We're Not in Texas Anymore!

by Cindy

We really don't see too many pick up trucks here in the UAE. We have tons of SUVs but no F150's or Silverados. However, the other day I did see a Chevy Silverado on the highway and more importantly, it had some "decoration" that you definitely would not see in Texas!

The pictures on the back window are those of the founding father of the UAE and the rulers of the UAE. Think Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln and George Washington!

Crazy Drivers

You may have seen this by now, but some local guys made the news recently by turning one of the local expressways into a playground for their SUVs. As you watch the burnouts, doughnuts, and two-wheel driving, remember that this is the main expressway through Dubai - it's 7 lanes in each direction - and it's obviously during the daytime. Here's the link.

This is not typical behavior. It made the news here - and some of these guys went to jail.

PS - When you get to YouTube, you might want to check on some of the other, similar videos that are recommended on the right side. All funny, but crazy, crazy, crazy. There's a huge car culture here (OK, not really cars, but mostly big white SUVs) and guys love to go "dune-bashing", racing, and do stunt driving. Watch the videos. It's nuts.

Not Quite a West Texas Thunderstorm, but Close...

by Cindy

Lately I have been jealous of my West Texas friends who have posted on Facebook about the great spring storms. Generally speaking we get one kind of weather here - hot. To quote Robin William's charter in Good Morning Vietnam, "What's the weather like out there? It's hot. Damn hot. Real hot." Yep, that's where we choose to live. On a rare occasion, the region does get rain. This storm below made it to Oman, about a 3-hour drive from here. So it didn't really happen here, but it was pretty close. Enjoy the pictures.

Return to America

by Cindy

I was fortunate to go to Boston this past week for my brother in law's ordination. [Thanks Derek for planning it so we could make it!] It was my first trip back to America since we left nine months ago. I was not sure what it might be like but here are a few of my thoughts and observations:

• We took in a Red Sox game and it felt very American. I was comfortable in the crowds, knew to stand for the 7th inning stretch, knew the words to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and the food smells were familiar.
• Everyone in Boston speaks English. I don't know if I heard another language the whole time I was there. On my layover in NYC I finally heard other languages and realized that I missed hearing all of the tongues from the different tribes.
• I still prefer to shop in America. I am more familiar with sizes, brands and styles in America. In Dubai we have European styles, sizes and brands and Jeff and I are not yet comfortable with those.
• I felt rushed at the restaurants in America. I like the Dubai style of waiting around and really enjoying your meal.
• The weather in Boston and NYC was amazing. I actually got cold a couple of times in Boston. The weather was cool and crisp and the sky was so blue. Their summers are like our winters. Makes me wonder why in August, I'm trading Dubai heat for Texas heat!
• I didn't miss the morning call to prayer (currently around 4 AM) but I did miss the birds waking me up each morning.
• I was thankful to be able to wear shorts in public!

All in all, I missed Dubai while I was gone. Even though I was gone for a week, I was ready to get back. I love where we live and love the people we have met. Dubai fits me more than any other place we have lived thus far. It was nice to see family but I'm glad to be home!

Dates

Probably the most popular fruit here in Arabia is the date. They taste like a fig/raisin/prune, and they're about that color, too, once they're fully ripe. They're about the size of big grape or sometimes as big as your thumb. We've eaten them in more places than I can remember, but we didn't really understand how they grew until now.

Dates grow on palm trees, and they start growing around December and ripen in the summer months. They're getting closer to ripe right now. So here are a few pictures that we took around campus of the dates ripening.

















HERE'S WHAT THE PALM TREES LOOK LIKE FOR MOST OF THE YEAR.





















HERE'S WHAT THE TREES LOOK LIKE ONCE THE DATES START TO RIPEN - YOU CAN SEE THE CLUSTERS OF DATES HANGING DOWN.












HERE'S ANOTHER ONE WITH THE DATES HANGING OFF OF THE TREES.

















HERE IS A CLUSTER OF DATES. THEY'RE GREEN NOW, BUT WHEN THEY'RE FULLY RIPE, THEY'RE BROWN AND LOOK LIKE GIANT RAISINS.

Rolling Out

The last day of final exams here at the American University of Sharjah was this past Saturday, May 15. It's a lot like finals at home - nervous students not getting much sleep, bad students complaining about their grades, lots of caffeine, and everyone in a mad rush to get out of town as soon as their exams are over.

