uae newsletters

• Imagine my surprise when I walked into the men's room at Carrefour to find a couple of locals making wodu!

• Imagine also my surprise when I walked into the staff only, men's toilet on campus to find a bit of wodu also being made!

• I have a good name. I guess I have always suspected this, but lately, people are always asking me for it. Not to keep for themselves of course- they must have their own, but rather, because they want to know what I am called. I think it is an Indian and Pakistani thing. People don't just say, "what's your name?" They insist on asking, "what's your good name?" A couple of times I have replied "my good name is Roland, but my bad name is Roland the evil: doer of immoral deeds, and oppressor of the weak." This has met with a blank stare. Sometimes I think my sense of humor just slips by some people. I guess I need to be less subtle.

• Nearly everyday I drive past the Butt Sweet House. I am sorely tempted to stop in and buy some butt sweets sometimes.

Mark it on your calendar folks. Today, November 6, 2000 it actually rained in Abu Dhabi! Not much of a rain really, but for about ten minutes there was what one might call a gently sprinkle. Still, this was a major event, which sent shock waves of excitement through the campus. The girls were all squealing happily and ran outside, prancing around shouting, "Allah forgives us! Allah forgives us!" Inside, boxes of delicious chocolates materialized as if by magic and were passed out to everyone. All the staff stood by the now open windows and watched the excitement- it hasn't rained here in a few years. I was told that last January there was a national day of prayer for rain- school was canceled and the entire country had time off to pray for rain to ease the long drought. Sadly, it didn't help, so everyone thought that Allah was angry with the people of the UAE. So today's rain was taken as a sign that Allah has forgiven whatever transgressions had been made! I think this should call for a national holiday, but sadly, I probably won't be consulted.

In case you weren't sure, making wodu is the washing of ones feet, hands, neck and face before prayer.

Abu Dhabi Update # 3 October 2000

Hatta Fort Weekend (from hell)

We have been keeping busy since my last update- lots of things going on to keep the social calendar full. Back to the 14th and 15th of September, we went to Hatta, which is south of Dubai. We stayed at the lovely Hatta Fort Hotel where we got special room rates of 450 Dhs ($180.00 CAD) for two nights. We were expecting a fun filled weekend of golf, archery, clay pigeon shooting, hiking, and hanging out at the pool. Instead I ended up spending two days writhing in pain lying on my back, staring up at the beautiful vaulted wood with 4x4 beams, ceiling. Wednesday evening was okay, but I got up on Thursday morning at 9:15, had a shower, ate some breakfast and was sitting down with a coffee just before 10:00 when I started to feel a pain in my lower back. I did some light stretching and expected it to go away, but within a couple of hours I was already in a lot of pain. By 2:00, I could literally no longer stand up or sit up- it was quite frightening. Shooting pains and severe back spasms made every little movement an act of torture, and I was forced to remain immobile on my back. The nice people at the hotel came around with a full-sized 4x4 and loaded me up in the back seat- still on my back, and drove me into town to the clinic. Upon arrival I was gently moved onto a "resting chair" (stretcher) and wheeled immediately into an examination room. I was I admit, a bit disappointed that I never once heard anyone say "STAT." Unfortunately for me, my injuries were not a result of an MVA (motor vehicle accident). And, my HCT health card hadn't been processed yet, although I did have my residency visa, so I was in the nether world of not being a tourist and not having my local health card with me either. Therefore I was told I would be unable to get treatment. I think the implication was I should go outside and get hit by a car, then come back for help. Luckily, a Filipino nurse took pity on me and had me admitted as a tourist instead, and after I paid the 80 Dhs ($32.00 CAD) tourist fee the doctor was able to look at me. She took my blood pressure and temperature and immediately was able to diagnose that this was not my problem. Then the doctor came back. Interesting fellow that doctor. He was Indian, and with not the greatest English. When he asked me how I was doing and I replied that I was not feeling very Olympic (the games were after all about to begin), he just got a puzzled look on his face. I think though, that he really liked me. That, or at some time in the distant past he had had an English teacher with a sense of humor, because he kept calling me "my dear." As in "When the pain did start my dear?" "Does this hurt my dear?" "Can you lift my leg my dear?"(I was pretty sure he wanted to know if I could lift my own leg) And so on. Tracey was "my sister", as in "he will certainly walk again my sister" and "you must to give him two times a day massage." Soon the nice Filipino nurse came back with a needle for my butt and a bag of prescription medication. The needle didn't hurt a bit, but it must have been some strong medicine- unless my pain threshold inexplicably increased! The downside was that there must have been some anti-blood pressure stuff in there because now when I tried to stand, I would start to black out and couldn't therefore stand anyway.

