Archive for November, 2008

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So long and thanks for all the fish

November 28, 2008

I am afraid that I will have to stop writing this blog. It was fun while it lasted, but it must stop. Because, if I continue to tell you how freaking happy we are here and how cheap things are here and how interesting things are here and how freaking happy we are here, there might be unfortunate consequences. Dubai should be kept our little secret. Shhhh.

So, if you are tired of hearing us rave about how much fun we are having, stop reading and never come back. If you stick around to hear more, you must swear to keep it a secret.

Tonight we ventured out to find an out of the way furniture store that we had been told about and wanting to get to, but it’s not the kind of place you can get to by taxi. Now that we are mobile, we went in search of Pinky’s and after a few wrong turns, found it.

A warehouse full of lovely hardwood furniture from India.
This is the set we bought. Sorry that the picture is blurry. The seats lift up and there are storage compartments underneath. We (read I) will add cushions to make them more comfy. We got all three pieces for Dhs 3200 (approx. $800.00).
The table on the bottom we purchased to be my sewing table. It is 160 cm X 160 cm, which is just over 5 ft X 5 ft and it cost us Dhs 1400 (approx. $380.00).

And here’s the corker, all prices are negotiable and we did not dicker. We paid top dollar.

They will deliver on December 10th, after we get back from Germany. The delivery charge is a whopping Dhs 100 ($27). That is for delivery from a different city and they will bring the pieces all the way up to the 8th floor (I hope the table fits in the elevator!) — all for $27.

Other things we saw today:

The brown arch above the rearview mirror on the white SUV is a boat spraying sand/dirt to create an island.
Again – brown arch = island in the making.

Most of my pictures are devoid of people, because it is considered rude to take pictures of people without their permission, but that makes it seem like no one lives here, but us. So, I snuck a few pictures to prove that there are MANY people living here.
This is a pedestrian overpass with crowds coming and going.

Where there is a sandlot (and there are many), there’s a cricket game or ten.

In the picture below, above the bus, between the stop light and the round sign, way in the distance is the world’s tallest building, the Burg Dubai. At least it will be the world’s tallest until the next one is built, which will be a kilometer high. It must be disappointing to be building the world’s tallest building and have someone else start a bigger one before it is even finished.

Above is the Dubai Ports and Customs Authority building, made to look like two ocean liners side by side.

Well, for someone who threatened to stop blogging, this is a very long entry. Hope you enjoy it. You could always leave us a comment or too, ya know (hint, hint).

Anyway, keep our little secret, and I will keep on extolling the virtues of Dubai.

Posted in Dubai, furniture | 1 Comment »

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In all our glory

November 27, 2008

Here we are in all our glory. First not so bad picture, so I thought I share it with you all. And, just to prove that there are other people here, here are my East Indian coworkers P. and S.

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Celebrations

November 26, 2008

Apparently, the grand opening ceremony for the Atlantis Hotel was well publicized in the States, because several of you have asked us about it. The fireworks were supposed to start at midnight and we did look out the window at 5 after midnight to see if we could see them. However, apparently they started about 40 minutes late (typical Arab time) and we were fast asleep by then. We probably would have been able to see them, had we gone up to the roof and waited long enough. Fireworks are common at ceremonies here (even my college started the year with a fireworks display), but I am sure this was a record setting performance.

This next week is National Day — the celebration of the creation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 — 37 years old (or young). The build up has already started and displays are already going up. We passed the house below on the way home tonight. It is literally covered in lights all the way around roof to foundation.

We will let you know what other sights we see, although we will be leaving for Germany in the middle of the festivities. Between now and then, we need to go buy some parkas.

Posted in construction, furniture | Leave a Comment »

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More miscellaneous stuff

November 26, 2008

We frequently buy stuff just because the name is odd or amusing. Hence, the Want sandwich biscuits.
Or the Groundnut Balls (peanuts and carmel coating = carmel corn without the corn) Yummy.
We’ll give you three guesses as to what cereal this is, but you should only need one.
And, yes, we can get some Bob’s Red Mill products here.
It is a challenge to find skin lotion here, because most brands claim to make you fairer — lighten your skin color. I don’t really need to lighten my skin color unless I want to be invisible altogether. I managed to find a non-whitening brand that works well and is very cheap. I think it was about $0.55 for 150 ml (no idea what that is in ounces and I’m too lazy to look it up).

As for canned goods (L’s comment/question), there is a very common bean here called “foul,” so there are all kinds of cans of Foul this and Foul that. Kinda off putting. The beans are very similar to lima beans, but easier to tolerate — less foul you might say.

Another food oddity, lamb feet packaged in the meat counters seem to come in threes. Not sure what happens to the fourth. You can also get a whole head (lamb’s head, that is) at the meat counter with the eyeballs still in it. Mmm..mmm.

They show Survivor on the tv here, but they also have their own version in Arabic with Arabic speaking contestants called “Tons of Cash.” The whole program is in Arabic except the title.

Posted in oddities | Leave a Comment »

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Random things we saw today.