Cindy and I have noticed one thing that's different, though. In America, students would have their cars in the parking lots outside of whatever building they were taking their final exam in. The cars would be absolutely loaded down with stuff so that they could be on the road the minute that they walked out of their exam. Stereos, clothes, bedding, dirty laundry - all of it was in the car. In America, students just scrape whatever they can off the floors of their dorm or apartment and throw it in the car.

Here, we didn't see a single car loaded up for the trip back home. Now there were probably a few kids moving out of the dorm back to their folks' houses in Abu Dhabi or Ras al Khaimah or something like that, but for the most part, everyone on campus flys in. Think about it. Of our 5000 students, less than 1000 are from the Emirates. The rest are from Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi, India, Egypt, Palestine,.... (here's a breakdown). You can't (or wouldn't want to drive) to most of those places. So that's one thing that we've noticed is different here.

Gold

In case you missed the story this week, there's a hotel in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE (about an hour's drive from Dubai), that just installed a special ATM. It's an ATM that dispenses gold bars. Seriously.

The ATM sold out the first day. Seriously.

The Obama Effect

This morning, I was reading the news on the BBC's website and came across an interesting article. It was about how America is perceived by people outside of America. America's perception has rebounded considerably from an all-time low in 2007. So I thought I would take a minute to comment on this.

Most of our friends and family back in the States are surprised to hear that Barack Obama is adored overseas and that George Bush is almost universally disliked. It's certainly true in the Arab world. There are three reasons why this is true. First, foreign policy in the Bush/Cheney era was characterized by unilateral decisions that strained relations with European, Middle Eastern, and Asian allies (decisions like withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol, withdrawal from the ABM treaty, the invasion of Iraq, etc.). You may remember that Time magazine famously characterized Bush/Cheney foreign policy as "Cowboy Diplomacy" for the administration's willingness to make decisions without a broad international consensus. You may agree or disagree with the Bush/Cheney policy, but people overseas disliked it. Period.

Second, in the Arab world, the nation of Israel is hated. And there is a low-grade, but noticeable resentment of America because it supports Israel.* So, when America backs Israel, it's perceived negatively in the Arab world. Barack Obama is the first US president in recent memory that hasn't given Israel a blank check to do whatever they want to Palestinians. So America looks better to Arabs when America pushes Israel to be more accommodating to the Arab Palestinians (for instance, by not building Jewish settlements in Palestinian areas).

Third, the Arabs would like to have the opportunity to sort out their own problems without Western nations imposing solutions here. So when America comes in and invades Iraq, for instance, it's perceived as meddling in a family dispute.

So Obama's Cairo speech to the Muslim world, his reversal of the Bush Doctrine's "preemptive defense", and his outreach to Europe are all steps in the right direction - at least as far as non-Americans are concerned.

I'm not trying to say that Obama is great - or even that Bush was bad. Foreign policy is only one part of a President's job. But what I am saying is that Obama's foreign policy is much more palatable to the rest of the world than George Bush's was. I hope that after reading this, you can see why that's the case.


*NOTE: Let me clarify something - Muslim Arabs have no issue with Jews living in the Middle East (or Christians for that matter). But the Arabs don't understand why there needs to be a Jewish nation - a political entity - Israel. You see, most of the Jews left Palestine (or what the Jews refer to as Judea and Samaria) in about 135AD after the Romans put down the Bar Kochba rebellion. The Jews dispersed through North Africa, Europe, and eventually North America. Then, within a period of about 15 years, culminating in 1948, the Jews suddenly decided to come back to Palestine. So after over 1800 years, they show up, kick the Arab Muslim and Arab Christian Palestinians out of their homes, and set up their country. To the Arabs, the Jews gave up their claim to Palestine by leaving for 1800+ years. That's why the Palestinians are fighting Israel. They perceive the creation of the nation of Israel as a Western-backed (UN-backed, US-backed) land grab.

