Beach-going and New Friendships

Saturday, October 13th, 2014

Post by Kim

One aspect of living in the UAE that Adam and I are really enjoying is our weekends.  Unlike in Baltimore where we were bogged down with errands and additional work, every weekend here is yet another opportunity to discover new parts of a foreign country.  Making new friendships is also a breeze.  Back in North America, I tend to be shy.  Here and other places abroad, I feel like a different person; massaging my inner extrovert comes much more easily.  I think that socializing comes much more easily abroad partly because everyone has one thing in common: a certain sense of foreignness.  Because we have something in common and don’t really know our way around, we get to know each other and help one another.  We share tips and cool new places/services in the country.  We can also identify with each other when we share our pet peeves about the country.  Our common backgrounds and experiences bind us together, yet our differences enrich and broaden our lives.  It’s truly been fascinating learning about the personal histories and travel experiences of our new friends from different parts of the world.

This past weekend at a French Polynesian restaurant in Al Ain, Adam and I had dinner with Adam’s colleagues (some of whom brought their spouses).  All of them were very nice people from different places; there is one particular colleague that Adam and I would like to get to know further, who has a Laotian wife to be sponsored here.

On the following day, we went out to Corniche beach in Abu Dhabi city with a couple from Al Ain that we’ve gotten to be really good friends with, and another nice ADEC teacher in Abu Dhabi city (whose wife is temporarily out of the country).  The beach was wonderful!  You know when you go into the water and, usually, it takes a while to get accustomed to the cold?  You don’t get that in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf.  It’s like bath water, except that it’s salty so you float fairly easily.  The sand was also very fine, so it didn’t feel too harsh on the skin.  Here are some pictures of the beach; I couldn't help but take a clichéd one of our feet.

Also, for those who are wondering: yes, you can wear a bikini at the beach.  Or at least all the Western women do.  I don’t think there were any Emiratis at the beach – just expats.  We stayed at the beach until sunset – around 6pm.

 

 

Later that evening, our new friend kindly invited us for dinner at his flat in Abu Dhabi.  Beforehand, we went to the vegetable market in Abu Dhabi to get some produce for dinner.

 

We also went to visit the fish market.  Our new friend told us that you can buy fish market and go next door to the restaurants to have them cook it for you!

The food at both the vegetable and fish market was quite inexpensive.  It cost only around 6 US dollars to feed 5 adults!  Here we are, enjoying the food at dinnertime: fried sardines, arugula, cucumbers, carrots, seasoned rice, and mangoes.  Good food, good friends, good times!

We were also quite amazed at the view from the flat.  The residence is called Al Rheem, and it consists of three buildings on an island (called the Al Rheem island).  Here is a picture of the place that I found through a Google search.

A great number of ADEC teachers live there.  From the balcony, we could see the pool and children's play area.  Such a grand place!

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. From speaking with various people, we can see quite some variability in the extent that they are enjoying their time here.  From our experiences and circumstances here, Adam and I are quite happy; what makes this new experience in the UAE so wonderful is the opportunity to see new sights and meet interesting people.  Stay tuned for more adventures!

The Elusive Souq and Mysterious Emirati

Monday, October 6^th, 2014

Post by Kim

Yesterday, Adam and I went back to Dubai with the hopes of going up the Burj Khalifa for a view of the city, getting some books at Book World in the Dubai Mall, and seeing a traditional souq.  This time, we went with two of our good friends.  The Burj Khalifa/Dubai mall area was really crowded on that day, even more than the first time we went there.  It was so busy that all the Burj Khalifa tours were booked for the day until 11:55PM!  We gave up on the Burj Khalifa idea for now, but still came across many more interesting sights in the area.

At the Dubai mall, we got the books that I’ve been looking for and took more pictures.

 

We also came across displays in windows that further reinforce the absurd, lavish lifestyle that I’ve been telling you about in my previous posts.

