The city of excess

So far Tyson and I have ventured to Dubai twice, both times for his aviation exams. The first time was the day before we left for Germany and so Tyson dropped me off at Dubai Festival City to explore while he took his exam. This was my first time in a mall in Dubai and I was surprised to find so many recognizable brands - but the best store in there is IKEA (thank god for the Swedish and their cheap furniture!). Festival City was opened in 2007 and is not just a mall, but also houses residential, business and entertainment all in the same complex. It is on the water so there is a marina attached and a canal that surrounds the back part of the mall.

Although it is not officially recognized, I do believe that shopping is a national past time for the Emirate. It is one way to escape the heat. I perused the mall and noticed that the movie theater had movies that had been out in the states for quite awhile so it amused me to know that not much has changed on that front since living abroad over 25 years ago as a child. I still remember when Ghostbusters came out in theaters when we lived in Germany and it had been out in the states for more than six months!

When Tyson finished his exam we bought a few things at IKEA for the casa and then headed to an Emirates house. Tyson is fortunate enough to have befriended some nationals at his work and one of them offered for us to stay at his home in Dubai before we left for Germany and to take us to the airport so we didn't have to pay to park for a week. I must admit that I was a little intimidated to be meeting and staying with an Emirati. Mostly because I had no idea what to expect because the Emirati culture seems to be pretty closed and exclusive and there isn't alot of interaction with Emiratis and expats. It is so different to what I am used to with divisions between the genders and formalities and customs that are so contradictory to what I am accustomed to and as westerners we have so many misconceptions about the Arab culture and the middle east that you have no idea what is true.

Our host met us at a gas station dressed in the traditional disha dasha (white, immaculately pressed ankle length robe and red and white checked head scarf) and in his Lexus SUV to lead us to his house. He had told Tyson that we would have lunch at his house (asked if we liked fish) and that we would be staying in his guest house. He led us to his guest house and then turned to leave which confused us because of the amount of food that was laid out on the floor for us. He explained that he was going to spend time with us daughter, told us to make ourselves at home and left us to the guest house. The room with our lunch was long with an enormous ornate rug covering the entire floor with pillows lining the wall for seating. The walls were painted with texture making it appear to be cracked and there was a large painting on the wall with a water feature that was also textured.

We could not believe the amount of food that was laid out for us. There was kabob, hummus, Arabian bread, two whole broiled fish, fried shrimp with sauce, tabbouleh, dates, all kinds of different salads - enough food for at least eight people! Tyson and I feasted and couldn't believe that there was more food waiting for us in the living room area - a huge basket of every fruit imaginable and two cakes on a cart - for just the two of us! The "living room" had a giant flat screen TV with cable and a limited amount of English speaking channels and a couch that encompassed all three sides of the wall of this enormous room. Enough room for you and 30 of your closest friends. Dubai One is one of the cable channels that plays the most random line-up of shows - one minute it was Boston Legal and the next it was Tyra Banks and then Larry King Live. We were so stuffed that we laid around for the afternoon, took a nap and watched some TV. Anything to avoid going out in the heat. I eventually got up and explored the rest of the guest house. It had two bathrooms and one bedroom, but neither of the bathrooms had toilet paper - just the spray nozzles and guest towels!

We tried calling our host after awhile and figured he was napping when he didn't answer and then decided to go and explore parts of Dubai. We drove around and ended up at Jumeriah Beach and decided to go for a walk on the beach. It was gorgeous because the sun was setting and the sky was changing colors with hints of pink and purple. There was a walkway along the sand that was made out of the same squishy material as a track making it easy to walk and run along the beach.

Eventually our host called us and we went back to the house to meet him so he could show us around Dubai. We drove to get some of the best tea in town (that tasted like fruit loops) and as we drove our host was telling stories about his culture and I felt instantly at ease with him. It seemed odd to be riding along with a man dressed in a robe and whose culture had been completely elusive to me until now. I asked him if I could ask him questions about his culture and he was very welcoming and forthright with his answers. I asked about their marriages and he explained that their marriages are arranged by their parents and they are encouraged to marry young and have children. He is only 24, and already is married with a young child. He also explained that they are allowed to have four wives and a lot of men end up with their second and third wives being from Egypt and other countries. He also explained that they were allowed to divorce which seemed odd to me since their marriages were arranged. I asked if all the wives lived together and he laughed and said no most don't because they would kill each other. He said that he only had one wife because it was a lot of work because you had to do the same for each of the wives. I asked why women covered themselves and he explained that they saw women as diamonds and just like all things valuable other people are jealous and covet what they have so they cover themselves because they get jealous when other men look at them.