Next day back in Abu Dhabi I went to a real clinic with an actual x-ray machine and had myself checked over. The x-rays showed no damage and the doctor (whose English was decidedly better- the British accent somehow leant a degree of comfort) said that I had pinched a nerve and that the muscles in my lower back had gone into a protective spasm. More painkillers and muscle relaxants were the order of the day. Now, three weeks later, I am feeling much better, but I still have a sore back, especially after sitting for a long time. I am hoping to be shipshape in Bristol fashion in another week or two.

Toilet Troubles (or Bidet Blues)

Anyone who read my emails from, or heard me talk about China might remember some interesting toilet stories. Nothing quite so exotic here, but I do have some complaints about the way things are done here. Like France, Portugal, and Spain, the UAE is a bidet culture. For those of you uncultured enough not to know what a bidet is, just consider yourself better off- and when you go into hotels in France, just don't wash your feet in that porcelain thing beside the toilet. Anyway, as luck would have it virtually all washrooms (or toilets or WC's if you are British) are equipped with the ubiquitous bidet. Now I have no objection per say to these bidets, but from my own cultural bias I just don't feel like I need one. I fully agree that washing your bottom instead of just smudging around with paper is probably infinitely more hygienic. But besides there being the bidet, there is also "the hose" dangling conveniently from the wall just beside the toilet, both in my master bathroom in my apartment, and in the school and public toilets as well. This hose resembles the rinsing hose that is often found in the kitchen sinks in Canada, but it's not for dishes. I know the bathrooms here weren't designed with me in mind, but to me the bidet just takes up what would otherwise be useful floor space. Especially when you can simply use the hose anyway. But my complaint isn't really about the bidets. Really, it is more about the hose. I don't object in the slightest to the use of the hose, but it annoys me that every time I go into a stall it seems like someone has just had a shower in there. Water water everywhere (and certainly not a drop that you would want to drink). The person before me always seems to manage to get every possible square inch of toilet seat, floor, and walls soaking wet. And they don't bother to wipe up the water for the next guy- usually me it would seem. This must be why there is a sign in the washroom at the Carrefour (French Hypermarket) that says: "Please don't wash your feet in the toilet." But what the hell, remembering China, I guess it is better than a hole in the floor.

Liquid Refreshments (and I don't mean water)

I was also very pleased to receive my liquor license the week after Hatta. (This isn't a resale license- you need to have a license to buy it- except in the tourist hotel bars) It was only for medicinal purposes of course, but I've had to drink a lot of alcohol since then. Years ago, one could not even buy alcohol (commonly referred to as liquid refreshments so as not to offend the sensitivities of most of the country who abstain from drink - alcohol and liquor are taboo) here so being able to get it is a great perk. While driving home with the new Galloper on Wednesday, I heard a contest on the radio- the first four people to phone in with the correct answer to the question "who played the original Eliza Dolittle in the Broadway production of My Fair Lady, would win a bottle of "bubbly liquid beverage." Sadly, I don't have a mobile phone yet or I could have been a winner, - the answer obviously being Julie Andrews! Anyway, the announcer continued for several minutes explaining that this "bubbly liquid beverage could be 7-Up, or Perrier, but that it wasn't. He even went so far as to mention that it came in a bottle with a cork- but of course that was all he could say, without the probability of having the radio station pulled off the air! Of course it isn't easy to buy your own liquid refreshment! You need to fill out an endless series of forms, submit two passport photos, and a copy of your salary certificate to show how much money you earn. The more money you earn, the more liquor you can buy with your license. I believe the reasoning must be that if you earn more money you must be in a higher-pressure job, and therefore have a greater need for the aforementioned liquid refreshments. The more you earn the more you drink I guess. The other thing that isn't easy is finding the liquid refreshment store. Of course as I mentioned in a previous newsletter there is no such thing as an address in this town. And if there were, they certainly wouldn't put "liquor store", nor liquid refreshment on it for that matter. In fact very exact directions are needed to find the place. And these are only available from other people who have been there. The instructions to find the African and Eastern went something like this: Go south on Salam street (really 4th street) till you get to the Indian Palace. Go down the narrow alleyway on the left to the end and turn right. Past the café on the right you will see what looks like an empty abandoned shop. The windows are blackened out and the door has no signage at all. Above the door there is a small sign with an A and an E on it. Go through the door. You are now in a dimly lit foyer. Go through the unmarked door in front of you and there you are. I think the unmarked foyer is just in case someone wanders in off the street accidentally. Once you have made your purchases, they put them into plain, unmarked bags and off you go.