Out of curiosity, we went into the store to check out the prices of the items.  At the front, there was a little white dress for an elementary-school aged girl; the price tag was 1,999 dirhams (or about 550 US dollars).

We then saw the following at another store, which was even more absurd; Adam, our friends, and I just about died laughing.

This little red Broon F8 car was on display next to a white one, and on the wall there was a list of features of the vehicles.  I took a picture but it didn’t really show well, but here are some of the features from my online research: Dual 12V/24V 15,000RPM 5 series DC Motor, Smart Safety Driving System, Bluetooth 4.0 Remote Control, 7-Inch Tablet PC with Smart, Ergonomically Structured Utrethane-Leather Bucket Seat, 4 Point Seat Belt, Voice/Visual Guidance System, 2 Channel Stereo Speakers, etc.  If you would like to look into this for any child you know, here’s a link to their website:  http://www.henes.co.kr/english/product_f8.html

Here's another funny picture showing how wealth is different in the UAE. They actually have ATMs that dispense gold!

Later that afternoon, while the sun began to set, we went outside to the Dubai Mall Fountain.  There was a water fountain/music show to come, so it was really crowded.  Adam took advantage of his height to take some pictures.  Here’s a panoramic image of the area; the base of the Burj Khalifa is the fourth main building from the left.

Here’s another picture that Adam took, which I really like.

 

Adam’s height might have helped him take some pictures in this crowd, but even he doesn’t beat the Burj Khalifa.

After this, we then went to go see the Madinat Jumeirah Souq.  So far in the UAE, I haven’t been able to find what I imagine a souq would look like – that is, some kind of outdoor Middle Eastern market right out of the Disney movie “Aladdin”.  In Al Ain, some places were labeled “Souq”, but they were simply what I would call a strip mall – oftentimes with goods that are not even traditionally Middle Eastern.  On the Dubai tourist map, this Madinat Jumeirah Souq was described as a “traditional souq”, so I thought that it might fulfill this fantasy of mine.  When we arrived and parked at an indoor modern parking lot, I knew that this elusive souq probably doesn’t exist in the UAE.  The souk was all indoors, and when we first came in, we saw nothing but western cafes and other more-western looking stores and restaurants.  The difference was in the architecture of the building, which was more Arabic-looking, with repetitive geometric shapes and patterns.

We continued looking around, outside the buildings, and watched beautiful sights such as these.  In the first picture, you’ll see another tall building on the left; this one is called the Burj Al Arab.

Just when we were about to give up, we saw another area of the souq that had very pretty, Middle Eastern-looking items.  Here I continued practicing my photography skills, if any.

 

The souq wasn’t quite what I had envisioned in that it was indoors and more modern-looking.  However, it certainly was beautiful.  This also underscores how our preconceived notions of things might not match reality, and we simply need to appreciate things for what they are.

As our visit to Dubai wrapped up, our friends, Adam and I discussed what we had seen/done in the UAE.  Our friends often described the feeling of seeing nothing but mall, after mall, after mall here.  Maybe this sightseeing was interspersed with beach going and mosque seeing, but in general, it’s all about malls and grand/luxurious buildings.  That’s when something dawned on me; something is different about the UAE in comparison with all other places we’ve been to in the world thus far.  The Emirati don’t seem to have a history or culture that they readily share to the rest of the world.  Instead, they want or import everything from abroad.  In their malls, they have Western clothing stores (with brand fashion names like Versace, Burberry, H and M, etc.).  Their restaurants are American chains (Cheesecake Factory,  Chilis, KFC, etc.) and imports from abroad (Italian and French cuisine, East and South Asian foods like Indian curries, Japanese Sushi, Southeast Asian noodles, etc.).  Even the Middle Eastern food is not described as “Emirati”; we’ve been to Lebanese, Turkish, Iranian restaurants – but no sign of Emirati cuisine.  Also, in the Madinat Jumeirah Souq, nothing was technically Emirati – our friend overheard another customer asking about the items, and everything was either Turkish, Palestinian, or from another Middle Eastern country.  Same with the camel market that we saw the other day; the people who were there selling were all Non-Emirati, Middle Easterners.