He also explained about the sheiks and how they came into power and told us that most Emiratis' histories were not far removed from the nomadic desert way of life and that is why tradition and rituals follow so much of their modern life now. I asked if there were any poor Emirati and he said there were, but that the government offered a lot of assistance and most Emirati were smart business people and so they were able to make a lot of money. He told us that the former ruler Sheik Zayed wanted all of the Emirati to have free housing and so disributed land and houses to his people (this has since changed since his death in 2004) and still to this day nationals do not pay for utilities like power and water.

I continued to ask questions as we drove around Dubai and visited the famous Palm Island, stopped at Dubai Marina and smoked sheesha, and drove along the beach. The most interesting thing to me about the day was how I noticed how respectful he was to Tyson always calling him "captain" and "sir", and how devoted he was to family, describing his father and brother, and other family -- but how disrespectful he was to the tea guy - pulling up in the SUV and honking to get service, parking wherever he wanted and not caring about an actual parking spot. There is definitely a huge divide between classes here - if you are from the Philippines or Pakistan or even India you are treated like a second class citizen. Despite this, he was more than gracious to us and provided us with better hospitality than I have experienced anywhere. He even personally drove us to the airport at 5:00 in the morning!

Our second trip to Dubai was last week and we happened to be there during a terrible sand storm! It was amazing how much sand was blowing around and how it made it difficult to see anything in the distance, not to mention how much of it was blowing around on the roads. We spent some more time at Festival City and explored some shops, and grabbed lunch at a Sushi place that had plates of sushi going by on the conveyor belt that you could just grab as you pleased. I was amused by the amount of enormous posters that were hanging from the ceiling welcoming Paris Hilton to Dubai. Apparently she was visiting and they made sure she knew she was welcome! After lunch we decided to explore the Trade Winds which is modeled after the traditional souks and got roped into a 30 minute presentation on carpets - the sales people are no joke and the most high pressure of anywhere I have seen.

We decided to explore some of the other malls to escape the sand and ended up at the Dubai Mall which is a monstrosity! Not including all the typical shops you would find, there is a gold souk, aquarium, waterfall and Olympic size ice rink! Everything in excess here!

Can you see my ghost husband in this one?

Day trip to Fujairah

One of our goals during our stay in the UAE is to explore the country and not take any opportunities for travel for granted. Tyson and I decided this week to take a day trip to Fujairah located on the east coast of the UAE on the Indian Ocean among the Hajar Mountains. After inspecting a map, we decided that the shortest route to Fujariah from Al Ain was a road that went right through the country of Oman. The first interesting thing to note about maps of the UAE is the roads are never really labeled on a map and if they are they either have a number or a name that might be one thing on the actual road and another on the map. I never realized how much I depended on Google maps until I couldn't use it anymore. The days of getting directions with an address are over while I am here.

Tyson and I packed our bags and headed out for the days adventure, not really sure what to expect. We left Al Ain on the road to Dubai and turned off when we saw the signs for Fujariah. Luckily there weren't any speed cameras on the road so we could travel quickly. It wasn't long before we began to see the Hajar mountains on our drive. The mountains are very rugged and steep and barren without a plant or tree on them. If I had to imagine what another planet might look like, the Hajar Mountains would be it. The landscape that led to the mountains often looked like images I had seen of Africa with short trees that were level at the top.

When we initially crossed over to Oman without any incident and noticed that the portion of Oman we were traveling through seemed less developed and more impoverished than the UAE. There were many roadside stores and villages were a lot of goats were tied up. We even passed a few donkeys tied up and of course camels. Parts of the road were a little treacherous due to sand drift making the surface of the road uneven and causing some sliding (especially for the SUV's passing at 100+MPH). Luckily it was only in one of the lanes and so we were able to avoid most of it.

