When I entered the underground parking garage today, the first thing I noticed was the air. It was thick and sticky.
When I exited the garage, I saw the fog.
Usually foggy-looking weather is just sand that's swirling around, kicking up a fine dust. Today's fog was the real thing.
This is significant because we very rarely have any change in weather. It is bright and sunny 99% of the time. Any deviation from that stands out.
Also important is the temperature. On the extended forecast, it looks like today will be the last day of triple digit weather. Thank God!
Side note - Sports are really big here. Soccer (referred to as football) is the biggest with a brand new stadium just completed, probably followed in popularity by rugby (looks like a combination of soccer and football, with no pads) and cricket (looks like baseball with a flat bat). Each sport has it's own field. Golf is also very popular with the ex-pat community. I had dinner at the golf clubhouse recently, and this was the first time I'd seen this sports complex. It is very impressive. It appears to be top notch facilities.
Side note 2 - The cycle 2/3 schools (grades 6-12) all have olympic size pools. Interestingly, they are not in use. I'm not sure if it's because there are no swim instructors, or if there is a concern about wearing swimwear. At the beaches in Dubai, local women can be seen playing in the water in their abayas (the long black dresses), next to ex-pats in string bikinis. Dubai is definitely more lenient in their dress code. As it works hard to become the vacation destination in the Middle East, it tends to be more tolerant of what they would consider inappropriate dress.
Side note 3 - Perfume and incense are sold everywhere . . . in the grocery stores, malls, souks. Both for men and women. Gifts are almost always perfume or chocolate (more on that in a minute). Bottles of perfume are in the toilets in the state-owned airlines.
Side note 4 - There are at least three stores that sell chocolate on every block (OK, maybe not that many, but there are a lot). The chocolate is displayed beautifully. Cubes of it are individually wrapped, typically arranged on a platter, made into a mountain, then wrapped in fancy bows. Chocolate displays like this are in most offices, and are given as birth presents, and are bought and shared for monumental events, like the purchase of a car.
Side note 5 - Unlike Saudi Arabia where women were just allowed to drive, most of the local women here can drive themselves, although many of them have drivers. One of my ex-pat friends, a principal who worked out in one of the remote areas, had a driver. He picked her up in the morning and he stayed all day at school (there is a lounge for drivers at most schools). Then he would take her shopping, and any other place she needed to go. He worked 12-hour shifts, and he drove his own car. For the local women, the drivers use their cars.
And finally . . .
Side note 5 - There are two things I'm still trying to get use to after almost two years . . . the workweek beginning on Sunday (the weekend is Friday/Saturday) and the Arabic books, magazines, brochures, etc., are printed from right to left. So what we would consider the back of the book, is the front for Arabic speakers. The local weekly magazines are printed in both languages, beginning with English, and then halfway through the book, it changes into Arabic. They begin reading at the back, working their way to the middle where the English ends.
That's it for now.
Good night to you.
Good morning to me.
When I exited the garage, I saw the fog.
Usually foggy-looking weather is just sand that's swirling around, kicking up a fine dust. Today's fog was the real thing.
This is significant because we very rarely have any change in weather. It is bright and sunny 99% of the time. Any deviation from that stands out.
Also important is the temperature. On the extended forecast, it looks like today will be the last day of triple digit weather. Thank God!
Side note - Sports are really big here. Soccer (referred to as football) is the biggest with a brand new stadium just completed, probably followed in popularity by rugby (looks like a combination of soccer and football, with no pads) and cricket (looks like baseball with a flat bat). Each sport has it's own field. Golf is also very popular with the ex-pat community. I had dinner at the golf clubhouse recently, and this was the first time I'd seen this sports complex. It is very impressive. It appears to be top notch facilities.
Side note 2 - The cycle 2/3 schools (grades 6-12) all have olympic size pools. Interestingly, they are not in use. I'm not sure if it's because there are no swim instructors, or if there is a concern about wearing swimwear. At the beaches in Dubai, local women can be seen playing in the water in their abayas (the long black dresses), next to ex-pats in string bikinis. Dubai is definitely more lenient in their dress code. As it works hard to become the vacation destination in the Middle East, it tends to be more tolerant of what they would consider inappropriate dress.
Side note 3 - Perfume and incense are sold everywhere . . . in the grocery stores, malls, souks. Both for men and women. Gifts are almost always perfume or chocolate (more on that in a minute). Bottles of perfume are in the toilets in the state-owned airlines.
Side note 4 - There are at least three stores that sell chocolate on every block (OK, maybe not that many, but there are a lot). The chocolate is displayed beautifully. Cubes of it are individually wrapped, typically arranged on a platter, made into a mountain, then wrapped in fancy bows. Chocolate displays like this are in most offices, and are given as birth presents, and are bought and shared for monumental events, like the purchase of a car.
Side note 5 - Unlike Saudi Arabia where women were just allowed to drive, most of the local women here can drive themselves, although many of them have drivers. One of my ex-pat friends, a principal who worked out in one of the remote areas, had a driver. He picked her up in the morning and he stayed all day at school (there is a lounge for drivers at most schools). Then he would take her shopping, and any other place she needed to go. He worked 12-hour shifts, and he drove his own car. For the local women, the drivers use their cars.
And finally . . .
Side note 5 - There are two things I'm still trying to get use to after almost two years . . . the workweek beginning on Sunday (the weekend is Friday/Saturday) and the Arabic books, magazines, brochures, etc., are printed from right to left. So what we would consider the back of the book, is the front for Arabic speakers. The local weekly magazines are printed in both languages, beginning with English, and then halfway through the book, it changes into Arabic. They begin reading at the back, working their way to the middle where the English ends.
That's it for now.
Good night to you.
Good morning to me.
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