On top of that, Israel is taking more land than the UN gave them in the 1947 Partition Plan for Palestine. Most Americans are surprised by this, thinking that Israel is in the right and that the Palestinians have seized land that is not theirs. This is not correct. Israel was granted a certain portion of land, and the Palestinians were granted a certain portion of land. Israel has occupied their own land as well as the land allotted to the Palestinians. [Check out a map - this map shows the area allotted to Israel in orange and the area allotted to the Palestinian Arabs in yellow. Israel presently occupies both portions. While you're viewing the map, note the ridiculous boundaries drawn by the UN in 1947 - is anyone surprised this never worked?].

Local Rankings

by Cindy

There was a fun article in the press this week. A (very non-scientific) survey was taken for certain sectors of our economy, presumably highlighting the brands for which UAE residents have a high affinity - our university is at the top of the list.

Global Days

Global Days is a two-day student organization fair at our University. Students had been telling us all year that it was amazing and that everybody looks forward to it all year. It was Thursday and Friday nights and so here's our report.

To call this a "student organization fair" doesn't do it justice. About 40,000 people visit campus for Global Days (including students, faculty, parents, and people from the community). So it's more like the county fair than anything else. There are probably 30 student organizations represented. For the most part, the organiztions are built around national identities - so we have an Emirati Cultural Club, a Russian Cultural Club, a Saudi Cultural Club, and so forth. Each club gets one or more corporate sponsors for their booth. Some organizations build their booths themselves and others hire contractors to help out.

HERE'S THE SAUDI BOOTH. THEY BROUGHT IN SOME NATIVE ARTISANS, TRADITIONAL DANCERS, AND SAUDI TOURISM OFFICE STAFF TO WORK THE BOOTH

THE IRANIAN STUDENTS HAD A GREAT BOOTH. GOOD FREE FOOD, TOO.

THE INDIAN STUDENT ORGANIZATION BOOTH

THE MAHARAJAH AND HIS BRIDE

There are also performances in the performance hall on campus by each of the groups. The Russians did a traditional Russian dance, the Indians did a few Bollywood song-and-dance numbers, the Sudanese did some traditional African dance, and so forth.

THE SAUDI STAGE: THIS IS A PERFORMANCE OF "THE SWORD DANCE" THAT IS PERFORMED BY THE MEN AT MAJOR CELEBRATIONS IN THEIR COUNTRY

AND HERE'S A PICTURE OF THE WHOLE THING. [SEE, I TOLD YOU THERE WERE 40,000 PEOPLE]

All in all, it was pretty impressive by any standard. I've never seen a student event on this scale anywhere in the States.

100 Most Powerful Arabs

by Cindy
I was reading about the 100 most powerful Arabs in a local magazine, Arabian Business, similar to Business Week. The list contained the types of people you would expect - owners of airlines, land developers, founders and CxOs of organizations, etc. The one that caught my eye was number 6 on the list - Ahmad Shugairi. I'm sure you have never heard of him but he's an Islamic TV evangelist! Yep, they have them here, too!

Easter in Dubai

Here are a few photos of our Easter sunrise service on the beach this morning. We had about 150 people there and it was a great time for all of us to be together.

Take it From Me, Parents Just Don't Understand

So one of my students met me outside of class this morning - she looked worried about something - and said hurriedly, "Professor, I'll be in class in a minute. I need to take care of something...." I'm a nice guy, so I told her it was no big deal, to come in when she was ready.

She looked a little agitated and distracted during class, so after we wrapped up and everyone walked out into the hall, I asked her if everything was OK.

"No, my mom's about to kill me."

"Really, what happened?"

"Well, I lost my phone in a taxi this morning....[pause]....and I've already lost a laptop and three other phones in taxis this year - mostly Blackberries. [Then, responding to my stunned look...] Yeah, I know I've got a problem. I'm trying to call around to find the taxi driver. I've got to find it before my mom finds out."

"Wow. I hope you find it. Good luck."

So you can see that even over here in the Middle East, parents are still unreasonable with their children. :)

A Visit from the Parents

by Cindy
Jeff and I were fortunate to have my mother and step-father join us for 10 days this past week. We had my mom write some thoughts down to contribute to our blog. She got through the first few days of their visit and then didn't really finish. I added pics where she left off.

by Ron, Cindy's step-father

We saw every round about and speed bump in the country. At first they were a pain but ultimately they proved to work very well.

by Libby Choate, Cindy's mom
Dubai is one of the most beautiful and clean cities where everything is the biggest and the best.

