We purchased tickets to a fancy over-priced over-the-top New Years Eve party at THE LODGE, the same night club where we reveled before (see 'Indecent Expatriates' Post), but alas, our ruler has deemed parties at this year's end to be inappropriate.
Excerpt from Gulf News:
Mohammad Orders Cancellation of New Year Celebrations
Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has ordered the cancellation of all forms of celebrations marking the New Year in Dubai emirate, as an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
In support of the Palestinians in Gaza, who are enduring all kinds of killing, destruction and displacement by the Israeli military machinery, Shaikh Mohammad instructed all concerned authorities in Dubai to put this order in place and take necessary procedures to circulate the decision to all concerned parties.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Heat is On
Yesterday for the first time, when I got in the car for work at 7am, I was tempted to turn on the heat. A lot of people have been curious about the weather here and I am happy to report that December is a glorious month in the UAE. The temps hover around 75 on most days with clear sunny skies. The mornings can be chilly, but after about 2 minutes with the heat on low, I was hot and ready to open the windows. By 8am when I crossed the courtyard to teach my first class, I felt perfect in my short sleeves.
I'm not sure how long this gorgeous weather will last, but it's probably best not to jinx myself by asking. I am in no rush for the 116 degree heat of summer to return.
I'm not sure how long this gorgeous weather will last, but it's probably best not to jinx myself by asking. I am in no rush for the 116 degree heat of summer to return.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Holiday Meltdown
Christmas wouldn't be complete if I (or one of my sisters) didin't have a total emotional meltdown.
People do get whacky during the holidays, and we surmise it's a result of too much to eat and drink, not enough sleep, heaping doses of family, excess money spent and the generally uncontrollable Christmas frenzy.
But sometimes it's the little stuff that sends us over the edge. Yesterday on my way home from work, I stopped into our local market with a list of ingredients for Christmas desserts. Forget that I have family in town for a moment and there are still several dozen gifts to wrap under my bed, and forget that I have to work on Christmas (this being a Muslim country and all), and pay no mind to the fact that if I wanted, there are many lovely Lebanese bakeries around who could sell me perfectly arranged and delicious holiday dessert platters. But I am a glutton for punishment, and darn it, I've just got to have my family's favorite two-layer sour cream graham-cracker crumb cheesecake on the table on December 24.
But it all started deteriorating when I couldn't find the graham crackers. When I asked the smiley guy in produce for graham crackers, he escorted me to the 'rusk' section - Rusk, you might wonder, according to Webster, is Sweet raised bread dried and browned in an oven but it doesn't even come close to our expectations for a cracker. In fact, it's more like a teething buscuit, and for some reason, local shelves stock a dozen varieties and flavors. Something didn't feel right at that point, but I said to myself, this is not a reason to freak out, graham crackers or not, Christmas will be a warm and wonderful day. And so I asked another guy who repeated 'BRAN' when I said 'GRAHAM', and that's when I knew I was in trouble. By the time I got to the middle of the baking aisle, after visits through cereal, candy, nuts, and even 'seasonal', the flood gates had opened. You know the type, major uncontrollable waterworks, Niagara Falls style tears gushing out of my face, onto my blouse, into half-dozen tissues, all through the store, as I moved on to find the cream cheese (called puck), rocotta cheese (soft Italian) and butter required to make this ridiculous recipe - with or without graham crackers... I continued to mutter to myself.
But pats on the back are well-deserved here, as I managed to re-collect myself, put on my movie-star shades, find a substitute for graham crackers (nilla wafers and local coconut crackers) and then pay and return home to make luscious-looking two-layer sour cream graham-cracker crumb cheesecake.
People do get whacky during the holidays, and we surmise it's a result of too much to eat and drink, not enough sleep, heaping doses of family, excess money spent and the generally uncontrollable Christmas frenzy.
But sometimes it's the little stuff that sends us over the edge. Yesterday on my way home from work, I stopped into our local market with a list of ingredients for Christmas desserts. Forget that I have family in town for a moment and there are still several dozen gifts to wrap under my bed, and forget that I have to work on Christmas (this being a Muslim country and all), and pay no mind to the fact that if I wanted, there are many lovely Lebanese bakeries around who could sell me perfectly arranged and delicious holiday dessert platters. But I am a glutton for punishment, and darn it, I've just got to have my family's favorite two-layer sour cream graham-cracker crumb cheesecake on the table on December 24.
