your man in Al Ain

When I am in the UAE I complain a lot...

2009-08-12T17:44:00.003+04:00

... I complain too much about little things like Etisalat or the bureaucracy of renewing my car or visa or the annoyance of crossing a land border but when I have been away for too long, I so miss it.

I am asking myself if this is normal, a natural human trait or not. I have been away for over two months and I am thinking of an excuse why I should go back earlier than necessary, to spend the remainder of my time out in Al Ain. I kind of know that by the time my next trip home approaches - in about 4 months - I will be glad to get back home again, it seems like a constant craving for being where I am not at the moment.

I have been in the UAE for 3 years now, on and off, spending approx. 8 months in the UAE each year and it starts to feel more like home and I start to worry what I will do one day when I'll leave for good. I certainly wont visit as a tourist, there is not that much to see, but living there is great.

At the end of the day, what are my complaints about living in the UAE, they are minor issues, Etisalat robs me, so what, my bank is the most unreliable bank on earth, so what, it is easily offset by the people, the environment I find there, the food, the ease of life in general.

Yes, I do complain about how people drive, but at least there are huge roads and cheap petrol, better than complaining about traffic jams. Yes I complain about bureaucracy, but so what, it is better than being a foreigner in my country (which I am not, but I know some and they are not enjyoing it).

When I complain about the incompetence of people in many walks of life, be it at my bank, the border or my car dealership, these are minor issues really. They dont really ruin my day as much as it ruins my day that I cant even sit in a public space in my country without being harrassed by some idiot's dog who decided he wants to share my food. People are so bloody inconsiderate in Europe, I am unsure though whether this has always been the case and I just never noticed prior to moving to the UAE.

When we badmouth the nationals, we tend to forget that their lives are not easy neither. Money? Yes, but so what. I have money. I had enough money before I came to the UAE. It doesnt buy happiness, sounds simple and banal, is simple and banal. Back home I wouldnt exchange having more money and more of a welfare state in exchange for what the nationals have to put up with. A country run by foreigners and nationals paid off to get on with it. I dont know, I dont know them enough to be honest and deep conversations about feelings hardly develop with them. This is unfortunate and is probably the only thing that I really miss in the UAE. Nationals are not exactly forthcoming with friendships, I tried to make an effort but it seems bound to fail every single time. But then again, if I was such a minority in my own country, I'd probably stick to hanging out with my own people, too.

Freedom of speech? Sure, but it is overrated. I feel free to speak in the UAE, I have no beef with any of their issues. I am actually relieved that I dont have to have an opinion on everything. I dont need to have an opinion on politics in the UAE, back home it is expected and I am expected to be engaged in politics to some extent.

Well, so much for my random thoughts of the day... I am looking forward to coming back to Al Ain soon. I miss it a lot. Sometimes when people dirve like maniacs, I even consider it funny.

800.000 km in 45 months

2008-05-24T12:28:00.003+04:00

My favorite taxi driver just left for home. The last time I was in his car, I realized for the first time the mileage on his car, it was just above 800.000 km in a 2003 Corolla. Every year, he spent 9 months in Al Ain, the other 3 either in Pakistan or taking his mum for Hajj. It total, he was driving for 40 months, he had received a new car when he first came and he has been driving it ever since and nobody drove it while he was on holiday, which brings us to a simple calculation: 820.000 km divided by 40 months divided by an average of 30 days equals slightly more than 680 km per day. What a tough guy. He is 29 years old, has 5 kids at home.

I don't know anything about taxis, but 680 km/day seems a lot of work to me. I also know they made him pay AED 5.000 on one of his last days as a taxi driver for picking up a 10 dirham passenger on the highway back from Dubai, which seems a bit over the top. I don't know how many weeks he had to drive for that, but probably quite a few. I will miss him, he is a great guy, but I hope he will find a job back home after they didn't want his services anymore over here.

John Pilger: Lest we forget (Remembrance Day)

2007-11-19T01:21:00.000+04:00

I dont know if you are reading the posts on alainexpats, but there was a somewhat strange discussion over Remembrance Day.

Basically one guy asked for Remembrance Day service and someone else replied with their idea of what Remembrance Day is. Another guy claimed it was also for the civilians and against war in principle and all this was concluded with a lot of hypocrisy about war being bad and whatever.