Yea Yea Yea

We went to see the Beatles a couple of weeks ago! Yes, those four lads from Liverpool graced The Club with a weekend concert. Well okay, it wasn't the real Beatles, but it was a reasonable facsimile- The Bootleg Beatles. They have actually been touring for almost 20 years, and started out as the original cast of Beatlemania. You could tell that they have been at it a while, because they are almost as long in the tooth as the original fab four are today. It was a lot of fun, outdoors by the beach. They came out in their early costumes with the gray suits with no lapels, moved on to the neon Sergeant Pepper cloths, and finished in their long haired- hippie outfits. The music was good and they sounded a lot like the originals, but we left a bit disappointed in the length of the concert. They only ended up being on stage for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Over the next couple of months we will be getting the Bootleg Neil Diamond and the Bootleg Tom Jones too! Yippee! The one I would really like to see is on November 20th when the real live Bryan Adams is coming to Dubai.

Some observations: or things that make you go hmm?

Nearly every statement made by Muslims can be and often is followed by Inshal Allah, which means "if Allah wills it." As in see you tomorrow, Inshal Allah. Or, Teacher: Do page 21 for homework Students: Okay teacher, Inshal Allah. The culture is very fatalistic- whatever happens is the will of Allah.

There is no such thing as hot and cold running water in Abu Dhabi. It's hot, and warm running water. Cold water comes out of the fridge, or the water cooler.

It doesn't rain much here:
Teacher: When was the last time it rained in Abu Dhabi?
Student: I don't know. I am only 19 years old.

Cars are a really popular gift. It seems funny to see so many ads in the classifieds selling unwanted gifts. Like: New 2001 Mercedes for sale- opportunity of a lifetime- Unwanted Gift. You'd think that if someone were planning on buying a Mercedes as a birthday present they might think to ask the recipient something like "so, what do you think about those new Mercedes?" Also, many stores give them away too. The supermarket in my building is giving two Peugeot 206's away this month, and the Airport in Dubai gives away a car a day.

A bit of Wadi Bashing (4x4ing in the dried up river beds of the desert)

I picked up our 4X4 after work on Wednesday. We were in the market for a slightly used relatively new 4X4 and I found just the one last week in Dubai. It is a 2000, Hyundai Galloper, Mica Green, originally sold in May of 2000 to some Swede named Sven, who has since left the country. There are only 5677 Km's on it, and two and a half years of warranty. I almost bought a 1996 Galloper, new with 80 kms on it, but this one seemed like the better deal. I am still having a hard time getting my head around the fact that you can still buy 96's new here- I guess they just weren't too popular so there were quite a few sitting around in warehouses. Of course the 2000 has been redesigned somewhat since '96 and has Gulf specs- which means a better air conditioner- which is rather an important thing when it gets into the mid 40's. Surprisingly, it also burns regular leaded fuel (as do most vehicles here) which is cheaper than unleaded. At 34 cents Canadian a liter (with the crude oil prices at an all time high, the price at the pump here has gone up since last year's MLI book which quoted the price at closer to 25 cents Canadian) the price at the pump isn't a really big issue though. The older Galloper did have a built in compass on the dash- which is now an outside thermometer. I do still have the standard altimeter, climb and dive angle gauge, and left-right tilt angle gauge. Very useful to let you know if you are upside down! I think the designers may have gotten the panel gauges a bit confused with those on an airplane.

Wasting no time, Tracey and I went off-roading in the sand dunes of the Empty Quarter yesterday with our friend Arthur and his girlfriend Bem. Arthur has a '95 Jeep Wrangler and before we went he picked up a new towrope. On the back of the packaging was a sketch of what appeared to be a Jeep Wrangler towing a Land Rover, but Arthur insisted it was a Galloper (they look somewhat similar). Good joke, but Arthur did get the last laugh as I managed to get stuck some deep sand. Not the kind of wet mud suction-cupping the bottom of your vehicle stuck like you can get into in Canada, but more of a loose sand, spinning tires stuck. I guess I should have had it in 4-low instead of 4-high, or taken a bigger run at the hill. Tracey had images of abandoning the truck in the middle of the dessert, walking out, getting lost, and dying of dehydration on the way, but after letting 10 pounds of air out of the tires, moving some sand from in front of the tires, and using 4-low, I managed to crawl out with no problems. Thankfully, I didn't need to make use of Arthur's towrope or I wouldn't have heard the end of it. I didn't feel too bad since Arthur got stuck two times in the spring at Jebal Ali (Where we are all going camping beside the ocean in two weeks). The dessert was beautiful and even though it was sand as far as the eye could see, each crest over a new hill offered a spectacularly different view with different colours, and textures, and spectacularly different dune shapes. On the way back, just as we were coming to the top of a hill, we came across a Bedouin, apparently out walking his camel. Where he had been and where he was going was a complete mystery, but it was something of a surprise to come across another person where we really didn't expect it. Arthur stopped and gave the man a bottle of water, which he seemed grateful for, and I took a picture.

