Hello Dubai!

A few weeks ago we finally made it to Dubai for a short spring break trip.  Dubai is the Middle Eastern city with which most people are familiar, especially considering the latest Mission Impossible movie.  It has been the pride and joy of this region for over twenty years with its fast growing population, high rises, and outlandish theme parks.  Whenever we tell people we live in Qatar for nine months out of the year, they most often don't know where Qatar is, so we ask them if they have heard of Dubai.  If they have, then we can just tell them that Doha is the 21st Century's version of Dubai.  U.A.E.'s big city has slowed down considerably since the economic crisis in 2008, but it still seems like a bustling oasis of cash to me.

I have heard that Doha is sometimes called the Manhattan of the Middle East, but Dubai is described as the Las Vegas of this region.  After our short trip I would have to agree.  The lights, the impressive skyline, and the wide range of entertainment definitely rank up there with Vegas; the biggest difference being the lack of slot machines and card tables, but all you have to do is get on the road for some driving to get your gambling fix.

One of the best parts of our trip was getting the first class treatment from our friends the Prince family.  Kerri-Ann and James opened their home to us even though they were in China.  They let us enjoy their soft beds, their convenient car, and left first class driving directions to all of the sites we were interested in.  Now when I say first class driving directions I mean a pamphlet of information with a map, a satellite picture, written directives, two for one coupons, and helpful tips on what to notice when we got to our destination.  It was as if Kerri-Ann was sitting in the backseat with us giving us a play-by-play of the city, including fun statements kind of like, "After getting off the Sheikh Zayed Road you might think that you should turn right, but no, TURN LEFT, and if you don't you'll be lost for sure."  She was the best travel agent I have ever dealt with and we felt like natives of the place armed with all of Kerr-Ann Prince's expert knowledge.  Unfortunately, she only does this stuff for friends, so you are going to have to meet her yourself and get on her good side to take advantage of her excellent service.  The only thing missing from this "Princely" treatment was the Prince family themselves.  Maybe next time!

Kerri-Ann's amazing personalized directions - First Class Hospitality!

 The Prince Villa

 The desert blossoms in Dubai, but only in well-tended gardens like this one in Arabian Ranches.

Our first outing was to the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall.  Wow!  Dubai really knows how to do a mall.  The Burj Khalifa (named after the sheikh in Abu Dhabi who bailed out the project) was very impressive as well and one of the most beautiful skyscrapers I have ever seen.  It is the tallest building and structure (2,716.5 feet/828 meters) in the world at more than 160 storeys.  The entrance to the Burj is in the lowest level of the mall - interesting.  It is an awesome experience to ride in the tallest and fastest elevator in the world (and not feel any kind of motion except the popping of my ears because of elevation changes) and then walk out onto the observation deck that has an open air space where you can feel the wind around the tower.  It was quite a dusty day but one of the clearest ones of our trip so we felt grateful we could see as much of the landscape as we did.

Our first glimpse of the Burj.

In order to even have a chance of getting to the observation deck on our trip I had to book tickets online a week before we went.  I had heard too many stories of people showing up to take the tour and being disappointed that the tickets were sold out.

Of course with all the hype of the Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol movie, there was a display (kind of like a shrine) of memorabilia from the movie in the lobby, complete with a director's chair for the king himself.  We were kind of disappointed not to see Mr. Cruise there, but I did neglect to tell him of our plans!  The walk from the lobby to the elevator was a long one but almost like a Disney theme ride.

Yes, those are Legos.  This one is for you, Ben.

 Notice the three petal "flower" motif the building is modeled around.

 Brett's neck injury (from his student field trip to Finland - he was showing off for his students while sledding) didn't make it easy to admire the tallest architecture in the world.

 A great shot of the Dubai Fountains and the Dubai Mall (left)

 A shot of the top from the observation deck

 Yes, she is sticking her head out into the open 140 storey air!

 The view from our parking spot in the Dubai Mall parking structure

 Beautiful Sari Ladies!

 You can tell we were failing miserably at keeping up with our eleven year old! (Brett's glasses)

 Waiting for the Dubai Fountain to start

After our Burj experience we spent more time at the Dubai Mall.  It really is a city unto itself with EVERYTHING!   There is a fashion level with all the high end shops that we can't even afford to enter.  There is a section dedicated to children with clothing, toys, and furniture stores.  There is also a wing just for home furnishings with art galleries, linen shops, and furniture.  And there is even a POTTERY BARN!

