Author Archive
Modesh
June 16, 2009We saw Modesh when we first arrived here back in August. We didn’t know who or what he was, but he was everywhere. He disappeared shortly thereafter, but he has returned. Modesh is the mascot of Dubai Summer Surprises, which is a ten week long shopping promotion. Each week has it’s own theme and there will be lots of activities for children in the malls. Like this:
And this:
Where does Modesh come from? Watch this video posted on YouTube by someone else.
Where do all those Modeshes (Modi? Modeshi?) go?
When we first heard him called by name, it was by an East Indian who referred to Modesh as evil. Being ignorant of most world religions, I thought maybe this evil Modesh was part of a pantheon of gods, like Kali or Ganesh. Therefore, we lovingly refer to Modesh as the god of destruction.
(There’s another book I should add to my summer reading list – Introduction to Hinduism.)
Backstreets
June 16, 2009
There’s a construction crane blocking the street to our left. No problem. We’ll just drive ahead, right? I should have filmed this truck instead of taking a still. In the time that it took it to back up out of our way, a motorcyclist wove through and pedestrians added themselves to the mix.
Summer reading list
June 15, 2009I just selected my summer reading list items from the library collection. Here they are:
Teach Yourself: Teaching English as a Foreign Language by David Riddell
Oranges in the Sun: Short Stories from the Arabian Gulf edited by Akers & Bagader
The Power of the Gaze: an Introduction to Visual Literacy by Janne Seppanen
Practical Pedagogy for Library Instructors: 17 Innovative Strategies to Improve Student Learning edited by Cook & Sittler
Web Literacy for Educators by Alan November
Plus numerous articles from academic journals about teaching information literacy.
Don’t worry. I plan to add some for fun titles (by Sonia Singh, hopefully) when I hit Powell’s Bookstore in Portland.
Parking & car wash
June 13, 2009Washing cars is big here. In our apartment building, we have a basement parking area and there is a man who washes our car regularly for 100 dirhams ($27.00) per month. This is probably high, but it’s convenient. At work, there are also grounds workers who wash cars for the staff to earn extra money. At shopping malls, there are often men equipped with buckets and rags in the parking lots waiting to wash your car while you shop. It is rare to see a dirty car here and when I see one I wonder how hasn’t it gotten washed somewhere along the line?
I explain all this to set up my story. We went to a restaurant that is Western style and a major Western expatriate hang out. The car wash guys that hang out around it have a unique way of getting your business. You have to pay for parking at a (solar powered) parking meter. It takes coins and special cards. It is 1 dirham for an hour and, for some unexplainable reason, 5 dirhams for 2 hours. The car wash guy sees you drive up and heads you off at the parking meter. He has a card and offers to use it to get your parking slip for you and then you pay him the 1 or 5 dirhams. He also hits you up for a car wash and since he was so nice to help you with the parking meter, you feel obligated to pay for an unneeded car wash. Apparently, his parking card gives him a little discount on the parking fee, so you pay him the full amount and he makes a little off of that as well as the car wash fee. It’s not a full blown scam where you get cheated…
HOWEVER…
This time the man who wanted to pay for our parking and wash our car was very persistent. Daddybird did not want to play his game, just wanted to pay for parking and go about our business. He told him “I’ve got it” which probably doesn’t translate in Globish. The man fussed for a while trying to pay for our parking. Then walked away. THEN came back and tried a second time pushing in to put his card in the parking meter slot even though Daddybird was putting coins in the slot. Daddybird found this so annoying he raised his voice and said “NO!” This, apparently was understandable and the little man went away disappointed.
Look at that!
June 12, 2009Go to Kazul’s blog and see the baby killdeer that hatched in her yard. So cute! All four eggs hatched. Pretty amazing.
Squeezier Chili
June 12, 2009Here’s what’s for dinner! Home made chili made with the Soya Food Cubes of “softer squeezier juicer” fame.
Bu Qtair Cafeteria
June 11, 2009The Burg Al Arab:
Two blocks away, our restaurant:
Three large fried fish, a plate of prawns and flat bread.Yummy.
7-Eleven
June 10, 2009
So, I thought this was a knock-off store, playing fast and loose with an American business (kind of like TGI Thursdays or SFC Southern Fried Chicken), until I checked the Wikipedia entry for 7-Eleven. It may very well be the real thing. Now, I’m going to have to go by just to see if I can get a Big Gulp here.
Just a woman
June 9, 2009For the most part, I find that people interact with me normally and accord me basic respect. However, I have had two amazing instances of being invisible. The first was at a fast food restaurant in a mall. We were both there. I stated very clearly to the clerk what my order was, but she did nothing. Didn’t punch it in or acknowledge me in any way. Daddybird told her what he wanted and she hopped right on it. He came to my rescue and repeated my order to her. I guess I’m not allowed to eat unless my man says it’s okay. Her attitude changed when it was me who pulled out money and paid for the meal. Suddenly, I came into focus.
Yesterday’s experience was at a bank. We were attempting to open an account with a different bank because we don’t like the poor service we get from our current bank. However, can’t say we care much for the service at this new one either. The customer service person we were dealing with was male. He was not interested in my information in the least. Don’t bother him with information about my salary or employment. Forget about putting my name on the account, too. They have a real hard time understanding the concept of joint account here. Friends of ours who tried to explain that they wanted a joint account actually had the bank employee say “But, sir, she could run away and take all your money!” Is it any wonder the divorce rate is high here?
We’ll have to keep looking. Maybe there’s an American or European based bank that can supply an actual joint account.
Living the Travel Channel 