But it all started deteriorating when I couldn't find the graham crackers. When I asked the smiley guy in produce for graham crackers, he escorted me to the 'rusk' section - Rusk, you might wonder, according to Webster, is Sweet raised bread dried and browned in an oven but it doesn't even come close to our expectations for a cracker. In fact, it's more like a teething buscuit, and for some reason, local shelves stock a dozen varieties and flavors. Something didn't feel right at that point, but I said to myself, this is not a reason to freak out, graham crackers or not, Christmas will be a warm and wonderful day. And so I asked another guy who repeated 'BRAN' when I said 'GRAHAM', and that's when I knew I was in trouble. By the time I got to the middle of the baking aisle, after visits through cereal, candy, nuts, and even 'seasonal', the flood gates had opened. You know the type, major uncontrollable waterworks, Niagara Falls style tears gushing out of my face, onto my blouse, into half-dozen tissues, all through the store, as I moved on to find the cream cheese (called puck), rocotta cheese (soft Italian) and butter required to make this ridiculous recipe - with or without graham crackers... I continued to mutter to myself.
But pats on the back are well-deserved here, as I managed to re-collect myself, put on my movie-star shades, find a substitute for graham crackers (nilla wafers and local coconut crackers) and then pay and return home to make luscious-looking two-layer sour cream graham-cracker crumb cheesecake.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A Very Muslim Christmas
I couldn't be happier that the kids have friends who are Emirati. A local family in our neighborhood send their kids to the Australian School with ours, and after school, they all play wild games of tag and share snacks of popcorn and chicken hotdogs when we see them in the park. They bury their shoes in the sand, climb to the tops of monkeybars, laughing their heads off while getting utterly filthy in the twilight.
Watching the sandy, teeming packs of kids, I forget that the culture and language here are totally different from my own. Or maybe not totally.
The other day, Gebrille, 9, was tooling around on the sidewalk showing off a shiny remote control car. When he came close enough for me to admire his car, he told me it was a Christmas present from last year. I said hold on kid, isn't your family Muslim? And he said well yes but it's ok it's ok, our family doesn't think Christmas is Haram.
Haram, pronounced 'Hah-RAHM', means Forbidden in Islam, and is one of the first words you learn here as a foreigner. Wearing shorts in Sharjah is Haram. Alcohol is Haram. Men and women socializing together is Haram. And therefore, I would assume, that anything surrounding a Christian holiday would certainly be HARAM. No miss no miss, he says, Christmas is OK, my mom speaks good English, so Christmas is ok its ok. Seeing my puzzlement he went on to say but No miss, even though we have Christmas, Halloween is Haram and we never do trick or treating, our neighbors wouldn't like it.
Before I could query him any more he took off with the car and left me to mull over a family whose mom covers her hair in Muslim tradition, but also doles out gifts on December 25.
Watching the sandy, teeming packs of kids, I forget that the culture and language here are totally different from my own. Or maybe not totally.
The other day, Gebrille, 9, was tooling around on the sidewalk showing off a shiny remote control car. When he came close enough for me to admire his car, he told me it was a Christmas present from last year. I said hold on kid, isn't your family Muslim? And he said well yes but it's ok it's ok, our family doesn't think Christmas is Haram.
Haram, pronounced 'Hah-RAHM', means Forbidden in Islam, and is one of the first words you learn here as a foreigner. Wearing shorts in Sharjah is Haram. Alcohol is Haram. Men and women socializing together is Haram. And therefore, I would assume, that anything surrounding a Christian holiday would certainly be HARAM. No miss no miss, he says, Christmas is OK, my mom speaks good English, so Christmas is ok its ok. Seeing my puzzlement he went on to say but No miss, even though we have Christmas, Halloween is Haram and we never do trick or treating, our neighbors wouldn't like it.
Before I could query him any more he took off with the car and left me to mull over a family whose mom covers her hair in Muslim tradition, but also doles out gifts on December 25.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Five Star Living? Not quite..
It wouldn't be fair to write about life in the UAE if I didn't also let you in on some of the frustrations, confusions and make-me-almost-cry scenarios that are part of every day living in a developing country.
Though Dubai is well-known (read last post) for cutting-edge construction, building islands from scratch, and 7 star hotels, the country as a whole has only been rich for 40 years and didn't start formally educating people outside the mosques until th e1960's. That said, you can begin to understand that even though you get world class service when you pay five star prices, every day living is far from a five star experience.
Take the roads as an example. Eight lane toll-ways exist, with dirt and sand roads feeding into them, and truly maniacal drivers urge you out of their lane by flashing their lights, tailing you within inches and then passing at deadly high speeds. I honestly feel as if I've been harassed on the road sometimes, by people I've never met.
And we've been trying to buy a car for a month, but to do this, we need to provide paper checks to the dealer, written and post-dated for the duration of our car loan. Sounds crazy? But our check books got lost in the mail, a major religious holiday closed the bank for several days, and in the mean time, the car we want has been sold.
