The construction that has taken place in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the UAE in general over the last 40 years or so has been phenomenal. This part of the world has grown from mud huts to some of the most modern and eye catching structures anywhere in the world. It seems to be a constant contest of "can you top this".
I was in Dubai this weekend and although I went to two malls (it's still brutally hot, what else am I going to do?) I was driving, so was paying attention to the roads and what was around them. One of the highways running out of Abu Dhabi to Dubai takes you across Saadiyat Island and Yas Island and all the way to Dubai (120 kilometers or so or about 75 miles) which is the speed limit 120km/hr in a car 80 kms/hr in a truck and the trucks are not allowed in the 3 left lanes and they don't go there out of fear of a ticket.
But the highways are essentially brand new and 4, 5 or 6 lanes wide. Lit with overhead lights the whole way. Which is good since some drivers don't use their lights. Truly built with the future in mind. Interestingly enough you're able to pull off at a rest area and gas up, go to the convenience store or simply the drive thru at Burger King or McDonald's. Stop me if this sounds familiar. But the rest areas also have small Mosques so the travelers can get off the road at prayer time to pray. They don't worry about being at their Mosque to pray, but they are provided a mosque on the side of the highway if they want.
It's also strange to see cars pulled over on the side of the highway and people simply jumping the guard rail to go to a store or restaurant that might be open. Or you'll see men just standing on the side of the highway waiting for their ride to work to stop and pick them up.
Something else we found out in our CPR/First Aid class was there is no Good Samaritan Law here so we were told that even though we are now certified in cpr, first aid and how to use and AED we should never stop at a car accident and render help. We could be punished by the law or simply sued by the person or family. So we're only supposed to render aid to people at NYU or people we know.
Driving through downtown Dubai you're on a surface road that is 5 lanes wide, going 62 mph and you simply veer off in exit lanes that give you access to all the stores that are there or apartment buildings or malls. It's like nothing I've seen in Boston, NYC or Chicago. You're going right through this canyon of huge buildings much like you might have seen in the movie Inception that came from Leonardo DiCaprio's mind. By the way if you haven't seen Inception you should.
Right next to the highway is an incredibly modern metro transit rail system that parallels the highway from about 25 kilometers outside of Dubai all the way through it. A simple clean looking system raised above the ground with space age looking stations all along it.
It's simply interesting to see how a young city can be planned and developed when you have all technology available to make it modern right from the start.
Stay Cool,
Wayne
Sunday, September 5, 2010
It starts tomorrow
The arrival of students that is. I think three are actually here now, but the other 148 come in over the next two days. I volunteered to pick some up at the airport. Tomorrow morning I leave the apartment heading to the Abu Dhabi airport to meet two young men, one from India, Madhav Vaidyanathan and one from Pakistan, Usama Sami. Who's decision it was to have me pick up both of them and put them in the same car, I do not know, but I'll try to keep the conversation neutral?
Tuesday morning I'll be meeting 4 more, Thomas Taylor from Australia, Xiaomei Wu and Yingwei Zhao, China and Usama Hussain from Pakistan. All I do is meet them and make sure the porter at the airport gets all their baggage into the buses and then we all get driven back to Sama Tower, their home for the next 4 yrs. Once we're back here I just turn them over to the Dean of Student Life.
All this week we'll be seeing the students coming through the Fitness Center and then we'll conduct their sports orientation on Saturday. The fitness center is up and ready to go and it is possibly the best work-out facility I've ever been in. Truly unbelievable with top of the line equipment from Life Fitness.
Everyone here is pumped because after all the work and all the planning and all the development the kids finally show up and classes start next Sunday. This planning has been going on for about 2 years now and it's coming to fruition. It's exciting to be part of this even if I did only get here 5 weeks ago.
As a side note there are 3 students from MI, one from Portage Northern, one from Lansing Catholic and one from Lenawee Christian.
Stay cool, it's still stifling hot here.
Wayne
Tuesday morning I'll be meeting 4 more, Thomas Taylor from Australia, Xiaomei Wu and Yingwei Zhao, China and Usama Hussain from Pakistan. All I do is meet them and make sure the porter at the airport gets all their baggage into the buses and then we all get driven back to Sama Tower, their home for the next 4 yrs. Once we're back here I just turn them over to the Dean of Student Life.