Shortly after that day an interesting article by John Pilger came up on Information Clearing House, giving us a bit better insight into what Remembrance day is about. I urge all those who have read the discussion on alainexpats to read this before embarking on yet another half hearted and/or half knowledgeable defense of that day. It is not about being against the war, it is not about civilians and I doubt it is about anything but glorifying occupation armies and oppressors from some selected countries.

And I understand the point made by one of the posters on alainexpats, I am also glad for not having to be in London on a day like this, I also disliked the glorification of war in the UK and the associated aura of sacrifice for a greater good, a greater good which in most cases turned out to be financial interest or dreams of world domination or world police...

Thanks Etisalat...

2007-11-19T01:15:00.000+04:00

There is something I could not achieve for weeks. Now Etisalat and Egyptian TV have done it. I have been trying to explain to my students the benefits of a competitive environment. I tried for weeks to explain that monopolies like Etisalat are not good news for customers. Using du as an example does no good, everyone knows this is not "real" competition but still a very limited and regulated one.

Over the past few days something has happened. Egyptian TV seems to have aired Etisalat ads for the local Etisalat subsidiary and a rumour started. People started checking out the prices online, the offers and the handsets and realized people get a much better deal in Egypt and not only because there is less money around but mainly because there are also other operators in a real competition with Etisalat. So they came to realize competition might be good thing after all.

I am happy for them and - for the first time in my life - grateful to Etisalat.

What else I love about Al Ain...

2007-08-28T22:27:00.000+04:00

... the climate. I had to go to Dubai during the day and I had a hard time coping with the humidity. Last night I was actually sitting outside drinking coffee in my garden, that was nice, very nice and not too hot. In Dubai I guess this would be a free sauna.

... Jebel Haffit. Anytime of the day. I have been up there four times since I came back. I love that place in the morning, when the sun comes up as much as when it is dark and the lights of Al Ain shine like nothing else shines.

... the people I meet anywhere around here. Coming back from Europe I am impressed how the locals cope with a majority of foreigners in their own country. Back home there is so much stupidity about integration and the lack of tolerance is so painful and embarrassing. Here, I am a welcome foreigner and at least in my life there are no restrictions that restrict me from doing anything I want. Actually I think we are given too much freedom, things like liquor stores wouldn't need to exist if it was for me, but hey, this is their country, if they want to accommodate us beyond the necessary and give us too much, fine with me.

... the peace and calmness of this place. No drunkards in public, no annoyances in public. What a pleasant way to go about your business, whatever it is. No aggression in public space, I love this.

... my job. I cant think of an environment dealing with more pleasant people anywhere on this planet. Yes, there is plenty of bureaucracy, but at least people are apologetic about it and can laugh about it themselves.

... City Centre Choitram. They finally managed to get reasonable dark bread on the shelves. It is not quite like the one my wife bakes, actually it is still far away from that, but at least it is reasonable. Plus there is always a parking space during the day and it is only a few steps from the car to the entrance. It is still way too expensive, but therefore I can get Parmesan as well as decent Muesli.

... the fruit market. During my time back home I so missed the actually ripe fruits. Mangos that have not been picked weeks before maturing and grapefruits so ripe I eat them with a spoon.

... these huge, wide open roads all over the place

The only thing annoying me this week is that the local cleaners ruined my carpet and my guess would be that they are not liable for anything... any advice on this?

Ah well...

2007-08-16T17:48:00.000+04:00

So much has been going on for the last - almost a year - and I still dont know what to make of the concept of blogging - too many a things occupying myself. Quite frankly, I have been worried about causing controversy if I would write my thoughts, too much has happened, I have accepted I will never understand this country and being home for a month in spring confronted me with mixed emotions. I had never been - culturally away - for such a long time, even though it was only six months. For the last 10 years, I have lived in 6 countries, but never too far from cultural comfort. The US may be different from the UK and Frankfurt different from Glasgow, but so what, none of them can possibly be sufficiently different not to understand the differences within a week or so. And besides, all our countries in Europe (I am not a tourist, I am a European) look the same now anyways, at least the high streets do. Some years ago McDonalds used to be a sign of lookalike cities, now it is everything, H&M, GAP, Accessorize and what not. Most cities in Europe I have visited this summer looked like a floor on Mall of the Emirates anyways...