Galloper Review copied from a Saudi Arabia web site: Those uninterested can just stop reading now!

Seeing a Mitsubishi Pajero badged up as a Hyundai Galloper shouldn't have been so surprising. Although Hyundai relied on Mitsubishi technology for some of its earlier cars, the Galloper is more of a joint project than a simple badge job. Like me, many do not associate Hyundai with off-road vehicles, which is probably why the model didn't sell well initially. But it's all changed now and with the exception of newcomers to the area, most will be familiar with the model. But decry the Galloper at your own risk. It might have a strange twisty capital H on it's nose, but the steed on it's flanks is most appropriate for in all other respects the Galloper is a pure thoroughbred Mitsubishi 4x4. For this market it comes with aircon, and sports side steps, rear step and a decent radio cassette, the supplementary three instrument pod, wood effect dash trim and plastic side trims. Also on the standard equipment list are alloy wheels, automatic freewheel hubs and an external spare wheel hangar. If you know the Pajero then you know the Galloper 2. It's comfortable, rugged and reliable. Climbing inside I found everything typically Paj' - right down to the passenger grab handle. The steering wheel is adjustable for height (though not reach) and most controls are just where you would expect them. The seats are comfortable and supportive and on this short wheelbase model the passenger seat slides forward for access to the rear seats. The rear seats fold independently and leave a commendably free luggage space when fully folded. So what is the Galloper like in actual use? Powered by the familiar 3.0 litre V6 petrol engine, the Galloper is adequately if not over powered and the ratios in the five-speed transmission evenly spaced. 160bhp is more than enough for the type of work this little workhorse is intended but propelling such an aerodynamically inefficient vehicle at the kamikaze speeds favoured by some isn't an option. Indeed, climbing up through the mountains towards Taif was accomplished almost effortlessly and with plenty in reserve. Selection of 4WD is by the conventional selector, or 'second gearlever', one of the few concessions to price. Honda's automatic selection between two and four wheel drive would be inappropriate for the Galloper which is, after all, more of a go anywhere off-road vehicle, but an electronic dash operated system would have been appreciated. Automatic freewheel hubs do redress the balance somewhat however. On a long run I found wind noise to be a little obtrusive although this is in fact commendably low for a vehicle with the aerodynamics of a brick. There were also a few rattles here and there, one I traced to the folding rear seat mechanism and another to an empty drinking water container I had stowed in the luggage space. The rear seat rattle was not a major problem and seemed to be caused by a little free play in the mechanism when locked and with no passengers, so perhaps the message is to follow the airlines and get 'bums on seats'. It does fold easy and its mechanism is extremely sturdy. As for the water bottle - that's not exactly a Galloper problem!

For the real off-road enthusiasts, entry and exit angles are good - and even better on the short wheelbase model of course. The low ratio of the transfer gearbox gives a superb climbing ability and the tilt angle is also pretty good. True, the Galloper isn't based on the latest fashion conscious styling - so it is unlikely to win converts from the RAV4, Grand Vitara, or Musso market. Nor will it hurt Mitsubishi's current Pajero sales. But it's neither old in the tooth or a built-to-a-price bargain basement offering either. Checking out with existing Galloper owners I found all were impressed by its V6 power and general capabilities and happy with its trim levels. Significantly, price never came into the conversation unless prompted, the vehicle winning sales by its good looks, build quality and capabilities. But as for price, just take a look at this comparison: A similarly spec'd Shogun claims a sticker price of just under thirty one thousand pounds in the UK - (67,200 Canadian Dollars) (and that's without the optional bull bar and spotlights fitted to the test car) - while the Galloper range starts at an affordable SR60,000 in KSA. (46,900 Canadian Dollars)

