This never happens

Last night, I went out with 8 or 9 of my new closest friends for happy hour at a very high-end bar/restaurant in Dubai. It ran about 5 hours longer than planned, and I'm not quite sure how this happened, but a couple of Emirati business moguls ended up treating our whole group to high-end scotch and Chandon all night. Since I'm new in town, I had no idea who they were, but apparently the other women with me recognized their names from a variety of buildings and plazas around the city. (Imagine: Dan Meyer Plaza. Dan Meyer Square. Dan Meyer Trade Center. You get the idea.) Which would explain their ability to pay the tab which must have been in the thousands. I tried to order water at one point and the waitress was like, "Yes I will bring you water but Mr. so-and-so has requested that we serve you champagne as well." Oh-kay, bring it on, I suppose. I actually left a half a glass of the most expensive champagne I've ever tasted sitting on the bar when we left. At the end of the night, my partners in crime were telling me, "This never, ever, ever happens." And I'm glad, because I might have gotten the mistaken impression that this was somehow normal. (Ha.) Discretion requires that we all remain nameless; those guys shouldn't have been drinking in public while dressed in full garb, and word certainly shouldn't get around that we were cavorting as such. But, it was really fun- and they were very intelligent, educated, gentlemanly, and fun to chat with. I didn't talk to them much, mostly kept a reasonable distance with a couple of the other ladies who were less ridiculously inebriated-(still plenty healthy, don't get me wrong)- but I did chat with them a bit and they taught me a few words of Arabic. It was a surreal night.

My trip to the hospital

Foreign workers in the UAE are required to undergo a fairly thorough medical screening once they arrive as part of the residency visa process. So, yesterday morning, I trucked down to the local public hospital with an escort from the college to be poked, prodded, x-rayed (fully clothed, no less- does that really work?) and sampled. It was fine, and they declared me "fit to work", pending the results of an HIV test. Hooray!

Now, this was a public hospital with a wide array of people (patients, employees, doctors) inside of it- and many of them were expatriate male construction workers, and many of them were local Emirati men and women. Not a lot of white people. The lobbies and waiting rooms had separate areas for men and women, and many of the women had completely covered their faces so as not to be stared at by the men. This was an environment that definitely called for a semblance of modesty out of respect for other people in the area. All well and good. So, while I was sitting in the lobby waiting to be x-rayed in full attire, two women, who were youngish, blonde, overweight, British, loud, and dressed in tank tops and shorts, (shorts are a no-no here for both men and women, unless you are at the beach or a resort hotel or nightclub), ambled into the waiting area and plopped right down in the men's seating section. Oblivious, they carried on, loudly chatting about bars and clubs, talking on their cellphones, sticking their feet in people's faces to compare shoes, and generally being what I would consider rude. They were SO oblivious that the doctor came out into the waiting room three times and called "Angela!" and Angela did not respond. The doctor finally had to shout "There is no Angela here in this room? I have her papers? Angela?" That she heard him (probably 15 feet away) and went into the office. It was sort of beyond belief. They got a few *looks* but nobody asked them to move or shut up, which to me seemed like very polite restraint.

How can people, who are guests in someone else's living room, be so unaware of their own behavior?

At the airport

Dan and I have learned a great deal over the years from the diligent consumption of Dan Savage's columns and novels. One of the things we've learned from Mr. Savage, which Dan brought to my attention some time ago, was that nothing will get you whisked into the extra security screening line at the airport faster than flying one-way on a ticket bought with somebody else's credit card. See http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=13080 for a more detailed explanation.

A truly scientific conclusion is always replicable- and, sure enough - today's hypothesis was confirmed with a very low probability of the results occurring randomly! A very nice TSA lady today swabbed every single piece of carry-on material I had with me for explosive residue, flicking me an approving and knowing smile every time the giant black machine blinked 'green' for 'no explosive residue on THAT swab! on to the next!'  Yes m'am, I am flying one-way on a ticket purchased by someone I've never met and hailing from a foreign nation. Swab away. Truthfully, even the other people in the extra security screening line were not being examined as thoroughly as I was. Many of them were able to pick their bags up after x-ray and shuffle right along. But me? I got to sit down and relax, and exchange satisfied glances with the TSA lady. After being so sure it would happen all along, (Thanks Dan Savage!), it was extremely satisfying to have turned out to be right. I probably would have been disappointed had they just let me through un-swabbed. 

On to the next leg. So far, so good. 

Dan

What is Dan doing? Dan is the kind of adventurin' man who isn't scared to pick up stocks and move halfway around the world on more or less a whim. (Note: I would have said "pull up stakes" if Emily hadn't coined that far superior phrase regarding stocks.) As a traveling partner, I can imagine few better. The man always carries a knife and dry pair of socks, he can build a tent in under 10 minutes, and he can drive any vehicle at hand. A man of distinctive taste, he can also select a highly appropriate fine wine or liquor for any dinner gathering, and can read road signs, maps and menus in several languages. These skills and attributes leave nary a situation too sticky to handle- and if it really comes right down to it, he can also box. Dan isn't much of a letter-writer, so I'll try to post my observations on his activities and behaviors somewhat regularly for the benefit of those who know him. Right now he is repairing a household appliance.

Where we live

Dan and I now live here: (starting Feb 18):

Rodrigo y Gaby

See the video here.




So I went and saw Rodrigo y Gaby last night? It was definitely top 5 for sweetest shows I've ever seen. Gaby came at that guitar like a spider monkey. These kids don't speak English but still managed to be adorably cute in their attempts to talk to the crowd. In addition to originals, they played Spinal Tap, Metallica, and Pink Floyd, all on two acoustic/electrics. Plus they used the crowd as a musical instrument and told everybody to clap or hum or sing or whatever at various intervals; and everybody did, in addition to singing the words to songs, AND Rodrigo played the song with a beer bottle as a fret, which I've never seen done except on TV. Seriously, it was just a lot of fun. Check the vid; you'll be impressed.

This is not photoshopped

Yes, there is really starlight scenery on the rooftop of the cabin in an Emirates Airlines flight. Not only are the good people at Emirates Air so thoughtful as to bask their travelers in the calming glow of a starlit expanse, they do it during times when it's actually dark in Dubai. The rest of the time, the cabin is lit up like a sunny meadow on a balmy late fall afternoon, or lit up like a dreamy dusk or a refreshing sunrise. Wha?? This isn't a joke. It's real.

An Explanation of Embarcation

Here's a good question: Why move to the United Arab Emirates? There are many pros and cons. Here are some that I thought of:

Pros:
1. Tax-free salary
2. Sunny every day
3. Meet new people with broader points of view
4. Easily ignore the US media
5. Cheap shawarma
6. Roger Federer likes to visit

Cons:
1. Football starts at 1am
2. Gambling illegal
3. Have to find a new hairdresser

As you can see, there are many dimensions to consider here. Of course, the only reason I started considering these factors in the first place is because I was offered a job - a great, exciting, challenging, growth-potential job- doing something I like with people I like. File that one in the Pro column.

I'm sure there are many Pros and Cons that I'm not even aware of yet. I'll have to add to the list once I get there. I had some new ones today, arising from the preparations phase of the trip.

Pro:
Sleeping in on days I've taken off from work to pack

Con:
Too much work to do to be able to sleep in

Pro:
Good packing energy as a result of excellent new Radiohead album gifted to me by Robert and Liz. Thanks guys!