Too many impressions during my spring break and during the summer holiday I just finished at home... It was nice being there and not having to work. Another luxurious perk working in the UAE gives me - a long summer holiday back home. And yes, I am still grateful for that. Very grateful. After around six weeks at home I started to miss Al Ain and - for the first time in my life - started to miss work.

I am glad to be back in Al Ain.

But first things first, last December I blogged about how happy I am to live in a straightforward monarchy and hell yes, I still am so happy about that.

I followed the summer theater of politicians back home and I think they are a waste of money, time and attention. I also followed political correctness games and labels, and it is a joke. I prefer a monarch being a monarch to Europe's politicians trying to look as if they cared about their people. How does Sarkozy again pay for his EUR 22000 a week holiday on a EUR 6000 a month salary?
I was somewhat surprised (though of course expected) how nude Europe is in public, in terms of dress as well as advertising, it doesnt offend me, but after being in the UAE for a year, it certainly surprised and confused me (I am just your regular guy, public nudity leads to irritated driving due to loss of concentration on my side).
I enjoyed art in public space, thought provoking art as well as just beautiful displays of artistic might. I feel sad that this is limited to indoors and to very few themes in the UAE and this is probably the only thing I will really miss.
I didnt enjoy displays of drunkenness all over Europe 's public space, from hooligans to completely deranged youngsters and hobos. I am glad this does not happen here.
I didnt enjoy the road rage and aggressiveness in public space in Europe neither. I am very happy about the secure and silently but still highly regulated behaviour in public space in the UAE.

I was surprised by a few other things in Europe relating to the UAE. The issue of Asian workers is way more present among educated people there as I expected it to be and the issue of high buildings is way more present among uneducated people than I expected it to be.

Well, this being the summary of year, it admittedly isn't that much or great, but it gives me a sense of being back and I ll try to find the time to blog more frequently again, I hope not out of justified or unjustified rage, but just things happening around here. I am glad to be back, in Al Ain and on my blog...

I stopped getting angry...

2006-12-08T00:44:00.000+04:00

There is - and I am very happy about this - still nothing that upsets me around here. At least nothing that comes anywhere close to seriously upsetting me or making me angry. The only thing that sometimes upsets me is reading newspapers from back home and on those online papers that allow commenting I fall into the trap of joining forum discussions from time to time.

I seriously don’t care about politics back home anymore, even though I did when I was there, but the more I can avail myself of a bird's eye view of the so called democratic systems in Europe, the happier I become about the straightforward monarchy I live in. At least they don’t pretend to involve people in decisions in the UAE. I feel less fooled by the system here and I am a happier resident without a right to vote than I was ever a voter whom the system tried to fool into thinking his vote would count. So this is one thing, the less I read about politics back home, the happier I am.

The other thing that annoys me even more when reading European newspapers... I promise you one thing, even if you are in the unfortunate position of holding a grudge against the UAE, the culture here or Islam, go to any European newspaper website that allows readers to post comments and if their hostility doesn’t upset you, at least their complete ignorance will. I had to force myself to stop commenting on articles or posting by fellow readers. The constant brainwashing by so-called free media is not doing Europeans any favours. Look up any article related to Arab countries or Islam and the ignorance of journalists as well as readers who post comments is incredible. Where are all those shackled, beaten up women who supposedly live in any Arab country? How comes all the Muslim women I work with are so happy? Even though - according to European media - they are forced to wear hijab, beaten and shackled. So, this is the other thing, the less I read "expert opinions" about Islam in European newspapers, the happier I am. Rather than reading second-hand news from second-hand journalists and third-class readers, I rather speak to real people here and try to understand as much of reality for myself. And it worked, I changed the homepage of my browser from my former favourite newspaper to my webmail-interface and I have luckily become more selective about what I read and I stopped getting angry...

However, seeing ignorance does still hurt, I just need to get better at closing my eyes. Trying to educate people who are under constant media bombardment is not easy. One day, when I have seen enough and have the energy and actually care about what these people think, then I will take up that fight again, for now I rather leave them to it and find out more for myself.

When Western guys complain about discrimination against women in this culture...

