Another episode of Lost?

If you cannot read the law (because it is in Arabic), does that mean it doesn’t apply to you? The Ministry of Justice just announced they want to improve transparency in the United Arab Emirates by translating the laws into English. Personally I think this is a fantastic idea. I will now be able to read the parking tickets I get and actually learn what I did wrong.

All laws passed since the founding of the UAE in 1971 will be translated and posted on the web but the idea is to eventually make it available by subscription only. Surely this must mean that if I select not to subscribe, I won’t have to obey?

Our boys stepped out of the Sandbox for Easter and had a fantastic experience – Aidan in India and Hunter in Oman. The Dubai International Academy arranged a 9-day trip to the foothills of Himalaya and Aidan participated as part of The Duke of Edinburgh Award (high school community service and charity). The group of 18 students started their adventure in Delhi and went to the Taj Mahal for a day. Then they journeyed 290 km on a train north into the hills where they stayed at three different safari camps at various altitudes and locations, arranged by Snow Leopard Adventure Group. For three days they endured a “survivor course” and were left on their own, in groups of four, to manage their own tent camp and food preparation from raw materials they bought at a local village market. It was an exercise in basic survival, planning and cooking. On the 4th day a heavy and intense sand storm came through the camp very suddenly and apparently left little of the safari tents behind. Aidan told us the food and kitchen tents were uprooted and the heavy wood and metal poles flew everywhere. They all had to evacuate to the nearest village and Aidan thought that was the most exciting day of the entire trip (as only he would!!) My laundry room for days had the resemblance of a male locker room with fine silicon sand all over. The stench was beyond describable. We can safely conclude that Aidan will in fact be OK when le leaves for college next year!

Nature walks, trekking through the hills, rafting on the Ganges River, were just a few of the fantastic experiences the students had.

Meanwhile, Hunter went on a Geography camping trip to Musandam Peninsula, Oman. It’s a small enclave of Oman on the Strait of Hormuz, which is surrounded by the UAE, and cut off from the rest of Oman. The area is known for its beautiful, rugged and rocky terrain, which also remarkably has a lot of green fertile land and loads of Acacia trees. Most of the small villages can only be reached from the sea; there are no roads through the mountains. The rugged coastline looks very much like Norway’s glacier shaped fjords; however this coast was shaped by the movement of the Earth’s crust.

Hunter and a group of fellow students spent two nights camping and a full day on a Dow, sailing in an area where dolphins are known to play. He told us they saw over 20 dolphins while they sailed around in the bay. Not to be different from any other teen who has ever been on a school trip, Hunter proudly participated in nightly shenanigans and came home with a shaved patch behind his ear! At least it wasn’t an eyebrow!

Winds of Change

Chicago has always been known as “The Windy City”. Dubai takes 2nd place if not, in mind opinion, first place! At first I thought it might just be a short winter phenomenon but I am getting a little tired of picking up my laundry all over the balcony floor and often the neighbors’. Perhaps it may be a good idea to invest in clothes pins, I admit, but I usually hang it over the drying rack where, in the UK, it stayed until I collected it. Not so here in Dubai. And frankly, having lost two cushions from our outdoor furniture (my eagle eyes spotted one of them from the 19th floor, in the construction site sand pit next to our building and Aidan retrieved it for me – the other one is lost for good), I think we just better get use to the Shamals because it happens every spring.

Shamals result from strong northwest winds that are funneled into the Persian Gulf by the mountains of Turkey and Iraq to the northeast and the high plains of Saudi Arabia to the southwest. The winds are most commonly strongest in the spring to summer and hence the Shamal events are as well, although they can occur at any time of year. They bring heavy sandstorms which go from the desert around the city and directly into the suburbia. It can be dangerous to get out in the Dubai prevailing wind, because it blows directly into your face and if you try to get around the area you can’t see anything at all. I think I’m dealing well with the dust and sand….considering I am really OCD about cleaning.
Winds -of change- are around us in many other ways too. The government never gives us official numbers of the outflow of foreign workers and has generally played down the extent of the migration. But it is predicted that the population of Dubai will decline by 20% this year. Our local media report that up to 50 percent of airline tickets leaving the country are just one way.
We anticipate that once school ends in June, many families will exit and never return. They are just waiting for the kids to finish exams. September will show whether that is true. The boys tell us that many of their class mates have already told them they are leaving for good.

