The Beginning of an Adventure
January 11, 2010
So I made it safely to Dubai, United Arab Emirates after two long plane rides and a long layover in snowy Amsterdam. I have decided that I would rather have the flu than jet lag after three days in the country...Okay maybe not, but jet lag is awful. My body is pretty darn confused about when it is supposed to be asleep and when it is supposed to be functioning. Im slowly recovering though. I got two hours of sleep two nights ago and four last night so tonight should be atleast a solid six right?
I am two days into my internship with MESA Design, Dubai. A landscape architecture firm based out of Dallas, TX. It has proven to be just what I expected with so many large projects going on in this area of the world. There are a lot of exciting things happening in the construction/development world here in the United Arab Emirates. The MESA office in Dubai is just a couple of years old with only two landscape architects in the office full time. I am excited for the rest of the semester working with MESA. (Check out their website at mesadesigngroup.com.)
Dubai is a very interesting place. There are so many cultures and nations represented here that you could think it were the Olympics or something. It is fascinating to see all the different kinds of people and how they dress, act, talk, eat, and so many other things. Only about 15% of the population of Dubai are actually local Emirates. It is very such a powerful thing to think that God does not just exist in the good ole state of Louisiana or even the great American South, but that He exists here and everywhere. He created all of these different people and loves them all very much. It is a humbling experience to be around different religions and faiths. What a mighty God we serve!!
The next task is to decide where I will play my first of many rounds of golf here in Dubai!
More to come!
To God Be The Glory!
I am two days into my internship with MESA Design, Dubai. A landscape architecture firm based out of Dallas, TX. It has proven to be just what I expected with so many large projects going on in this area of the world. There are a lot of exciting things happening in the construction/development world here in the United Arab Emirates. The MESA office in Dubai is just a couple of years old with only two landscape architects in the office full time. I am excited for the rest of the semester working with MESA. (Check out their website at mesadesigngroup.com.)
Dubai is a very interesting place. There are so many cultures and nations represented here that you could think it were the Olympics or something. It is fascinating to see all the different kinds of people and how they dress, act, talk, eat, and so many other things. Only about 15% of the population of Dubai are actually local Emirates. It is very such a powerful thing to think that God does not just exist in the good ole state of Louisiana or even the great American South, but that He exists here and everywhere. He created all of these different people and loves them all very much. It is a humbling experience to be around different religions and faiths. What a mighty God we serve!!
The next task is to decide where I will play my first of many rounds of golf here in Dubai!
More to come!
To God Be The Glory!
The Adventure Continues
January 15, 2010
So I made it through my first week of work with MESA Design and am very excited about my internship with them this semester. Yesterday I sat in on a meeting discussing a very large development project in Tangiers, Morocco called Qatari Diar’s Al Houra Luxury Golf Resort. (http://blog.luxuryproperty.com/luxury-golf-resort-course-design-graham-marsh-vijay-sing/) It is designed by Vijay Singh and Graham Marsh and covers over 600 acres of seafront land. It is so exciting to see the development and bidding process of projects such as this. I will continue to post updates on the projects we are working on in this region.
Wednesday night I went with a group of students from the American University of Sharjah (http://www.aus.edu/) to "Global Village" which is like a seasonal fair here in Dubai where there are large areas that spotlight the countries of the world. Each nations area has locals from that country selling goods and food from that nation and maybe some cultural performances to go along with it. It was such a great experience to see the different cultures and people all in one place. It is like a flee market but with a fair like setting with rides and food booths everywhere.
(http://www.globalvillage.ae/Home.aspx)
Last night I went with some of the same students, with some extra exchange students, to the Dubai mall and the Burj Khalifa. The Dubai mall is the largest in the world and has a two story fish tank, ice rink, and 1200 stores inside. We walked all around that place and still didn't see nearly half of it. I will have to go back for sure. The world's largest candy story, candilicious, was also in that mall and was amazing to see. Right outside the mall between the mall and the Burj Khalifa is a huge pool with fountains in it and every 20 minutes there is a water show with the fountains sychronized to the song playing in the very large plaza space. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I told the students I was with that I was going to bring a lawn chair and watch all the songs and all the shows for the whole day... They said, "what's a lawn chair." Anyways, The mall and fountains are at the base of the Burj Khalifa which is the tallest building in the world. It was called the Burj Dubai until just a couple weeks ago when they had to name it after the Sheik of the neighboring Emirates(Sheik Khalifa) because he helped pay for the 'unexpected' costs towards the end of the project. Dubai might have spent a little more than they had on that one.
I just got back from a trip out to the tip of the "Palm Islands" to see the Atlantis hotel and resort. The Palm Islands are man-made islands that are very up-scale living. You can drive to the tip of the palm tree to where the Atlantis Hotel is (which has a Cold Stone Creamery by the way) but you can't drive out on the palms as those are private residences.
It has been very interesting to learn about the Muslim culture here. There are so many things that seem so strange to me but it is so common to them. I had the chance to meet a local Emiratee in the Dubai Mall last night named 'Saleh' he was so pleasant to talk to and we had such a great time talking about our different cultures and ways of life.
More Soon.
To God Be The Glory!
Wednesday night I went with a group of students from the American University of Sharjah (http://www.aus.edu/) to "Global Village" which is like a seasonal fair here in Dubai where there are large areas that spotlight the countries of the world. Each nations area has locals from that country selling goods and food from that nation and maybe some cultural performances to go along with it. It was such a great experience to see the different cultures and people all in one place. It is like a flee market but with a fair like setting with rides and food booths everywhere.
(http://www.globalvillage.ae/Home.aspx)
Last night I went with some of the same students, with some extra exchange students, to the Dubai mall and the Burj Khalifa. The Dubai mall is the largest in the world and has a two story fish tank, ice rink, and 1200 stores inside. We walked all around that place and still didn't see nearly half of it. I will have to go back for sure. The world's largest candy story, candilicious, was also in that mall and was amazing to see. Right outside the mall between the mall and the Burj Khalifa is a huge pool with fountains in it and every 20 minutes there is a water show with the fountains sychronized to the song playing in the very large plaza space. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I told the students I was with that I was going to bring a lawn chair and watch all the songs and all the shows for the whole day... They said, "what's a lawn chair." Anyways, The mall and fountains are at the base of the Burj Khalifa which is the tallest building in the world. It was called the Burj Dubai until just a couple weeks ago when they had to name it after the Sheik of the neighboring Emirates(Sheik Khalifa) because he helped pay for the 'unexpected' costs towards the end of the project. Dubai might have spent a little more than they had on that one.
I just got back from a trip out to the tip of the "Palm Islands" to see the Atlantis hotel and resort. The Palm Islands are man-made islands that are very up-scale living. You can drive to the tip of the palm tree to where the Atlantis Hotel is (which has a Cold Stone Creamery by the way) but you can't drive out on the palms as those are private residences.
It has been very interesting to learn about the Muslim culture here. There are so many things that seem so strange to me but it is so common to them. I had the chance to meet a local Emiratee in the Dubai Mall last night named 'Saleh' he was so pleasant to talk to and we had such a great time talking about our different cultures and ways of life.
More Soon.
To God Be The Glory!
Arif the Doorman...
January 18, 2010
The office I work in is in the Crown Plaza Hotel in downtown Dubai and one of the doorman for the elevators on the office side of the hotel is named Arif (pronounced "oddreef") from Iran. I introduced myself to him one day last week because of his big smile everytime I would approach or get out of the elevator. We talked for a little while that day but everyday since then he always says "Hello Mister Ross" when he sees me in the lobby. Not only that, but all the other doormen say the same thing when they see me. Arif obviously told them my name and so almost everytime I am in the lobby I get a nice greating a point from the doorman. What the other people in the lobby don't know is that I am not the owner of the Crown Plaza that these kind men make me out to be, but instead a lowly intern from the U.S. Either way, I really enjoy greeting the doormen everyday.
The license plate system in Dubai is quite interesting. Supposedly the lower the number the more powerful the driver. There are lots of very nice cars here as you can imagine and I have started noticing license plate numbers after hearing about the classifications. Most plates have 5-6 numbers in them and Sheikh Mohammed (the president of Dubai) has number "1." Yesterday we pulled up beside a red ferrari with license plate 125 which was pretty cool. And walking home from the bus stop today I saw plate number "83" parked on our street. I've been told that people pay $100,000's of dollars for license plates that are 'cooler' like all of the same number or lots of zeros. Anyway, it has become interesting to watch for low numbered license plates.
Pedestrians do not have the right-of-way in Dubai by the way. If you have to cross the street you had better look both ways and be careful because if a cars is coming, it is probably coming fast. Excessive speeds and honking horns are also very common here. With my aunt Joanne's help I have tried to discover the best bus route for my travels to and from work. This morning bus 88 flew right by my stop while I was standing there so, needless to say, I missed it. On the way home I rode the right buses but traffic causes the trip home to be about an hour so the metro rail might be a better option to try out in the next few days.
Saturday night I went with some new friends to a little cafe on the other side of town to have crepes. The best part of the cafe was the fact that the visitors can write on the walls. So I wrote, "Geaux Tigers" and "LSU" on the wall several
times for the next visiting Tiger to see. (Side Note* The ketchup tastes different here so I am learning to eat french fries with salt and pepper only.)