2006-11-22T19:14:00.000+04:00

The biggest surprise for me at the Abu Dhabi Leadership Summit was that Gerhard Schröder can't really speak English. He can more or less read a prepared speech, but that's about it. Kind of disappointing for a former European leader... besides, he missed the topic and kept talking about terrorism rather than leadership. It shouldnt be made that easy to bank on your background...

What came as less of a surprise was the hostility towards Daddy Bush, who at least once took offense by a young Emirati student and didnt know better than falling into southern brawling along the lines of "How come everybody wants to come to the United States if the United States is so bad?""... and well, he suggested to another guy to go back to school... overall, a mediocre performance in the Q&A session after a pretty bad speech about values and trying to make everyone feel comfortable with overdosed compliments.

I am ashamed to admit I had never before heard of Lee Kuan Yew - Minister Mentor of Singapore - but he was certainly the most impressive speaker of the day, talking about how he transformed Singapore from nothing much to what it is today.

And last but not least, "Hardtalker" Tim Sebastian deserves special mention. After grilling both Emirati speakers, Khaldoon al Mubarak as well as Sheikha Lubna on the discrimination against women topic, he turned out to be the most discriminative guy in the room. There were plenty of young Emirati women raising their hands and wanting to ask questions to the presenters and ONE, I repeat ONE WOMAN, was actually allowed to talk by Tim Sebastian. And she was great, telling Bush how little respect she has for his son, under intense applause from the audience. After that, no more questions from the ladies, but only from a few other guys who told Bush how great he is. Looked a bit like a well prescreened Q&A session...

The one thing that really made it to the local press this morning was Khaldoon al Mubarak thinking aloud about free education for expat kids while the foreign press picked up mostly on the insults to Daddy Bush...

Gulf News: Expats to get free education
Gulf News: Delegates rail against US policies
Independant: Bush Snr: My son is an honest man
IHT: Elder Bush defends his son against critics in Abu Dhabi

Link to 90+ articles on the subject via Google News

What would a foreign language do to my culture?

2006-11-01T20:21:00.000+04:00

The few glimpses into local culture I got so far were highly interesting, great, surprisingly westernised but still to a resonable extent along the lines of "when I was a little boy I dreamed about Arabia". Now I came across a new blog, called "A Local Expatriate", which is written by an Arab, born and raised in Dubai, but not "local" by common definition. He raises some very interesting issues, among which there is the issue of cultural identity:

When people talk about the fact that locals need to protect their identity and culture. YA HABIBI you think that the culture they practise now hasn’t been completely distorted from what they used to practise 40 years ago? The problem is most expatriates have no clue whatsoever about the local culture. They are just outside observers and only seeing the tip of the iceberg. There has been such an alteration, evolution, change, transformation of the local culture and identity that I think that argument people use is completely futile.

I am in the education business, so I get to see yet another part of that iceberg, young students and those few Emirati colleagues of mine that decided to work in education. I am part of an organisation educating young Emiratis in what for them is a foreign language, English. I sometimes wonder what that alone does to people, studying in an environment that is new to them and in a language that most of them are still learning while actually having to study complex subjects at the same time. So just the languague barrier must be pretty hard for every single one of them. And that is not even taking into account the influence Western teachers have by - without doubt - transporting their cultural concepts alongside the subjects they are supposed to teach.

I remember when I learned French at school, taught by a Bulgarian woman who tried to be more French than the French themselves. And I thought that was bad until the day we got a French teacher from France, who - I guess due to being far away from home - was even keener on teaching culture alongside language. We had the full programme, singing the Marseillaise, permanently translating love songs and the daily praise of baguette, espresso, Croque Monsieur and always amour, amour, amour. By the time I went to France for the first time, I was disappointed that not everyone I met was constantly drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes and having sex in public at the same time.

I wonder how Emirati culture is influenced just by making English the language of almost every interaction, jobwise and outside the job, but I am sure it is pretty rough in education.

I found out the other day why an Emirati friend of my wife speaks much nicer English than most others in her age group. Her family - which is 100% Emirati - actually switched to talking English at home some years ago, the entire younger generation in this family is talking English only among themselves. The reasoning is that all of them study or studied in English and all of them work in an English-speaking environment, so they simply decided it was easier than to switch back to Arabic when coming home.

