... and the City

So, there's been a lot in the press lately about Abu Dhabi. First off, yes it is true that you can buy a gold bar from a vending machine in the Emirates Palace Hotel. I haven't yet seen said vending machine, but I've been to the EP Hotel quite a few times ~ not to stay, of course, but because it also houses art exhibits.

In other news, Sex and the City 2 is being blocked by censors here. Why would this be newsworthy? Well, the movie is set in Abu Dhabi. Originally, it was supposed to be in Dubai, until the script was reviewed, so Abu Dhabi offered itself up as the location, I suppose until they actually read the script. The actual filming was done in Morocco, but the storyline still revolves around Abu Dhabi.

I think it's great that Abu Dhabi is being promoted, but isn't it the wrong kind of advertising? I mean, really... could there be anything less appropriate for this country than a movie like Sex and the City? Via internet, I've watched the preview, and a few selected scenes, and cringed at such things as Carrie saying Abu Dhabi (or just the Middle East) is like Disney's Aladdin "but with cocktails". Umm... what??? I think of many things when I think of Abu Dhabi... "cocktails" is certainly not one of them! [errr, not technically true, as Abu Dhabi is where we go to buy alcohol in regulated shops with our government approved liquor license. Actually, Abu Dhabi also makes me think of "tofu", "fresh tortellini" and "that special cat food we have to get for Sonagi so that she doesn't puke on the bed every day"]

Or a scene where she's walking in a spice souq in "Old Abu Dhabi"~ it's quite obvious that the producers or whoever just went through the script with a red pen and crossed out "Dubai" to replace it with "Abu Dhabi". If you want to wander the alleys of a spice souq in an old city, you'd better hope that you're actually in Dubai (or, um, Morocco....).

Actually, speaking of the spice souq reminds me that we still have to talk about what we did with Madeleine and Bruno - if not only so that you can see that the UAE does have fun things to do that won't be on the movie screen!

I had taken a few days off work so that we could all spend some time together in Dubai, so we headed up there for a quick visit.

Our first adventure was to Ski Dubai, the indoor ski hill attached to the Mall of the Emirates, where Bruno, Madeleine and Ty hit the slopes. It was the first time we'd actually gone closer to the place than just looking through the window, and it was a real treat.

Ty -  The slopes at ski Dubai were really good (speaking from my mountains of experience of course). Having only gone snowboarding once in Korea it took me a while to get kitted up, and then even longer at the little practice slope trying to get the feel for it again, while Bruno and Madeleine had already made a couple rounds.

They came down and convinced me I’d be fine up on the slope that looked much bigger, and steeper from the bottom than I thought I could handle.

But after a few false starts, I was zooming down the slopes and spent far less time on my bum than the last time I’d tried this in Korea (but as much time trying not to kill myself by going way to fast). I REALLY do love snowboarding.

I think I actually enjoyed it more at Ski Dubai even though the slope isn’t that long – about 500m compared to the 4 or 5 km ones I went down in Korea. The reason is that the snow was nice and powdery, not all icy, and also there were very few people on the slopes… one point I looked down from the top and had the entire thing to myself.

 

It was quite a surreal experience stepping out of that snowy land and straight into the luxury of the Mall of the Emirates, and then stepping from that into the desert heat outside, before heading to the hotel apartments just of of Dubai Creek (the same place we stayed with Virginia’s mom.

From the hotel we headed, of course, to the souq, followed by supper overlooking the Dubai Creek. At the souq, we went straight to this one place, where the shop owner knows us (it's probably rare for them to have a return customer!), and is more than happy to let us take our time demolishing his store as we unfold every single pashmina... and he's happy to give us good deals too.

 

We went over to the spice souq, but most of the shops were closing up for the evening, so we headed back the next day, with both Ty and Bruno tasting and smelling everything.

We stopped quickly at a small museum with a courtyard where you can relax with tea and coffee, and which seems worlds away from the chaos of the narrow, winding streets of the old town.

 

  

Heading out of town, we decided to take Bruno and Madeleine to the Atlantis Hotel on the end of the Palm Jumeirah island. Arriving there, we were quite disappointed to learn that the big aquarium was no longer free, and you had to pay to get in! A brief discussion revealed that we'd all rather spend the money on ice cream, which we did.

We arrived back in Madinat Zayed in the early evening and the thought crossed our mind that we weren't quite sure that there would be enough for them to do in such a small town for 4 days... however, the best was yet to come.

And The Bride Wore...

I finally got to go to an Emirati wedding!

I've been invited to a few but didn't really want to go until I actually knew the people getting married. I guess it's a bit weird (from a UAE standpoint, anyway), since everyone gets invited and a few people were baffled as to why I wouldn't want to attend the wedding of a total stranger.