The road went out of Oman, back into the UAE and then returned to Oman once again. This is where our trouble began and we realized that perhaps traveling through Oman wasn't the brightest idea. At the first check we noticed some buildings with windows with Passport control written on them so we got out and went to window and got our passports stamped. Tyson and I have figured out the way to navigate any new country is to see what other people do and just mimic them..."when in Rome" :) The next stop we realized was a car search and so we pulled up to a spot after waiting in line and got out of the car, opened the trunk and after a brief search we were once again on our way. Little did we know what else waited for us. After a few minutes we came to another checkpoint where we had to show our passports at a drive through window and we were asked to come inside without any explanation. We parked the car and went into the building and I noticed that all western looking people where being directed to come in and then I realized the woman in front of us was forking over cash and I thought we might be exempt since we were just driving through. We had to fill out a entry form (the same ones you fill out when you fly into another country), show proof of our car insurance to show it covered Oman and then had to pay 90 Dirhams ($25). I was flabbergasted considering we would only be driving through the country for 10 minutes, but what choice do you have? We drove for our 10 minutes and then had to pay an exit fee at another checkpoint of 20 Dirhams and when all Tyson had was a 500 Dirham bill, the man proceeded to give him about 70 in rial, the Oman currency and we were left having to exchange the money later and lose even more money with the exchange fee.

We finally arrived in Fujairah and drove around for a bit to see what we wanted to do. The town was a mix of traditional arabic style with newly constructed skyscrapers surrounded by beach and mountains. We decided to eat some lunch at small cafe across from the beach. We both had chicken shawarma wraps and fries and Tyson got a fresh mango juice that he sucked down so it must have been tasty. The cafe also had shisha and several Emirate where there partaking in the shisha (which is tobacco smoked from a hookah). I went in the bathroom to change into clothes for the beach and came out wearing shorts, not short shorts, but not the capris I usually wear and you would think by the looks I got I had come out of the bathroom naked.

Tyson and I went to a public beach area where there were picnic areas and cars just drove right onto the beach and could drive along the beach as they pleased. Within two minutes of being in the water, Tyson emerged telling me he had seen a sting ray and neither of us were too keen on staying in the water after that. The water wasn't cool like I expected and was accustomed to from the Atlantic Ocean, instead it was as warm as bath water. We decided to go rent a jet ski instead and not tempt the sting ray with my accident prone self.

The jet ski excursion was fun and it felt good to ride along with the wind whipping through our hair (not to mention it was so hot and HUMID there, which we weren't used to because there isn't much humidity in Al Ain). I threatened Tyson to play nice and we rode along an alcove that we were warned to stay inside of. Everything was going well until Tyson got more brave on the jet ski and took a turn to sharp and the next thing I knew I was screaming TYYYYSOOOON as I we where both thrown into the Indian Ocean. Tyson thought it was hilarious, me not so much. I was finally dry in my shorts and t-shirt and now I was soaking wet once again!

We finally decided to call it a day and drive back to Al Ain, this time staying in the UAE instead of attempting Oman again. We agreed that at least our little detour gave us another stamp in our passport and it was another lesson learned. On the way home we stopped at a roadside market called Friday Market outside of Fujairah and were bombarded by sales pitches for fresh fruits, vegetables, large tapestry carpets and knick knack crap. We sampled the fresh mango and couldn't resist buying a kilo (2.2 lbs) of them -they were so sweet and delicious and also ended up buying local watermelon and okra - strange combination I know.

We decided to have dinner at our favorite local cafe in the city center of Al Ain that has the most delicious stuffed grape leaves and kabob meats I have ever tasted. We weren't expecting all the traffic (which in Al Ain is not normal) and congestion from construction and forgot that EVERYONE comes out at night because that is when the heat somewhat subsides (to a cool 95 -100 degrees) and so the city center was bustling with people and cars. Not to mention the side alleys always have Emirate who decide to just stop and park their car wherever they please, blocking traffic which causes a lot of honking and back up until they decide to move. What a mess. Tyson and I decided the next time we would just take a cab to the city center and let the cab driver deal with the chaos!