As I thought about this further, I realized and noticed that here, unlike all other places we’ve been to, there are little to no buildings/places of historical significance.  There are relatively few museums of history too, and I wondered why.  I suppose that this country is a relatively new country, so maybe there is not much to report.  Even then, though, wouldn't the Emirati people want to talk about their lifestyle, prior to fifty years ago or their discovery of oil in the country?  Maybe the country’s prior “poverty” or absence of modern things are not really things that they really want to boast about.

From being here, we are learning a lot from interacting directly with people from around the world – whether Tunisians, Egyptians, Jordanians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Irish, Filipinos, Indians, Canadians, or Americans, etc.  We learn about their personal histories, their background, and their feelings; we get to know them as people.  On the other hand, though, our interactions with the Emirati people are somewhat limited; they are a mystery to us.  In my case, I’ve barely spoken to them for concern of saying/doing something that might be considered offensive in their culture.  I don’t know how it is for all other ADEC teachers, but Adam says that his interactions with the Emirati administration and families are also limited.  Also, I think that the Emirati prefer to keep this glass pane between them and others, as it seems like they see all expats as servants.

I’d like to emphasize here that this distance that I am talking about is specific to the Emirati people, not the other Middle Eastern people.  Adam’s Tunisians and Egyptians colleagues have been very friendly and given us insight into their experiences; they also say that, back in their home country, the people don’t behave in the same manner that Emiratis do.  I think it is very easy to brush all Middle Eastern people in one stroke, especially in these times where in the Western media, all they talk about is ISIS and other crazies who in no way resemble most Muslims.

Anyway, these are my thoughts for now, and they may evolve further in time.  Please feel free to share any comments about my posts; I’d really like to know your thoughts as well.  Some readers have told me that they were going to write something, but had technical difficulties.  If that’s the case for you, please let me know by e-mail or Facebook so that I can try to figure out the issue.

Goats, Camels, Sheep, and Mountains on Eid

Saturday, October 4^th, 2014

Post by Kim

Adam and I decided to delay our trip to Muscat to possibly next weekend; instead, we went sightseeing in Al Ain for this Eid day; we went to the camel/goat market near Bawadi Mall and the Jebel Hafeet Mountain for a view of the city.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar to Eid, it is a big religious celebration for Muslims that is also known as the “Festival of the Sacrifice”.  It commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his own son, Ishmael, at God’s command.  In this story, God then provides Abraham with a lamb to take Ishmael’s place.  Those of Christian or Jewish faith may remember this story as Abraham and Isaac.  In the modern-day festival, they slaughter the sheep (or other domestic animals like goats and camels) in remembrance of this story.

At the camel/goat market today, we saw lots and lots of goats and sheep in pens, ready to be purchased and later slaughtered.  Sheeps were being taken away in pickup trucks.  Adam and I were surprised to see men tying up sheep by their feet, then throwing them live in the trunk of their sedan!  I wanted to take pictures of this, but wasn’t sure that it would be appropriate; so, instead, I am showing you a picture of goats in the pen.

Local market people called Adam and me and insisted that we come take pictures of their camels.  From talking with other expats, we knew to expect requests for payment; as the expats recommended, we paid no more than 50 dirhams (or around 20 US dollars) for being allowed in the pen to take pictures.  Here is an example of a building/pen where the camels are kept.

And here we are with the camels.

The market men also showed us a cute baby camel.  When I came up to the pen, the baby camel immediately went up to the side of the cage (probably anticipating some food), so I took a picture of it behind rather than through the bars.

From our understanding, the camels are bought for various purposes: for racing, for transportation, for meat, and for their milk.  Adam asked the men how much one goes for typically, and they said 20,000 dirhams (or 5,500 US dollars).