Well this weekend is the Dubai marathon so we are planning to walk out to Beach Road to watch the runners go by on Friday morning and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship is this weekend while the Dubai Desert Classice Golf Tournament is the next weekend so Im sure I will be attending one or both of those.
I think that's all for today.
More soon.
To God Be The Glory!
The license plate system in Dubai is quite interesting. Supposedly the lower the number the more powerful the driver. There are lots of very nice cars here as you can imagine and I have started noticing license plate numbers after hearing about the classifications. Most plates have 5-6 numbers in them and Sheikh Mohammed (the president of Dubai) has number "1." Yesterday we pulled up beside a red ferrari with license plate 125 which was pretty cool. And walking home from the bus stop today I saw plate number "83" parked on our street. I've been told that people pay $100,000's of dollars for license plates that are 'cooler' like all of the same number or lots of zeros. Anyway, it has become interesting to watch for low numbered license plates.
Pedestrians do not have the right-of-way in Dubai by the way. If you have to cross the street you had better look both ways and be careful because if a cars is coming, it is probably coming fast. Excessive speeds and honking horns are also very common here. With my aunt Joanne's help I have tried to discover the best bus route for my travels to and from work. This morning bus 88 flew right by my stop while I was standing there so, needless to say, I missed it. On the way home I rode the right buses but traffic causes the trip home to be about an hour so the metro rail might be a better option to try out in the next few days.
Saturday night I went with some new friends to a little cafe on the other side of town to have crepes. The best part of the cafe was the fact that the visitors can write on the walls. So I wrote, "Geaux Tigers" and "LSU" on the wall several
times for the next visiting Tiger to see. (Side Note* The ketchup tastes different here so I am learning to eat french fries with salt and pepper only.)
Well this weekend is the Dubai marathon so we are planning to walk out to Beach Road to watch the runners go by on Friday morning and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship is this weekend while the Dubai Desert Classice Golf Tournament is the next weekend so Im sure I will be attending one or both of those.
I think that's all for today.
More soon.
To God Be The Glory!
$.50 for a coke
January 22, 2010
There is a small grocery store in the hotel lobby of the Crown Plaza where I work and almost everyday around mid-afternoon I take a little break to go buy a Diet Coke and a Snickers Ice Cream bar. I know neither are good for me, but it costs me dhs 2 (or about $.50) for both. I think the lady that works the register everyday has begun to expect me.
During my time in Dubai I am living with my extended family, The Parks, who have lived here in Dubai for several years now and know all the great 'spots.' This past week they took me to "Pink Berry" in the Mall of the Emirates which is a frozen yogurt shop that is quite tasty. You pick your flavor of frozen yogurt (I mixed pomegranate and vanilla) and then you choose what fresh fruit or other toppings to put on top. It is really good and good for you. How's that for dessert? Also connected to the Mall of the Emirates is the Ski Dubai indoor ski slope. It is really amazing that they have created this environment in the middle of the desert where there is snow on the ground and it is freezing cold inside. It was fun to watch the skiers come down the slopes from inside the mall. It was like we were looking into a giant snow globe or something.
I think I have finally found the best way to get to work. I walk to the bus stop, get on bus "F16," ride the bus to the Metro station by the Burj Khalefa, then ride the Dubai Metro one stop down within walking distance of work. It is a great people-watching opportunity and is a very nice ride considering both the bus system and metro system are brand new to Dubai. I am learning the proper way to use public transportation in another country. The reason I missed the bus early this week was because I didn't raise my hand to let the driver know I needed him to stop. I now raise my arm everytime.
Just so you know, there are other LSU fans in this part of the world. I met another LSU student in the mall this past week that is here studying abroad at the American University of Sharjah. It was so exciting to get to talk about our home on the other side of the world. This morning we got up early to walk down to Beach road to watch the Dubai Marathon and one of the runners saw my LSU pullover and yelled out "Geaux Tigers." It was really exciting and we both had huge smiles on our faces after our quick exchange.
Work is going great still. It is really busy and there is a lot going on in the office everyday. This past week the new server arrived and we had a little trouble setting it up, which started when all the power went off in the room when we plugged it in. We blew a fuse in our corner of the building and realized that the power of the server was a little overwhelming for the small outlet in our small Crown Plaza office. We are up and running now with a more permanent setup expected when the new computers arrive in a week or two.
Thanks for reading.
More soon.
To God Be The Glory!
During my time in Dubai I am living with my extended family, The Parks, who have lived here in Dubai for several years now and know all the great 'spots.' This past week they took me to "Pink Berry" in the Mall of the Emirates which is a frozen yogurt shop that is quite tasty. You pick your flavor of frozen yogurt (I mixed pomegranate and vanilla) and then you choose what fresh fruit or other toppings to put on top. It is really good and good for you. How's that for dessert? Also connected to the Mall of the Emirates is the Ski Dubai indoor ski slope. It is really amazing that they have created this environment in the middle of the desert where there is snow on the ground and it is freezing cold inside. It was fun to watch the skiers come down the slopes from inside the mall. It was like we were looking into a giant snow globe or something.
I think I have finally found the best way to get to work. I walk to the bus stop, get on bus "F16," ride the bus to the Metro station by the Burj Khalefa, then ride the Dubai Metro one stop down within walking distance of work. It is a great people-watching opportunity and is a very nice ride considering both the bus system and metro system are brand new to Dubai. I am learning the proper way to use public transportation in another country. The reason I missed the bus early this week was because I didn't raise my hand to let the driver know I needed him to stop. I now raise my arm everytime.
Just so you know, there are other LSU fans in this part of the world. I met another LSU student in the mall this past week that is here studying abroad at the American University of Sharjah. It was so exciting to get to talk about our home on the other side of the world. This morning we got up early to walk down to Beach road to watch the Dubai Marathon and one of the runners saw my LSU pullover and yelled out "Geaux Tigers." It was really exciting and we both had huge smiles on our faces after our quick exchange.
Work is going great still. It is really busy and there is a lot going on in the office everyday. This past week the new server arrived and we had a little trouble setting it up, which started when all the power went off in the room when we plugged it in. We blew a fuse in our corner of the building and realized that the power of the server was a little overwhelming for the small outlet in our small Crown Plaza office. We are up and running now with a more permanent setup expected when the new computers arrive in a week or two.
Thanks for reading.
More soon.
To God Be The Glory!
Bur Dubai
January 25, 2010
This past Saturday I decided to take the bus and metro to Bur Dubai which is the old part of Dubai when it was a small fishing village years ago. It is a great place to experience the history and culture of the Arabian Gulf and the Emirates. I got on the metro at my normal spot by Burj Khalefa and rode it to the intersection of the red and green metro lines so that I could hop on the green line to get to Bur Dubai. When I got off the metro at “Khalid Bin Al Waleed” stop I quickly found out that the green line was non-existent. It isn’t built yet but happens to appear on the map in the metro station. (They should put a little asterisk next to the stops that aren’t open yet.) So I set off on foot for Bur Dubai thinking it surely couldn’t be that bad of a walk. So a little over two miles and 45 minutes later I arrived at the Architecture of the U.A.E. museum in Bur Dubai. After touring one of the earliest buildings of Dubai I rode a taxi bus (boat) up the creek a little ways to get to one of Dubai’s oldest Souks. (A souk is basically an open-air market in an Arab city.) You can buy a plethora of different things in the little shops including spices, clothes, dishes, and lots of rice. The only thing I bought this trip was 10durhams worth of dehydrated hibiscus flowers to make hibiscus tea. One of the souks of Bur Dubai is the ‘Gold Souk’ which is a market place that has store after store of gold jewelry and accessories. As I walked past the stores men would start walking beside me asking if I needed a “Rolex watch or Lacoste shirt for cheap.” I decided to pass on the fake watches and shirts and just leave with my hibiscus. Maybe next time I’ll splurge. I ended up walking the same distance back to a different metro station farther from home so I could see the life of the shipping industry of the Arabian Peninsula. The main form of carrying cargo is dhows which are traditional sailing vessels of the area. The dhows carry cargo from the Persian Gulf to areas like East Africa. All along the docks there are goods stacked waiting to be loaded on the dhows and workers loading everything by hand, packing the dhows to the brim with cargo. Overall, Bur Dubai was a great experience and nothing like what the travel channel tells the world of Dubai.
Saturday night we had “try new exotic fruit night” at the Parks’ house. I was the only one trying for the first time so we had passion fruit, lychee, and mangosteen. All were very tasty but passion fruit was my favorite. I’m not sure where these would be sold in the U.S. but I doubt Walmart has them. You never know though.
Last night I went to the ‘Address’ hotel pool deck with the guys from work. The ‘Address’ hotel is next door to the Burj Khalefa and overlooks the fountain show outside Dubai Mall. It was really an amazing space. The pool, pool bar and the restaurants, all with awesome landscaping were really impressive. While we were out there one of the guys from work made a phone call and we ended up getting to go in the control room of the fountain. The Dubai Fountain is the largest in the world and supposedly you can see the lights from space during the water shows. They guy operating the fountains showed us the equipment and told us about the construction and maintenance of the fountains. It is twice the size of the fountain at the Bellagio in Vegas and every 20 minutes starting at 7pm there is a water show that is choreographed to music from all around the world. Believe it or not, the most requested and favorite show of the locals here who are Muslim is an African chant that is a Christian song written by an African.