Becoming a Resident - the Visa Chronicles

One of the joys of becoming a resident of another country is obtaining a resident visa. US citizens are allowed to visit the UAE without a visit visa and stay for 30 days. If you don't obtain a resident or temporary resident visa then you must leave the country and come back.

My visa saga began back in March when Tyson left for the UAE. I began the daunting task of securing all the proper attestations to get my paperwork in order before arriving in the UAE. The two most important documents were my birth certificate and marriage license because I have to be sponsored by my hubby to become a resident of the country. Step 1 was my birth certificate - this involved sending an original copy of my birth certificate to the Secretary of State's office in North Carolina, having it rejected and sent back to me in my overnight pre-paid envelope (out $30 for no reason) because it had to be issued within the last 5 years (slightly annoying since the woman I spoke with neglected to inform me of this) and then another $80 to secure a recent copy from the NC vital records department in a hurry and then another $60 in overnight shipping to the NC Secretary of State.

Step 2 was the marriage license which involved 2 trips to downtown Atlanta to the GA Secretary of State because apparently when I asked for a certified copy of my marriage certificate from the Dekalb County Courthouse a clerk signed it instead of the judge and that voids the document as being legal and binding (I knew an original signature was required but too bad I didn't know what the actual judges signature looked like unlike the secretary of states office). Again imagine my dismay when the Secretary of State asked me to inform the Dekalb County Courthouse that what they were doing was illegal. I chose not to get involved (is that really something a citizen should do?) and instead went back to the courthouse to get a signed copy by the judge (don't even get me started about my exchange with the clerk who tried to charge me $8 for another copy and insisted it was my fault since I didn't say it was for attestation -- somehow I assumed certified mean certified -- how silly of me!).

Step 3 involved my degrees so that if I am lucky enough to find employment I can start getting paid and pass through the background check with a breeze. My undergraduate degree is from UNC Chapel Hill and thank goodness their registrars office was extremely efficient, courteous and willing to notarize my degree attestation before sending it back to me, saving me a trip to NC. My graduate degree was not so easy. I had contact the registrars office three weeks before graduation and they had informed me that they could not provide me with a degree certification until the day after graduation (six days before I was going to leave for the UAE). I understood and waited until Tuesday to get my certified copy. On Tuesday I was informed by the registrars office that my degree could not be confirmed (even though I had diploma in hand) until the business school had submitted all grades (not just mine) and that she could not make any exceptions. I pleaded with her and explained I was leaving and assured her that there was always an exception and understood that she could not break the rules, but there had to be someone with the authority to grant my degree certification. After 4 calls to GBS, a conversation with the actual registrar, and several emails my certification was finally available the same day I was flying to DC to get all my documents completed on the federal level. I rushed to downtown Atlanta and successfully obtained the seal from the GA Secretary of State.

Step 4 involved flying to DC - taking all four documents to the Department of State (thank you Hillary Clinton for an efficient office) and then to the UAE Embassy in DC. Luckily I had already spoken to the embassy so I knew I could not get my paperwork done the same day and instead had to pay extra to get it expedited and come armed with a prepaid overnight envelope. That didn't go so well since my stuff didn't get signed until Monday (the consulate was apparently called into a very important meeting and couldn't sign my papers) and I had to delay my departure until Tuesday. The office was kind enough to call me personally to explain the delay and even put up with me calling on Monday to ensure my documents were in the mail (as the man explained they get hundreds of documents a day and don't usually make calls to individuals - luckily I left a good impression).

The final step involves the UAE government. In order to become a resident you must go through a medical check-up which involves a chest x-ray and HIV test. I was told that I should attempt to complete this first so within days of arriving I took Tyson to work and set out to get my medical done. When I first walked into the Department of Health all I could see was a sea of men and I was taken aback. I asked someone at a desk about obtaining my medical clearance and they informed me that I needed to go to the women's section. Apparently a lot of government offices and healthcare facilities have seperate waiting areas for men and women. I walked upstairs and was informed by the man I was to get my number from that I had to have a photocopy of my passport and visa - I told him I only had the passport stamp and I was there to get my visa and so he said to copy the stamp. I returned after paying someone to copy what he asked and then he informed me that I needed to obtain my temporary visa before I could get my medical and I needed to go to the Immigration Office. After some sketchy directions I was able to find the office and was then informed after 20 minutes of trying to figure out where I needed to be and dodgy instructions I had to get a letter from my husbands employer and he had to come in person to apply for my visa. So much for being Ms. Independent!