November 25, 2008

These are just unrelated things we saw on our bus/taxi journey to the airport to rent a car. Below is the Rolex building and someone is washing the windows. Interestingly enough, you can actually see a difference. Everything is covered in dust here.
Below is a wooden yacht that is docked in The Creek. It is very beautiful. I don’t know if it is a private boat or if it is a business – tours or restaurant.
Below, notice the parka in the store window. For those chilly winter temperatures of 80-70F. Burrrrr.
Below is another shot of the big yellow thing they use in assembling the elevated train track. We still haven’t figured out how it is done. The sections are always complete, so they must assemble them on the ground and then hoist them up.
Before we left USA and people would warn us about the heat, I would say, “Hey, everything is air conditioned!” Here is proof. This is the machine for paying for your parking at the airport in its own little air conditioned box. Wouldn’t want you to die of heat prostration while you’re paying for parking.
Hope you enjoy the little things as much as we do.

Posted in Dubai | 3 Comments »

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Got wheels!

November 25, 2008

So, we rented a car, at least until Dec 3rd when we fly out to Germany for our little vacation. They didn’t have the small size car, so up graded us to a rather luxurious one. Great leg room!

Paul’s mantra as he drives: “I have full insurance. I have full insurance…”

Friday is Scrabble Club, so we won’t get to do fun driving until Saturday! Problem is that we can think of several destinations, but only have the one day to do it in.

Maybe I should explain Scrabble Club. There is a group of people who meet once per month on a Friday and play Scrabble all day. Paul is the Scrabble player, I just sit around reading or entertaining myself as best I can. We’ve only been once (missed the last two due to illness). He played only half the day – four games and won three of them. So, come Friday, game on!

Once a month our neighbor gets a group from the college together to go to Quiz Night at one of the bars in town. There are four categories of questions of 10 each and a picture round with 10 pictures that you have to identify. The picture round this time was Star Trek characters. The MC jokingly told us we had to put down the character name, actor’s name and the episode. I did manage to write down the character’s full names and the actor’s full names. There were insufficient clues for the episodes, which is good because I cannot name the episodes. The sheet is now proudly displayed on our refrigerator. Anyway, our group did well in the other rounds as well and actually won the game. One of the questions in the “entertainment” round was what is the name of Mr. Data’s cat. I knew the answer to that one, too. See, all those hours watching Star Trek paid off.

Posted in cars, quiz night, Scrabble | 1 Comment »

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How to park

November 23, 2008

This is the “sidewalk” outside our apartment. Good luck walking on the sidewalk. Don’t you just love the no parking signs?

Posted in cars, Dubai traffic | Leave a Comment »

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Where we didn’t end up – thankfully

November 22, 2008

At the end of an incredibly long road…
…lined with colleges of assorted sizes and subjects…
Lies a college, which shall remain nameless, who considered me for a librarian position, which they didn’t offer and I wouldn’t have accepted. It was the right decision. It is a very large institution and the faculty live in campus housing. I am very glad we did not end up in that bubble. We are so happy to be living in the heart of the city with the wide variety of humanity.
Below is the mosque of this campus. Notice the men in traditional local garb.
Here’s a similar shot seconds later. Notice the female students in Western garb, not considered modest by local standards (too much bare skin and shapeliness).

Lower your voice. We are entering the library.
Quite lovely.
Beautiful window dome.

We are glad to be in Dubai and I am happy with my workplace. We ended up at the right place. My college has a little bit of a bubble effect, but I leave it at the end of the day and head into the city. We have to make our own way in dealing with red tape, licenses, identity cards, etc., but we came here for the adventure. I was attending a library conference today and talking to another librarian who has been in the country only a little longer than I. She asked where i lived and asked how I like it. Apparently, my answer was too glowing. She was baffled that I would love it so much. We were interrupted by someone else, so I didn’t get to explain. I think many come here for the good salary, but not for the adventure. The salary is very helpful and it did figure into our decision to come here, but we are REALLY here for the adventure. So far, it has not disappointed.

Posted in Sharjah | 1 Comment »

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Short video on Dubai building boom

November 21, 2008

Posted in Dubai, video | 1 Comment »

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Sushi within walking distance

November 20, 2008

We walked to Kisaku, a lovely little Japanese restaurant. It had been several weeks since our last sushi. I was in serious withdrawals. It was very good and the California roll pieces turned out to be twice the size I expected, so Paul helped me by eating the last two pieces. When it came, it was so beautiful, I wanted to take a picture. One has to be careful when taking pictures lest one be suspected of being a spy for the competitors. So, I didn’t take it. You will have to imagine how lovely it was.

Other than the waitresses, there were only two other women in the restaurant and neither of them was caucasian. The place was packed and Paul and I were the only non-Japenese people there. This place gets lots of good reviews in the papers and restaurant guides and is on the top floor of a hotel, so we expected more variety in the clientele. But, a Japanese restaurant packed with Japanese customers is a good sign that the food is authentic and good.

And, next time we’ll know to call for a reservation so that we will be able to sit at a table instead of the counter.

It was a pleasant walk to and from the restaurant. There was a cool breeze and I only got a little sweaty, mostly from the effort not the temperature. It is a pleasant change of pace. In September and October, when it was still hot, it would actually get hotter after the sun went down because hot humid air would come in off the ocean.

Posted in culture shock, restaurant | Leave a Comment »

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