Dubai DownLow: Year 2, Volume1

Dubai DL, Year II….This, That, and The Other!

The return….
From my experience, you can always tell how much you like a place by the excitement you feel when you return after the summer. If that is the case, then I must like Dubai quite a bit, even more than I realize. This year, I’m determined to not constantly compare it to Kathmandu, Bogota, or Kuwait and accept it for what it is. Honestly, I don’t know why I let myself do that so much last year. Dubai is a pretty cool place to call home for a few years and it is quite amazing all the things that are going on here….even if it does seem to be a bit much sometimes! But THAT is part of Dubai….completely over the top!! I’m teaching the same two things as last year, English 9 and Yearbook. It should be a busy year but not nearly as busy as last year when both subjects were new. It was good to get back and see all my friends, old and new students, and Tej – my Nepali house cleaner! My Dubai goals for this year: do this swim around the Burj Al Arab hotel (which is the big famous on that looks like a sail) in this 800 meter fun swim for charity; to make it to the restaurant/high tea/bar of the same hotel. Unlike other hotels, you can’t just show up for a look around. You have to have reservations and purchase ticket vouchers to use inside, usually at least $80-100 worth; Snow board at Ski Dubai which is inside the mall!; visit a few places out in the desert; and perhaps hit the camel races.

Bollywood movie star…. The swanky mall that everyone has to go to in Dubai is called The Mall of the Emirates (the MOE for short). It is the one with Ski Dubai inside! There are plenty of ‘regular’ shops like Nike, The Gap, department stores, music stores but there is also Cartier, Rolex, Mont Blanc and other high end stores. When they show off cars in the mall, it’s usually Ferraris, Maseratis, etc. There is also a nice food court and movie theater, thus my reason for going to this mall. The mall is the place to be seen on the week-end nights, but especially on Friday night. It’s really the only place to see a good number of Emiratis. They walk around the mall in groups…the men in their disdashas (white gowns) and women in black abayas – some covered from head to toe. Most, however, have their faces showing though their heads are covered. It is the weirdest scene…it’s almost like a ‘them’ and ‘us’ type of thing with very little interaction. Anyway, as I entered the mall from the parking lot on the second floor and was walking towards the other end (it’s huge!), I noticed a group of people on the second floor looking down. Of course, I had to see what was going on! A swanky clothing store was closed which meant a ‘celebrity’ was inside shopping. I only looked for a second (or two!) and then kept on walking. All of a sudden, I noticed the crowd moving. There was a large group of security people hand in hand forming a moving oblong. Inside was the ‘star’, his girlfriend, and an assistant. The guy must have been a Bollywood star because all kinds of people (OK, Indians) were trying to take his picture and move along with the group. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt, unbuttoned half way down, tight jeans, pointed cowboy boots, and wore sunglasses. The girl, probably eastern European or Indian, with really highlighted hair, was dressed to the nines in a hoochie sort of way. The assistant carried all the shopping bags as the couple walked hand in hand. Since I didn’t know him, I just kept on walking but soon saw that they were going to come up the escalator to the second floor about the same time as I was to pass it. I decided to stop and get a closer look. As they passed me, I still had no idea who he was but he was definitely acting all ‘playa’ like! They later went into Toy’s R Us and they closed the store down again for him.

Lucky’s…..
For some reason, the great 80’s song “Micky” was on my mind as I planned my trip to Lucky’s as in “oh Lucky you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind…Oh Lucky, Oh Lucky!” And it did not disappoint!!
Lucky’s is an import furniture store in Dubai that has the most amazing furniture. Most, if not all, is made in India. It is mostly wood based and carved with great detail. For instance, a popular piece of furniture that they sell is a copy of an Indian door that they make into coffee or dining room table. The wood is carved in a very detailed manor and it is usually highlighted with metal hooks, studs, rings, handles, etc. I have one as a coffee table. Lucky’s is made up of several warehouses that are not A/Ced and they are completely filled with various pieces of furniture stacked on top of each other to about eight feet. There are little aisles to walk down to do your viewing. It’s absolutely overwhelming and hotter than hell! The day I went it was about 110* and humid, but much hotter in the warehouses. I was about to die from the heat and had sweat dripping everywhere, completely overwhelmed by the inventory, and liking so many things. They don’t have prices; you have to ask! I saw a few things I really liked in the first two warehouses but hit paydirt in the third and forth. I only wanted some type of armoire, but walked away with not only that but much more….I ended up buying an armoire with detailed Mughal artwork painted on it; a side board that is wooden but covered with a dull brass with Arabic writing on it, a ‘step’ storage piece that has carving detail on it, a side table with inlaid brass panels, and a small high sitting wooden carved chair. And all for which I paid a little over $1,200. Without the prices, you just have to guess what it might be! I was ready to pay about $750 for the armoire and it was only a little over $400! Cha-ching!! To give you an idea of how good the prices are: I bought a ‘door’ coffee table from a nice furniture store last year and paid $350 for it. (The same type of coffee table in the US, if you could find one like it, would easily cost $500-600). For a Lucky’s reference, my side table cost less than $100! Now, the question will be how to get this furniture on to the next destination! I might have to choose my next country based on the moving allowance!! Fortunately, Dubai’s is pretty good.


