Tea with Cleopatra (...or the tale of the lost suitcase)

Work has gotten in the way of my blog writing - had to go to Cairo for a meeting... a gal's gotta make a livin' ! It was a pleasant and short trip so I wasn't too bothered and it wasn't really work, rather more like a think tank meeting to create a plan for Diversity & Inclusion in our Africa Levant region. It's the latest buzz at Cisco and many other companies and one I am a great advocate of. You might think Emerging Markets - by its sheer nature - is diverse. However, there are still many minorities within the regions and we aren't always so good at including people in a nurturing, mentoring way. Spending a full day and then dinner (Nile side) with all my renegade team mates in order to improve our workplace, turned out to be a valuable and fun experience. In fact - we were ourselves a very diverse group: Elisabeth, a Belgian living in Cairo; Stella, an Italian living in Johannesburg; Prabashni, an Indian living in Johannesburg; Dina, an Egyptian living in Paris and me, a Dane living in Dubai. I think that's a good cross section of experts!

Usually I fly non-stop whenever I can but somehow the agent got me booked on a flight to Cairo with a stop / changeover in Muscat, Oman. So I get to stick another pin in my Facebook map of places I have visited, even though my feet barely touched the tarmac, I believe it still counts because my suitcase spent 3 days there! Off to meetings and dinner in shorts and flip-flops? I don't think so!

This was a super opportunity to shop for a new dress and shoes. Unfortunately the only store worthy of any visit was a "Italian Designer Store" with lots of bling outfits and heels you break your legs on. My biggest excuse when I travel the world is to not fully know the exchange rates of the currency I deal with at the time. I mean, how can one be expected to have a full board of 100 currencies and where they trade at Interbank rates? This isn't the currency options trading pit at the Merc for crying out loud.... so I spent a lot of funny money and I still to this day claim I have no clue what the true cost is. Oman Airlines will deal with that small expense. I got a nice work dress and heals that won't kill me. I was told when filing the lost bag case that my suitcase would be sent to Cairo the very next day. Uh Huh...

It might as well have been the Thames, where it snakes around Windsor-Eton, with the swirling currents, long sleek boats with team oars dipping into the water at precise intervals, was it not for the many mosques and their tall slender minuets towering over the shores of the Nile. As we have previously established in my blogs, my morning coffee is precious and cherished and everytime I can sip it overlooking wonders of the world gives me a sense of awe. My hotel overlooked the Giza Pyramids on one side and the Nile on the other - how more perfect could it be? Well, Cairo could be less polluted giving me a clear shot of the pyramids but I won't write a letter to the minister about that. I could just barely make them out from my balcony and that's good enough for me. I was of course anxious to see them up close and personal and that's where Maha comes in. Maha is a spunky 'Syrian-Italian' American woman, whom I first met in London Heathrow airport 10 months ago, when she was downing champaigne at the Seafood Counter because her boyfriend had broken up with her somewhere between terminal 1 and 3! She is a Vice-Counsil officer in the US State Dept and was posted in Cairo for 2 years...he didn't want to share that posting apparently. I called Maha when I knew I was coming to Cairo and she graciously offered to take me to see the Pyramids.

There were two messages on my voice-mail my second day: one to say my suitcase would be delivered between 1 and 3pm, then one to say it had not made it on the one and only daily flight from Muscat. Oh well, I had my outfit and the hotel had delivered their best basket of toiletries so I was not too upset.

I think food automatically tastes better when you are at the shores of a famous old river. Never mind the crappy service and over-cooked lamb; I was mesmerized by the lights and music and the flowing dark water. It didn't matter that it took two taxis to get us there from Elisabeth's apartment on Zamalek. The first taxi had a flat tire on the way, so out we got and flagged down another - it's a normal occurrence in Cairo I guess. Zamalek is an island in the Nile that basically lies between modern downtown Cairo and Giza. It is an upscale garden area with a number of attractions as well as many embassies, schools & popular hotels. It's an inner city upper class neighborhood - the Bermuda Triangle of the city's pleasure-seekers! Elisabeth's apartment is huge - so we of course swapped relocation stories and compared housing nightmares. She moved there from Hong Kong 8 months ago and I wonder how long she will endure the pollution.