All this week we'll be seeing the students coming through the Fitness Center and then we'll conduct their sports orientation on Saturday. The fitness center is up and ready to go and it is possibly the best work-out facility I've ever been in. Truly unbelievable with top of the line equipment from Life Fitness.
Everyone here is pumped because after all the work and all the planning and all the development the kids finally show up and classes start next Sunday. This planning has been going on for about 2 years now and it's coming to fruition. It's exciting to be part of this even if I did only get here 5 weeks ago.
As a side note there are 3 students from MI, one from Portage Northern, one from Lansing Catholic and one from Lenawee Christian.
Stay cool, it's still stifling hot here.
Wayne
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Drinking and Dining during Ramadan
Yes, Ramadan is still going on and it does make it a little tougher on people who don't celebrate Ramadan. For instance a few of us were out from 10:00am yesterday until 5:00pm or so and in that whole time there was no where open to get something to eat or drink. Some places allow you to purchase food, but only for take out then you have to find a private place to eat it, like your home or if you're out in public a restroom. We did see a couple of Burger King drive thru's and think they were open, but were not able to pull in there.
For instance one of the people with us bought some chocolate at a chocolate store because she was hungry and she actually took it into a stall in the restroom and ate it. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Another option is most if not all of the nice hotels can and will serve food during fasting times which are essentially all day. Since they cater to mostly westerners they are allowed to serve you food and alcohol even if you don't have an Alcohol Commission card. So if you have transportation or want to hop in a cab you can go to a hotel and there are lots of them and sit down and order something to eat and drink even in the middle of the day. Muslims are fasting from about 4:30am to 6:30pm.
This next statement almost borders on heresy for me to say, but I found a bookstore yesterday that may very well be better than Barnes and Noble. "Books by Kinokuniya" was a huge, phenomenally well-stocked place with almost anything you could want in a book and in English and Arabic. http://www.kinokuniya.com/
Wayne
For instance one of the people with us bought some chocolate at a chocolate store because she was hungry and she actually took it into a stall in the restroom and ate it. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Another option is most if not all of the nice hotels can and will serve food during fasting times which are essentially all day. Since they cater to mostly westerners they are allowed to serve you food and alcohol even if you don't have an Alcohol Commission card. So if you have transportation or want to hop in a cab you can go to a hotel and there are lots of them and sit down and order something to eat and drink even in the middle of the day. Muslims are fasting from about 4:30am to 6:30pm.
This next statement almost borders on heresy for me to say, but I found a bookstore yesterday that may very well be better than Barnes and Noble. "Books by Kinokuniya" was a huge, phenomenally well-stocked place with almost anything you could want in a book and in English and Arabic. http://www.kinokuniya.com/
Wayne
Running on Empty...Again
Only this time it's not about running. I've had a loaner vehicle for a week until my leased car comes in. So we went golfing Wednesday morning and the gas gauge was low. We got to the golf course and back and according the system I still had about 6 kilometers I could go based on the gas I had left.
Well I had a meeting at 1:00pm I was going to drive to because the shuttle bus schedule wasn't going to work for me. I realized I was going to need to get gas because of my schedule the rest of the day. So I left with enough time to get gas ( a first for me in Abu Dhabi) and to get to the meeting.
I asked one of my co-workers where the nearest station was and she told me. I go downstairs out into the 43 C temperatures (about 110 F). It's hot, I start up the Honda CRV and look down to see now I have only about 2 kms range left. As if it's not hot enough already outside and in the vehicle I'm starting to get a little concerned about even making it to the gas station without running out and then making it to the meeting on time. So I'm not sure if I'm sweating because of heat or nerves, but I really didn't feel like running out of gas on the busiest street in Abu Dhabi at 12:45 pm in 110 degrees.
2 Kilometers sure go fast and I'm not more than 1/2 way to the gas station and the gauge is reading 0 km range left. So now I'm shifting into neutral to simply coast when I can, scanning the road ahead for the ADNOC gas station until finally I spot it off in the distance. Now I start praying that I'll get there, neutral, drive to go faster, back to neutral to coast a while. All the while staying in the right lane so if it stops I can hopefully get out of the traffic lanes. Finally here pulling in and immediately shift to neutral while I wait in what seems an incredibly long line of cars all needing complete fill-ups. They have attendants pumping the gas and they are each working two pumps so it takes a while. I'm thinking that at 51 yrs old I'm finally going to run out of gas for the first time in my life. I slowly creep towards the pump. Don't want to shut the car off because I don't know if it will start up again and I'd die inside right at the gas station because of the oppressive heat and humidity.