They obviously don’t know what the words mean but we will let them keep dancing and singing to a Christian song.
That’s all for now, except I thought you might like to know that I saw license plate 19 (see earlier post about license plate numbers) this morning…on a bright pink Cadillac Escalade.
Thank you for keeping up with my adventures in Dubai. I hope you are enjoying the blog and I hope you are doing well wherever you are.
To God Be The Glory!
Saturday night we had “try new exotic fruit night” at the Parks’ house. I was the only one trying for the first time so we had passion fruit, lychee, and mangosteen. All were very tasty but passion fruit was my favorite. I’m not sure where these would be sold in the U.S. but I doubt Walmart has them. You never know though.
Last night I went to the ‘Address’ hotel pool deck with the guys from work. The ‘Address’ hotel is next door to the Burj Khalefa and overlooks the fountain show outside Dubai Mall. It was really an amazing space. The pool, pool bar and the restaurants, all with awesome landscaping were really impressive. While we were out there one of the guys from work made a phone call and we ended up getting to go in the control room of the fountain. The Dubai Fountain is the largest in the world and supposedly you can see the lights from space during the water shows. They guy operating the fountains showed us the equipment and told us about the construction and maintenance of the fountains. It is twice the size of the fountain at the Bellagio in Vegas and every 20 minutes starting at 7pm there is a water show that is choreographed to music from all around the world. Believe it or not, the most requested and favorite show of the locals here who are Muslim is an African chant that is a Christian song written by an African.
They obviously don’t know what the words mean but we will let them keep dancing and singing to a Christian song.
That’s all for now, except I thought you might like to know that I saw license plate 19 (see earlier post about license plate numbers) this morning…on a bright pink Cadillac Escalade.
Thank you for keeping up with my adventures in Dubai. I hope you are enjoying the blog and I hope you are doing well wherever you are.
To God Be The Glory!
At the Top
February 5, 2010
Well this past Wednesday night I went with a group of 12 students and friends to the top of Burj Dubai. Well maybe not the top but close. It is the tallest viewing platform in the world in the tallest building in the world. It was quite spectacular after the initial uneasy feeling of stepping all the way up to the window. We went in the evening after the sun had already set so we saw the city lights and the fountain show from above. We rode the fastest elevator in the world to the floor designated for visitor viewing called "At The Top" and the 90 second elevator ride was surprisingly smooth even though my ears were popping the whole way up due to change in altitude pressure. The view was really amazing and getting to learn about the architecture and construction of the Burj Dubai (Also known as Burj Khalifa) was really fascinating. It's definately something you have to see to believe.
Last weekend my Uncle Brian and I went to pick up my cousins from their campout way out in the desert. I think we stopped for camels in the street twice and passed about 5 other cars on the road. A good bit of our travel, however, was spent off- road climbing sand dunes and riding across the dry dessert. We even did a little 'dune bashing' while we were out there which is basically a rollercoaster ride with no track. We were climbing some of the biggest dunes ive ever seen while trying not to get stuck in the sand. It's pretty scary to get to the top of a dune and suddenly plunge off the other side not knowing what you will see once the nose of the Land Cruiser meets the horizon again. There were a couple times where all I saw was blue sky and I felt certain we were about to fall off the Earth. It was really a fun ride ride adventure!
That same weekend I went to the Madinat Jumeirah which is probably on my top-3 favorite spots so far in Dubai. The Madinat is an Arabian styled resort located just down the beach from the world famous Burj Al Arab. The hotels, villas, and restaurants are all situated around the central Paris-like water way and the Arabian style souk, or shopping district. It is really an awesome place to see and experience and is very well kept and designed. There are lots of great restaurants on the water that serve candle-lit dinner late into the night. (By the way, dinner here takes place around 9 or 10pm and sometimes even later than that. Lunch usually happens around 3 or 4pm after everyone wakes up from their afternoon nap.)
Speaking of restaurants, there are so many differences in eating out here compared to the U.S. Here you have to let the waitor or waitress know when you are ready to order your drink, then your meal and then you have to call them over to tell them you are ready for your check. Im convinced that they would let you sit there all night if you never asked for anything. Im not quite sure how tipping works here either. There is a service charge on the bill that is automatically added but it is hardly anything. I have been leaving a little more tip just to be on the safe side. I ate lunch at Chili's down the street from our office the other day and asked if they had sweet tea. When the waitor said yes I was so excited...up until he brought me hot tea with sugar water on the side. Slight misunderstanding but I still drank it.
Speaking of tea, It is custom here for there to be a tea boy in the offices and places of business that makes tea for meetings and other gatherings. Tea is served for a lot of social events here and there is actually an appointed tea boy. In our office Binod is the tea boy and he makes a mean tea with sugar. Almost every morning he comes in the office soon after we arrive and we place our order for a cup of hot tea. He takes real pride in being able to serve us tea and I have really enjoyed having it in the mornings. Maybe when it gets really hot outside I can ask Binod to serve it over ice with a slice of lemon...
We were invited for dinner to an Iranian couples home this past week so the Parks family and I all went. Dinner was served about 9pm and it was all traditional Iranian food. All of it was quite delicious and the fellowship with our Iranian friends was such an awesome experience. It has been such a priveledge to get to experience new cultures and ways of life since I've been here. My first reaction to the way other people interact or eat or do anything is "oh they're doing it wrong," when it's not wrong, its just different.
Well church was this morning at Redeemer Church of Dubai which is a brand new church that has just started meeting in a hotel downtown. The Parks family is part of a wonderful group of people that have decided to start this new church and it has really been exciting to see what God is doing here in Dubai and I look forward to being a part of the first few months of Redeemer Church.
I think that's enough for now. We are going to the Dubai Desert Classic Golf tournament tomorrow so Ill let you know how it is in a few days.
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
To God Be The Glory!
Last weekend my Uncle Brian and I went to pick up my cousins from their campout way out in the desert. I think we stopped for camels in the street twice and passed about 5 other cars on the road. A good bit of our travel, however, was spent off- road climbing sand dunes and riding across the dry dessert. We even did a little 'dune bashing' while we were out there which is basically a rollercoaster ride with no track. We were climbing some of the biggest dunes ive ever seen while trying not to get stuck in the sand. It's pretty scary to get to the top of a dune and suddenly plunge off the other side not knowing what you will see once the nose of the Land Cruiser meets the horizon again. There were a couple times where all I saw was blue sky and I felt certain we were about to fall off the Earth. It was really a fun ride ride adventure!
That same weekend I went to the Madinat Jumeirah which is probably on my top-3 favorite spots so far in Dubai. The Madinat is an Arabian styled resort located just down the beach from the world famous Burj Al Arab. The hotels, villas, and restaurants are all situated around the central Paris-like water way and the Arabian style souk, or shopping district. It is really an awesome place to see and experience and is very well kept and designed. There are lots of great restaurants on the water that serve candle-lit dinner late into the night. (By the way, dinner here takes place around 9 or 10pm and sometimes even later than that. Lunch usually happens around 3 or 4pm after everyone wakes up from their afternoon nap.)
Speaking of restaurants, there are so many differences in eating out here compared to the U.S. Here you have to let the waitor or waitress know when you are ready to order your drink, then your meal and then you have to call them over to tell them you are ready for your check. Im convinced that they would let you sit there all night if you never asked for anything. Im not quite sure how tipping works here either. There is a service charge on the bill that is automatically added but it is hardly anything. I have been leaving a little more tip just to be on the safe side. I ate lunch at Chili's down the street from our office the other day and asked if they had sweet tea. When the waitor said yes I was so excited...up until he brought me hot tea with sugar water on the side. Slight misunderstanding but I still drank it.
Speaking of tea, It is custom here for there to be a tea boy in the offices and places of business that makes tea for meetings and other gatherings. Tea is served for a lot of social events here and there is actually an appointed tea boy. In our office Binod is the tea boy and he makes a mean tea with sugar. Almost every morning he comes in the office soon after we arrive and we place our order for a cup of hot tea. He takes real pride in being able to serve us tea and I have really enjoyed having it in the mornings. Maybe when it gets really hot outside I can ask Binod to serve it over ice with a slice of lemon...
We were invited for dinner to an Iranian couples home this past week so the Parks family and I all went. Dinner was served about 9pm and it was all traditional Iranian food. All of it was quite delicious and the fellowship with our Iranian friends was such an awesome experience. It has been such a priveledge to get to experience new cultures and ways of life since I've been here. My first reaction to the way other people interact or eat or do anything is "oh they're doing it wrong," when it's not wrong, its just different.
Well church was this morning at Redeemer Church of Dubai which is a brand new church that has just started meeting in a hotel downtown. The Parks family is part of a wonderful group of people that have decided to start this new church and it has really been exciting to see what God is doing here in Dubai and I look forward to being a part of the first few months of Redeemer Church.