Abu Dhabi Update # 2 September 2000

WORKDAYS AND WEEKENDS

A couple of weeks have slipped by since my last update- I've been meaning to write, but my workload is just too darned hard. Teaching 4 out of ten classes a day just grinds you down. Good thing that I have two sections at the same level, so I only have to plan one set of lessons. This ten-week term I start at 10:00, 10:00, 12:30, 7:30, and 10:00, so I don't have to get up too early, except Tuesdays. The downside is that I teach until 5:30 three days a week. It is also a bit hard getting used to the weekends here. Because this is a Muslim country Friday is their Sunday, and Thursday is their Saturday. This of course makes Monday humpday- even though it still feels like Monday because really it is. Naturally, Wednesday is therefore Friday, and I have to work every Saturday and Sunday weekend. Good thing we do things normally in the west, because otherwise Bob Geldoff would have written "I Don't Like Saturdays" when he was with the Boomtown Rats- and that has too many syllables to sound right. Go ahead and try to sing it to yourself that way- you'll see how awkward it is. I am still very much enjoying the work here at HCT. ( click here to check it out) Things are very different than they were in Morocco. In Morocco when I requested an assortment of blue, black and red pens, and a box of pencils, I ended up getting two pens and two pencils- and that was for our entire office. I also had to walk 1 km down the road to the elementary school every couple of days to get 100 pieces of paper for the photocopier (which occasionally was in working order). Here at HCT, there are photocopiers everywhere and lots of paper. Last week I ordered 6 pencils, 4 of each size of double paper clips and so on, and when my order arrived I was surprised to see that the numbers I requested had been crossed out, but instead of lowering the quantities I had requested, they had raised them. I guess someone in central supplies figured I just needed more than I thought. Actually, they just ended up giving me full cases of everything- probably easier than breaking up the cases. I had to laugh at the difference between the two jobs. FYI- EXCERPT FROM THE LONELY PLANET I came across this while reading the Lonely Planet, and thought it was worth sharing� not that I am gloating or anything� It's titled "The Easy Life"

For the 45,000 or so western expats living in the UAE, life is a fantasy world of no taxes, often no rent and a free air fare home once a year (as in my case). A typical expat existence is one of disposable income, continuously sunny weather, weekend camping and 4WD trips, beach resorts, pubs and restaurants. It's a life few could ever expect to maintain back in their own country (myself included- especially as a teacher).

13TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

A couple of weeks ago we had our annual Higher Colleges of Technology conference. This took place at the Jumeira Beach Hotel. Last year this was selected by the World Hotel Association in France as the best hotel in the world! It is a seven star hotel! I had no idea they even gave out that many stars! Needless to say the place was pretty swanky, and boy were the coffee and baked goodies fantastic. The hotel even has a helicopter landing pad on the roof - which His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan made use of whilst arriving a half an hour late for his own key note speech (he is both Cambridge educated and a helicopter pilot himself). After his speech all the new staff from all eleven colleges had the opportunity to shake the Sheikhs hand. I was about 150th in line and by the time I got to shake hands it was quite obviously no longer as great a thrill for him as it was for me. The high point (if you don't include the amazing lunch) was the second key note speech from Dr. Art-ong Jumsai Na Ayudhya, who was personally selected by His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan. Now the good doctor is from Thailand and is a practicing Buddhist. I didn't know this when he began his talk, but after the first two minutes or so, I guessed it anyway. This years theme was EEE - education, excellence, and ethics. Dr. Art-ong chose to deal specifically with ethics. He began with anger, lust, greed, pride, hatred, attachment and fear, blended in some truth and right conduct, and capped it with love the world- and love the rice (he was from Thailand after all, and they do produce some of the best rice in the world). At this point things got a bit Freudian with the addition of the super- conscious, conscious, and sub conscious. He wrapped things up with a bit of Ghandiism, by adding peace, non-violence, and five ultimate truths. At one point he drew a picture on the overhead projector of a guru on a mountain top. Very inspiring, but when it was all over most of us where left shaking our heads and wondering when the dawning of the age of Aquarius was going to begin.

SERVICE WITH A SMILE

The UAE seems to very much be a service-oriented place. A couple of weeks ago we went shopping at the Home Center for some household items and ended up with a shopping cart full of goodies. After we paid, the bag boy took our cart to the door for us and was going to help us load it into our car. As we don't yet have a car to load it into, and we didn't feel like loading it into just anyone's car, we were going to simply carry our bags home. Home (our home) is only about three hundred meters from Home (the store), so it was no big deal. Try as I might however, the bag boy wasn't about to let me carry my own things! He insisted on pushing the cart down the sidewalk, around the corner, and into the building. He seemed more than happy to take it right up the elevator into our apartment if I had let him. I expect that he would have then proceeded to unpack the bags, and put things away, but for my insistence that he should return to the store. I assured him that there must be someone else by then who was equally desperate to have his or her purchases pushed home. The same thing happened to me after shopping for groceries at the Emirates General Market, on the ground floor of our building. Any more than two small bags and you nearly have to fight the bag boys in order to carry your own groceries. Just out of curiosity I think I might let them carry the groceries the next time and see if I can get them to put them in the cupboard and fridge as well. This kind of service attitude is everywhere- even here at work. Every time I get a coffee or tea from the staff room I have to watch it like a hawk. The maids come by every few minutes to clear away used mugs and wash them for re-use. It seems that if the mug is anywhere less than half full they think you have had enough- or maybe that it must be cold by now.