I’ve stopped reading the daily news papers because it’s either all doom or gloom or statements that the crisis is ending. Contradicting statements do nothing for us at all. We are living our life as best we can while observing the changes around us. It is, in a way, exciting and interesting to be in a place which is changing so rapidly while nobody knows where it will end up.

Red Tide - Red Heering?

Red Tide is not always red and it has nothing to do with the tide! Luckily the red tide problems we have had in this area since August last year, now seem to be disappearing. It was worst on the Fujeira side (east - by Oman) and it did hit a lot of dive sites. But recently, red tide was spotted along Jumeirah on the Dubai side and south down by Abu Dhabi.

In full and typical Dubai newspaper style - all reports claimed that it was a "minor nuisance" and that the impact had been "minimal" - no beaches were closed and it was never officially stated that swimming could be harmful. In fact, the officials specifically said that red tide was "not harmful to humans" - I love that!! Any other research on the topic shows that people may experience respiratory irritation (coughing, sneezing, and tearing) when the red tide organism is present along a coast and winds blow its toxic aerosol onshore. Skin irritation and burning is possible in areas of high concentration of red tide. Wonderful!

The recent newspaper reports are stating that 300 tonnes of fish died and a lot of the coral reefs suffered from "bleaching". That's what I call "minimal impact" alright!! However, we are happy it is leaving and we did manage to get a day dive trip in while our friends Elaine and John were here from Illinois.

While Aidan and Hunter were away on school trips, we drove across the Mussandam Peninsula and ended up in Dippa, Oman. A quick entry through border and passport control (Aric with an expired US passport which the guards didn't catch in either direction! Phew!) and we were soon on the fast dive boat headed for the sites for the day.

It may be time to invest in upgrading our dive equipment and outfits giving that it was bought when we were Padi certified in 1989! Personally I think that our 80's pink, lime and yellow accent colors on the BCD and skinsuits never go fully out of style - kind of makes you feel like an Italian on the Alpine ski slopes - "loud, blingy and really not there to ski" - and do the fish really care?? So we decided to leave the embarrasing fashion accessories at home and opted for renting the gear at the dive shop. John and Elaine of course had the latest and greatest gear diehard sports people they are! We were well jealous! Elaine's fancy wetsuit came in handy as I needed two of them to stay warm. Guess the temps aren't quite as high in the Oman waters as on our Dubai side.

We had two great dives and saw loads of different fish, eels and colorful reefs. There was a little bit of red tide but we were deep and beneath it so it did not affect us. It was truly a wonderful day. When we sailed from the first site to the coast to have lunch we passed an old raddy dow (Arabian style boat) which was drifiting with two guys on it. Our captain yelled a whole lot of things in Arabic and the guys waved and shook their heads then yelled back. When we asked what that was all about, he told us it was an Iraqi fishing boat (obviously a little out of its territory!!) which had broken down. Did they need help? The captain said "no, they just asked for cigarettes". Makes sense if you have to kill time while waiting for assistance from Iraq!

The weather was not the greatest while our friends were here but we did do a lot of fun activities; boating, diving and even helped John and Elaine get closer to their goal of completing a half Iron-man in May. John did some open water swimming and we ran around the marina so they could get conditioned for their triathlon. I'm confident they will break every record and be ready for a full Iron-man soon!

Do NOT Dilute the Brand!!

Some things should be left alone. If it aint broke, don't fix it! Like the receipe of the original Coke. There is no classic improvement needed there, baby! And don't even think about changing the Taco Bell chicken burrito!!!

Unfortunately for the Operations Director of Taco Bell Middle East, that is exactly what was attempted in Dubai and Aric may well have saved the entire brand from being diluted and dis-respected.

My cousin Martin, his love interest Michelle and their soprano voiced daughter Deva who is 16 months (Mariah Carey would be jealous to know how high Deva's voice reaches on the scale) just stayed with us for a week of fun, sun and shopping. Michelle didn't know it upon arrival, but she soon learned that she had to hit every mall in Dubai just in case there was a different store with shoes or clothes which may be a tad cheaper than in Copenhagen. I had a conference call the day of the Taco Bell drama so I got it all second hand, but having been married to Aric for 20+ years, I can completely visualize the play-by-play which took place.