I think that's enough for now. We are going to the Dubai Desert Classic Golf tournament tomorrow so Ill let you know how it is in a few days.
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
To God Be The Glory!
Bahrain
February 12, 2010
So last Saturday we spent a full day at the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament at Emirates Golf Club which is a European Tour event but hosted a good bit of big names in golf. Tiger Woods has won their twice before but obviously didn't play this year. One of the most exciting parts of the tournament for me was to see the great Tom Watson playing, rather well, in the tournament. We followed him and his bright red pants, white shirt and blue hat for a good bit of his round watching him play golf as if he were still in his 30s. Thanks to a friend of my Aunt Joanne's we got great tickets to the tournament that included box seats behind the 18th green with a great breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack. I think I might have eaten more than my share of smoked salmon at lunch and chocolate cake that afternoon. Overall we really had a great time at the tournament and a big congratulations to Miguel Angel Jimenez on his victory this year.
Well congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for winning the superbowl! I can't imagine the excitement for the state of Louisiana and how exciting Mardi Gras will be this year. The game started at 330am here so we had a superbowl party with french toast casserole and orange juice before everyone left for work and school. It was really fun to watch the game live even though we were all pretty tired that day. Geaux Saints!
This past Wednesday I took a day trip to Manama, Bahrain which is a country just north of the U.A.E. and is an island only connected to Saudi Arabia by a causeway bridge. The purpose of the trip was to get my visa stamped but I flew out of the Dubai airport at 730am and returned home that evening close to midnight so I got to spend a full day exploring Bahrain. As I sat in the Dubai airport watching the sunrise and listening to the Muslim call to prayer over the loud speaker it was so interesting to see all of the different people that were flying to Bahrain and other nearby countries. A lot of them having their goods to sell all wrapped up in huge bundles trying to convince the airport security that it would for sure fit in the overhead bin. The plane ride to Bahrain was only 45 minutes long and when I arrived in Bahrain the first thing I did after changing my durhams to dinar at the money exchange was walk over to the closest hotel and ask for a map to try to plan out the next 13 hours of my day. I ended up taking a taxi (the driver's ringtone was chimes to 'We wish you a Merry Christmas') to 'The Fort' on the other side of town which is an Arab style fort that dates back to the 15th century and has been preserved for people to come visit. From there I ended up walking back to Manama and just choosing places to see as I walked with map in hand. I went to the marina where all the fishing boats were parked and met the director of the Ministry of Information for the State of Kuwait. His name is Yaser and you would have never guessed he was the director. He was sitting on the edge of the seawall fishing with bread dough and the fishing line wrapped around his hand. He would not let me leave him until he caught a fish for me to take a picture of and sure enough ten minutes later we both got excited as he slowly pulled in his catch which was a fish that was probably the smalles 'keeper' i've ever seen. Let's just say, it would have taken 30 of these fish to feed Yaser and I for lunch. But who am I to say that with one more fish and little bread we could have invited 4,498 more folks for lunch. (John Chapter 6)
So after parting ways with Yaser I made my way to the central market in Manama which is where all of the local growers bring their crops to be sold. Lots of fruits and vegetables and a lot of rice and spices to go along with it. It was really a cool place to experience and the people in there were very friendly to me as visitor. I ended up walking through some of the back alleys of Manama partly by accident but ended up really enjoying getting to see the true culture of the city. I was only truly lost two or three times but it added to the experience.
My day in Bahrain was so much fun and I wish you could have seen me trying to figure out the cost of my lunch while trying to convert Bahrainian dinar to United Arab Emirate durhams then to American dollars. I almost need a calculator.
I had my first experience of a Bollywood film this weekend which was more enjoyable than I would have given it credit for before hand. A Bollywood film is basically a film made in India that has English subtitles and is usually about three hours long. Had I have known it was three hours long I might have visited the snack bar prior but it ended up being pretty good and the funniest parts where when the indian woman next to me was laughing so hard she was crying and I was trying to read the subtitles fast enough to get the joke. I really enjoyed it that she was enjoying it though.
* We saw license plate 5 on the way to the movies. It was a white Rolls Royce and it had a police escort. So far that's the lowest plate ive seen. (see previous post about license plate numbers)
Thank you again for keeping up with me here in Dubai.
To God Be The Glory!
Well congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for winning the superbowl! I can't imagine the excitement for the state of Louisiana and how exciting Mardi Gras will be this year. The game started at 330am here so we had a superbowl party with french toast casserole and orange juice before everyone left for work and school. It was really fun to watch the game live even though we were all pretty tired that day. Geaux Saints!
This past Wednesday I took a day trip to Manama, Bahrain which is a country just north of the U.A.E. and is an island only connected to Saudi Arabia by a causeway bridge. The purpose of the trip was to get my visa stamped but I flew out of the Dubai airport at 730am and returned home that evening close to midnight so I got to spend a full day exploring Bahrain. As I sat in the Dubai airport watching the sunrise and listening to the Muslim call to prayer over the loud speaker it was so interesting to see all of the different people that were flying to Bahrain and other nearby countries. A lot of them having their goods to sell all wrapped up in huge bundles trying to convince the airport security that it would for sure fit in the overhead bin. The plane ride to Bahrain was only 45 minutes long and when I arrived in Bahrain the first thing I did after changing my durhams to dinar at the money exchange was walk over to the closest hotel and ask for a map to try to plan out the next 13 hours of my day. I ended up taking a taxi (the driver's ringtone was chimes to 'We wish you a Merry Christmas') to 'The Fort' on the other side of town which is an Arab style fort that dates back to the 15th century and has been preserved for people to come visit. From there I ended up walking back to Manama and just choosing places to see as I walked with map in hand. I went to the marina where all the fishing boats were parked and met the director of the Ministry of Information for the State of Kuwait. His name is Yaser and you would have never guessed he was the director. He was sitting on the edge of the seawall fishing with bread dough and the fishing line wrapped around his hand. He would not let me leave him until he caught a fish for me to take a picture of and sure enough ten minutes later we both got excited as he slowly pulled in his catch which was a fish that was probably the smalles 'keeper' i've ever seen. Let's just say, it would have taken 30 of these fish to feed Yaser and I for lunch. But who am I to say that with one more fish and little bread we could have invited 4,498 more folks for lunch. (John Chapter 6)
So after parting ways with Yaser I made my way to the central market in Manama which is where all of the local growers bring their crops to be sold. Lots of fruits and vegetables and a lot of rice and spices to go along with it. It was really a cool place to experience and the people in there were very friendly to me as visitor. I ended up walking through some of the back alleys of Manama partly by accident but ended up really enjoying getting to see the true culture of the city. I was only truly lost two or three times but it added to the experience.
My day in Bahrain was so much fun and I wish you could have seen me trying to figure out the cost of my lunch while trying to convert Bahrainian dinar to United Arab Emirate durhams then to American dollars. I almost need a calculator.
I had my first experience of a Bollywood film this weekend which was more enjoyable than I would have given it credit for before hand. A Bollywood film is basically a film made in India that has English subtitles and is usually about three hours long. Had I have known it was three hours long I might have visited the snack bar prior but it ended up being pretty good and the funniest parts where when the indian woman next to me was laughing so hard she was crying and I was trying to read the subtitles fast enough to get the joke. I really enjoyed it that she was enjoying it though.
* We saw license plate 5 on the way to the movies. It was a white Rolls Royce and it had a police escort. So far that's the lowest plate ive seen. (see previous post about license plate numbers)
Thank you again for keeping up with me here in Dubai.
To God Be The Glory!
Abu Dhabi
February 22, 2010
This past weekend Leah (one of my wonderful cousins that has so graciously agreed to having a ''big brother" in the house for the semester) had a basketball tournament in the neighboring Emirate, Abu Dhabi so we drove over for the day. Abu Dhabi is said to someday be the next Dubai because of all the oil that is being found there and although it is far from what Dubai has become there are some big plans for development over the next several decades. Our first stop in Abu Dhabi was the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque which is also known as the 'Grand Mosque' which describes it well. This mosque was absolutely huge. It can accomodate 45,000 people and it is really a remarkable piece of architecture. The majority of the mosque is white marble and there is gold leaf mosaic on the interior walls of the mosque with several massive chandeliers hanging from very tall ceilings. The inside carpet is the largest piece of carpet in the world and it was probably a good solid 6-iron from one end of the room to the other. I definatly pictured a pretty awesome putting contest with my dad on that carpet. Anyways, It was very interesting to learn a little bit about the religion of Islam and the Muslim culture told to us by a Muslim tour guide inside. It was really interesting to me to hear this man be so passionate about something that I have never heard much of and certainly don't believe in. It was almost as if he was telling a fairy tale that he had just made up. He kept comparing Islam to the Christian faith while he was talking. He was a very well educated man from what I could tell but I couldn't help but think about how painfully wrong he was. All visitors to the mosque are to be dressed appropriately, women completely covered with a head scarf and abaya and men in long pants. No shoes are allowed in the mosque and the most interesting thing to me was that we couldn't touch the Quran while we were in the prayer room. Isn't it interesting that Christians are so eager to give out a bible to anyone anytime and Im not allowed to touch the Quran while visiting the mosque? Needless to say there were a lot of things that I saw and heard that continually reminded me of how fortunate and excited I was to have such an awesome relationship with Christ Jesus and I wanted so bad to share Christ's love with this passionate tour guide that day. http://www.visitabudhabi.ae/en/what.to.do/mosques.and.other.places.of.worship/sh.zayed.mosque.aspx
After the visit to the mosque Emma (another one of my wonderful cousins) and I took a taxi to the Emirates Palace Hotel which was at one point the most expensive hotel in the world. It is one of those places that has a doorman that opened the door for us and people standing waiting to assist us almost every 50 steps. We didn't require much assistance and we certainly weren't planning on booking a room but it was fun to see the hotel and lobby and in the hotel was the 30 year master plan for Abu Dhabi with models and plans which was fun to see.