We obtained the letter, went back, and after going from one office to another, getting things translated, paying for copies of things, and paying a lot of money we finally were able to obtain my temporary visa. I almost laughed outloud when I saw my job title staring back at me -- HOUSEWIFE!!! Not to discredit one of the toughest jobs in the world, but anyone who knows me realizes how funny that is. I don't cook, I have no children, so I can clean pretty well, but I just got my MBA and the last thing I aspired to have as my career right now was housewife! Tyson assured me it was only until I found a job and I think a small part of him really enjoyed me being called a housewife :)

We left for Germany the next day and so I wasn't able to attempt the medical again until we returned. This time I was prepared and knew that I needed one copy of my passport and two copies of my temporary visa. I received my number and went into the room with the automatic door sheilding the women from the men.

For the first time in my life I came close to knowing what it felt like to be a minority. As I looked around the room I was the only woman not wearing a head covering and a white westerner. Many people would turn to stare, but I never felt threatened. They looked more curious than anything, much like what happens when we see someone with their head covered in a scarf in the US. I was just different than everyone else. Luckily, I came prepared with a book and after an hour or so my number was finally called. The woman who checked me in never said anything at first and just peered at me through the small slit only exposing her eyes and began typing information into the computer. She finally instructed me to look at the camera, took my picture, asked for 250 dirhams and pointed to somewhere in the back of the room and I assumed it meant to go somewhere else next. I looked for some semblance of where people might be going first and I saw a woman at a machine. She said my name and instructed me to look into a glass mirror in a machine with one eye and I realized it was my retina scan. She then instructed me to go to rooms 1,2,3, and 5. I wonder what room 4 was and why I didn't have to go there?

The first box for room 1 said medical evaluation - when I walked in the doctor smiled and took my papers. I heard her say "oh your pregnant" and I know a look of horror shot across my face as I stammered "excuse me?" She repeated herself and what she actually had said was "are you pregnant". I replied "oh, no sorry I'm not" She looked perplexed and asked why I seemed so against pregnancy, it was such a blessing and a beautiful thing. I agreed and thought to explain that I just wasn't ready for it quite yet and I thought she was telling me I was pregnant, but instead I just smiled and moved on to room 2. Room 2 was uneventful and I have no idea what they evaluated since the woman never asked me anything and only looked at me a few times before moving me on to room 3. Room 3 was where they withdrew blood for the HIV test. I informed the nurse that the veigns in my arm are non-existent and she would have to go in through my hand. She wanted to look and try anyway and I told her she only got one poke to get it right. She took one look at my arms and agreed with the hand. It hurts more, but much less than the pain of being poked too many times. She was so kind and asked me how long I had been in Al Ain and what I thought about it. Great tactic to not think about the needle and the blood!

The final room was the chest x-ray. Four of us were called back at the same time and the tech informed me I would have to remove my bra and so I started to just take it off until one of the women looked at me horrified as she was removing her covering and pointed to a dressing room. I put on the little blue gown and went for the chest x-ray. The tech commented on how tall I was when she had to pull the machine up from my belly button where it had been for the previous xray for the shorter women! I am sure I look like an amazon to them, but then again I look like that to alot of americans too.

I was told to come back the next day for my results. The next day, I went to an information desk and a man led me to where the results were being given which was in the men's section. Although there was a line I was taken right to the front and given my paperwork. Luckily I was declared FIT and now I could go apply for my actual visa...that is once I get my insurance certification from Tyson's company! It is always something...hopefully it will come tomorrow!