Off to Dubai Mall Aric, Martin, Michelle and Deva went and it's the only place in Dubai where Taco Bell set up shop. The kids had fore warned us that it's "just not like the US Taco Bells" - but who wants to listen when the smell of a giant bean burrito is like a sirene's seductive calling in the distant fog?

The details of the order slips my mind but let's fast forward to Aric opening his chicken burrito to add hot sauce....only to realize that there are 2-3 microscopic pieces of what might resemble chicken if you think very abstract. Back to the counter he marched and told the servers to add more chicken! Apparently the reply was something like: "Let me explain you sir..." which after several other incidents the week prior, was the straw that broke the camel's hump. Aric threw a ripe fit and told the girl to stop explaining and to add more chicken. Pretty soon the manager gets involved and Aric starts his very patriotic speech about how much chicken is on the burritoes in the US and that there is no reason why the Middle East should add any less. Wars have been known to start over less than chickens between the West and Oil rich countries, so this is turning into a very sensitive issue. Shortly after, all the other guests start opening their burritoes and realizing that they too have been cheated out of a fair portion of protein.

Aric said to the manager that if they wouldn't add more chicken they should charge less. I think that's a fair deal! The manager told the servers to make a different burrito for Aric, but he insisted that he wanted the same kind, just with more chicken as it should have!

There might have been a few more word exchanges, but let's fast forward to the General Manager of the entire Middle East Taco Bell Group getting on the phone (Aric called him) and profusely apologizing for the incident. He has asked Aric to pop in again at any time to "check the food portions" and we now have 10 coupons for free food hanging on the bulletin board in the kitchen. McDonalds can do what they want, but the Arabs better leave Taco Bell alone!!

Despite the whole incident, we had a great week with Martin, Michelle and Deva and hope more family and friends will visit soon!

Run Forrest, run!!

Many friends and colleagues told us when we arrived in Dubai that it would take a good 4-6 months before we would settle and feel at home. Just rounding the 6th month mark they were spot on. February and March were months full of visitors and we are finally fully settled, no longer having to focus on where to live, how to pay bills, where places are located and how to find our way, not only physically but also managing our life. We have become very social (like that was ever a problem with Aric and I ;-) ..... go out to meet friends a lot, even for a quick coffee or drink on a week night, or dinners on the weekends. The 4 of us have truly come to feel at home in all aspects, despite the occasional reminder that we aren't living in a fully free and democratic country.

If one can see past that, which we are learning to do, then it is possible to enjoy Dubai for what it is and can offer people no matter where you are from.

The boys are out with their friends most weekends and are truly loving the freedom that the safe environment is allowing. They can hang out at the beach late at night and there is no problem taking taxis alone to and from places. That would not be possible in England. It is allowing Aric and I to provide a longer leash and gives us more time alone to take walks or see friends. We have also both picked up running. Well, I have picked up weekly training with several girls and Aric tags along when his legs and knees allow it. He is doing so good but should not really not run regularly because he does get pains from the steel rods in his shins. So he is looking into biking instead and may actually finally pick up the bike I gave him for Father's Day 2 years ago!

Meanwhile I have run two races. The first, a 10-miler in February, turned out to be a 6-miler for me. The race started late, at 8.40am, in the desert preserve, so by the time I made 5 miles it was 10am and the sun was baking down on the path. That was a small detail I hadn't planned for, having trained only at night when it is cooler. I did well considering and was determint to make the 10K race in March.

Ready with fuel from a banana, I set off with 200 other folks around the marina pier and through the grounds of the Westin hotel. Three laps made up the 10K and I made it, in 1 hour, 49 seconds! Exhausted, sweaty with bad running hair, I sprinted the last few hundred meters across the finish line and proudly collected my first medal. Aric has decided to join me in the second 10K race May 15th and I am sure he can make it to the finish line beating my record.

Thanks to my running buddy and super motivator Bexta, I am on the path to run the half marathon in Abu Dhabi in November and another in Dubai in December.