http://www.emiratespalace.com/en/home/index.htm
Towards the end of the day we attended Leah's high school basketball games which was also lots of fun. The team from Egypt brought this drum that was what I would call a bongo drum and supposedly it is there way to 'rally' the crowd and get them fired up. Lets just say that after a couple hours of this drum in a echoing gymnasium, I was tempted to play a little tune of my own on this drum with a sharp object. Luckily we beat that team so that silenced the drum for a little while. I am now determined to find one of those drums to bring home with me for football games in Tiger Stadium.
Everything else is going so well here in Dubai. It has really been a great oppurtunity to grow in my faith being away from so many distractions I don't even notice back home in the U.S. God is doing amazing things in Dubai and I am so thankful for this oppurtunity. I have really enjoyed building friendships and meeting people from the far corners of the earth while I've been here and I am so excited to see what the rest of my time here in Dubai holds.
I hope you are doing well wherever you are.
More soon.
To God Be the Glory!
After the visit to the mosque Emma (another one of my wonderful cousins) and I took a taxi to the Emirates Palace Hotel which was at one point the most expensive hotel in the world. It is one of those places that has a doorman that opened the door for us and people standing waiting to assist us almost every 50 steps. We didn't require much assistance and we certainly weren't planning on booking a room but it was fun to see the hotel and lobby and in the hotel was the 30 year master plan for Abu Dhabi with models and plans which was fun to see.
http://www.emiratespalace.com/en/home/index.htm
Towards the end of the day we attended Leah's high school basketball games which was also lots of fun. The team from Egypt brought this drum that was what I would call a bongo drum and supposedly it is there way to 'rally' the crowd and get them fired up. Lets just say that after a couple hours of this drum in a echoing gymnasium, I was tempted to play a little tune of my own on this drum with a sharp object. Luckily we beat that team so that silenced the drum for a little while. I am now determined to find one of those drums to bring home with me for football games in Tiger Stadium.
Everything else is going so well here in Dubai. It has really been a great oppurtunity to grow in my faith being away from so many distractions I don't even notice back home in the U.S. God is doing amazing things in Dubai and I am so thankful for this oppurtunity. I have really enjoyed building friendships and meeting people from the far corners of the earth while I've been here and I am so excited to see what the rest of my time here in Dubai holds.
I hope you are doing well wherever you are.
More soon.
To God Be the Glory!
Sharm El Sheikh and Sandstorms
March 6, 2010
Well I can't believe it's already March of 2010! Time flies when you're having fun, right?
I've been in Dubai two months now and am beginning to feel right at home. The Parks are such great hosts and I am so very thankful to have been able to live with them this semester.
The past couple weeks have been full of long days at work and a few trips to the beach for some sun and sand. I have put in lots of overtime hours the past few weeks working on a project in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt called City of Stars. It is a resort community with malls, residences, hotels, golf courses, and other attractions. I actually even worked this weekend to finish up some of the renderings of the masterplan.
( http://www.luxury-insider.com/Current_Affairs/post/2009/02/24/Egypt-City-of-Stars-Home-to-World-Largest-Lagoon.aspx)
I am becoming better friends with the Pakistani security guards in the Crown Plaza and have really enjoyed getting to learn their names and even talk to them about Christ a little bit. (All of them are Muslim) Last week Ali bought snacks for all the guards and met me at the elevator after lunch and broke open a bag of hamburger buns and gave me one hamburger bum and a small can of orange juice. I didn't know what to say at first because I had never been given such a great snack. I eventually thanked him very much and enjoyed my snack on the elevator ride up.
So to get to and from work everyday I walk to the bus stop near home, get on the bus, ride to the metro, get on the metro, ride the metro, then walk from the metro station to the Crown Plaza where our office is located. It sounds like a lot but it is really a pretty easy trip and so much fun to see and work downtown everyday. Last week I got on the bus at the metro station to ride it home and the bus driver was packing up his lunch box and belongings and got up and walked off the bus and was headed for home. It turns out his shift was over and he was not about to wait for the next driver to arrive so he just left a bus running on the streets of Dubai. I sat on an empty, running bus for about ten minutes before another rider got on and asked me where the driver was. I told him the driver had gone home and asked him if he knew how to drive the bus thinking he could maybe drive me home. Well neither of us built up enough courage to get in the driver's seat but after about 15 minutes the new driver climbed on the bus and away we went.
The past few weeks there have been several sand storms that have blown in that have really made it hard for any outdoor activity. The air is basically really thick with sand and it gets in your eyes and mouth when you walk outside. It looks like a fog when you are inside but it feels a lot different once you are out in it.
Dubai has also gotten huge amounts of rain which is a rare accurance in the desert. It is interesting to see how much flooding occurs when a country in the desert doesn't prepare for heavy rainfall.
Well to finish off this post, today I got on the elevator to leave the office to come home and there were four fully covered Muslim women in the elevator. All I could think about as we quietly rode from the 19th floor down was how interesting it would be if the elevator broke down and there were four muslim women and one American college student trapped in the elevator.
More soon.
To God Be the Glory!
I've been in Dubai two months now and am beginning to feel right at home. The Parks are such great hosts and I am so very thankful to have been able to live with them this semester.
The past couple weeks have been full of long days at work and a few trips to the beach for some sun and sand. I have put in lots of overtime hours the past few weeks working on a project in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt called City of Stars. It is a resort community with malls, residences, hotels, golf courses, and other attractions. I actually even worked this weekend to finish up some of the renderings of the masterplan.
( http://www.luxury-insider.com/Current_Affairs/post/2009/02/24/Egypt-City-of-Stars-Home-to-World-Largest-Lagoon.aspx)
I am becoming better friends with the Pakistani security guards in the Crown Plaza and have really enjoyed getting to learn their names and even talk to them about Christ a little bit. (All of them are Muslim) Last week Ali bought snacks for all the guards and met me at the elevator after lunch and broke open a bag of hamburger buns and gave me one hamburger bum and a small can of orange juice. I didn't know what to say at first because I had never been given such a great snack. I eventually thanked him very much and enjoyed my snack on the elevator ride up.
So to get to and from work everyday I walk to the bus stop near home, get on the bus, ride to the metro, get on the metro, ride the metro, then walk from the metro station to the Crown Plaza where our office is located. It sounds like a lot but it is really a pretty easy trip and so much fun to see and work downtown everyday. Last week I got on the bus at the metro station to ride it home and the bus driver was packing up his lunch box and belongings and got up and walked off the bus and was headed for home. It turns out his shift was over and he was not about to wait for the next driver to arrive so he just left a bus running on the streets of Dubai. I sat on an empty, running bus for about ten minutes before another rider got on and asked me where the driver was. I told him the driver had gone home and asked him if he knew how to drive the bus thinking he could maybe drive me home. Well neither of us built up enough courage to get in the driver's seat but after about 15 minutes the new driver climbed on the bus and away we went.
The past few weeks there have been several sand storms that have blown in that have really made it hard for any outdoor activity. The air is basically really thick with sand and it gets in your eyes and mouth when you walk outside. It looks like a fog when you are inside but it feels a lot different once you are out in it.
Dubai has also gotten huge amounts of rain which is a rare accurance in the desert. It is interesting to see how much flooding occurs when a country in the desert doesn't prepare for heavy rainfall.
Well to finish off this post, today I got on the elevator to leave the office to come home and there were four fully covered Muslim women in the elevator. All I could think about as we quietly rode from the 19th floor down was how interesting it would be if the elevator broke down and there were four muslim women and one American college student trapped in the elevator.
More soon.
To God Be the Glory!
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
March 20, 2010
I know, I know, I'm a little overdue for a blog post. I have had several people remind me which is so exciting to think that ya'll are actually reading this thing. Thank you all very much for posting comments and keeping up with my adventure.