I cannot imagine a foreign language suddenly being the main language in education in my home country nor can I imagine how it would be as a minority in my own country, but maybe if I stay here for a while and then go back, I ll be a minority back home anyways, but then certainly not a privileged minority...

Anyways, what I am getting to is that I seriously admire my students, for going through all this, learning new and complex concepts in a language that is simply not theirs. I just hope for them they wont feel the need to adapt too much to Western culture on the way.

I completely agree with my new friend...

2006-10-21T23:32:00.000+04:00

Two more things I love about Al Ain...

2006-10-06T01:22:00.000+04:00

As I will certainly be forgiven by readers on the miserable side of expat life (I am still in the honeymoon period as you know :-)), I might as well add two more things I love about Al Ain, one of which is the park on the bottom of Jebel Haffit as well as the jebel itself:

plus not to forget the Shisha place on Hilton road, which is the only nice and not so upscale outdoor place I have seen so far, where locals and expats sit together. If you know any others, please do let me know...

One prejudice less...

2006-10-05T22:02:00.000+04:00

"If you buy a car, don't buy from a local" is something I have heard more than twenty times at work, from friends and simply everywhere. I might have been just very very lucky and got the one local not trying to sell me a run down car, but fact is, I got a good deal for a used car in mint condition. And by mint condition I mean the engine, the chassis, the exterior, the interior, simply everything. I had it checked in a garage a friend of mine trusts and the two things identified as problems were fixed on the same day by the seller.

The Emirati I bought it from did the required testing with the licensing department for me and accompanied me there to make sure everything would run smooth, including negotiating down the insurance from 1600 to 500 (for a 4x4 that is) and using some wasta to allow us to jump the line. Afterwards we had tea and I met his friends. I do not remember any car purchase that went so smooth and was so pleasant anywhere else I bought a car before.

One of the comments on my last post was something along the lines of this being my honeymoon period and the prediction of cracks starting to show soon. I don't know about that, I guess it really is what you make of it, and I intend to make it pleasant and so far, alhamdulillah, it is.

BTW, Samurai Sam has dug out a great National Geographic article from 1956 about the fiercely independent people of the Desert Sheikhdom of Arabia's Pirate Coast. The format is slightly odd, but it is certainly worth your time, provided you are one of those intending to make your stay pleasant... If not, it might still be worth reading in order to build up some prejudice

Ramadan muslims :-)

2006-10-05T02:22:00.000+04:00

(found via "In the midst of chaos") I like the humble attitude of Ali, the presenter, ending his highly entertaining as well as dutifully reminding video with "and I speak to myself before I speak to those who are watching". MUST WATCH!

Direct link to Umma Films here.

One month and still happy...

2006-09-25T20:38:00.000+04:00

It has been more than a month since I set foot in UAE and I like it more with every new day. The only things that annoy me have more to do with my fellow expats than with the country or the prevailing culture. My wife feels most comfortable and way more safe and secure than anywhere in "the west" and life is treating us most kind.

My students are the most kind and appreciative students I have ever seen in any educational setting (and I have seen a few over the last years). Also most of my colleagues here seem to be of a certain kind that you wont find in most other places, mostly very kind and gentle people. I think this place does something good to people. At least to those whose main worry is not the liquor license.

What I could do less with though are the few self righteous expats, as mentioned earlier, and those who complain all day. Especially in Ramadan, I think it is pretty daring to complain how "us expats" are forced not to drink or smoke in public. So what?

BTW, would anyone advise me please on a good place in Al Ain to get myself a nice and cheap car?

Exploitation in the UAE=bad, exploitation back home=I dont care

2006-09-17T17:54:00.000+04:00

I had a discussion over lunch with some colleagues today, the subject being the unavoidable topic of cheap labor exploitation in this country. One guy bragged how he pays double the hourly wage to wash away his guilt, another one topped him by describing the amount of liberty he allows his housemaid to have, etc. etc.

Five minutes later the same guys were back to "normal", talking about how slow and lazy their maids are and how they should be fired and replaced by more efficient ones. After all, this their hard earned money :-)

The whole thing reminded me of an evening I spent a few years ago with a couple of Americans in Spain. It was at the height of the last unjust invasion of Iraq and my American acquaintances all tried to top each other on who would be more critical of Bush and more cynical of their own country. After a while one them had gone too far in slandering his country and suddenly the discussion turned and all the self proclaimed critical thinkers turned back into the simple rednecks they were, calling each other traitors and other not so nice names. They were just hypocrites.

