Masquerades and Masha'Allah

This weekend was unexpectedly awesome! If you recall in one of my previous posts I talked about wanting to step outside of my comfort zone and try new things since moving to Abu Dhabi, and I've done that, but this masquerade was something I didn't really want to do. But as I know and sometimes forget, words have power and once you say them (or type them) they have a way of coming to fruition. I can only attribute how this all came about to God. I heard somewhere that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. Well, I think God had a good laugh at me.

So, like I said, I didn't really want to go to this masquerade. I didn't have a dress, or a mask, or anyone to go with or a desire to look for any of the above. So I didn't do anything to make those things happen. But one day I went to the mall to feed my Shake Shack craving and happened to pop into BCBG which was just across the way, because they were having a 50% off sale. The sale was mostly on, you guessed it, evening wear, so I decided to try a few pieces on. I never wear red (my grandma told me it was for hussies when I was a kid and I believed her), but I decided to try on this red dress just for fun. When I put this dress on it fit so amazingly I couldn't believe it, so I stepped out of the dressing room to look at myself in the big mirror and when the sales lady saw me she said "Miss you look so elegant!"...it was 50% off but it still wasn't cheap...I had to think about this. So I walked around the mall for a bit to weigh the pros and the cons. I already had shoes to match. And accessories too. When would I ever find a deal like this again? What other places could I wear a dress like this? I might meet my future husband in this dress, just kidding! I bought the dress and thought, "I guess I'm going to a masquerade" and promptly went home and hung the dress in the back of my closet.

The following weeks kind of flew by but I found myself thinking about the masquerade and wondering what's the worst that could happen? Then I found out a few of my other coworkers were going. I still wasn't convinced. Then somehow I got on a mailing list for updates about the masquerade so I was getting email reminders about it every couple days. I sucked it up and bought a ticket. 

The actual event turned out to be really nice. It was put on by the ladies of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, who knew there were sorority chapters in Abu Dhabi, right? Well apparently there are, and they do a lot of charity work but also know how to party. After our champagne reception we were treated to dinner while awards were presented to some local people for their contributions to the expat community here. I got to mingle with some people that I had met at other events and also network with some people from the public school district here. That's where I learned my new arabic word, masha'Allah. It means God has willed it and is a way to show joy or praise. It can also be used to prevent the evil eye or jinxing.

And then when our bellies were full and most people were buzzing from the champagne and wine being served, the dj started playing hip hop, r&b, and reggae music that brought everyone to the dance floor. It was really fun to dance and laugh with my new friends and see some of the crazy dance moves people had. Before I knew it it was the wee hours of the morning and time to go home.

Now, I'm a responsible drinker, here more than anywhere because you can be arrested or deported for being drunk in public or driving while intoxicated, so I didn't drive to the party. I took Uber and it was my first ride so it was free! But Iqbal, the driver wasn't the best at following directions or finding my apartment so I decided to take a taxi home. He didn't do much better. I live in a development that has four apartment buildings that all look the same. They're not numbered on the outside but since they sit in sequential order its pretty easy to figure out, and since so many people live here and take taxis, most drivers know which building is which because they come here all the time. 

So, I was a little tipsy but not enough to forget where I live, when I noticed the driver pass my building so I say 'hey, that was my building'. He laughed and replied, 'No, miss, this your building, how long you live here?'. Clearly he wasn't tipsy, so I took his word, paid him and headed into the building. When I got on the elevator my key card wouldn't work, which frustrated me, so I (annoyed) called for the guard who takes one look at me and says 'Miss this not your building, this building 7'. I do not live in building 7. I live in building 6 smh. I just walked over to my own building half ashamed of myself and half laughing at myself. What a night! So much fun :)

And now here are some pictures!