The next morning Maha picked me up after I phoned Oman Air to find out the latest on my bag. They told me that since it missed the daily flight and since I was going right back through Muscat later that day - I would be met by transit staff who would hand me the bag. That's service! Maha missed our turn-off to Giza so I thought we'd have to make a huge loop around the area to get back on the right road. Not if you work for the State Dept! Maha did a U-Turn right in our lane and went back through on-coming traffic to get to the exit 100 m back. This apparently also is normal in Cairo. Besides, she has diplomatic immunity so she didn't appear too worried! When we got to the greater area of the Giza pyramids that same diplomatic status got us free parking right inside the main gate and it also offered us free entrance - hey I'm not complaining...that's US tax dollars at work! 30 minutes and 4 photos later, we made our way down the hills passed the Sphinx !!! YIKES!! -- and had tea at a very old oppulent hotel (which used to be the King's rest house at the turn of the century before some big revolution) overlooking the pyramids.

What a super morning - hanging with Maha, who did her best to convince me that I hadn't really seen the Middle East until I visit Syria (only to be greeted with news the next day that a bomb had torn through Damaskus - yeah, we're headed there on our next vacation for sure!!)

When I flew back to Dubai I got a wonderful view of the Saudi Desert, which isn't all sand...all the irrogation "Pacman" images show a place full of life and farms and fields. Man will find a way (and water) somehow and life will spring up where you least expect it. My suitcase however, never sprung up anywhere. In Muscat I was told by a very embarrassed baggage handler that it had been sent to Cairo the day before! Two days later I was finally reunited with my belongings here in Dubai. What my suitcase saw and experienced is a mystery. My experience on the other hand, was two rich days of culture and tea with Cleopatra.

On the road again....almost!

The instructions were as clear as a newly polished window. "Go to the 4th floor. There's a single desk in the North-West corner. You'll see a guy sitting there. His name is Mo. Give Mo 110 Dirham, small denomination, cash. Don't ask questions. Oh, one more thing - come alone."

Mo took my money like he was taking a set of keys to a brandnew Ferarri. With a gleam in his eyes he stuffed the notes into a wallet already booming with Dirham. Without a sound he left the building. When I saw Mo again, we were in the lobby of building 14 in Media City at the Traffic & License office. We made no eye contact but Mo gave me a slight side nod and urged me in a persuasive way to follow him to a desk, where a female Emirati was typing and stamping "letters of no objection".

It was only a matter of minutes before the opportunity would slip away and that stamped letter was the only thing standing between me driving or forever being doomed to taking taxis. I held my breath as Mo slowly passed the letter to me, whispering: "Walk out the door, turn the corner, go into the next office, have 110 dirham ready for the man behind the desk. Don't look back as you walk." I did as I was told, but I could not resist sneaking a peak back. Mo was gone - like the ground had swallowed him. People were milling around acting like nothing was out of the ordinary. I handed over the powerful letter, my money, passport, Danish drivers license, pictures - perhaps never to be seen again - to the guy behind the desk who looked at me suspiciously. He wrote a coded message on a 'post-it' note. "Come back tomorrow at 11.30. Come alone. We will have your drivers license for you."

No, not a scene out of Al Capone, The Godfather or Sin City movies. Just the process for getting my license. I can now breathe easier. Mo is a powerful man at Cisco. Armed with stamps and money and his signature, he makes things happen where others fail. The elusive, connected, ruff 'n tuff Mo. I shiver as I look at the gold license in my hand. And I wonder, with anticipation, who I have to contact to get the alcohol license.

Ah, but that's another story - today is a beach day for Aric and I...the boys went to the ski dome to snow board with friends, quite surreal that we are in our swim wear and Aidan and Hunter have ski jackets on, less than a mile away! We're investing in a family annual pass so we can get our winter chills whenever it gets too hot outside. Aidan's friend Ramin has never been on skis or board before so he is very excited.

We are a few steps closer to finding a place to live. Viewed 2 houses and a flat yesterday. The houses were horrendous! Apparently owners and landlords have it slightly backwards here; they don't clean the house until the tennant has committed to rent. So we walked in to a dusty dungeon filled with empty juice cartons and walls filled with nail holes. Makes you want to sign that contract immediately.

The flat was OK. Three huge bedrooms, 5 bathrooms/toilets, maids room, very large kitchen and two large family / living rooms, and balcony all around two sides. Upside: beautiful views of Dubai Internet, Media and Knowledge Cities with parks and offices, The Palm Jumeirah and ocean. Very large gym & healthclub and super large pool. Downside: 28th floor (yikes).

We have a few weeks to keep looking and hope that more properties are released.

Justice Prevails

Yes I know - this blog is dedicated to our adventure in Dubai - more on that later. I have to tell y'all that Aric's motorcycle accident court case has been settled, 100% in his favor, so he is a very happy and content man!

He spent nearly an hour on the stand and with all the other witnesses and police testifying, it took from 9am to 4pm before the judge made his final decision. The woman who did a U-turn and drove right out in front of Aric, was inconsistent and contradictary in her statements and there was no doubt from the judge's viewpoint that she was grossly careless.