The Holiday Season….
Ramadan: Ramadan is the holy month in the Islamic calendar and it began on September 1 this year. It is based on the moon’s rotation around the Earth so it falls slightly different time each year. The dates move forward 11 days each year. When I lived in Kuwait, my first Ramadan was in late February and now 10 years later, it begins in early September. During this time, Muslim fast from sunup to sundown and will not eat or drink anything during this time. It must be tough to do (at least the drinking part) at this time of year because the temperature is often well over 100*. Muslims are also not allowed to swear, do bad things, think bad thoughts or have sex during these hours either. At sundown, the ‘call to prayer’ signals the end of the day’s fast and Muslims eat some dates, drink water/tea, maybe have some soup and then go pray. After that, it’s chow down time! A little before sunrise, Muslims will wake up and eat again to carry them through the next day. Most of Dubai, but not my school, has shortened working hours. They usually work a six hour day instead of eight. I’m not a huge fan of Ramadan because for non-Muslims it’s an inconvenience. During the day, one can’t eat or drink outside and all restaurants are closed except those in five star hotels. At school it’s not a problem even though we have quite a number of Muslim students. They have a place to go if they want to during lunch to avoid those that eat, and as far as drinking around school, it’s business as usual. The good thing about Ramadan is that at its end, usually 29-30 days, it’s a three day holiday. ASD usually provides another day because the start of the holiday, Eid Al Fidr (and Ramadan) begins on the sighting of the moon – not when it scientifically begins its new phase but when it is actually sighted in Saudi Arabia! This year I’m following my self commitment to travel to “a country I’ve never been to” – Baku, Azerbaijan. I’m following my mantra of ‘not going there to see something, but to see what is there’! I want to get out of the ‘very’Muslim world because most in these countries will be celebrating Eid and things will be closed. Eid is like Christmas. Muslims give gifts, visit relatives, and have holiday meals. Azerbaijan is Muslim but not ‘that’ Muslim. I’ll keep you posted.

Soon afterwards, the sizable Indian/Hindu community in Dubai celebrates Dashain, which is like their Christmas. It’s another festive time in Dubai but brings no holidays! But it’s cool to see especially in the area where I live because there are a lot of Indians/south Asians living in my building and in the surrounding area.

Watching the Olympics…
Just like everyone else I was glued to the TV watching the Olympics. Unlike most, my commentary was mostly in Arabic, with English only some of the time. Though I hardly understand a word of Arabic (at least the words one would use on television!), it wasn’t that bad as at least I got to watch most of what I wanted. Funny story….Most commentators are supposed to call the game or describe the sport without bias, correct? Not here! I was watching the 1,600 meter swimming when this Tunisian guy took over the lead with about three lengths to go. The announcer was just about beside himself. As the swimmers flipped into the last length, it was a close race. But as the Arab swimmer began to pull away, he was outright cheering for him….”Yella, yella, yella and then his name!! (Yella is the Arabic word for ‘let’s go!) “OOhh, YELLA!!” And then after he won, it was like “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, OOOOOOOOOOOOOO, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” I think he might have been dancing around in his announcer’s booth! It was so funny. The UAE had a few competitors and one was the daughter of Sheik Mohammad of Dubai (Sheik Mo for short!). She competed in tae kwan do, but lost in the second round. Oh well, who needs a gold medal when you have plenty of ‘gold’ at home! Her family is one of the richest in the world. But it does show something….an Muslim girl participating and competing in sport. That doesn’t happen in Iran or Saudi Arabia.

More later…..