Most expats like myself come from countries where it is not normal to have cheap labor readily available and it takes some time to come to terms with being spoiled and served by cheap labor. Sure, there is horrible stories of maids being locked up in houses and beaten and what have you not. And these stories are tragic and the people mistreating other human being should be punished. But nevertheless it is not exactly as if we had not known about this before coming here, unless we came here not knowing anything before boarding the plane to a new life.

The only difference between here and home however is that we see the exploitation happening and that we see the people affected by it. Back home we buy products that are produced under appaling conditions and there is enough poverty right in the next borough of town, we just decide we don't care. Suddenly here, in a country that is not our own and where we have - and I argue knowingly - waived the right to participate in the decision process and are being paid a fine amount of money to do so, suddenly here our conscience awakens and some of us take the liberty to criticize our host country for something that - by extension - is just the same in our own countries.

What about all the products we buy back home that are produced I don't know where and under what conditions for the workers?

What about the "first world" knowingly tolerating genocides and mistreatment of people for the benefit of our corporations?

What about our countries constantly refusing asylum seekers the right to live in our countries in peace and away from their sad countries of origin? The very same people complaining and complaining about exploitation of cheap labor over here complain about an influx of immigrants in their home countries.

Why don't we simply allow them into our countries where they could work for better money rather than seeing them "exploited" here?

Show this man how the machine works...

2006-09-09T22:54:00.000+04:00

The words "return", "not working", "purchased two hours ago" obviously terrified the poor man from customer service at mega mart, the local we-sell-anything retailer in Al Ain Mall.

I had heard stories about this before, that refunds and exchanges are not exactly a local specialty, so I was kind of prepared for this. I went through three stages of the return process:

1. Disbelief: "Please, show this man how this machine works, he thinks it broken"
2. Denial: "Maybe something wrong with our electric socket, come with me, I try next one."
3. Receipt: "Do you have a warranty? We need to do a lot of paperwork now."

Paperwork didn't take as along as expected and I now have a new juice extractor from Black & Decker. I have never heard of Black & Decker doing kitchen equipment, where I am from they do drills and stuff for builders, but hey, I also have a LG stereo now, a company I only from producing fridges... Does anyone know why?

Another question I am still seeking an answer for is why there seems to be one trade a street, tailors in one street, car rentals in the next, etc. etc. Can someone enlighten me, please? I am new, I just want to understand...

What type of work would I need to do back home to live like this?

2006-09-02T18:56:00.000+04:00

I don't know, certainly not an honest one allowing me to look in the mirror and be satisfied with myself. I'd probably have to be a corporate lawyer working in a large law firm ruining the planet, a consultant with the big five selling my life and having zero leisure time or something of that kind. In any case I would most likely not have time to enjoy my high standard of living.

I certainly could not have this lifestyle working for a university back home. Back home working at uni means earning very little money and writing papers and entire books under the name of your professor without getting any kind of credit for it. A friend of mine worked his way up at uni and after having written 2 entire books (first author being the professor he worked for, co-authors being the professor's assistant and his girlfriend) and several papers without having his own name mentioned, he finally made full professor. By now of course, his wife has left him, as he simply spent too much time writing stuff for other people.

But anyways, I do seriously love the UAE so far, or to be more specific, Al Ain. Having been to Dubai a couple of times I don't think I could actually live there for a variety of reasons. While I am sure Dubai has its positive sides, it seems to be me like the place where the worst of "the Arab world" meets the worst of "the West", and the outcome multiplied by the money that resides there. Al Ain seems very peaceful, no drunkards in the street, no open prostitution nor any other nuisances I am used to from good ol' Europe.