Then, making my life ever so much simpler, my mobile phone stopped working suddenly, because unbeknownst to me, I purchased a 'tourist plan', and my 'tourist phone number' expired without warning. The funny part is that it took three calls to tech support, and three visits to the phone store to confirm that I would need to change my phone number. So now I've got to alert the kids school, utilities, and my scant new friends of my new details.
On top of all this, the UAE started a new ID program, under which all of us, including the kids, must get a biometric id card, with eye and fingerprints embedded in fancy chips. The government issued a Dec 31 deadline, then closed their offices for religious holidays. So after the holidays, Billy got in line at 5:30 in the morning to get appointments for us all, and they gave appointments out to 80 guys. Billy was 90th in line. We've come to find out that most of the time when the government scares people with deadlines and required inititiatives, they back off, without exception, when they realize that their own offices have insufficient manpower to handle the request.
So as Billy is becoming more 'ZEN' by the day, I continue to dig in to my steering wheel and scratch my head over the absurdities of 2 star Emirati living.
Though Dubai is well-known (read last post) for cutting-edge construction, building islands from scratch, and 7 star hotels, the country as a whole has only been rich for 40 years and didn't start formally educating people outside the mosques until th e1960's. That said, you can begin to understand that even though you get world class service when you pay five star prices, every day living is far from a five star experience.
Take the roads as an example. Eight lane toll-ways exist, with dirt and sand roads feeding into them, and truly maniacal drivers urge you out of their lane by flashing their lights, tailing you within inches and then passing at deadly high speeds. I honestly feel as if I've been harassed on the road sometimes, by people I've never met.
And we've been trying to buy a car for a month, but to do this, we need to provide paper checks to the dealer, written and post-dated for the duration of our car loan. Sounds crazy? But our check books got lost in the mail, a major religious holiday closed the bank for several days, and in the mean time, the car we want has been sold.
Then, making my life ever so much simpler, my mobile phone stopped working suddenly, because unbeknownst to me, I purchased a 'tourist plan', and my 'tourist phone number' expired without warning. The funny part is that it took three calls to tech support, and three visits to the phone store to confirm that I would need to change my phone number. So now I've got to alert the kids school, utilities, and my scant new friends of my new details.
On top of all this, the UAE started a new ID program, under which all of us, including the kids, must get a biometric id card, with eye and fingerprints embedded in fancy chips. The government issued a Dec 31 deadline, then closed their offices for religious holidays. So after the holidays, Billy got in line at 5:30 in the morning to get appointments for us all, and they gave appointments out to 80 guys. Billy was 90th in line. We've come to find out that most of the time when the government scares people with deadlines and required inititiatives, they back off, without exception, when they realize that their own offices have insufficient manpower to handle the request.
So as Billy is becoming more 'ZEN' by the day, I continue to dig in to my steering wheel and scratch my head over the absurdities of 2 star Emirati living.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Shark Tank
Dubai is known for more Firsts, Tallests, Most Luxurious-es, and Biggests than any other tourist destination on the planet. And so with our first visitors, we decided to try out some of the outragious touristy offerings we've been promising the kids (and dying to see ourselves).
Taking it Easy - Day 1
Janell and Scooby arrived at 1am on a Sunday. While the kids and I were at school, Billy, our jetlag enforcer, tapped on our visitors' door at noon and took them out to a Sharjah favorite, the Dhow restaurant - for Arabic lunch in an historic trading boat. They ate grilled meats, vine leaves and eggplant salad, while Billy gave them the lowdown on what we had in store for the rest of their visit.
Gulf-side Dining & Tallest Building - Day 2
After a quick kitchen-table orientation, we sent them off with a car, a map and directions to the Dubai Museum, which both visitors said is a worthwhile stop, with exhibits on pearl diving, architecture and local heritage. That night, we grownups ate on the water in Dubai, at a restaurant called Shimmers. Janell and I were given loaner pashminas to keep our shoulders warm and aside from the fact that the bar simply couldn't get the martini's right, first no vodka, then no olives.. the food was delicious, again with grilled meats and fish, and crusty walnut bread.
On our commute to and from the restaurant, we took in views of Dubai's newest trademark, the Burj Dubai. The Burj Dubai, to be completed in two years, is the tallest structure in the world. Designed by the same architecture firm as the Sears Tower (3 cheers for my Chicago readers !!), it features some of the same multi-level design features of the famous Chicago skyscraper. This building can be seen from any approach to Dubai, and you can't help but be amazed at how it dwarfs the surrounding high-rises.
Shark Tank - Day 3
Theme parks in the UAE are a big draw for tourists from other gulf countries where venues with bathing suits are problematic. We'd already been to a pretty d-luxe water park called Dreamland, but we'd been waiting to go to Aquaventure for a special occasion - alas, visitors from home gave us an excuse. For a mere $85 per person, we were let in to Aquaventure, which not only boasts the only rides in the world where you are thrust through shark tanks, but you also get to spend the day on the famous Palm Jumeira - the man-made palm shaped island which has made Dubai so famous.