This closes a long drawn out chapter and Aric can now rest assure that we have the funds to take care of any medical procedures he may need.

Changes in latitude....

"God, I wish I was sailin' again. Oh, yesterdays are over my shoulder. So I can't look back for too long. There's just too much to see waiting in front of me, and I know that I just can't go wrong with these...Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same. With all of our running and all of our cunning, if we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane..." - Jimmy Buffett

We've changed our latitude and it's time to change the attitude - back to a positive, joyful, exciting, healthy and full-on life! Time to turn off CNN and all the media reporting on economic crisis and bankruptcies and 'fear and despair mongers'. Time to go take charge and elbow my way through the other 1000 families who arrived in Dubai this week and who are threatening to take my new home away from me before I can secure it! OK, so maybe we are experiencing a minor housing shortage in Dubai. Maybe greed has caused apartment owners to hold on to their flats and not put them on the open market for people to rent, so they can flip them easier in the future if they need cash...

Something is on the horizon...I feel it. I got my daily karma and horoscope report in my inbox and it says that I - as a Cancer (which is the sign ruling the home) in other lives, had no adequate home (that sounds about right growing up in Danish council-and subsidized housing). Therefore, in the present life, my home is very important to me. So I will find our home and I will make it comfortable - and then preserve it at all costs! That's what the report says! Truly.

I'm armed with a change in attitude. Aric is making his way to the UK today, with his own attitude, to attend the court hearing against the woman who caused his very serious motorcycle accident two and half years ago. Hooray for the British judicial system and insurance companies for such a speedy process!! If all goes well (and our attorney says it's a strong case) Aric could come home with a victorious verdict in his favor and a small sum which will cover his future kneecap replacement operations. No wonder he wake boards with such fervor while he still can! Now, if we can just keep him off the snow board long enough for the bones to heal before the next potential break, he may be able to postpone the Zimmerframe purchase a few years.

Every morning we share breakfast with two other expat families in the hotel, one British and one Canoodian (that's the boys' label for Canadians) - it's our little ritual - morning gossip and stories about how the British family got dizzed on yet another villa. They have now been outdone 3 times after having signed a contract, paid the deposit and shaken hands, on rental of a villa. Apparently cash-in-hand and bribes is the way we have to work here. Several parents of kids who take the school bus, tell tales of Lebanese families bribing the driver so he diverts off the route to drop off their kids first, leaving the rest of the kids with a one-hour ride home on a less than adequately airconditioned cooker. The gloves are coming off this week!! PTA meeting is scheduled for new moms on Thursday and I am armed with a new attitude and a bag full of laughs! Sarah Palin may have hovered on borders of what she thinks is the Middle East, but we have dropped behind expat enemy lines and fight the real [estate] war from within!

I started this post with a Jimmy Buffett lyric and I will end it with one, as we soon near the end of Ramadan and with that hopefully our unsettled state:

"Ramadan is over,The new moon's shown her face,
I'm halfway round the planet,In a most unlikely place.
Following my song line
Past bamboo shacks and shops
Behind a jitney packed like sardines,
With bananas piled on top.
I ran away from politics, It's too bizarre at home.
Away I flew, tuned into Blue..."


Aric and his prized BMW before .....and after!
the accident.

A day on the boat

Forget about horseback riding (at least for a while until it gets cooler) - mama's found herself a new sport! Wake Boarding! Got up and out of the water on the first try - yeehaa!! What a feeling and so much fun! Why did it take me so long to try it? Well, I know what's going on my Christmas list this year :) Hunter was in such a crabby mood in the morning and had one of his bad teenage attitude moments but man, you could not wipe that grin off his face when he was being pulled in the wake. Smiles from ear to ear on that boy!We spent most of Saturday on Aric's boss's boat and had a real blast. Got to see the Dubai skyline from a whole different perspective and got a close-up of the Burj Al Arab (the "Sail") as well as the new hotel Atlantis, on the Palm Jumeirah. The city is so spread out along the coast and we were only in front of the Jumeirah and Marina areas but that in itself was impressive.

For all you fact & figures and history buffs out there, the Burj Al Arab is an icon. It stands at 1053 feet tall, on its own artificial island, and was designed to resemble the sail of an Arabian vessel called a dhow. Currently it is the tallest building used exclusive as a hotel. The idea was to create a building that would become a symbol for Dubai just like Sydney has its Opera House and Paris has the Eiffel Tower. Many locals believe - and rumor has it - that the architect and designer pulled a fast one on the establishment by making it look like a giant Christian cross. Conspiracy theory or not, from the water side (a side never shown in official pictures or postcards of the building) it really does resemble a cross. In fact the tall mast is not a functional piece. It's not a tele-communication pole. It was part of the design. The architect later said in an interview that he was successfully able to implement the construction of a Christian cross in Dubai!