Lots has happen since my last post. To start, I took a little road trip to the country of Oman to get my passport stamped. I borrowed my bosses Toyota Yaris (which has the horsepower of a bycicle. No offense to anyone that has one.) to make the two-hour drive to the border of UAE and Oman. It was the first time I had ever driven a car since being away from home and I think I got honked at by almost everyone on the road especially in the huge round-a-bouts over here. It was really a nice to get out and see the 'countryside,' some camels, and date palm farms for the day. It was amazing to see the desert of the UAE turn into mountainous Oman in a matter of a few kilometers. It took some skill though to get through the Dubai border crossing, then through the Oman border crossing, then back through the Dubai crossing. I had no trouble leaving Dubai but when I got to the Oman border was when the fun began. The first thing the Omani guard at the passport counter was running all over everyone in the passport line in front of me. I had decided well before it was my turn at the counter that he would not run all over me. The first thing he said to me was 'why you not speak arabic?' I told him English was the language of the United States of America so that's the one I picked. To make a rather long story short, I ended up making friends with this guard and finagled my way out of buying car insurance for Oman that would have cost 150 dhs. He let me get my in and out stamp at the counter all at one time which prevented me having to drive across the border and back again. I had to pay 60 dhs for an 'entry fee' into Oman and Im not positive that money didn't go into that guards pocket and pay for his lunch that day. Anyways, I got my much needed stamp to extend my stay here another 30 days and had a enjoyable road trip.
Last weekend I went to the Dubai boat show at the marina which was host to 25 world premier boats and almost anything you could need as a boater. I toured everything from the huge yachts that had up to 8 bedrooms to the smaller fishing boats with al the 'bells and whistles.' When I was climbing out of one of the dry-docked boats at one point, I looked up and saw a huge group of Emiratis and lots of photographers and a news camera. My first reaction was that there was some big church group visiting but my next glance was looking Sheikh Mohammed right in the eyes. Sheikh Mohammed is the ruler of Dubai and the vice president of the UAE. He is a pretty big deal around here, as you can imagine and I was pretty excited to see him. (He has license plate no. 1.) He was very quickly moving throughout the boat show with his posse which inclued a handful of government officials and his son, the crown prince. It was really cool to see him and take about 50 pictures of him. He walks with great swagger and is treated like the royalty he is by everyone.
I didn't buy a boat at the boat show this time but being a 'boat guy' I had a great time looking around. I did make good conversation with my taxi driver home from the show. He told me there were 10500 taxis in Dubai and their monthly salary is 3500 dhs. (about $950) They work 13 hour shifts, 7 days a week. There are about 10000 taxis in New York City and their monthly salary is about $1800, just to give you some perspective. Taxis are very cheap here in Dubai but the drivers sure are fun to talk to.
This past week I went to the Dubai museum with Brinton, Kaia, and Josh. It was pretty cool to learn more about the history of the UAE and Dubai and learn about the cultural developments of Dubai. After looking around the museum we rode an abra across Dubai Creek and ate chicken and lamb shawarma with fresh juice and tea on the edge of the creek. My lemon and mint tea complimented my chicken shawarma nicely.
I think that's about all for now.
Thanks again for reading the ole blog.
More soon.
To God Be the Glory!
Lots has happen since my last post. To start, I took a little road trip to the country of Oman to get my passport stamped. I borrowed my bosses Toyota Yaris (which has the horsepower of a bycicle. No offense to anyone that has one.) to make the two-hour drive to the border of UAE and Oman. It was the first time I had ever driven a car since being away from home and I think I got honked at by almost everyone on the road especially in the huge round-a-bouts over here. It was really a nice to get out and see the 'countryside,' some camels, and date palm farms for the day. It was amazing to see the desert of the UAE turn into mountainous Oman in a matter of a few kilometers. It took some skill though to get through the Dubai border crossing, then through the Oman border crossing, then back through the Dubai crossing. I had no trouble leaving Dubai but when I got to the Oman border was when the fun began. The first thing the Omani guard at the passport counter was running all over everyone in the passport line in front of me. I had decided well before it was my turn at the counter that he would not run all over me. The first thing he said to me was 'why you not speak arabic?' I told him English was the language of the United States of America so that's the one I picked. To make a rather long story short, I ended up making friends with this guard and finagled my way out of buying car insurance for Oman that would have cost 150 dhs. He let me get my in and out stamp at the counter all at one time which prevented me having to drive across the border and back again. I had to pay 60 dhs for an 'entry fee' into Oman and Im not positive that money didn't go into that guards pocket and pay for his lunch that day. Anyways, I got my much needed stamp to extend my stay here another 30 days and had a enjoyable road trip.
Last weekend I went to the Dubai boat show at the marina which was host to 25 world premier boats and almost anything you could need as a boater. I toured everything from the huge yachts that had up to 8 bedrooms to the smaller fishing boats with al the 'bells and whistles.' When I was climbing out of one of the dry-docked boats at one point, I looked up and saw a huge group of Emiratis and lots of photographers and a news camera. My first reaction was that there was some big church group visiting but my next glance was looking Sheikh Mohammed right in the eyes. Sheikh Mohammed is the ruler of Dubai and the vice president of the UAE. He is a pretty big deal around here, as you can imagine and I was pretty excited to see him. (He has license plate no. 1.) He was very quickly moving throughout the boat show with his posse which inclued a handful of government officials and his son, the crown prince. It was really cool to see him and take about 50 pictures of him. He walks with great swagger and is treated like the royalty he is by everyone.
I didn't buy a boat at the boat show this time but being a 'boat guy' I had a great time looking around. I did make good conversation with my taxi driver home from the show. He told me there were 10500 taxis in Dubai and their monthly salary is 3500 dhs. (about $950) They work 13 hour shifts, 7 days a week. There are about 10000 taxis in New York City and their monthly salary is about $1800, just to give you some perspective. Taxis are very cheap here in Dubai but the drivers sure are fun to talk to.
This past week I went to the Dubai museum with Brinton, Kaia, and Josh. It was pretty cool to learn more about the history of the UAE and Dubai and learn about the cultural developments of Dubai. After looking around the museum we rode an abra across Dubai Creek and ate chicken and lamb shawarma with fresh juice and tea on the edge of the creek. My lemon and mint tea complimented my chicken shawarma nicely.
I think that's about all for now.
Thanks again for reading the ole blog.
More soon.
To God Be the Glory!
Time flies!
April 9, 2010
It seems like just last week that I landed at the Dubai International airport to start my adventure in Dubai and here I am three months into the semester and time has flown by. I am still having a great time here in Dubai and am making so many memories and meeting so many people. It has been really amazing to observe the differences in American culture and the cultures represented here in Dubai. Someone asked me if I would consider coming back to Dubai to work after graduation and I told them I would definately consider living and working in Dubai but more than that I think for the first time I am beginning to think less and less about how important a great job is and more about what I can do to bring glory to God and serve him in whatever job He places me in.
My beautiful mother reminded me that a lot of the cultural difference that I see and don't think much of because I see them so often now are exciting news for people that live in the U.S. and have never seen them so I have decided to list a very small percentage of the cultural differences that I have experienced. Here are just a few quick things;
:: I was walking on the beach this past week and there was a Emirati couple sitting on the beach up ahead of me. As I got closer the woman pulled her shayla ( or headscarf) over her face so I wouldn't see any part of her body. I walked past them and as I got farther away from them I looked back and she had let it down from her face again. In the Muslim culture and especially amoung Emiratis it is very rude for a man to look at another man's wife or any other woman because it might cause the man to sin.
:: One of my favorite restaurants here in Dubai is Ravi's which is a Pakistani restaurant that is very cheap and very good and a great place to experienc Pakistani culture. The first time I went I noticed that the Pakistanis that were eating near me were eating with their right hand and had there left hand in their laps. I was doing a great job of being a tourist with my fork and knife but the culture is that you eat all kinds of food with your right hand and keep your left hand ( which you use to clean yourself) in your lap. As you can imagine, chicken curry and rice can get pretty messy when eaten with only hands. I guess they would do great at a crawfish boil.
:: There are a lot of words that I have heard used since being here that are not at all commonly used words or phrases in the U.S. a few that I hear often and can't help but grin at are;
: rubbish- used mostly by the Europeans, another word for garbage or trash.
: goodaye- used by the Austrlians, another way to say 'good day' or 'hey.'
: shukran- arabic word for 'thank you'
: insh'allah- which means ' If allah wishes' but is used by a lot of muslims and non-muslims to mean 'i hope so' or 'we'll see.'
: car park- what I would call a parking garage.
: wash room- or toilet, what people refer to the bathroom as.
:: In the 'car park' at the malls you can have your car washed or your windows tinted while you shop. Not the car wash you are thinking of though. The guys that do it walk around the car park with a cart that has a bucket of water and some rags on it. They basically wipe your car down with a wet rag and then dry it off. Not the most efficient car wash but they are pretty cheap.
:: I got my hair cut this past week for the first time since arriving in Dubai. A lebanese man in the Crown Plaza where I work did it and did a great job using only scissors, a comb and a sraight blade. He was very careful and paid close attention to detail. It cost me 50 dhs which is about $13 which is about what I would pay in the U.S.
:: People discipline their children differently over here as well. I guess I have high standards having been raised by an Air Force officer and Methodist Preacher but there is still a lack of discipline here that is really amazing. A lot of times a family with a lot of children will hire several house maids to help care for the kids and the maids don't have the priveledge of disciplining the children so they just go undisciplined.