DON'T TEACH THEM TILL YOU SEE THE WHITES OF THEIR EYES

I had an interesting first day of classes here at the Women's College. I remember back in China that it was very difficult to tell the students apart at first- they all had black hair and dark skin and wore school uniforms. I know it was equally hard for our colleagues to tell the foreign teachers apart too, because we all looked the same to them. Well, imagine my difficulties when I walked into my first class and was faced with a room full of girls all wearing abeyyas- full length black robes, and all with their heads covered by sheilas- black head scarves, and many with their faces veiled as well. Just try to tell these girls apart by their eyes! One of my colleagues told me that he tries to remember their shoes, but you know how girls are with shoes� The problem is of course compounded by the fact that nearly half the class is named Fatima (Mohamed's daughter) and most of the other half is Ayesha. It does have it's upside though because if the class is getting too loud you just have to say "Fatima, Ayesha, be quiet!" and that pretty much has it covered.

CRAZED CARTOGRAPHERS AND SILLY SWISS

Getting around in Abu Dhabi presents some unique difficulties. First of all, the concept of an address simply does not exist. If you look something up in the yellow pages you will get the phone number and the post office box number. Sometimes if you are really lucky this will be followed by a short description of how to get there. For example: "Located in the old Toyota showroom, across the street from the main Etisalat building." This is a great help if you know where the old Toyota showroom was, or if you know where the Etisalat building is. If however, like myself you are new to Abu Dhabi you can't very well be expected to know this information. And taxi drivers are not much help either. They are almost always Indian or Pakistani and have a somewhat limited ability with the English language. So when you want to go somewhere you pretty much have to know already where that place is. Things are further complicated by the fact that until two years ago all the streets were named- there were no numbers of any kind. Thankfully, the city commissioned a Swiss team to completely rework the city map and now we have streets running north to south and streets running east to west, but no avenues. And, they further divided the city into zones and sections which I am sure make a great deal of sense to the Swiss, but are not very helpful to those of us who actually need to navigate through the city. Just to add a final bit of confusion, all the main streets are still named, but most of them go by different names than are on the signs. You just have to remember that Zayad the Second Street is called Electra by everyone, East Road is really Old Airport Road, Al Maktoum is really Airport Road and so on. Oh yes, the streets also tend to change names as you move from one zone into another, so Hamdan turns into Al Nasr, and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed turns into Istiglal and on it goes... Did I mention that gas is 30 cents Canadian a liter? One of the UAE books I read before coming said that it was about 25 cents, but with the rising cost of crude oil it's just going through the roof here!

INFO OFF THE INTERNET- FYI

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven states formed in 1971 by the then Trucial States after independence from Britain. Although each state - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujayrah, Ra's al-khaymah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qaywayn - maintains a large degree of independence, the UAE is governed by a Supreme Council of Rulers made up of the seven emirs, who appoint the prime minister and the cabinet. Before the discovery of oil in the 1950s, the UAE's economy was dependent on fishing and a declining pearling industry. But since 1962, when Abu Dhabi became the first of the emirates to begin exporting, the country's society and economy have been transformed. The ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayad, president of the UAE since its inception, was quick to seize on the potential of the oil industry, ensuring the development of all the emirates by reinvesting oil revenues back into healthcare, education and national infrastructure. The oil industry has also led to a large influx of foreign workers who now make up approximately three quarters of the population. The UAE is one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf, with other cultures and beliefs generally tolerated. Sheikh Zayad succeeded his brother as Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966 and, as a result of his strong leadership and commitment to forming the federation, he was elected as the first President of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. He has been reelected every five years since 1971. He has instilled the values of religious tolerance and equality, especially for women, into his policies which have greatly enhanced the stability of the UAE. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Population: 2m Capital: Abu Dhabi Major language: Arabic Major religion: Islam Form of government: Federation of seven independent states Monetary unit: 1 Dirham = 100 fils Main exports: Oil, gas Internet domain: .ae Time zone: gmt+4 International dialing code: +971