To make it even more juicy, the Burj Al Arab symbol was removed from license plates without any explanation in the year 2004. Other stories tell that apparently any cars registered in Dubai, that have one of the older license plates which have an image of the Burj Al Arab on them, aren’t allowed to drive into Saudi Arabia. Truth or myth?? Makes for a good blog!

Holy cow, I've been so engrossed in writing, the eggs I'm boiling for lunch have overcooked and blown up...that only took 48 minutes, if you are interested in the physics of exploding eggs! Not a pretty sight in the kitchen at the moment. Man, I could have set the hotel on fire.

Speaking of hotel fire, the latest news on Atlantis, the renowned new hotel on the tip of the Palm Jumeirah, is that it will still open on the 24th of September, after it was just hit by a fire which destroyed most of the lobby dome. You can see on the picture, cranes and workers are restoring the roof of it. That is one impressive hotel, with a dolphin hospital and dolphin pool as well as a mega water slide that shoots you down a clear tube, through a shark tank. Yes, everything is so over the top here, what will they think of next? They already have one of the tallest buildings in the world, the Burj Dubai and it dwarfs the already tall skyscraber next to it.

Well I can tell you what's next...Dubailand....45,900 acres (that's the size of Dubai city itself) of Arabian-themed and Egyptian Pharaoh-themed parks, Dinosaur World, an indoor snow-covered ski slope (even bigger than the one we have now), a large glass-dome-enclosed artificial rain forest, the largest zoo in the Middle East and the Mall of Arabia, billed as the "biggest shopping mall in the world." Ready to come and visit us yet?
By the way - we live on the 36th floor of the building you see on the 3rd picture (below the one with the guys on the boat) - in the pinkish and blue one.

Hurricane Ike

We follow CNN with great anxiety as Hurricane Ike heads for Texas and Aric's family in Orange and Dallas.

Scott, if you read this - our thoughts and prayers are with all the Jones'es and we hope you will all be safe until the storm passes! Let us know how you are!

Aric, Pia, Aidan and Hunter

Counter Culture

$15!! Fifteen dollars. One-Five! Aha, that's right... you read it correctly....that's how much it took to fill up the car yesterday! AND, that's full service - you get to stay in your car and you can even talk on your mobile! The catch? You have to pay by cash. There are still a lot of expats who haven't figured that one out yet and it is too funny to watch their olympic 100m sprint to the only ATM, while long lines of cars pile up behind them.

Speaking of lines, we are learning after a week of commuting to and from school (we can't sign up for bus service until we have a permanent place to live) that there are certain times you shouldn't even try to be on the road. Expat mothers are the worst road ragers out there. One minute they sit in cafe's sipping their double Macchiato Latte, demure and pleasant. Next minute they're jacked up on caffeine and speeding down Al Safouh Road like Tina Turner in MadMax: Thunderdome! Behind their Victoria Beckham sunglasses, evil looks are shot towards anyone who gets betweem them and their little Jimmy who is waiting to be picked up at the school gate. It's like their giant 4x4s all of a sudden have flame throwers, nails and wicked spikes coming out of the fenders, as they shoot past you on the shoulder (which by the way is not a paved shoulder but more a desert in itself). I'm thinking about joining the PTA so I can confront them and tell them JUST how un-becoming this behavior is! Big mistake of the Dubai government to put Zoloft on the "banned drugs list"...these women need a dose in a BIG way.

That brings me to the topic of drugs. We downloaded a long list of medication which is banned and absolute cause for 4 years in jail if caught with it...yet going to a pharmacy we learned that you can get what would be prescription drugs in the US or UK, over the counter. Take Melatonin for example...could not get it in UK, not on prescription - not even allowed in UK. Got it right over the counter (from under the counter) in the mall pharmacy. This strange "over-the-counter-from-under-the-counter" culture has us baffled.

I'm delighted to see that so many of you commented on my previous blog postings. Writing keeps me calm, which delights Aric, as I otherwise would stress over the unsettled situation we find ourselves in at the moment. Next...stay tuned for house hunting story.

9/11 remembered

Seven years ago when the terrible attack on the World Trade Center happened, we were living in Denmark and I was at meetings in London at the time. We still recall the hundreds of people who stood in front of the US Embassy in Copenhagen with candles and flowers to share the mourning.