Later that afternoon, we went up to Jebel Hafeet Mountain for a view of Al Ain.  Adam and I had previously been there with some friends at nighttime, but our old camera was not really working well in the dark.  Here are the various pictures from today from up there and on the road.

 

Overall, we had a really enjoyable Eid day.  It was really interesting to see hot, unsanitized, and traditional scenes in comparison to the cool, modern, and sterilized malls throughout the country.  I guess these just highlight how the UAE has a mix of old and new, and how much it has changed over the span of fifty years with the discovery of oil.

Eid Mubarak to all our Muslim friends!

First Impressions of Dubai

Friday, October 3rd, 2014
Post by Kim

Yesterday, Adam and I spontaneously decided to go to Dubai to pick up a bank card (instead of having them deliver it to us in Al Ain), to sightsee, and to have dinner.  It was 1 hour and a half of smooth sailing from our home to the big city.

By the time we arrived in Dubai, the sun began to set.  Here are some pictures from the road.

We had some quite overwhelming views, as the city is quite large and luxurious.  In this picture here, you can see the Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world.  Notice how it towers way above all other buildings!

After we picked up the bankcard, we went to the Dubai mall – the world’s largest shopping mall in terms of total area.  There again, everything was large and luxurious – things made of sterilized metal and glass, with clean lines.  There are over a thousand shops at the mall, most of which are brand names: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo – you name it, they got it.  Here are two pictures that help encompass what I mean.

There was also a gigantic aquarium at the mall, which we watched only from the outside.

We then tried one of the restaurants at the mall – The Social House, which was fabulous (like all the other restaurants we’ve been to in the UAE thus far).  It was a eclectic-looking restaurant (with things as random as trees and plants, combined with books, bottles on shelves).  The menu was hung up on pant hangers, and comprised of items list under “East” and “West”.

Adam and I went with the East theme, and ordered a Vietnamese papaya salad, salmon and avocado nigiri, curry bibimbap, lemongrass and mint juice, and guava and grape juice.  Affordable (all for around 230 dirhams, or 60 US dollars) and soooo good!

It’s kind of silly, but one of the events that stuck with me from this trip was going to the ladies’ restroom on our way out of the mall.  There were two parts that I found really interesting.  First, when I came in, I was surprised to see the Emirati women in there, still wearing their abayas (traditional black dress) but with their veils off, on the counter.  They were standing all along the mirror, fixing their gorgeous hair and perfect makeup.  Some of them had long, beautiful, curled hair.  I was a little stunned because I had never seen with without their veils, and I thought to myself:  “What is the purpose of making yourself look so pretty when you’re going to cover yourself up again?”  I myself, walk around without a veil but with barely any makeup and with relatively unkept hair.  Maybe I am the one who should cover up and wear a veil…  Haha!

Anyway, seeing those ladies all made-up to the nines made me think about some other curious thing I have seen in the multitude of malls in the UAE; they shop at expensive western clothing stores, yet they wear abayas!  I suppose they buy these nice expensive clothes, but cover themselves up with abayas (at least in public).

The second thing that was interesting to me in the ladies’ restroom was that there was a cleaning lady, standing there and cleaning up the toilet stalls whenever one was free.  I had the distinct impression that this was a her job; to stand there and clean up after each toilet use!  Maybe I am wrong and she was just there to check up on the restrooms, but this is definitely possible since Adam and I saw a porter in the mall, ready to carry people’s shopping bags.  The level of luxury in this country is absurd!

As we were leaving Dubai and reflecting about what we saw, Adam said the following about the mall: “I almost didn’t like it.”  The grandeur of the place was amazing, but it almost felt like a museum because of its luxury.  You can also window shop for most of the stores.  I also think about what we saw, in contrast, last year in Malawi – kids laboring with a hoe in the sun, without any sandals, only to get a measley piece of cassava.  Meanwhile, the Emirati people are eating exotic Western and East Asian foods at high-end restaurants, wearing expensive clothing that they hide under their abayas.