11 days in Al Ain

I have only been away from the states for 18 days, but I feel like there is so much I want to say about my 11 days in Al Ain. I still feel like I am on vacation and the reality of living in another country still hasn't quite set in. I hear that is one of the common phases of expatriate life so for now I am enjoying not freaking out!

The days here seem to fly by, but it is much more relaxed than my life in the US. I am sure it might have something to do with not having a job and being finished with school. Although I am not working I have yet to be bored or run out of things to do.

Where to begin? My first few days were spent settling into our flat and enjoying getting to be with my husband again. We went to Carrefour (the European Wal Mart)and shopped for odds and ends and groceries and I began the process of making our room more of a home. For now we are sharing a flat with two other pilots and it is like I have three husbands since they actually cook and clean. I enjoy the company of other people since they are so much fun to be around. I spend a lot of time reading their lips since one is from the UK and the other is from Spain. We laugh about the differences in the words we use and talk about our culture. UK says we use funny words in the US - for instance we say cell phone and they say mobile (true for the UAE too), a shopping cart is a trolley, french fries are chips and chips are crisps...there are so many more, but those were the first ones that came to mind. Our room is the size of a apartment itself. We have our bedroom with an armoire and bed (there are no closets in the UAE), a living room with a TV (we don't have cable but our roomies both have sattelite cable from different companies each with a different amount of channels that are English), coffee table bookshelf and chair (we are getting a couch soon), and an office with plenty of room to spare.

The floors are all marble and it seems there is always sand somehow getting into the house so you never go barefoot unless you want dirty feet. Our bathroom has the most ridiculously ornate toilet and sink - everything here is sort of gaudy to me and over the top - and all toilets here have a spray nozzle that is used for personal hygiene. Apparently the nationals do not use toilet paper and instead use the nozzle. One of the quirks of our apartment is the water tank is gravity fed and sits on top of the house. This means that the cold water is never actually cold and is always instead the temperature of outside -- hot(I know all water tanks here are gravity fed and you can see them on the roofs of homes, but I am not sure if this is true of all houses or how they cool their water). One day I didn't take a shower until the afternoon because I was busy cleaning and I almost burnt my skin off. The water comes into a tank into the air conditioned house and is cool for about 2 minutes since that is all the tank holds. It almost immediately was scalding hot. I learned a very important lesson - showers only in the morning or at night if you want to keep your skin!

Our kitchen has terrible blue walls with blue trimmed cabinets. There are no dishwashers in the UAE (unless you hire one - no machines) and the stoves are small gas ones. Most of the rental properties do not have stoves or refrigerators so you have to buy them yourselves. There are four other flats in our building and I have been told that the building was originally supposed to be an emirate's home, but then they decided to turn it into four flats. It makes sense since all of the homes in our neighborhood are palatial and are inhabited by mostly Emirate nationals. Our neighbors are from the UK and two families are from South Africa. You can imagine all the different accents one has to get accustomed to. So far I have also met some people from Australia and Scotland - I think Scotland required the most lip reading so far.

Tyson bought a car so we have been getting used to the crazy roads. Lines on the roads and stop signs are more like suggestions and apparently the police don't pull people over, but there are speed cameras throughout Al Ain, but once you know where they are you can speed as you like and believe me people do! Since there aren't really addresses for homes (or businesses for that matter) you don't get mailed your speeding tickets, instead you have to pay the fines when you go to renew your registration. So if you miss some speed cameras you could be in for a rude awakening and several thousand dollars worth of tickets! The city is full of roundabouts and each time you enter one you have to be at the peak of your defensive driving skills. Most roundabouts have three lanes where the right lane is designed for an immediate right, the middle lane for a right and straight (second exit) and the left is meant for a left (third exit). The problem is that you have people constantly entering the roundabout at high speeds and you have to watch your left for someone cutting across all lanes to turn and your right because that person might not turn when they should and will most likely be moving into your lane! You can be driving along and look in your rear view mirror and suddenly an SUV is about to eat you for lunch. The speeding tinted window SUV's are usually nationals so it is usually best to just get out the way. And heaven forbid you hesitate at one of the few red lights that exist or don't throw yourself into a roundabout - horns are a common sound!

Tomorrow I will write about my adventures of obtaining my visa!