Every anniversary since then, we have been abroad, so have always observed the 9/11 event from an outside perspective and have seen the world's view of America and how the people and the administration tackled the aftermath. Aric and I were in Madrid when the train bombing occurred and Aric was in Central London when the tube and bus bombings happened. While fortunately always safe, we have felt and seen first hand what revenge can do.

This year, on the seventh anniversary, we are in the very region which spawned the terrorists and in the forgiving and generous holy month of Ramadan, we see no hatred or anti-American press. We are surrounded by average humans who, like Americans, just want to move on. We should never forget, but like Pearl Harbor, the memory becomes more distant with every anniversary.

As I sip my morning coffee and read the paper, the headline, "Seven Years of Terror", is nothing but a description of the tone that set today's America. Fighting two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, over the top tight security, Marshalls patrolling the skies, monitoring Iran's threat of nuclear weapons, the US leadership has - from an Arab and Muslim perspective, become synonomous with arrogance and biased politics.

Whether Christian or Muslim, we all just want our innocent children to grow up having learned from this and using their cultural and global sensitivity to bridge the gap in a post 9/11 environment. Education and diplomacy is the way forward and dialoque the key to obtaining peace. That is what we want from our new leaders, no matter who is elected - is that too much to ask?

We consider ourselves Ambassadors of the United States wherever we are and that's how we are raising Aidan and Hunter.

Tonight, we light a candle in the window for all the victims of 9/11 and hope that more peaceful times are ahead.

First week in the Sandbox

They used to call their friends Jack, Lewis, John and TJ...now they call them Miika, Ramin, Vishal and Alana. Just one of the many differences facing Aidan and Hunter in our new country.

We arrived just over a week ago to a hot, crowded and dimly lit airport terminal facing yet another usual electrical outage. Imagine the locals, dressed in traditional Arab garbs, processing hundreds of people, without IT and PC connection. Standing in line - tired, sweaty and impatient - all we could hear was the loud "smack, smack, smack", of their stamps on the passport pages.

Soon on our way to the Harbour Hotel & Residence, our temporary home for the next 30 days. Located right in Dubai Marina, it reminded me of a new, shiny, modern [albeit dusty] Manhattan, and we could see for miles from our 36th floor apartment.

The first week has been challenging, just getting uniforms and supplies for the boys' school. We must have made so many roundtrips to "Green Community" market mall - I don't think I want to set foot in there for the next few months! Everything here is at a different pace and everything here benefits none other than His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the local nationals. Dubai has a benevolent dictatorship and while his Highness' fortune is vast, he turns most of his wealth into generousity and his vision for a better Dubai. The Sheikh and I share a common passion - he may not know it....but I fully intend to wiggle my way in to the Royal Mews some day.

'A love for horses runs in my blood. Don't forget that horses have been bred for centuries by Arabic tribes, they were used for hunting and fighting and they symbolise our history. Horse riding is more than merely sitting on a horse's back. It is nobility and chivalry.' - Sheikh Mohammed.

Ah, but that is a story for another day....back to our family's arrival at this exciting place.

Aidan and Hunter had their first day of school on September 2. The orientation at Dubai International Academy lasted about 35 minutes and then the boys joined their home room teacher and got all their new books. I was dismayed to learn that after many rows with them about tucking their shirts in and emphasizing that "those are strict rules here" - every other boy had his shirt hanging out! So much for credibility.

They are off to an easy start - it being Ramadan the hours are only 8 - 1.30 and while their Muslim mates are fasting (let's face it: starving!) non-observers can eat behind a curtain in the cafeteria. Ramadan is interesting up close. The word itself in Arabic denotes intense heat, scorched ground, and shortness of rations. That sums it up well! It is considered the most venerated and blessed month of the Islamic year. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to God Almighty. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. Properly observing the fast is supposed to induce a comfortable feeling of peace and calm.

Personally - much as I want to be part of the local custom, I'm a complete bitch until I have my morning coffee so giving up that Latte does not leave me feeling peaceful and calm! I do however make sure that I eat and drink in the car while bending down behind the dash so not to tempt my muslim neighbors.

Our residence is not shabby! 3 bedrooms / 5 bath and a fully furnished place with daily maid service. This will not help Hunter become more helpful around the house! With a gym and pool below us and the beach a stone throw away, it offers a bit more than the UK. While the first week has been a strain on my patience, I am learning to bring it down a thousand and just let the process move on in its own pace. Must admit that not being able to drive yet has my blood pressure rising to dangerous levels - but then again, being driven everywhere by Aric "Le Chaffeur Prive" has me feeling like Miss queen bee :)