Dubai DL 1

Another teaching job, another location…..

Dubai’s the new NYC!!

Or so it’s been said. I know most Americans don’t have a clue where Dubai is or that it even exists, and if they know it’s perhaps because of a story on CNN or the travel channel. However, that is not really the fault of most American’s lack of geographic knowledge…it’s just that Dubai, which is in the country known as the United Arab Emirates or UAE for short, hasn’t been around very long – only since 1971. And the modern city that is Dubai has really only been modernized since the late 1970’s when the oil money began to flow. Back in the day, stories of “my grandfather left home on a camel and came back in a Cadillac” are not far from the truth! Where as New York, Paris, and London have taken hundreds of years to become what they are, Dubai has done it (and is still doing it a rapid pace) in less then 40 years. It’s really pretty amazing when you think about it. But that was then and this is now. Today, Dubai is well known by the rest of the world outside the western hemisphere as a shopping, vacation, and commercial mecca, and make no mistake, MONEY is the name of the game. Dubai definitely has the 4-Hs….it’s hot (literally and figuratively), hip, here, and happening. It is fast becoming (if it hasn’t already) a playground for the rich and famous. I mean if David Beckham has a place here, it must be ‘the place’, right? And now the oil is gone, but that hasn’t slowed Dubai at all. It has become a tax, real estate, and investment haven for multi-national companies.

Here are some tidbits about Dubai…..

§ It’s a city that seems a bit of a fairy-tale land (think Vegas but times 100). It has huge manmade islands that are shaped like palm trees, and when finished, will have shopping centers, condos, marinas, villas, etc on them. In the works is another group of man-made islands that are shaped like the world which will be even more exclusive than the palms (the mega rich and fabulous need only apply!). Both have recently been featured on National Geographic’s ‘Mega Structures.

§ A gallon of gas (imperial gallon which is a little bigger than US gallon!) costs slightly more than $1.50. After all, Dubai’s not about oil anymore.

§ Only about 30% of the population of Dubai are nationals called Emiratis. The largest group of expatriates are service workers from South Asia. They drive the taxis, work in restaurants/stores/hotels, and do much of the construction work that is going on.

§ Something like 80,000 new people are arriving in Dubai each month to work.

§ The population of Dubai is approx 1.5 million which is about ¼ of the country’s overall population.

§ It has the world’s only (self appointed) 7 star hotel – the Burj Al Arab where the $5-10,000 a night rooms come with chauffer driven roll royces and hamburgers cost $100.00!

§ Dubai will have the world’s tallest building (to be called the Burj Al Arab) in the next few years. It is presently in construction and is already the tallest building! It doesn’t look that tall until you consider the buildings next to it are skyscrapers in their own right, and it towers above them. And with this look, the Burj looks as if it is a giant ‘middle finger’ flipping off the world….or so people say! Construction is rampant and something like 30% of all the WORLD’s sky scraper building cranes are presently in Dubai. Unfortunately, all the dust that is created kind of puts a haze over the city on most days. There is a view of this building (Burg Dubai) from the campus and from windows on the other side of the building from my classroom L. Oh well, perhaps once I’ve put my time in I can move across the hall.

§ Arabic is the official language of the UAE but it is only the 4th or 5th most spoken first language after Hindi (due to the Indian workers), Urdu ( Pakistan language) and English, and maybe even Tagalog (Philippino), and then Arabic. English, by far, is the language of commerce and just about anyone that I would have the chance to come into contact with speaks some version of it!

§ Dubai is very international…..very western but probably more British than American. UAE used to be a British protectorate back in the day.

§ The UAE got its independence from England in 1971. It is made up of seven emirates, two of which are Abu Dhabi (the capital and still very oil rich) and Dubai (back in the day rich and initially build on oil, now there’s no oil but plenty of commerce, a business tax free haven, and tourism – mostly from Europeans). Each of the emirates has their own sheik (king) from their ruling family. Only Dubai and Abu Dhabi are very wealthy emirates.

§ The UAE has one of the highest living standards in the world. It also has the world’s highest percentage of millionaires per population. 6% of the population are millionaires which is about five times the world’s average.

§ Dubai may very well be one of the most international of all cities in the world today. Sit outside the Starbucks along the marina (well, when it gets cooler) and you might hear ten different languages in a short period of time. Here is another example: After not having a massage since leaving Asia in January, I decided to follow the recommendation of a friend and try a place called Thai Traditional Massage and Spa. So a Pakistani taxi driver picked me (an American) up from a ‘mini McDonalds’ where I was waited on by the Philippino staff and drove me to the place which had a Chinese lady manager with Thai women given the massages. While inside getting the massage I could hear Bangladeshi workers chattering outside while they were doing work on a nearby villa. In the room next to me was an Indian guy, and as I left, a British couple came in for their appointment. I then went to a mall to buy a TV and some other things. Shopping in the mall were Arabs of various countries (you can tell by what they wear), Indian businessmen, and plenty of Americans (mostly North, some South) and Europeans. A day in Dubai is like the UN except everyone seems to be getting along just fine! On another note, I have run into a few Nepalis as well which I love. How I wish I would have learned the language while there so I could speak a little bit of Nepali to them now. Nepalis are famous for their army service and the elite serve or did serve is a branch called the ‘ghurkas’. Many of these ghurka-trained men are security guards for hotels, and in my case, at the school where I work.