Unfortunately we are not shoppers, so we spent most of our time just looking.  The giant bookstore was my favorite.  Abbey got excited about the Converse store and talked us into buying her a new pair of "kicks", as she calls them.  We also bought a few items in the Hershey store, especially when we found out they had Twizzlers - licorice is non-existent in Qatar.  We ate dinner at the Outback Steakhouse and watched the Dubai Fountain from the balcony.  It was so beautiful and felt so refreshing as the sprays performed their choreographed dance in the lighted water.

After dinner we went to the movie The Hunger Games and then found our way back to the Prince Villa (I love calling it that because it sounds like we stayed in a castle, which it almost was) and called it a night.  And that is just the FIRST DAY we spent in Dubai.

A gorgeous butterfly display in the Fashion section of the mall

This is the outfit Brett wanted to buy.  Abbey and I convinced him it just wasn't his design although it might have been an improvement on the one you will see later.

The aquarium was amazing, but expensive, so we enjoyed it from the entrance in the mall.

Our second day in Dubai was dedicated to the Atlantis Resort.  Abbey made sure we were up early and on the road as soon as possible.  Brett's neck injury prevented him from enjoying the water park, so I had to put aside my swimsuit issues and brave the water with Abbey.  She went down almost every slide, but I joined her on the all dark slide which exited through the shark infested aquarium - luckily we were safe from the sharp teeth inside the exit tube.  I also joined Abbey on the lazy river and found myself being floated around on a tube like a queen by my daughter.  I quickly relaxed and enjoyed myself until we came to a fork in the river where we just happened to take the rough rapids side and my calm ride turned treacherous.

 Yes, that is a shark above Abbey outside of the tube.

Abbey showed no fear and went down the steepest water slide I have ever seen.  She really caught air and said she didn't even notice the sharks in the exit because her eyes were closed and her heart was in her throat.

The best part of the day and probably the whole trip was the first thing we did at Atlantis and that is swimming with a dolphin.  Even Brett took off his neck brace and gritted his teeth through the pain in order to participate in this once in a lifetime experience.  He said it was well worth it.

Our dolphin's name was Central and we had a French trainer and a Spanish trainer helping us.  There is nothing like running your hand over the smooth back of a dolphin as she glides through the water in front of you.  A dolphin is such a magnificent animal and having the opportunity to hold on to Central's gentle yet strong fins as she swam backwards and pulled me toward the shore was something I will never forget.   She seemed so gentle yet she pulled all of the adults easily through the water.  Abbey popped up even quicker as she hung on to Central's fins as they swam belly to belly to the shallow water.  To dance, to swim, and to touch a dolphin is unlike any other experience I have had in my life before.  She kissed each one of us and I hugged her as we floated there waiting for the next command from the trainer.  It was all so amazing.

 The iconic Burj Al Arab Hotel - if you can actually see it through the dust and the flying bird

Somehow Brett forgot to pack his flip flops to Dubai and this was his solution.  I tried, I really tried to convince him to just buy a pair, but the socks and Croc tie ups won out.  As if the neck brace doesn't make him stand out enough!  :)  There were some very confused children looking at the Batman shirt and wondering what had happened to their superhero.  Sorry, Kristy and Ben.  My days as your dad's fashion police might be numbered.

Atlantis closes at sunset, so we slowly made our way to the car.  The steel blue water was silent as we walked along the beach and then found our way to the parking lot shuttle.  We had to laugh a little when we saw the double decker tour bus - We almost thought we were in London for a second.  :)  It was another red letter day and time for relaxing at the villa so we left the Palm Jumeirah island for the "mainland".

This scene at the Palm Jumeirah reminded me of a The Cobb in a Jane Austen setting in Lyme Regis, England.

The last day of our trip was a little less busy.  We started to investigate the Mall of the Emirates where Ski Dubai is, but we made it only half way through the mall and decided to go back to the Dubai Mall.  We knew we didn't have the money and especially not the energy to ski, so we found ourselves getting lost in the largest retail maze I have ever been in.

 A very colorful shop in the Dubai Mall

 "The Waterfall" sculpture

I'm not sure what this is but it reminded me of some weird Arabic game show.