Anyway, the bride was one of the ladies I work with at one of my schools. She is Emirati, from a good family, and quite possibly one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen in my life ... one of those ultra rare people who just looks like an actress, or some visitor from a planet of pretty people. The best thing about her, though, is that she is also very nice. She's the type to link arms with you in the hallway, or say something funny. She's also a brilliant teacher and, as a very wealthy Emirati who is still working as an independent woman (perhaps not anymore, now that she's married), she was also a great role model for the students. Most of the teachers here are from Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and the Emiratis don't tend to stick around in teaching -- it's a demanding job that doesn't pay as well as some of the civil servant posts they can get instead.

When I heard she was leaving school to get married, I knew that this would be "the" wedding to attend.

I went with two other teachers to the wedding, dressed to the nines in a purple caftan with gold embroidery (really, I kid you not). I spent somewhere in the neighbourhood of 45 minutes on my makeup, since I knew that everyone would be super glam.

We arrived at the wedding hall, which was enormous, and set up with about a billion tables, each absolutely full of gold plates. The focal point of the room was a big stage/runway set up, where a woman sang loudly in Arabic, while 2 20-something girls in long tight dresses and jingle belts danced traditional dances (like the hair dance, the camel dance, and a bit of belly dancing -- but in long sleeves and high necks, no bare midriffs here!). The music was louder than a nightclub, with each of us shouting directly into each other's ears to be heard.

Within seconds, the wait staff (an army that possibly out-numbered the guests) had us seated and served with coffee, water, juice and tea in gold-rimmed glasses. We also had our appetizers, a plate of some kind of weird jelly thing, bread, and 3 kinds of chocolates, with custom labels. I learned that the point of the evening was to eat and drink, watch the stage entertainment and wait for the bride.

In one corner, a big projection screen showed a non-stop loop of perfumes in glass and pearl bottles, and close-ups of jewellery -- large pendants, diamond earrings, a row of watches in their silk-lined boxes. These were, I learned, the bride's gifts, set up in display cases and filmed for our benefit (at some weddings, all the gifts are on display, and you walk around and look at them). Anyway, her gift room looked like the inside of a jewellery shop. The teacher I was with told me that this was one of the most luxurious weddings she'd ever been to --as both families are rather important.

As we were in the women's section, it was a great chance to see everyone without their abayas and sheylas, and all dressed to the nines. It seemed that everyone had gone to the salon that day and had their hair and makeup done. Dresses were absolute dream creations - everyone from the smallest 5 year old to the oldest woman looked like a princess. Most of the dresses would have been custom made, so nobody needed to suffer the embarrassment of showing up with the same dress as her cousin. I sat with other staff from the school, and realized that, in some cases I was seeing my co-workers' hair for the first time - very few women were veiled or in hijab. Even if the non-Emirati style was more subdued (and what you'd expect to wear yourself to a wedding), everyone had cracked open the makeup case for the evening...

The teenagers were taking turns getting up on the runway and dancing their way up and down it. Each one of them was dressed as if for prom or, say, the Oscars. It was a very glittery night.

The wait staff came through, removing our plates of appetizers and filling the table with plates of rice with herbs and spices, a plate of curry, a rather strange glob of grey slop (errrr harish? or something -- wheat boiled with chicken broth), and a large platter of meat. The meat was, of course, camel. I knew that Ty would never forgive me if I didn't at least taste it, so I held my plate out for a slab (by the way, it's stringy). After that, we got plates of dessert, more coffee, more tea, hibiscus juice, and the tables were cleared, and two ladies came to every table with a selection of perfumes to try.

As everyone checked their watches, the teenagers started up their dances again, and everyone turned their chairs so that they could be ready for the bride's entrance. At midnight, a voice over the loud speaker began reading a poem for the bride. And finally, the double doors of the hall opened, and she entered, led by her brother.

Her dress was an amazing concoction of strings of crystals and frothy tulle that looked like it had been sewn right onto her body. And I think that sucker was heavy too -- she took two mincing steps at a time, at which point two Asian ladies in black suits pulled her hem forward and arranged her long sparkly train. Then, another two steps, and then another arrangement, and so on, until she was finally up on the runway and walking towards the back of the stage. It took her about 15 minutes to get from the door to the end of the stage, at which point her brother, obviously not wanting to be the only man in the room, sat her on a beautiful white couch, and walked briskly back to the exit (which only took him about 15 seconds....).

But, it wasn't over yet. She now had to stand up and, taking mincing steps, walk all the way up and down the runway (another 10 minutes), waving and smiling and kissing as her helpers arranged and shifted the hem and the train with each step. Installed back on the couch on the stage, we had a chance to go up and hug and kiss her (and of course, I wanted to see her dress up close....) and wish her good luck, before heading home.

You know, you hear all about brides being "princesses" on their wedding day, but this was really the truth. My friend was absolutely beautiful in her gorgeous dress.... and it was truly something to be seen in real life. I'm so glad that I got to see one of these lavish weddings -- and am doubly glad that it was someone I actually knew.

