I should be packing but I’m not. It’s my last night in Dubai and most of my stuff has been taken away by Freightworks for air shipping, but a few bags of clothes and laptops remain. My taxi arrives in 3 hours, but instead of worrying about whether or not my Macbook is wrapped tightly enough, I am reflecting on 22 months of life changing work and play.

Over the last few days I have said goodbye many, many times. Sometimes several times to the same people. Rarely with tear-welled eyes, but sometimes. I came here for 5 months of “contract work” (that doesn’t mean assassinations) and wound up staying for 22. The work was rewarding, but websites are fleeting, and it’s really only the friendships that I care about. I have met lifelong friends here, who have changed my life in ways they’ll never fully understand. American stereotypes aside, I had no idea what I didn’t know, and now I know, and I have much more to learn. I never thought I could be changed so profoundly, but I have, and I have only these open-minded, generous, warm people from every corner of the globe to thank.

If Dubai has one virtue it is that it brings people together, albeit sometimes on an uneven playing field, for better and worse. I now count among my CLOSEST friends, British, Irish, Indians, Arabs, Polish, Spanish, Dutch, Philipinos, and jerks. I’ve shared meals and bedrooms and blood and puke and tears with these people, and they have opened me up to the world. I thank them so much for that and I will miss them all, until I see them again. Soon.

As for Dubai, I can’t say I’ll miss it very much. I owe it a lot, but the broken little things are too much for me to tolerate: restricted internet access, terrible mobile phone service, horrible taxi system, horrendous traffic, political hypocrisy, and the worst parking system ever… But, it is in a great part of the world for travel, so I guess I can say that the best part of Dubai itself has been leaving it from time to time. In the last 22 months I’ve been to 12 countries (I might even be forgetting something), including UAE (all over, of course), Jordan (Amman and Petra), Egypt (Cairo), Oman (Muscat, Mussandam), Sri Lanka (Hikkadua, Unawatuna, Gaul), Spain (Barcelona, Bilbao), Lebanon (Beirut), India (Kerala), England (London), Netherlands (Amsterdam), Hungary (Budapest), and Mexico (Zihuatanejo). My proudest accomplishment is my literally full passport.

So I guess this post is just a thank you, rather than a goodbye, to my friends, enemies, colleagues, travel buddies, and co-conspirators. Thank you so much for changing me, opening me, befriending me, kissing me, tolerating me, caring about me, and missing me. I know I’ll see you soon, somewhere…

Just probably not in Dubai…