:: tea is a huge deal here in the Arab world. A lot of people will drink several cups of tea throughout the day and most offices have men that work in the offices whose primary job is to serve tea and most people serve tea whenever they have guests over to their home. There are so many different kinds of tea and lots of different ways to prepare it. My Grandmother would be proud to know that I drink my fair share of tea everyday and have really started to enjoy it. I think the most injoyable part is going into the kitchen and making my own tea so I can talk to the Indian guys that make tea for everyone else. I feel bad having someone else make tea for me everyday and it has been a great opportunity for me to be able to build a relationship and share Christ with those (Muslim) guys.
This past weekend a group of 21 of us went to Musandam, Oman to take a boat ride through the Oman fjords which are located on the tip of the peninsula where the UAE is located. The port where we launched our of was only about 30 kilometers from the shores of Iran and was very near one of the most highly used oil ports in the world. Those can be dangerous waters as you can imagine. The scenery on our way to Musandam was really great scenery with the mountians on one side of the road and the Arabian Gulf on the other side. The boat we rode on is called a dhow which is basically a huge wooden boat that is steered with a wooden pole connected to a ruder on the back of the boat. We had so much fun snorkeling and swimming and dolphin watching and the weather was perfect for our trip that day. Our boat captain was Abdul and his assistant was Mohammed who served us fruit and tea and dinner which was a chicken cury with rice and humus and green salad which was tastiier than I was expecting when I first saw it. Abdul let me drive the boat on the way back into the port to conclude our exciting day.
Work is still going well. We are staying busy with most of the same projects and picking up a few new ones. I have learned so much about the middle eastern business world during my time over here and gotten to see and be a part of some amazing projects all over the world. In such a different climate there are completely different plant materials used and water becomes a big priority and determining factor when building in the desert. I will post some pictures and graphics of what I have been working on soon.
All for now.
To God Be the Glory!
My beautiful mother reminded me that a lot of the cultural difference that I see and don't think much of because I see them so often now are exciting news for people that live in the U.S. and have never seen them so I have decided to list a very small percentage of the cultural differences that I have experienced. Here are just a few quick things;
:: I was walking on the beach this past week and there was a Emirati couple sitting on the beach up ahead of me. As I got closer the woman pulled her shayla ( or headscarf) over her face so I wouldn't see any part of her body. I walked past them and as I got farther away from them I looked back and she had let it down from her face again. In the Muslim culture and especially amoung Emiratis it is very rude for a man to look at another man's wife or any other woman because it might cause the man to sin.
:: One of my favorite restaurants here in Dubai is Ravi's which is a Pakistani restaurant that is very cheap and very good and a great place to experienc Pakistani culture. The first time I went I noticed that the Pakistanis that were eating near me were eating with their right hand and had there left hand in their laps. I was doing a great job of being a tourist with my fork and knife but the culture is that you eat all kinds of food with your right hand and keep your left hand ( which you use to clean yourself) in your lap. As you can imagine, chicken curry and rice can get pretty messy when eaten with only hands. I guess they would do great at a crawfish boil.
:: There are a lot of words that I have heard used since being here that are not at all commonly used words or phrases in the U.S. a few that I hear often and can't help but grin at are;
: rubbish- used mostly by the Europeans, another word for garbage or trash.
: goodaye- used by the Austrlians, another way to say 'good day' or 'hey.'
: shukran- arabic word for 'thank you'
: insh'allah- which means ' If allah wishes' but is used by a lot of muslims and non-muslims to mean 'i hope so' or 'we'll see.'
: car park- what I would call a parking garage.
: wash room- or toilet, what people refer to the bathroom as.
:: In the 'car park' at the malls you can have your car washed or your windows tinted while you shop. Not the car wash you are thinking of though. The guys that do it walk around the car park with a cart that has a bucket of water and some rags on it. They basically wipe your car down with a wet rag and then dry it off. Not the most efficient car wash but they are pretty cheap.
:: I got my hair cut this past week for the first time since arriving in Dubai. A lebanese man in the Crown Plaza where I work did it and did a great job using only scissors, a comb and a sraight blade. He was very careful and paid close attention to detail. It cost me 50 dhs which is about $13 which is about what I would pay in the U.S.
:: People discipline their children differently over here as well. I guess I have high standards having been raised by an Air Force officer and Methodist Preacher but there is still a lack of discipline here that is really amazing. A lot of times a family with a lot of children will hire several house maids to help care for the kids and the maids don't have the priveledge of disciplining the children so they just go undisciplined.
:: tea is a huge deal here in the Arab world. A lot of people will drink several cups of tea throughout the day and most offices have men that work in the offices whose primary job is to serve tea and most people serve tea whenever they have guests over to their home. There are so many different kinds of tea and lots of different ways to prepare it. My Grandmother would be proud to know that I drink my fair share of tea everyday and have really started to enjoy it. I think the most injoyable part is going into the kitchen and making my own tea so I can talk to the Indian guys that make tea for everyone else. I feel bad having someone else make tea for me everyday and it has been a great opportunity for me to be able to build a relationship and share Christ with those (Muslim) guys.
This past weekend a group of 21 of us went to Musandam, Oman to take a boat ride through the Oman fjords which are located on the tip of the peninsula where the UAE is located. The port where we launched our of was only about 30 kilometers from the shores of Iran and was very near one of the most highly used oil ports in the world. Those can be dangerous waters as you can imagine. The scenery on our way to Musandam was really great scenery with the mountians on one side of the road and the Arabian Gulf on the other side. The boat we rode on is called a dhow which is basically a huge wooden boat that is steered with a wooden pole connected to a ruder on the back of the boat. We had so much fun snorkeling and swimming and dolphin watching and the weather was perfect for our trip that day. Our boat captain was Abdul and his assistant was Mohammed who served us fruit and tea and dinner which was a chicken cury with rice and humus and green salad which was tastiier than I was expecting when I first saw it. Abdul let me drive the boat on the way back into the port to conclude our exciting day.
Work is still going well. We are staying busy with most of the same projects and picking up a few new ones. I have learned so much about the middle eastern business world during my time over here and gotten to see and be a part of some amazing projects all over the world. In such a different climate there are completely different plant materials used and water becomes a big priority and determining factor when building in the desert. I will post some pictures and graphics of what I have been working on soon.
All for now.
To God Be the Glory!
Site Visits and Golf
April 26, 2010
I am in the final month of my Dubai adventure which has been an experience of a lifetime. Here are a few of the things I have done in the past few weeks.
A couple weeks ago most everyone in the office spent the better part of two days visiting project sites here in Dubai and in the neighboring Emirite, Abu Dhabi. Some of our projects that are currently under construction that we saw were Ferrari World(http://www.ferrariworldabudhabi.com/), Saadiyat Island 'Street of Dreams,' Saadiyat Island Golf Club(http://www.sbgolfclub.ae/), and several residential neighborhoods in Dubai. Saadiyat Island is an island in Abu Dhabi that is being developed into a whole new City with every kind of entertainment, housing, and luxury you can imagine. (http://www.saadiyat.ae/en/) While we were out on the site in the middle of the day in the desert of the Middle East I gained a new respect for all of those construction workers that are on site in the hot sun all day. It is really starting to get hot here in Dubai with temperatures getting into the upper 90s almost everyday. Perfect Beach weather though.
There are a lot of differences in the way documents are put together and handled in the Middle East that are either far from efficient or unapplicable to U.S. drawings. For example, on any set of drawings anywhere in the world you will find a North arrow and scale bar to indicate which way North is and the scale of the drawing. Here in the Middle East there is a second arrow with the North arrow that points to Mecca. Mecca is the birthplace of Islam and the direction Muslims pray five times everyday. I propose a revised North arrow in Louisiana that includes an arrow pointing towards Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
I finally played golf last weekend with one of my bosses from work at the Els Club in Dubai Sports City. It is such a beautiful course with, what seemed like, 10 sandtraps on every hole. Lets just say I should have brought a beach towel and umbrella for the amount of time I spent in the sand traps. Overall it was a great round of golf on a great course with the Dubai skyline in the background. Its amazing how well manicured they can keep golf courses over here when it only rains a few times a year. Im hoping to play atleast one more time before I leave Dubai.
This past week we had some visitors come by the villa later in the evening. Three Muslim Men were doing door to door evangelim sharing about their Islamic faith and what it means to them. There were a lot of things I would have liked to say in that conversation but I have to remember that I am a visitor and I disagreed as respectfully as I could. I must say that they were very friendly and it was a great opportunity to get to know this culture better.
Last weekend at church we had a very special guest that worshiped with us. An LSU Tiger was visiting Dubai from Baton Rouge and was wearing an LSU t-shirt that immediately caught my eye. It was so great to meet Justin and exchange contact information for when we are both back in Baton Rouge. There is just something about the LSU family, it was like we were best friends as soon as he knew I was from LSU. Geaux Tigers!
This Thursday I am leaving for a trip to Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt with a friend of mine here in Dubai. It should be a great trip. I look forward to telling you about it in my next post.
To God Be the Glory!