Finally at the pump and I shut it off and let the guy fill it up. 91 dirhams later I'm on full and heading to my meetings. Arrived 2 minutes late, but with a full tank of gas.
Feel free to make any comments you want about this blog, send the link to your friends that are perhaps interested in reading about all things Abu Dhabi or at least some things Abu Dhabi.
Stay cooler than me.
Wayne
Well I had a meeting at 1:00pm I was going to drive to because the shuttle bus schedule wasn't going to work for me. I realized I was going to need to get gas because of my schedule the rest of the day. So I left with enough time to get gas ( a first for me in Abu Dhabi) and to get to the meeting.
I asked one of my co-workers where the nearest station was and she told me. I go downstairs out into the 43 C temperatures (about 110 F). It's hot, I start up the Honda CRV and look down to see now I have only about 2 kms range left. As if it's not hot enough already outside and in the vehicle I'm starting to get a little concerned about even making it to the gas station without running out and then making it to the meeting on time. So I'm not sure if I'm sweating because of heat or nerves, but I really didn't feel like running out of gas on the busiest street in Abu Dhabi at 12:45 pm in 110 degrees.
2 Kilometers sure go fast and I'm not more than 1/2 way to the gas station and the gauge is reading 0 km range left. So now I'm shifting into neutral to simply coast when I can, scanning the road ahead for the ADNOC gas station until finally I spot it off in the distance. Now I start praying that I'll get there, neutral, drive to go faster, back to neutral to coast a while. All the while staying in the right lane so if it stops I can hopefully get out of the traffic lanes. Finally here pulling in and immediately shift to neutral while I wait in what seems an incredibly long line of cars all needing complete fill-ups. They have attendants pumping the gas and they are each working two pumps so it takes a while. I'm thinking that at 51 yrs old I'm finally going to run out of gas for the first time in my life. I slowly creep towards the pump. Don't want to shut the car off because I don't know if it will start up again and I'd die inside right at the gas station because of the oppressive heat and humidity.
Finally at the pump and I shut it off and let the guy fill it up. 91 dirhams later I'm on full and heading to my meetings. Arrived 2 minutes late, but with a full tank of gas.
Feel free to make any comments you want about this blog, send the link to your friends that are perhaps interested in reading about all things Abu Dhabi or at least some things Abu Dhabi.
Stay cooler than me.
Wayne
Malls Again?
Admittedly I don't have much to do right now because it's still hot and muggy out so I go with people to malls so they can shop for furniture for their apartments. These trips serve two purposes for me. It gets me out of the apartment and it reinforces my complete lack of desire to shop for furniture and everything else it takes to furnish a home.
So I've found my two bedroom furnished apartment and all I have to buy is food to stock it with. It comes with everything else right down to the glasses and dishes and I get maid service once a week.
Back to Malls. They're all incredibly upscale, they have marble floors everything is always clean and shiny. They almost all have movie theaters, ice skating rinks, bowling alleys and even small roller coasters. It's the main entertainment destination because during the summer kids can't really go outside to play much so families head to the mall.
There are two other neat things I saw yesterday down in Dubai and I've seen at malls here in Abu Dhabi. If you park in the parking garage there are portable car wash machines so guys come around and wash your car for you while you're in shopping. Then as you get into the parking garage there are LED display boards telling you how many spaces are available on each level. I know that's no big deal, but the cooler part about it is as you pull down a row or up a ramp there are indicator lights over each space, red for a taken space and green for an empty space. So you simply look overhead and can drive right to an empty spot and know it's empty.
Sometimes I look around here and am amazed that they haven't figured out a mail delivery system yet, but they have things like sensors and green and red lights in parking garages to make your life easier.
Wayne
So I've found my two bedroom furnished apartment and all I have to buy is food to stock it with. It comes with everything else right down to the glasses and dishes and I get maid service once a week.
Back to Malls. They're all incredibly upscale, they have marble floors everything is always clean and shiny. They almost all have movie theaters, ice skating rinks, bowling alleys and even small roller coasters. It's the main entertainment destination because during the summer kids can't really go outside to play much so families head to the mall.