The desert safari - over six people in a Land Cruiser backing into the sand dunes, topping large dunes and dunes so steep that you see underneath the vehicle in front of you. Riding camels (which are hard to ride!), eating Arabic food and watching belly dancers rounded out a fun evening.

The next day shopping at Dubai mall where glitter and bling are everywhere. There was a large grocery store in the mall with an escalator for the grocery carts and the people.

Then on to a wonderful meal of Lebanese food overlooking the skyline with a large waterfall. Think Vegas and lights.

On to the Blue Souk where we bought a carpet to take home. Choosing from several dozen they unroll for you to look at so you can find the exact color and size you want. This is where the bargaining takes place. The Gold Souk at night is quite a sight to see with all of the glitter.

We made a trip to the Grand Mosque in Adu Dhabi.

This is on our campus, they were amazed at all of the beautiful flowers. This part of campus is an exact replica of the Champs Elysees.

We went and saw the indoor ski slope.

We went to the Burj Al Arab and had high tea. This is a pic from a mall in town that has a nice view of the Burj.

Luxor, Egypt

by Cindy

One of the great things about being here is all of the destinations that are so close. We were able to get over to Egypt for a weekend! We left after work on Thursday (our last day of the week) and then took the red-eye back on Sunday (our first day of the week). Luxor was a great city with so much history. Many sights didn't allow cameras so we included what we could. We are looking forward to a trip back to Egypt to see Alexandria and Cairo.

Luxor Temple is located on the East bank of the Nile River and was founded in 1400 B.C. Ramses II built the entrance pylon and the two obelisks, one of which was taken to France and is now at the center of the Place de la Concorde. It had an incredible Avenue of the Sphinx.

Karnak Temple - comprises a vast conglomeration of ruined temples, chapels, pylons and other buildings.

Carbon Footprint

by Cindy

I had a friend ask us how "green" we are here in Dubai. I thought it was a good question so here are our thoughts and observations -

First and foremost, Dubai is a desert. There is no natural flora here, at all. There are parks and they are very nice but the government has to pour 250,000,000 gallons / day on them to keep them green - most of the water is desalinated water or gray water. The water out of the tap is desalinated but doesn't taste great, I think this is the biggest market in the world for bottled water. [On that note, a 20 oz bottle of water will cost you $0.36 which is nice from a consumer perspective.] I think this is the largest carbon footprint in the world, due to all of the AC we have here. We have six months that are miserably hot and humid (it was 102 degrees with 92% humidity this week and it is only March!) so there really isn't anyone who doesn't have AC. We have cheap gas and a lot of SUVs (along with all of the high end cars).

Wilderness? Yea, it is called the desert. See Exodus.

As for recycling, it is picking up steam. We do have recycling bins around campus and a few around town. There is a big recycling plant that has recently opened so I think you will see it move in a positive direction. The place is clean, very clean, which is really nice. The downside to the cleanliness is that we have foreign workers / laborers who clean everything. It is borderline slavery but definitely indentured servitude. They also take care of the parks so the parks are immaculant and always have flowers blooming. It is a very sterile looking place and part of that is due to everything being a light color because light colors reflect heat. I do often ask myself, whose wise idea was it to build a city in the middle of a dessert but I suppose people have done it all over the world...and even in America, Las Vegas is a very popular destination!

Here are some pics from campus to give you an idea of the flowers all over the place.

Marriage Counseling - Dubai Style

by Cindy

While we have enjoyed our time over here, some things make you laugh out loud and others have us rolling our eyes. We thought we would share a newspaper clip with you - I'm sure you are not hearing about this in your press (double click to enlarge).

Movies in Dubai

by Cindy
We headed out to the movies this weekend, our first time since arriving. All in all, the experience is comparable but there were a few things that seem different:

• We picked our seats when we purchased our tickets. There is no sit where you want, you actually have assigned seats.
• In total, we paid 60 AED / $16 for a movie at 6:10 PM. All movies are about $8 / ticket.
• We have the ability to book movie tickets from our mobile phone.
• We have the ability to be a VIP member - Lay back, relax and let yourself be swept away. Our Platinum Movie Suites offer the ultimate in cinema luxury. The experience begins in a private lounge fitted with marble service counters, signature designer furniture and ambient lighting, providing the perfect backdrop for a relaxed drink or bite to eat before your movie. The VIP treatment continues when you are ushered into your suite and sink into a supple reclining chair, conveniently equipped with a side table and button for personal butler service throughout the movie. Come and treat yourself to a night out to the movies in true VIP style.
• The food is much cheaper - you can get 1 large popcorn, 1 nacho, 2 regular drinks & 1 M&M for 39 AED / $10.62.
• If you prefer, you can get tea, coffee or crepes to eat during your movie.
• I think our theater had 22 screens. All I know is that we were in screen 18 which was on the 3rd floor and there was at least a 4th floor above us. I don't know how high the place was but, as all things in Dubai, it was huge.
• They do edit the movies here. They did a good enough job that we didn't even realize we missed a nudity scene until we came home and read about it. They don't delete any of the language or anything like that, apparently just nude bodies.
• We have Arabic subtitles.

All in all it was a good experience and I am sure we will be back in the future.

Amman, Jordan

by Cindy
One of the great things about being in Dubai is that we are so much closer to things (and people) on this side of the world. This past weekend we were able to take a short three hour flight to Jordan and see a friend from our days in Lubbock, TX. Katie is a TTU grad and we have been fortunate to keep in touch since her graduation in 2004.



We were able to drive about 3 hours from Amman to see the ancient city of Petra. The buildings are carved into the walls of a canyon and it is truly breathtaking. You can easily understand why it is considered one of the seven wonders of the world.

We also saw the ruins of the Temple of Hercules in Amman. Since Jeff is a history buff, he enjoyed this part. There are a few more Roman-era sites across Jordan, and hopefully the next time that we visit can take in some of those as well.

Lost in Translation

When you move to a new place, you have to learn the language. Now I'm not talking about Arabic, I'm talking about English. Our move has forced Cindy and I to learn a few new English words. You see, the Brits got here before anyone else from the West, so people here speak the Queen's English, not the devolved, improper form that is spoken in North America. So before any of you Americans come to Dubai, here are a few words and phrases that you'll need to be aware of.

1. Toilet - none of the American euphemisms over here. 'Powder room' or 'washroom' are completely meaningless to people over here. Most folks will understand what you mean when you ask for the 'restroom' or 'bathroom', but they think it's a silly usage of the words since you would never really want to rest there, and let's be real, you're probably asking because you need to use the toilet. So let's just call it the toilet.

2. Cheers - in America, you only use this phrase when you raise a glass. It is used for that here as well. But this word is far more versatile for the Brits. Here, 'cheers' is used for 'thank you' (like when you hold a door open for someone and they say, 'Cheers."). 'Cheers' is also used when parting company (instead of 'goodbye' or 'have a nice day' or 'have a good evening' - which do still sometimes get used). You can also use 'cheers' to sign a letter or e-mail instead of 'Regards,' or 'Best'.

3. Biscuits - it means "cookies". If someone offers you 'biscuits' with your tea or coffee, expect some small cookies.

4. Timings - If you call a store or restaurant to find out when they open and close, you might be inclined to ask, "What are your hours tomorrow?" Such an expression will get you only puzzled silence and perplexed looks over here. You should ask, "What are your timings?"

5. Lift - it means "elevator". Pretty self-explanatory.

6. Car Park - Not a place for cars to get some R&R, but what Americans refer to as a 'parking garage.'

7. Trolley - Has multiple uses. It may mean a shopping cart, a baby stroller, or a furniture dolly. I think that if something has wheels, carries stuff, and you push it, it's a trolley.

8. Marks - It means 'grades'. Students ask about their 'marks' in the class. Or you 'mark' exams. They do use the term 'grades' over here, and I'm pretty sure they're interchangeable. If they're not, I'll try to update you.

9. Prawns - It means 'shrimp'. Now, I knew about prawns before I left the States, and I realize that for a marine biologist, there is a difference between a shrimp and a prawn, but there's no difference when you're eating them. All we have over here are prawns. Stir-fry prawns, grilled prawns, steak and prawns, prawns on the barbie.... Always prawns.

10. Boxing Day - December 26. So in our last blog post when we talked about 'Boxing Day' Sales, that's how the Brits refer to an after-Christmas sale. And so far, we think that Boxing Day beats DSF. In America, in Great Britain, and even in Dubai.