A couple weeks ago most everyone in the office spent the better part of two days visiting project sites here in Dubai and in the neighboring Emirite, Abu Dhabi. Some of our projects that are currently under construction that we saw were Ferrari World(http://www.ferrariworldabudhabi.com/), Saadiyat Island 'Street of Dreams,' Saadiyat Island Golf Club(http://www.sbgolfclub.ae/), and several residential neighborhoods in Dubai. Saadiyat Island is an island in Abu Dhabi that is being developed into a whole new City with every kind of entertainment, housing, and luxury you can imagine. (http://www.saadiyat.ae/en/) While we were out on the site in the middle of the day in the desert of the Middle East I gained a new respect for all of those construction workers that are on site in the hot sun all day. It is really starting to get hot here in Dubai with temperatures getting into the upper 90s almost everyday. Perfect Beach weather though.
There are a lot of differences in the way documents are put together and handled in the Middle East that are either far from efficient or unapplicable to U.S. drawings. For example, on any set of drawings anywhere in the world you will find a North arrow and scale bar to indicate which way North is and the scale of the drawing. Here in the Middle East there is a second arrow with the North arrow that points to Mecca. Mecca is the birthplace of Islam and the direction Muslims pray five times everyday. I propose a revised North arrow in Louisiana that includes an arrow pointing towards Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
I finally played golf last weekend with one of my bosses from work at the Els Club in Dubai Sports City. It is such a beautiful course with, what seemed like, 10 sandtraps on every hole. Lets just say I should have brought a beach towel and umbrella for the amount of time I spent in the sand traps. Overall it was a great round of golf on a great course with the Dubai skyline in the background. Its amazing how well manicured they can keep golf courses over here when it only rains a few times a year. Im hoping to play atleast one more time before I leave Dubai.
This past week we had some visitors come by the villa later in the evening. Three Muslim Men were doing door to door evangelim sharing about their Islamic faith and what it means to them. There were a lot of things I would have liked to say in that conversation but I have to remember that I am a visitor and I disagreed as respectfully as I could. I must say that they were very friendly and it was a great opportunity to get to know this culture better.
Last weekend at church we had a very special guest that worshiped with us. An LSU Tiger was visiting Dubai from Baton Rouge and was wearing an LSU t-shirt that immediately caught my eye. It was so great to meet Justin and exchange contact information for when we are both back in Baton Rouge. There is just something about the LSU family, it was like we were best friends as soon as he knew I was from LSU. Geaux Tigers!
This Thursday I am leaving for a trip to Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt with a friend of mine here in Dubai. It should be a great trip. I look forward to telling you about it in my next post.
To God Be the Glory!
Egypt
May 9, 2010
Two weeks ago I went with a friend to Egypt for a few days with a mission to see the pyramids and had such a great time and saw far more than just a 'wonder of the wold.'
We flew from Dubai to Alexandria, Egypt and the adventures begun as soon as we arrived. We landed at an airport with a terminal about the size of a gas station and quickly had to convince a man that we weren't going to pay him for taking his picture and then had to negotiate a price for a taxi to our hotel. After agreeing on a price that we later learned was way too high, we saw firsthand what Egyption drivers are like. We held onto our seats the whole ride and were glad when we finally arrived at the Windsor Palace hotel located on the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. We spent the evening and the next morning exploring Alexandria and got to see the Alexandria public library (http://www.bibalex.org/Home/Default_EN.aspx), the Catacombs of Kom El Shokafa, Pompey's Pillar, and the site of Pharos lighthouse(http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pharoslighthouse.htm) which is one of the 7 wonders of the world.
We tried to avoid taxis in Alexandria by walking everywhere but soon realized that it wasn't just the taxi cab drivers that tried to rip you off, turns out that there are a lot of Egyptians that are good at convincing tourists to pay three-times the normal price. Luckily I'm an Adams so I'm not afraid of a little confrontation to get a fair price. (Thanks pops)
Well as you might know, the Pyramids are not in Alexandria, they are in Cairo, Egypt. So we on the afternoon of our second day we headed for the train station with our $10 train ticket to Cairo. We got there early enough to have drink in the train station coffee shop and right before our train left the station hundreds of men gathered in the station for one of five Muslim prayers of the day. There were so many people praying in the station that the door to the coffee shop was blocked by men praying. The train ended up being pretty nice for Egypt and the scenery from the train was even better. I saw far more agricultural fields than I thought existed in the desert of Egypt and the standard of living between Alexandria and Cairo was very poor. It was really interesting to see mud homes built next to a pretty nasty water canal where water was pumped out of for drinking and watering the crops. I just say that we have a lot to be thankful for.
We arrived in Cairo about 3 hours after departing Alexandria and were greeted by a friend of a friend that was hosting for our time in Cairo. The friend that I was travelling with had met an Egyptian from Cairo on a mission trip to Africa a year ago so when we started planning our trip to Egypt it sounded like such a great idea to get to fellowship with other Chrisians and get a little inside information about Cairo while we were there. Little did we know that Egyptians are the most hospitable people you will ever meet and the entire weekend we were treated like their family and got to build some awesome relationships with new friends.
In Cairo we went on a sailboat ride on the Nile River, attended a service at the Evangelical Church of Cairo, went to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza, rode camels at the pyramids, went up in Cairo Tower(http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/cairotower.htm) which is the highest observation point in Cairo, and went to the Egyptian Museum(http://www.touregypt.net/egyptmuseum/egyptian_museum.htm).
Egypt is a very interesting place with lots of culture and lots of people. Cairo is the third largest city in the world which is evident in the traffic and large number of apartment complexes in the city. It is a pretty dirty city but I guess that's what you get when you have that many people.
There is so much more I could tell you about our trip that I hope to get to tell you in person someday soon.
I played golf at Emirates Hills Golf Course this past weekend which is where they host the Dubai Desert Classic in March. I didn't play very well but it was really fun to be out there on such a nice course and with the Dubai skyline in the background.
Less than two weeks left in Dubai! I can't believe how fast this past semester has flown by. It has been a great opportunity that I will never forget and I cannot wait to come back to visit ( or maybe work) in the future.
To God Be the Glory!
We flew from Dubai to Alexandria, Egypt and the adventures begun as soon as we arrived. We landed at an airport with a terminal about the size of a gas station and quickly had to convince a man that we weren't going to pay him for taking his picture and then had to negotiate a price for a taxi to our hotel. After agreeing on a price that we later learned was way too high, we saw firsthand what Egyption drivers are like. We held onto our seats the whole ride and were glad when we finally arrived at the Windsor Palace hotel located on the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. We spent the evening and the next morning exploring Alexandria and got to see the Alexandria public library (http://www.bibalex.org/Home/Default_EN.aspx), the Catacombs of Kom El Shokafa, Pompey's Pillar, and the site of Pharos lighthouse(http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pharoslighthouse.htm) which is one of the 7 wonders of the world.
We tried to avoid taxis in Alexandria by walking everywhere but soon realized that it wasn't just the taxi cab drivers that tried to rip you off, turns out that there are a lot of Egyptians that are good at convincing tourists to pay three-times the normal price. Luckily I'm an Adams so I'm not afraid of a little confrontation to get a fair price. (Thanks pops)
Well as you might know, the Pyramids are not in Alexandria, they are in Cairo, Egypt. So we on the afternoon of our second day we headed for the train station with our $10 train ticket to Cairo. We got there early enough to have drink in the train station coffee shop and right before our train left the station hundreds of men gathered in the station for one of five Muslim prayers of the day. There were so many people praying in the station that the door to the coffee shop was blocked by men praying. The train ended up being pretty nice for Egypt and the scenery from the train was even better. I saw far more agricultural fields than I thought existed in the desert of Egypt and the standard of living between Alexandria and Cairo was very poor. It was really interesting to see mud homes built next to a pretty nasty water canal where water was pumped out of for drinking and watering the crops. I just say that we have a lot to be thankful for.
We arrived in Cairo about 3 hours after departing Alexandria and were greeted by a friend of a friend that was hosting for our time in Cairo. The friend that I was travelling with had met an Egyptian from Cairo on a mission trip to Africa a year ago so when we started planning our trip to Egypt it sounded like such a great idea to get to fellowship with other Chrisians and get a little inside information about Cairo while we were there. Little did we know that Egyptians are the most hospitable people you will ever meet and the entire weekend we were treated like their family and got to build some awesome relationships with new friends.
In Cairo we went on a sailboat ride on the Nile River, attended a service at the Evangelical Church of Cairo, went to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza, rode camels at the pyramids, went up in Cairo Tower(http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/cairotower.htm) which is the highest observation point in Cairo, and went to the Egyptian Museum(http://www.touregypt.net/egyptmuseum/egyptian_museum.htm).
Egypt is a very interesting place with lots of culture and lots of people. Cairo is the third largest city in the world which is evident in the traffic and large number of apartment complexes in the city. It is a pretty dirty city but I guess that's what you get when you have that many people.
There is so much more I could tell you about our trip that I hope to get to tell you in person someday soon.
I played golf at Emirates Hills Golf Course this past weekend which is where they host the Dubai Desert Classic in March. I didn't play very well but it was really fun to be out there on such a nice course and with the Dubai skyline in the background.
Less than two weeks left in Dubai! I can't believe how fast this past semester has flown by. It has been a great opportunity that I will never forget and I cannot wait to come back to visit ( or maybe work) in the future.
To God Be the Glory!