Where I’m living....
My apartment is in a very lively part of town with a lot of restaurants and shopping. It’s called Bur Dubai is in old section of town around ‘the creek’ which splits the old section of Dubai into two parts. I’m on the top floor of a seven story building. I get plenty of natural light which is good and right outside my living room window is a red neon sign in Arabic that is pretty cool. Since it sits on top of the Ramada Hotel I’m thinking it probably says ‘Ramada!’ The apartment building is built in a big square with an open courtyard that has a pool. Everyone on the inside part of the building faces this courtyard so I have a view into most of the other apartments from my balcony window….not that I’m looking, mind you!! It’s about a 10 minute drive to school if there is no traffic. The traffic can be pretty bad in Dubai but when I’m traveling to and from school, it’s usually not so bad. I arrived to a completely empty apartment except for a mattress on the floor and a welcome fruit basket. The schools gave me about $9,000 to furnish the place! The times of old, used, and (sometimes) tacky school provided furniture are over, baby! It’s been a lot of fun shopping on the school’s dime. By far my biggest single purchase has been my 32” flat plasma screen television. Of course, when I called my friend to tell him about it, he was quick to shame me for ‘only’ getting a 32”. (He has a 63” projection TV!) I almost gave in and returned it for a 40”, but in the end, decided I the 40” was too big for my apartment and that I couldn’t pay more than $1,000 for a TV even if it was ‘really’ someone else’s money!

A little about the school where I’m working…The American School of Dubai (ASD)
When I first visited the school in the mid 90’s when teaching in Kuwait I remember thinking nice facilities and it being like a school from Texas that had been dropped down into Dubai. There were really only American students, a PTA, and plenty of southern accents! Now, there is very little oil left and the oil company is no longer associated with the school. Currently, ASD is a very international school with a big mixture of students… ‘the usual or normal’ American as many of you in the audience are (or Canadian!), non UAE Arabs, plenty of students from Pakistan and India with some Europeans and Latin Americans sprinkled in among the mix. As is the case with all international schools that I know of, the students are hardworking, love to be at school, see the world in an unbiased manner, and are a joy to have in class. The colors of the school are red and white and the mascot is the falcon. It’s a school of about 950 students K-12 with about 285 students in the high school. Times are booming in Dubai and the school is at an all time high in terms of enrollment. The school once had a reputation as a ‘dying ground’ for teachers as people would come and never leave. Why? The living was/is easy, the money very good, cost of living not so bad (though it’s expensive now) and from Dubai you can easily travel to any other place in the world, plus Dubai has many of the comforts of home: McD’s, KFC, Burger King, and Dunkin’ Donuts to name just a few of the chain restaurants. Today, of course, there are numerous Starbucks, TGI Friday’s, Chili’s, Baskin Robbins, Krispy Kreme and so many others. You can now even buy alcohol and pork in special stores and in ‘western style’ supermarkets. Lately, the director and board have worked together to ‘clean things up’ and in the past two years over twenty new teachers have arrived. In my group this year, the teachers are mostly young – in their mid 20’s and some new to teaching. As always, I’m about the only person at the school from the South although there is one girl from Virginia. A large majority of the teachers seem to be from the Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Strange!!

I’m teaching 9th grade English and doing the Yearbook - which is a class. It will be a busy year as I’ve never taught any of these subjects, and I must admit that it’ll be weird to not be teaching history. At any rate, this new load will be ‘resume’ builders if nothing else. I’ll also be coaching the JV and varsity boys’ tennis team. It will be good to play tennis again on a regular basis. One of my team trips this year will be to Alexandria, Egypt and since I’ve never been there, that will be a pretty cool bonus.

For Fun…..
Going out to party is a major pastime in Dubai. Since it is a Muslim country, you can only drink alcohol at clubs or restaurants attached to hotels. And most of the hotels are swanky five stars. After all, that is where the ‘beautiful people’ of Dubai hang out, so these are the places where my group goes to party! And the average cost of an import beer (and they’re all imported!) is about $7.00, mixed drinks even more! There are also tons of really nice restaurants with food from all over the world. Dubai also has its fair share of entertainment opportunities. There are major men and women tennis tournaments, mega rich horse racing, and a huge PGA golf tournament that swing through during the year. Major concerts/productions also come from time to time….Aerosmith and Mamma Mia last year, and Pink last month. Kanye West, Ziggy Marly, and Joss Stone are coming soon to an R & B festival. I recently went to see Stomp, the Broadway show and it was awesome. Dubai also has one of the world’s biggest water parks. In the wave pool you can boogie board and the ‘highest water slide’ in the world guarantees and fast slide and an atomic wedgie at the end!

What Dubai doesn’t have…..

Sadly, Dubai has very little of its Arabic culture left. It’s funny how they are trying to ‘recreate’ it with new housing developments built around ‘a traditional Arab village.’ After living in the middle of a cultural experience (which was Kathmandu!), this has been a bit of an adjustment. I don’t think there is a city that is more the opposite of K-du than Dubai! But having said that, the world is at my fingertips here (except for Dr. Pepper and tootsie rolls); I can drink the water from the tap; I don’t have to worry about power outages; I don’t have to brake for cows in the middle of the road; I don’t have to worry about looking a male monkey in the eye, and I don’t have to see slaughtered animals on a daily basis! Plus, all the roads are paved, and the water surrounding the city (the creek and Persian Gulf) are beautiful. Lord have mercy, I’ve sold out for the easy life! I feel so soft now!! Fear not, I can still look at myself in the mirror thoughJ.