There are two other neat things I saw yesterday down in Dubai and I've seen at malls here in Abu Dhabi. If you park in the parking garage there are portable car wash machines so guys come around and wash your car for you while you're in shopping. Then as you get into the parking garage there are LED display boards telling you how many spaces are available on each level. I know that's no big deal, but the cooler part about it is as you pull down a row or up a ramp there are indicator lights over each space, red for a taken space and green for an empty space. So you simply look overhead and can drive right to an empty spot and know it's empty.
Sometimes I look around here and am amazed that they haven't figured out a mail delivery system yet, but they have things like sensors and green and red lights in parking garages to make your life easier.
Wayne
Friday, August 20, 2010
Miscellaneous Stuff
Got my drivers license this week. The process is they have to translate your US license into Arabic then have you come in to take an unflattering photo to go on the license. Of course this also means I can now drive here and I'll be getting a car this week. I'm just going to get one on a 2 yr lease for now. Lease payments here include all necessary insurance along with required maintenance and they will come get the car to do the maintenance and leave you one in it's place while they have it.
I also received my Work Permit which is another hard card much like the drivers license with another unflattering photo on it. This is the important one to carry and to have at all times for identification.
Did you know that the "close door"buttons in elevators in the US is turned off in every elevator in the US. They truly aren't active. Strangely enough here they are active so you can simply press the button and the doors close right away. It's great for limiting who gets on with you. Remember that when you see the new M. Night Shamylan movie that's coming out in a few months.
Out shopping the other night in a bookstore and came upon two old magazines on a book shelf beside some sports books. After pulling them out and looking at the cover I realized I was holding two copies of the first issue of Sports Illustrated in my hands. Dated August 16, 1954 with a picture of Eddie Matthews on the cover. I've been a subscriber for about 30 years and had never seen the first issue. My boss and I left them there and as I thought more about it I decided to go back two nights later to buy them. In the meantime he looked them up on E-Bay and it turns out they are worth between $150 - $200. So we went back and each bought one for about $10.
I've finished two books recently on my Nook (like a Kindle only tied to Barnes and Noble). The first was "War" by Sebastian Junger. If you want to read a detailed account of combat in Afghanistan this is the book to read. It will also be out in theaters since the whole time he was writing they were also taping operations in Korengal Valley. I believe the movie has the title Restrepo.
Another book I just finished was "Sh*t My Dad Says" by Justin Halpern, hilariously funny, but pretty foul language. I think this started as a blog and website and has finally gone into a printed format.
Soon the Kindle will become a paperweight since there is no way to download anything from Barnes and Noble here. I may send it back to the states to one of my girls to use because it's cheaper to download books than buy the printed version.
Stay Cool,
I also received my Work Permit which is another hard card much like the drivers license with another unflattering photo on it. This is the important one to carry and to have at all times for identification.
Did you know that the "close door"buttons in elevators in the US is turned off in every elevator in the US. They truly aren't active. Strangely enough here they are active so you can simply press the button and the doors close right away. It's great for limiting who gets on with you. Remember that when you see the new M. Night Shamylan movie that's coming out in a few months.
Out shopping the other night in a bookstore and came upon two old magazines on a book shelf beside some sports books. After pulling them out and looking at the cover I realized I was holding two copies of the first issue of Sports Illustrated in my hands. Dated August 16, 1954 with a picture of Eddie Matthews on the cover. I've been a subscriber for about 30 years and had never seen the first issue. My boss and I left them there and as I thought more about it I decided to go back two nights later to buy them. In the meantime he looked them up on E-Bay and it turns out they are worth between $150 - $200. So we went back and each bought one for about $10.
I've finished two books recently on my Nook (like a Kindle only tied to Barnes and Noble). The first was "War" by Sebastian Junger. If you want to read a detailed account of combat in Afghanistan this is the book to read. It will also be out in theaters since the whole time he was writing they were also taping operations in Korengal Valley. I believe the movie has the title Restrepo.
Another book I just finished was "Sh*t My Dad Says" by Justin Halpern, hilariously funny, but pretty foul language. I think this started as a blog and website and has finally gone into a printed format.
Soon the Kindle will become a paperweight since there is no way to download anything from Barnes and Noble here. I may send it back to the states to one of my girls to use because it's cheaper to download books than buy the printed version.
Stay Cool,
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
We Interrupt this Blog...
for an unpaid advertisement for members of our military and their families. If you have 10 minutes watch the video at this link. Oh yeh and get the tissues out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSMlIM9zLio
Stay Cool
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSMlIM9zLio
Stay Cool
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