This experience also made us think about the state of the economy here, in the UAE.  The luxury from this country all derives from their oil.  With this money, they have chosen to build grand buildings, sites and tourist attractions.  Most of the stores in the big malls are relatively empty; only a few (usually Emiratis) actually buy items in there.  How do they keep their shops running?  With their oil, they fly teachers from all around the world, provide them with housing, furniture, and salary on a yearly basis.  They spend money on porters at the mall, and apparently 24/7 cleaning ladies in the bathrooms.  All loans made to Emiratis are with 0% interest.  We also heard the following rumors: (a) Emiratis get paid 250,000 dirhams (around 70,000 US dollars) for having a boy and 125,000 dirhams (around 35,000 US dollars) for having a girl, (b) they get paid to send their children to school, and (c) every once in a while, the Sheik Khalifa pardons Emiratis' debts.  How can all of this be sustainable, especially considering that the oil will run out at some point?  Would the tourism industry be enough to sustain this lavish lifestyle?

One of our good friends in Al Ain said something that I thought is really interesting; he said that it feels like Roaring Twenties here in the UAE, and perhaps something similar to what followed that period could happen here as well.

Anyway, these are my thoughts from our first trip to Dubai.  It was definitely an interesting one and we enjoyed seeing and learning.  In addition to being Adam’s birthday, it’s Eid weekend, which means that we will probably do some more travelling or sightseeing in the days to come… maybe a trip to Muscat, Oman.  We’ll keep you posted!

Home Sweet Home

Thursday, September 25th, 2014
Post by Kim

Adam and I can’t believe that it’s already been five weeks that we’ve been settling into Al Ain.  I guess time flies when you’re having a good time!

So finally, as promised, here are pictures/videos of our new home.  As I might have mentioned earlier in my previous posts, we live in Hili Complex – fifteen-minutes drive from Adam's workplace and right at the border of Oman.  Here’s a picture of Adam driving at the border.

And here is a section of the Hili Complex.

We are located right next to the Hili Mall and Geant Hypermarket (picture below).  The Hili Mall is a brand new mall (about one year old); it’s so new that many stores there are not yet open.  Thankfully, the Geant Hypermarket has already opened, so Adam and I are able to get groceries or any miscellaneous item in less than three-minutes walk.

At the mall, near the Rotana Hotel, there are also three really nice restaurants: a French restaurant, an Italian restaurant, and Burger Hut.  Here is a picture of the pastries at the French restaurant.

 

Here are pictures of a tortellini soup plus Adam enjoying a pizza at the Italian restaurant.

 

And here is a really dorky one of yours truly at Burger Hut.

The flat we live in is all paid by ADEC (i.e., Adam’s employer) and we received a stipend of 20,000 aed (i.e., around 6000 US dollars) to furnish our home.  We managed to stay within the stipend to get all of our furniture (i.e., 321 sofa set, TV stand, coffee tables, king size bed, night stands, dresser, queen size bed, desk, bookcase, miscellaneous chairs, tables, and storage units), appliances (fridge, washer, stove, water cooler), kitchenware (microwave, mini-oven toaster, slow cooker, pots and pans, kitchen toolsm dinnerware, etc.), electronics (TV, DVD players, lamps, etc.), decorative items (framed pictures, plants), window treatments, and bed/bathroom linens!  The trick was to mix new items with second-hand items from the Facebook Swap and Shop group.  When we will leave Abu Dhabi, we might also make some profit out of these household items by reselling them.

Anyway, here’s a tour/video of our flat and furniture.

If, for some reason, you have difficulty viewing the video, here are some pictures of various rooms from our new place.

 

Adam and I are settling nicely into our place, and it feels more and more like our home.  We feel really privileged to have such a comfortable home that is conveniently located – all for free, essentially :)  We are also looking forward to having visitors; if you’d like to come, please do not hesitate to let us know!