Sunshine

Forgive the stupid filter. Ever since I've got the new phone with the amazing camera I take way too many pictures of myself and then waste some more time trying out stupid filters. So I had to go to Deira to meet someone today and because it rained last night there were some flooding problems on the roads and hence traffic was backed up. I decided to take the metro due to that and also because had I driven I would have definitely got lost. I took the train after a long time.

A pregnant woman got on and before I could get up to give her my seat the young Filipina next to me got up and offered her her seat. None of the men made a move. I was a bit annoyed by that fact but only for a second. Women are just as strong as men. They can very well help a fellow woman or man for that matter. The pregnant woman sitting next to me began talking to the man she was with in French. A couple of women wearing way too much eye shadow and blush were chattering away in Filipino. A young college going girl in loose pants and boots began talking coyly to her skinny boyfriend in Arabic. I couldn't understand what anyone was saying through the entire journey. I sat there smiling to myself and texting Bee (in English of course) who is unwell and living on soup because she can't swallow anything. I got off at Al Rigga station and began walking in the sun. Somehow I managed to drop my bag on the pavement and as I picked it up I was reminded of the fact that I had spilled chai all over myself in the morning and then dal all over my new phone in the afternoon (Thank God I had the sense to get a cover). I prayed the Good Lord will grant me a day when I don't spill or drop something.

I've hardly ever been to Deira. The place I was to reach was above a Russian restaurant called Fantasy. After the meeting I walked in to Fantasy and got myself a bottle of water. There were six people in the restaurant. A woman was working on a small ancient looking acer notebook. Three men were talking to each other intently and an old couple was eating in silence. They all seemed Russian though I can't be sure. There was a huge cake in the display window. It looked quite appealing really plus I've never had honey cake so I got a piece packed for myself. As I was walking out the older woman sitting with the man followed me with her eyes and I smiled at her. She smiled back just as I walked through the door. It's nice when people smile at you. In Dubai it occurs very often that strangers will return your smile. In India the people most likely to smile at you are children. The adults are mostly occupied. I remember mentioning this to my sister and she said,"Here if you smile at someone they'll think you're a psycho." OK she was probably exaggerating.

I walked on and saw a breakfast place. The sun was shining brilliantly through its windows. I walked in and ordered a Manakish. They took an inordinately long time to pack one for me. I was content to sit in the sun and didn't mind squinting my eyes at all. Finally as I got to the metro station they announced my train and I hurried down the escalator but a couple with their little boy didn't let me pass. The train came into the station and people began getting in. I ran towards the doors as they slid closed in front of my nose. "Damn!" I thought. Then I looked up to see that the next train was due in four minutes. You gotta love this city!