Abu Dhabi Update # 1 August 2000

DEPARTURE

We made it to the Edmonton International airport on time, where we met one of the porters who knows Andy (Tracey's father) from his delivery route with Loomis. She took us to a special check in counter right at the customs entrance and really helped speed things up. We ended up checking in our 4 pieces of luggage as well as an additional 6 boxes, because the Abu Dhabi Women's College gave me a generous shipping allowance. The extra $1140.00 came out of my $1200.00 shipping allowance, so we still ended up ahead of the game. Since we were flying KLM and Northwest, the excess baggage was limited to 70 pounds per bag. Like a prizefighter before a match, we had to go through the weighing ceremony. The first bag was 69.4 pounds, then 69.9, 69.8 and 70.0. I told the woman at the counter that I'd weighed them myself at home, so she just tagged the last 6 pieces and off we went to the customs line. Despite our fears of opening and re-packing boxes at the airport everything was as smooth as silk.

THE TRIP

Our flights were pretty much the usual, except for one interesting event. While we were waiting for our flight to leave Amsterdam, Tracey noticed a man with an earphone and microphone connected to his cell phone. This was unusual to us because neither of us had seen this kind of phone before. But the really unusual thing was this man's behavior. He was what you might call suspicious looking. As he continued to make calls, he was also making very discreet eye contact with, and signaling to two other suspicious looking men at opposite corners of the departure lounge. When we went to board the plane he was standing beside us and we heard him whisper to one of his friends (who had quietly moved into line beside him) "I don't have the �zxv (insert foreign word here). His friend whispered back "it's all right- I have it". We found our seat on the plane and as we were settling in, the suspicious looking man #1 suspicious looking man #2 sat in the row right beside us. After take off, suspicious looking man #1 wrapped his entire head and neck into the in flight blanket and started chanting very loudly in Arabic. This disturbed many of the people around him- and the host and hostesses had to ask him to stop. He did, but after a while he began barking loud commands to the hostess and creating a general unease. His strange and erratic behavior continued throughout the flight, though we never noticed him talking to the third man in his group. As soon as the plane landed in Dubai, the airport police and several soldiers with machine guns came on board and removed all three. They announced that they were being taken off for security reasons, after which a team of about 15 people came on board and cleaned and checked over the entire plane from back to front. Shortly thereafter we took off again for the 20-minute flight to Abu Dhabi.
As soon as we stepped off the plane, Tracey and I were met by a representative of the travel agent, whisked through passport control, had our bags taken by a porter, and were fast tracked through customs in the diplomatic line. We were then handed over to the care of Peter, from the college, who had us into our hotel in record time. In all the traveling I've done, I have never gone from plane to hotel in such a smooth and efficient manner! THE BEACH HOTEL AND SHOPPING Staying in the five star Beach Hotel for the first six nights was a definite improvement over the three star Sheherizad in Morocco (where the cleaning staff rifled through our bags and stole things) and the superintendent's aunt's apartment in Macedonia. For one thing the Beach Hotel actually had a beach! As well as swimming pools, whirlpools, pool and beach side bars and the requisite cabana boys. There was also a well-equipped fitness center and squash courts, which I took advantage of nearly every day. When we checked in we were given a meal allowance in cash, of almost $800.00 for the 6 days in the hotel. We only spent a couple of hundred- so we came out well ahead, even though we had several breakfasts and suppers in the hotel itself. The next morning the new staff was taken to the college (Tracey stayed at the hotel and spent her day at the beach) where we signed the contracts and filled out the forms for our driver's licenses, liquor licenses, bank accounts and work visas. We were then given our checks for shipping and furniture allowances and went to the bank to cash our checks and the phone company to hook up our phones. After a short rest at the hotel we were off shopping for furniture, curtains, and household items. Armed only with Tracey's good taste and my $14,000 we had a whirlwind shopping adventure and managed to nearly completely furnish the place choosing from about 3 or four different stores. Most of the final items, we picked up on a separate shopping trip to Dubai, arranged by one of the ladies who had lived in Abu Dhabi several years ago.

TO IKEA� AND BEYOND (BEWARE OF ROAD SURPRISES!)