Dune Bashing - Day 4
We chilled out for most of the next day (sliding through shark tanks and careening through wavy rivers is exhausting), while Janell and Scooby went on a shopping excursion. When they returned at 3:30, we were picked up by Ishaq the tour guide for a Desert Safari Tour. It started with Dune Bashing - where we followed a dozen other land cruisers into the desert, to sail up and over stories-tall yellow dunes and then down again, only to cruise up and down the sides of dozens more. Imagine pulsating Arabic music booming through subwoofers, roller-coaster style driving, with Brady and Liam howling and laughing in the back row, me holding on tight with my eyes-half closed trying not to acknowledge the lunch not entirely digested in my stomach, and Scooby taking it all in with a video camera in the front seat - and Janell and Billy nervously laughing their heads off at every crest of dune. Thank goodness we left Rosie home with a sitter.
Once we'd had enough bashing, we were dropped at a desert camp, where we ate (again) grilled meats, lamb kebobs, lamb chops and chicken, watched belly dancing, got henna tatoos, rode camels, dressed in local costumes and learned about the local past time (and bad habit) sheesha smoking. Needless to say, when we were dropped at home by 10pm, we were pooped, and thoroughly satisfied and impressed with ourselves and our adventure.
7 Star Hotel - Day 5
The Burj Al Arab is perhaps Dubai's most widely known building and hotel, as it is shaped like a sailboat. In addition to its unusual architecture, the hotel boasts a 7 star rating, with rooms starting at $2500, and entry to the lobby restricted to paying hotel guests and local 'members'. Though we are indeed NOT members, we happen to have a friend who is one. At 12:30, we arrived at the hotel gate with a reservation number in hand and we took pleasure in leaving our sandy down-market rental cars with the fancy dressed valets. Our friend met us in the lobby and took us to the poolside restaurant for their luscious buffet brunch. Everything on it was gorgeous, from the sushi and sashimi, fresh oysters and shrimp, to stewed beef in truffle sauce, (again) grilled lamb, roast beef, squid salads, loads of traditional arabic salads and vine leaves, lobster claws (a favorite with Liam), crab legs (for Brady) and of course fresh fruit (for Rose). I couldn't even begin to describe the dessert buffet, as the tarts, multi-layer cakes and ice-cream service were all quite original, with locally-found fruits, nuts and sauces. After the brunch (please do not ask about the ridiculous feed-a-whole-3rd-world-family-for-a-year price tag) our friend took us on a tour of the premises were we oooh and ahhed at the views of the Palm Jumeira Island, overflowing (real) gold flower vases and beautifully coifed multi-lingual attendants at every turn. But the truth is, once we made it back to our dusty cavernous home and got back into jeans, we were grateful we didn't have to indulge ourselves in such a stuffy fashion on a regular basis. Normal life felt pretty darn good.
Global Village - Day 6
While our visitors took in yet another local mall, we rested up for an evening cultural outing: Global Village. A 3 month festival-market, Global Village sits on what we might call a fair grounds, and features acres and acres of neatly arranged tents and stalls, organized by country and region of the world. Inside each tent and stall, you can buy handicrafts, artworks, packaged and ready-to-eat foods from the particular country housed in that space. Some countries, such as India and Saudi Arabia, take up entire networks of tents and stalls, and others, like Sri Lanka had a mere handful of vendors. The USA happens not to be represented at all, and all of Europe was housed in a less-than-impressive, rather dumpily decorated tent. I bought African art made with cut palms on banana paper, soapstone bowls, woven vases, a lambskin handbag from Pakistan, Janell bought African art and Indian shoes, and her husband bought Saudi dates. Billy ate his way through the evening, with foods from Egypt, Arabic coffee, and Sri Lankan dumplings.
Largest Pane of Glass - Day 7
On Janell & Scooby's last day in Dubai, we went to a local gem, the Mamzar beach park, where we hoped to enjoy a sandy afternoon, but the weather did not cooperate, and we were forced to visit the newly opened Dubai Mall instead. This mall boasts the World's Largest Pane of Glass, which encloses the the Dubai Mall Aquarium. You'll also find an ice rink, two food courts, several ridiculous fountains, and best of all for me: Dubai's first Gap store, and for the kids: the country's only Taco Bell.
Late that night I brought Janell & Scooby back to Dubai airport, and though I truly felt sad to see them go, I was content to reach the end of a busy visit, and satisfied to tick another 4 or 5 BEST and BIGGEST Dubai attractions off my to do list - and most importanty, to start saving the necessary Dirhams for the next round of visitors.
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