So it was time to say good bye to Dubai.  Thanks to the Prince Family for all of their help in making this such a great little get away.  Even though Dubai seems to be a clone of a U.S. desert city in some ways, the confusion and inconvenience of the road system remained to remind us that we for sure weren't in Las Vegas or even Kansas for that matter.

The Facebook Farce

I was spending A LOT of time on Facebook.  It was the first thing I did in the morning after checking my email.  Facebook was my version of morning coffee and helped me wake up to the day's chaos or peace, it didn't matter.  My list of "friends" isn't gigantic and unbelievable like my cute 20-something niece's list with over 1300 connections, but I have quite a few people to keep track of and support when they are frustrated with Doha driving or fighting a cold.  I was actually reading my cousin's five or six posts a day on his political views and childrearing, and we haven't seen each other in probably eight years.  I was spending so much time on Facebook that it was starting to affect my non-Facebook time.  If one of my in-person friends didn't know the latest news about one of our mutual friends I would start to wonder why she didn't keep up with status updates.  I found myself thinking way too much about why my "friends" didn't comment on my latest uploaded photos and feeling a little hurt by their lack of attention.  Even when I didn't comment on a link or status from some of my friends I would read through the "conversations" that took place after the updates and then find myself emotionally connected to the interchanges.  That is how bad it has been.  Yes, I will admit I was turning into a loser.

Facebook has been filling a void in my life for awhile now and two weeks ago, when I found myself actually angry with one of my "friends" about a link that was posted and the following comments that were made by various people, I knew I needed a change.  I started with a day off from logging on to Facebook.  Then I deprived myself of another Facebook fix the next day.  Surprisingly, I didn't go into withdrawals.  I didn't curl up in a corner and cry from loneliness.  I didn't even miss it!  I felt more free with every day that went by without Facebook in . . . well . . . my face.  It has been enlightening and such a rewarding experiment, so I am continuing my days sans Facebook.

Now, don't get me wrong, I will definitely post a link to this blog post on Facebook when I have finished it, because I now understand more about the beast of Facebook since I have been giving myself time to think and interact in the real world.  I have come to realize that Facebook is all about self promotion and smacks of those long ago high school days that left lifetime scars on my oh so youthful heart.  And my reason . . . well I will be promoting my blog post and want people to read it.  I have also logged on once to respond to the ONE person who sent me a message asking me where I had been because they hadn't seen me on Facebook.

Disconnecting from Facebook has brought all kinds of learning for me.  In fact, just now, when I typed the word "Facebook" I created a typo (or Freudian slip) and spelled "Farcebook".  Yes, I have come to realize that the illusion that Facebook creates is a farce. (Many of you probably already know this.) Facebook is not a good indication of how many friends a person has, nor is it a good indicator of how involved someone is in a friend's life, because according to Facebook, out of the 263 "friends" I have, only one of them cares enough about me to notice my absence and send me a message.  I think many people are re-thinking their devotion to entities like Facebook.  Here is just one article I read. And here is another one which is something I wish I had written.

I originally joined Facebook so I could connect better with my adult children and nieces and nephews.  Since that time they have all moved on to other social media or pulled out altogether.  Now my generation is definitely not the target audience that Mark Zuckerberg and his minions work so hard to try and ensnare, but maybe someone like me can help others think about what they are doing when they let their lives and their sensitivities be eaten away by something like Facebook.  MySpace was the first of its kind and I know Twitter is popular now.  Blogs have had their day in the sun too but they might be on the rebound (yes, attention hogs like C. Jane still have quite a big audience) and many people get lost in other people's seemingly perfect lives, but anything that removes us from real experiences is dangerous.  These "easy" fixes for social intimacy only serve to further isolate us from the truly rewarding, yet sometimes messy human experiences of friendships.

I am striving to build on the real friendships that I do have and let go of the ones that really aren't reciprocal.  That word is a key when thinking about Facebook.  A reciprocal relationship is where both parties GIVE.  Facebook is a taker, a taker of time, a taker of privacy, a taker of peace.  There are so few things that I can control about my life these days, but leaving Facebook alone is one of them, so I'm headed back to the woods with Thoreau because he said, "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone."