The work environment may be challenging in many other ways, but the standard of living is unbeatable. "An Englishman in Dubai" has actually made a list of things he enjoys about Dubai, and most of it also works for me in Al Ain:

1. The people and friends I have met here
2. Not having to iron anything myself
3. The view from my apartment - especially at night
4. Delivery everything
5. Gas Station attendants
6. Living two minutes from the beach
7. Having a distinct lack of pikeys/chavs anywhere
8. Zero income tax
9. Having a gym and swimming pool available
10. No more hayfever

While point 6 obviously doesn't work for me in Al Ain, I would add

Attitude towards strangers.
Back home it seems everyone you don't know is a potential threat, while here I am under the impression that everyone is a potential friend. The general attitude to communication is almost always a friendly one.
Time.
People have plenty of time here. While I am aware this can be annoying (I had my furniture delivered a short while ago and it came - of course - six hours late), I think I will adapt, I haven't felt any stress really since I arrived.
Safe environment.
Compared to any town/city in Europe it would be highly difficult if not impossible to pick a fight on the street here.
High quality and low price tailors.
I had a suit and several shirts tailored for the price I would pay for one shirt only at the last place I had a suit tailored in London.
Food.
The variety and quality of food is most impressive. I will get fat in this place if I don't take good care of myself.
Housemaids.
Back home I know four people who have a maid, two of them were born rich, one has worked hard all his life and the last one is a scion of our royal family.

I am sure there will be nuisances to overcome as well, but for now I am still most happy with the people and the place. And I am glad I don't have to be a corporate lawyer or consultant back in home...

Induction week & Emiratisation

2006-09-01T23:09:00.000+04:00

I am beyond induction time at my new job, an educational institution, where I will teach for the next three years and I am both - impressed as well as shocked.

I am most impressed with the very obvious commitment of the rulers of this country to higher education and I am most impressed with the technology available to faculty regarding student management as well as knowledge management. The software available to support faculty on anything from student management as well as coordination with other faculty or retrieval of vast amounts of knowledge relevant to teaching and research is impressive and certainly way beyond any institution I have seen in Europe (and I have seen a few). I am also impressed with the variety of backgrounds my new colleagues come from, some very genuinely nice people have come together here and I am looking forward to working with them.

I am shocked by the ignorance of a few of my colleagues. The hostility towards our students and the low expectations towards them. The lack of insight into cultural and religious values of our host country. People who have been here for a long time know less about Islam than my wife who has been to a Muslim country once in her lifetime before moving here with me. Some are just outright hostile about the place. I do not fully understand why people move to another country to live and work there and do not simply leave again if they dislike it so much.

Anyways, back to the education "business": The task, as far as I understand it, is not an easy one. Nationals are entering post-secondary education with limited knowledge of the language in which they are expected to learn, research and communicate throughout their studies. An entire generation is being taught in English in order to compete in the global as well the local jobmarket, the latter dominated by expats on all levels. There are some issues with Emiratisation (the planned nationalisation for jobs):

1. 90% of all Emiratis currently in a job work directly or indirectly for the government. Many of these government jobs are more or less not really necessary as technology has developed very quickly over the last decade and has been adapted very successfully in the public sector here.

2. Only 1% of all private sector employees are nationals. Jobs on both ends of the capability scale are being done by expats, and now on top of the Asian laborers, the Western academics and business people, a lot of Arabs from outside the UAE are pushing into the job market, having a better command of English and better qualifications, which hinders nationals from getting jobs.

This is not an easy task, but I am looking forward to being part of this. I am sure it would have been more interesting to come here ten years ago, but I am still very happy to be here. Let's see how this venture develops...

UAE: There is no such place as Israel

2006-08-30T22:18:00.000+04:00

Not that I particularly mind or that I have visited many websites from Israel before. Actually I do remember looking up one guy a met on a conference and he happened to work for Haifa university. If you can click this link then you are probably outside the UAE or in one of the freezones.

What annoys me more is the fact that Etisalat, the one and only national internet provider for anyone living outside Dubai has blocked Skype, on which I highly relied to communicate with home. And no, all other VOIP services dont work neither. The only alternative is highly overpriced calls with, yes you guessed, the one and only national internet and telephone provider, Etisalat :-(

Flickr is also off limits as are all sites that could help in circumventing internet censorship, I guess I will upload my pics here rather than on flickr like I used to do in the other places I lived in before.

All this took me by surprise to be honest, coming from Western Europe one simply doesnt expect things like this to happen. But then again, the standard of living here is much better than at home and the money comes tax free (except for indirect taxes such as pretty high telecom charges), so who am I to complain.

I have been here less than 2 weeks and I do love the place. It is very friendly, calm and certainly a healthy environment, except for the roads, which seem a bit wild west to me.