As I look back on Week 2 I realize we learned a great deal about the UAE as a country. This past week they celebrated “National Day”, except it wasn’t a day – it was 5 days. Kind of like how some people like to celebrate their birthday with a birthday week. This country may be that kind of place. Most professional businesses were closed for the five days, while the rest, like grocery stores and restaurants, remained open.
The UAE formed in 1971 when the British pulled out due to budgetary restraints. The Gulf States needed to figure out what they were going to do, would they each operate as a unique country or merge together as a single union? I believe there were 9 areas considering their fate. At that time, Qatar and Bahrain elected to go their own way. The 7 Emirates of the UAE celebrate National Day to signify signing an accord to join as a union of states.
The first day of the celebration was dedicated to the martyrs. Here, Martyrs Day is meant in the line of service for their country, as in the military. The UAE takes care of “martyrs” families for life.
The big day of celebration was December 2nd – there were yacht parades, special meals and it wrapped up with a program from the national capital, Abu Dhabi. Due to Covid-19 the program was live streamed to the country with only VIPs in attendance (think Sheikh). It was about an hour long and highlighted the accomplishments of the country over the last year. They thanked the “white army” (healthcare workers), the team that sent a probe to Mars, an astronaut that went to the Space Station, and everyone in the country that have kept the Covid numbers low.
One thing we learned in this program is their term for handicap or disabled persons in the UAE. There was a moment where they thanked “people of determination” and we realized that was their term for those with disabilities. In reading the newspaper we came to understand this is how they speak about people who have challenges in their daily life. I really love how they approach this. As someone who is here in Dubai trying to make some life changes (while not classically handicapped) I am going to put myself in the category of a person with determination.
The optics of the program were equal spectacular – they know how to put on a show. We truly enjoyed it. And by the end of the five day holiday, the National Day decorations were put away and the Christmas decorations are out in force. There are more Christmas trees and carols being sung than I’ve seen in a long while. We had dinner last night at the Cheesecake Factory and listened to Bing Crosby’s Christmas tunes the entire time.
We are getting to know the folks who run our building fairly well. Jim continues to “enrich” his friendship with lifeguard Jun. I finally met him yesterday when I tried the gym. He’s a hoot! I can see why they get along well. At the front desk we have Ms. Judy, who keeps us on track with where to go and not go. On her days off we have receptionist “Judy not Judy” because we don’t know her name! We were walking home last night from dinner and Judy ran up to talk to us (it was dark) and scared the hell out of me. I thought, who the hell do we know in Dubai. Of course – Ms. Judy!
We have found a new and better grocery store (Ms Judy did not tell us about this one – I need to ask her why). It is behind our building and maybe a tad pricier than the others BUT has the best bakery. The bread is great and Jim has a fondness for the chocolate croissants.
One of the big events this past week was the mosques were reopened for the first time since March. Our balcony overlooks one of the major mosques in the area and we knew it would be an event on Friday, the first day they were open. I wasn’t sure which service would be the most crowded – turned out it was the noonish call to prayer. They had cars parked in every parking lot available, in the street – everywhere. It was so heartwarming to see this response. They announced there would be social distancing and the mosque was so full they had prayer mats outside around the building and toward the end it even went out onto the street stopping traffic. I did not think it was respectful to take pictures of that, so elected not to do it. But…it was really something to see. Beforehand it was crazy getting everyone parked, and afterward it was like leaving a concert – everyone wanting to leave first! Because people were outside they had to broadcast the sermon outside – which was in arabic – so of course I didn’t understand it. The paper said it was focused on forgiveness. I told Jim I was glad it wasn’t something like death to Christians. He informed me these are moderate Muslims and I needed to straighten up. I agreed.
Speaking of that kind of topic – I’ve found Dubai to actually be an incredibly inclusive, diverse and welcoming country. They are opening up their visa programs to expand their businesses and want to highlight technology sectors. I feel safe (as in, I wouldn’t get robbed or mugged), everyone is extremely respectful of you (personally and health wise), and the weather is fantastic. What’s not to like? Maybe our family and friends are thousands and thousands of miles away. But there is always zoom! Love to all!