CELTA, WOMAD and more

Things are very busy this side and have been for a while. About a month ago I finished up with my CELTA, managing to get a Pass B grade, which is a pass with distinction. The course was an incredible experience, too little sleep or proper food, 4 hours of driving a day, but well worth every moment. It’s very practical, with a chance to use the new theory immediately each week, as we taught classes of paying adults during the course.

I’ve come out of the CELTA feeling like a new person, and comfortable handling a class of adults well. Along the way I made good friends, both with trainees and with a few students. AND this coming week I have an interview with the British Council in Abu Dhabi. Hold thumbs.

In the interim we’ve had Madeleine and Bruno over from Germany for a week, arriving at the end of our second Abu Dhabi WOMAD experience.

Thursday, 22 April we made our way through to Abu Dhabi after Virginia finished up at work, booked into the Novotel, and headed out for the Corniche, where the flags were once again flying and WOMAD would again be held.

Overall, of the three nights, I enjoyed this one the most, particularly for the African flair of the evening. The night opened with a wonderful fireworks display, followed by the Drummers of Burundi, a mainstay of WOMAD since it began in 1982, who set the scene with their magical, and brutal drumming. The Zawose Family from Tanzania followed, with more drumming and tribal dancing, and the added touch of having gathered and coached school children from Abu Dhabi to appear (fairly) seamlessly on stage with them after only 2 weeks preparation.

Later Le Trio Joubran, from Palestine, played traditional oud music with flamenco like flair,and an exceedingly fun French ska group had people up on their feet clapping, dancing and laughing to circus-like music.

On the Friday we slept in a bit, lounged around a bit, then took advantage of the beautiful weather and made the hour long walk along Corniche, stopping  along the way at our favourite restaurant, which is surrounded by fountains and is just across from the beach.

It turned out to be a more social night. One of the CELTA students I’d become friends with, Salam, who is from Syria, joined us at the start of the evening. We also met up with Grant and Diane, and bumped into many folks from MZ.

Two groups were pretty, enjoyable, Trans-Global Underground who were a random mash-up of sounds from all over the world, including  Western, African and Asian music styles, African drums, meet Latina dancing and singing, meet rap style chant, meet the most beautiful sitar (I’ve been trying to convince V to play the sitar since). And somehow it all blended and worked together.

We were then in for Sierra Maestra, a Cuban ensemble from Havana, which had Salam, Virginia and I dancing, and Virginia reminiscing nostalgically about her trip to Cuba.

Early Saturday morning Madeleine and Bruno arrived and booked into the hotel.  After catching up on sleep, we took them to the Emirate’s Palace.

We wondered around, had a look at the models of the development happening on Saadiyat Island (i.e. the new Louvre and Guggenheim museums etc.) and looked around the Embroidery exhibition (which was the highlight of Bruno’s trip) The afternoon was topped off by extravagant coffees… Madeleine and I opted for the camel-milk cappuccino, while Virginia got the gold leaf sprinkled one! (which left the rest of us with digestive tract related questions involving sparkles; which unfortunately remain unanswered).

That evening it was back to WOMAD. Now our group numbered five, Salam having joined us again.Musically it was a bit of a strange evening, as headliner Damian Marley (youngest son of Bob Marley) fell ill and cancelled, leaving a scattering of disappointed dreadlocked fans, wondering around aimlessly, perhaps looking for something to ease the pain.

It was also extremely sand-stormy, so after watching a few groups, tummies full of shwarmas, ears full of beach, we headed to the more sheltered workshop tent, where we were in for a treat.

On the first night we’d heard the group, Hanggai, and although we hadn’t seen them live as we were at the opposite stage, I’d decided to buy the CD immediately. The workshop in the tent was being held by them, a Chinese group from the province Inner Mongolia.

The tent obviously was a far more intimate setting with us all watching and listening while lounging on beanbags. They turned out to be fantastic, mixing traditional Mongolian throat singing and a more modern rock feel. By the end we were all on our feet asking for more, and when they finally left, it was to a standing ovation.

 

The evening was unexpectedly topped off when Salam offered to take us sightseeing in Abu Dhabi, which we’ve never had the chance to do at night. We went past the Emirate’s Palace again, and then around the back of the marina, where we had wonderful views of the skyline and bay, and then were taken on a tour of the dock and shipping yard where Salam works.

We were all more than ready for bed when we came walking into the hotel at two that morning, especially as we’d be taking Bruno and Madeleine on the whirlwind tour of Dubai later that day.

Madeleine and Bruno in the UAE

Just a few photos to show how much fun we all had with Madeleine and Bruno here for a week...

We went to WOMAD in Abu Dhabi

We went to Ski Dubai

We went to the Dubai Creek

We all saw lots of camels

We all enjoyed the dunes of the Empty Quarter (but especially Bruno)

There will be detailed blogs about all of this... and more... in the next week.