After a few days of the red carpet treatment, and being chauffeured around Abu Dhabi to shop and get everything set up, Tracey and I decided to take a day trip to Dubai with Marjorie and Jean from my college, and Michael's wife Reyhan Jean arranged for a minivan and driver from one of the local hotels and off we went at 8:00 AM to go to the Ikea (it wasn't easy to convince Tracey to get up that early after a week of sleeping in at the hotel, then resting up at the beach until I returned from College). The highway to Dubai is an eight lane divided highway through the dessert. As we were driving, one of the girls pointed out a sign that said, "Beware of Road Surprises." Jokes were made regarding this - and we speculated about what kind of surprises might be out there lurking- waiting to attack. Pretty soon we had a better idea of what this might mean. We had an Indian driver who spoke a bit of English, but drove like a man possessed. He constantly drove virtually bumper to bumper with the vehicle ahead- all the while honking the horn madly, and flashing the head lights going for the mesmerizing stroboscopic effect so the vehicle would move over. Several times he even passed the vehicles ahead by pulling over to the shoulder on the right and shipping by. I think he was a bit confused because when I asked him what side of the road he drove on in India (knowing the answer already) he told me the left. I then asked him which side was the slow lane in India and he told me the right lane. I think the light bulb went on for him at this point and he realized that when you drive on the right side (like in North America and the UAE) the right lane is the slow traffic lane. A few minutes later he looked over at me, then down to the dash, and pointed at the temperature gauge. He then asked me "what this?" I glanced over and saw that the needle was beyond the red line into the little gap between the red line and the pin. I told him that it was the temperature of the motor and that it was overheating so we should pull over at the next opportunity. He replied with "no problem- is always like this". I was a bit concerned but let it go since I figured he was the one who drove the vehicle everyday and he probable knew what he was talking about. Wrong! About 20 minutes later the motor started knocking and pinging and rattling, and there was the unmistakable smell of burning oil coming from under the seat- where the motor was located. He pulled over to the side and got out and lifted the seat up. We were immediately surrounded by billowing puffs of smoke from the burning oil- like a mustard gas attack in the trenches. The girls fled the vehicle for fresh air- 45-degree dessert air which itself was overwhelming. Frantically the driver reached for his one liter bottle of water and started to douse the scalding motor- perhaps thinking that the cooling effect of the water would make everything all right. The motor hissed it's protest and steamed like a Turkish bath. Looking down to the ground I noticed a pool of black slowly spreading out from under the van - motor blood oozing out of the now lifeless corpse of burned metal and melted piston parts. That van was moving not an inch further under it's own power. So there we were- stranded in the dessert. None of us had even thought to bring water or even hats. The driver had no mobile phone so we flagged down a passing bus that was taking Pakistani laborers back to Dubai, and the five of us squeezed into three seats leaving our driver behind to fend for himself. None of the laborers spoke a word of English, and they stared at us with blank expressions on their faces for the duration of the half-hour ride. It was as if they had never seen five white people stranded in the dessert before.

We couldn't get out of that bus fast enough when we got into Dubai. As soon as we were out, we flagged a taxi and continued undaunted to the Ikea store. A very nice customer service rep let Jean use the phone, and she called George from the rental agency. He was very apologetic and immediately made arrangements to send another vehicle and driver from Abu Dhabi to pick us up. So off we went to shop. Tracey and I filled a cart with lots of little things, houseplants, and ordered a sofa bed, computer desk, and bathroom shelf. The big stuff was delivered on Saturday, and I have nearly finished putting it all together. The road between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is quite interesting. It runs along the Persian Gulf and as you look inland from the road there is a great expanse of young trees symmetrically planted in the dessert sand for as far as you can see. This is a relatively newly planted tree belt which is part of the UAE's ongoing project to greenify and affect the environment. It's a massive undertaking, which they hope will eventually cool the region and change the climate. Very impressive.

LUXURY LIVING

We were shown our apartment the day after we arrived, and let me tell you- it exceeded my greatest expectations! The building is about a year old and has a hot tub and 18 meter swimming pool on the roof. There are saunas, and a gym with free weights, universals, bikes, running machines and stair machines. Our apartment itself is a two bedroom with a storage room and two bathrooms. It has a huge living room, very big bedrooms with built in floor to ceiling closets and drawer units. All the doors and trim are in a beautiful dark wood, and we have floor to ceiling windows. We have a six-burner stove and oven of the same width with built in rotisserie in the kitchen. There is a garborator, a double sink, full size fridge, dishwasher, and washer dryer. The ground floor has a large market where we can get virtually any groceries we want (except pork which we have to get at a different store), as well as appliances, TV's and VCR's, stationary, and so on. The second floor has a great caf� and restaurant and a billiard club. Overall, we couldn't be happier with the place. It's sure to spoil us for future accommodations. Abu Dhabi itself is a great place so far- the weather is a bit hot, but things will cool down in September and should be a respectable 20 to 30 degrees for the next six to eight months or so, till it starts to warm up again.