Moving to Qatar? Another Tutorial

I haven't traveled to many places in this world, but from what I hear and from personal experience, I think Qatar is a very unique country.  It is a place where you can bump up against a wide variety of cultures, literally, as in the unpleasant traffic kind of way, and figuratively, as in the beautiful smile and head wag of the Indian woman who rang up my groceries today.  Qatar is populated primarily by expats.  Everywhere you look you will see Sri Lankans, Indians, Pakistanis, Australians, Americans, Filipinos, and the list could go on and on.  There are more than 1.7 million people in this tiny country but only a small fraction are full-fledged citizens. Yes, there are Qataris but they make up only 20% of the population.

1.  As you drive around Doha you will notice that there are thousands of new cars, at least that's what they seem to be because the plastic from the car factory is still on the seats.  Well, let's just say that the owners of these cars like to hang on to that "new car smell" as long as possible and leave the factory plastic in place until it is in shreds.  They also like to leave the factory identification papers on the windows too.  You will also notice that when the factory plastic wears off, many Land Cruiser owners will have custom plastic put on the seats.  I haven't been able to understand the logic behind it, but it is quite puzzling.  I have heard that Qatar has more new cars sold per capita than other countries, but I don't have access to that research to back up that rumor.

2.  Qatar is all about how things look.  There is a lot of effort put into making the city look like a paradise in this harsh desert.  Thousands of workers make sure the roundabouts are immaculately in bloom and splendor with everything watered and manicured.  There are even spots in the city where, instead of bothersome grass, there is astroturf and workers are often seen vacuuming said astroturf to keep it looking as much like fake grass as possible.  And if you happen to be walking around the Aspire Zone you might hear the music of sweet birds singing, only there are no trees and no visible birdlife in the area.  So where is the birdsong coming from?  Well, the sound system, of course!

3.  And speaking of parks and walking areas, if you go to Aspire Park, be prepared to have security officers following you around and asking your children not to run in certain areas, throw balls in certain areas, and be too loud.  They are very strict about the kind of fun families can have at the park.  But the ironic thing is that they don't care if children ride their bikes down a very steep hill at full speed and crash at the bottom on the paved walking area.  And if you are single, forget about hanging out at the park.

Can you see the security guard behind us lecturing the children?  Another carefree day at the park.

4.  When we became expats in Qatar in 2008 obtaining a driver's license involved getting a passport photo taken (I blinked the first time and caused some frustration to the not-so-patient Arabic photographer), going to a filthy government office where there were lots of smoking men, having an eye exam with instructions in Arabic, and then watching as our company liaison officer Mohammad Ali convinced the smoking men that I had great eye sight and they should issue my driver's license.

The very next year things changed for Americans.  The rumor said that there was a member of the Qatari royal family who was denied an American driver's license, so as retribution, all Americans, after that, were put through the rigorous paces of a written exam and then a driving exam.  I've heard that the driving exam is horrible and no matter how well you do you automatically fail the first time, and then on the second try, you must execute driving maneuvers without any English instructions.  Also, if you have teenagers, they must wait until age 18 to take the driving exam and they are especially tough on American teenagers.  I know one young man who took the test three or four times, failing each time even though he is a very good driver with a U.S. license.

5.  In Qatar the rules do not apply to everyone.  For example, we went to the Cat Stevens concert last weekend and as we were going through security they wanted us to leave our very expensive camera with them and claim it after the concert.  I saw a pile of camera bags in the grass behind the security table.  I asked if they were confiscating all cameras and phones.  The security woman said, "Well, no, only big cameras."  "So people can take pictures with small cameras and phones?!" was my next question.  She said, "Yes, of course."

We asked for a receipt but they did not have any such system in place for this.  We refused to leave the camera and asked to talk to someone in charge.  Another couple was waiting for the same reason.  When a western-looking man came over to talk to us he told us that Yusef Islam (Cat Stevens) had requested that no close photographs be taken and if we were caught using our camera, we would be asked to leave. So we didn't get any inside photos or recordings of the great music, but at least we got to enjoy being around everyone else who was zooming in on Yusef Islam's beard and getting those great shots for their blogs.

Cat Stevens concert stage - as close as we could get with our LARGE camera outside the case

6.  There are A LOT of men in Qatar.  Most of them are expat workers who wear blue jumpsuits and travel around in buses from building site to first class accommodations - NOT (Qatar is on the International Human Rights Watch List).  While these men are working and traveling in their buses, they are usually staring at ANY women or girls who come into their view, especially if those women or girls have blonde hair and light skin.  It is unnerving, to say the least.  The first year we were here Abbey would bring a shayla in the car and practically make a tent for herself so she wouldn't have to see the staring faces.  At first I told her to ignore them, then I told her to stare back, then I just gave in to the shayla.  I still get uncomfortable with the staring, but I have learned to stare back and try to communicate non-verbally that what they are doing is impolite.

