations in 1982 to “encourage all of mankind to work towards worldwide peace.” 

How ironic that this year the date falls just as our world grapples with seemingly never ending whirlwinds of protests and violence fueled by hate.

The media headlines of the past week are disturbing; because of an amateurish crudely made film, The Innocence of Muslims, more than 30 people are dead and mobs have rioted in 20 countries.  All allegedly in the name of avenging an insult to a religious leader whose religion, Islam, means peace. 

Why are we letting the fanatics on both sides control the agenda?

Bollywood Dinner Theatre … Only in Dubai!

The lights go down.

Center stage a beautiful Indian woman exquisitely dressed in a seductive sparkling ghagra (skirt) and choli (top) strikes a melodramatic pose.

The heavy bass beat of loud rhythmic music pounds out of the speakers just above our heads.

In the background a gushing waterfall with two suspended TV screens shows flashy dance scenes from Bollywood movies that the on stage performers pantomime.

The exotic dancer gyrates to the rhythm and lip syncs the song. The show is ON!

This is The Moghul Room – The Bollywood Dinner Theatre in Dubai!

11,000 Volunteers Being Human for Every Human Being – Adopt A Camp Ramadan Care Package Project in Dubai

What do you do when 11,000 volunteers show up?

Saher with her "adopted" boys
from the labor camps

I believe that one person can make a difference in the world. What starts with a small act of compassion can become so powerful that thousands of people join in the crusade.

That is exactly what happened with Saher Sheikh’s random act of kindness one day as she stood in the checkout line at her Dubai grocers  watching a laborer carefully count out his coins for a meager meal of bread and laban (a yogurt drink). Seeing the distress in the man’s face, she steps in, pays for the sparse meal and tells him to go get anything else he wants – he simply gets a strawberry drink.

From this small act AdoptA Camp was born. Adopt A Camp is a grass roots organization that today brings assistance to 43 camps helping more than 32,000 laborers in the Dubai area.

TripAdvisor EveryTrail Walking Tour . . . Dubai’s Art Galleries and Architecture

Sheikh Zayed Road
photo courtesy of flashydubai.com 

My assignment from TripAdvisor to develop five walking tours of Dubai is complete. Here are the final two tours.

Enjoy a special collection of Dubai finest art galleries in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)  - DIFC Gate Village Art Galleries, an exciting mix of fine art, photography, masters and emerging artists.

Too hot to walk about? Try this fun Dubai Metro tour that follows the infamous Sheikh Zayed Road and shows off Dubai's iconic buildings - Skyscraper City - New Dubai.  

The Amazing Race in Dubai

The Amazing Race in Dubai has aired!

In November of 2011, Roger and I joined our American Women’s Association friends for a day of horse racing at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. To our surprise and delight we caught the filming of a segment of The Amazing Race. I hope you read my blog - "Never A Dull Moment in Dubai . . . The Amazing Race at the Meydan Race Track". 

Well, the series has aired and I thought you might be interested in seeing the finished product. If you want to bypass the beginning, go to 7:18 on the timer where the contestants are trying to board a flight from Delhi to Dubai.

Readers who have experienced driving in Dubai will truly appreciate the anguish and tearful frustrations of the contestants as they try to navigate the roads of Dubai. Then add to this surviving dune bashing, camel bashing, Wild Wadi and the dilemma of picking a winner at the horse races and you have one hilarious episode. 

Roger and I laughed through the whole show.  Enjoy!

Ramadan 2012 Adopt-A-Camp Project. . . Join me in a small act of charity

Please join me during the 2012 Ramadan holy season in a simple act of compassion to support the Adopt-A-Camp Care Package project. 

The program will provide 5,000 large “care packages” of personal hygiene products, clothing, bedding and food items to help improve the lives of laborers, some who have been abandoned by their employers. 

This effort is organized by the non-profit Adopt-A-Camp organization and the DubaiChamber of Commerce.

The goal is to raise enough money to cover the cost of 5000 pillows @ AED12.

If I can find 200 people to donate 300 dhs each ($80) we will succeed. Thank you for anything you can do.   Please feel free to ask your friends to help. Contact me email: katiefoster46@gmail.com or
cell:055-525 6619

TripAdvisor EveryTrail Walking Tour . . . The Ultimate - Downtown Dubai

My assignment from TripAdvisor to create five walking tours of Dubai has been great fun to develop. Doing the research for the tours has led me to find such interesting facts about my adopted city.

Burj Khalifa - the tallest
building in the world.

Do you know how many “Ultimates” – the superlatives - there are in the Downtown Dubai area? 

It is amazing . . . but then again in Dubai being the first, the biggest, the best is a much sought after quest!

The Ultimate . ..Downtown Dubai Walking Tour

TripAdvisor EveryTrail Walking Guides . . .Dubai Souqs & Bastakiya

I recently picked up a small assignment from TripAdvisor that has been so much fun - create 5 walking tours of Dubai. 

It was easy to come up with the first four – 1) my favorite place in all of Dubai – The Souqs; 2) a very close second - the historic Bastakiya area in Burj Dubai; 3) DIFC Art Galleries – something that has been on my bucket list for some time and so glad I finally went; and 4) The Ultimate Dubai – I was amazed to find so many world records all in one place – Downtown Dubai.  

But, number 5 has been a bit more difficult to identify. 

36 HOURS in DUBAI . . . Top 10 Things to Do and See in Dubai!

Jon & Elaine & the Burj Al Arab

Expats living in Dubai are delighted to have friends and family visit their adopted city. The lucky ones get to stay for an extended period but in many cases it is simply a pass through on the way to/from other travels.  So in a limited amount of time, what are the “must do/see” places in Dubai?

I had to make this decision recently when good friends Jon and Elaine Krupnick stopped by on their way home from an extensive trip to Sri Lanka and India, immediately followed by my sister Paty Barr and her friend Kathryn Brandt who were stopping by to pick up me and Jani Diedam on their way to our excursion to India (more on that later).

Paty & Kathryn's first trip to the desert