Someone told me that many of these men come from homes in Nepal or India where the only women they interact with are their mothers or sisters and many of them have never even seen white women.  After I heard that I was a little more tolerant, but last week when the painters at our compound would stop what they were doing, turn around on the scaffolding and stare at me the whole way down the street as I walked the dog, I had to ask the manager to remind his workers that they were being very rude.  Sadly, it didn't help much.

7.  There is a Film City, Qatar, and yes, part of one of the Transformers movies was filmed there.  At least that is the rumor.  You tell me if you think it is true.

 Notice the satellite dishes on the right - handy for Bedouin movie night

 And the movie night will be comfortably cool with these babies

 I think that is Josh Duhamel's underwear on that clothesline.

 Re-enacting the battle scene

 The oasis had hundreds of monarch butterflies

8.  Whatever you do, don't eat raw cookie dough.  You don't want to fight the salmonella monster like we did in 2009.

9.  The other day I saw a photo on Facebook of a Qatar road sign that said, "Beware of Road Surprises" and the photographer had captioned it with, "Only in Qatar does this sign make perfect sense."  Yes, if you move here you must be prepared for road surprises by the hundreds EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Those would include the road construction (it is called ROAD WORKS here), terrible drivers, huge cement trucks monopolizing the road, and plenty of Grand Canyon-like pot holes that all of a sudden get filled and then are blocked off with cinder blocks and boards - you know instead of those silly orange cone-shaped things.

And speaking of surprises on the road:

 I think this truck was on its way to a production of "Once Upon a Mattress".

10.  When you buy produce at the local Carrefour, Giant Store, or LuLu make sure and get it weighed and priced in the produce area.  It took me quite awhile to get used to standing in line in the produce area to have my apples put on the scale and given a bar coded sticker before heading to the cashier at the front of the store.  There were plenty of oranges and potatoes that I just left behind at the cashier when they were held up for ridicule when found without the appropriate price sticker.  Again, in Qatar I have learned to let my shopping list and my to-do list go unchecked many times.

Other posts on moving to Qatar

Bragging Rights

Yes, I think I have a right to brag about how gorgeous my daughter is because I also get to experience the bittersweet feelings of watching her grow up.  We've always called her our Bonus Baby because she came along after our hope of having another child had evaporated with the passing of ten long years of trying to get her here.  Abbey isn't a baby anymore, in fact she is as tall or taller than many adults.  She is a treasure that I have tried to lock away in that family treasure chest of love, but just like my other two children escaped, so will she - and that is how it should be.  So I'm just taking a moment today to revel in this beautifully complex creation that Heavenly Father allowed us to be a part of.  Her insides are even more remarkable than her outsides and that is the most rewarding part of being her mom.  I love you, Abigail!

A Reminder From Afton

A couple of weeks ago I was sick and feeling generally down, and not just because I was sick.  Doha Days can sometimes stretch into Doha weeks around here.  If you don't know what I am talking about, you haven't lived in Doha.  I don't think I possess the vocabulary skills for describing exactly what Doha Days are like except to say that there are days here when the bland color of Qatar beige chews at your soul and suddenly hope is some distant concept that is then replaced by resignation, surrender, and the waving of an emotional white flag.

So it was on one of my many Doha Days that my neighbor and friend Afton dropped by with these flowers.  She was apologetic for disturbing me and apologetic that the lilies hadn't opened yet but promised me they would.  I thanked her as well as I could, being shocked into the realization that color and hope still existed and they had just been handed to me in a bouquet. Afton walked out my door not knowing the ripples of her delivery.

Almost instantly I felt the flutters of expectation and renewal.  Flowers can be such a frivolous purchase when we get them for ourselves, but as I received this simple gift from a thoughtful friend, the blossoms of life returned to my heart and I felt gratitude flood the bland thought diet I had been existing on.  I began feasting on the nuances of my many blessings and shook off the lethargy of depression.  Thanks, Afton.  Your flowers hung around for a long time, and the lilies DID bloom into fragrant floral paintings that let me find myself in more glorious landscapes than the sandstorms on the horizon.  And Afton, thanks for being a continuous reminder of all that is good in this world.