|
About These Letters |
|
|
 I moved to Abu Dhabi from my native Canada (with my then-husband Bob), in 1993. Over the course of the next 10 years, I wrote letters to family and friends around the world from my new home in the Middle East. I also documented some our trips to interesting destinations.
I’m re-publishing the letters here (as and when I get a chance to edit them!), for your reading pleasure. I hope you enjoy them, Susan :)
|
|
|
Traditional Roles |
|
|
LAD 8
January 11, 2004
Abu Dhabi, UAE
When we decided to move here, I had hoped that we would get to know and befriend some of the local people. So far that’s proving to be a challenge, for a number of reasons.
First, less than twenty per cent of the population of the UAE comprises UAE nationals – the most recent figure I've seen is 16 per cent; 84 per cent consists of expatriate workers
|
|
Click to continue...
|
|
|
Language & Culture |
|
|
LAD 7
January 4, 2004
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Asalaamo aleikhum!
For the non-Arabic speakers amongst you that means: peace be upon you! Asalaamo aleikhum is the usual greeting for all occasions here; the correct response is: wa aleikhum salaam which means "and peace be upon you also."
I haven't taken an Arabic course yet - I went to enroll before Christmas and found out that the course ran Saturdays, Mondays, and Wednesdays from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. from November 16 to December 29, which would have put a real crimp in our weekends and party time over the festive seaso, so I decided to see what they have to offer in March.
|
|
Click to continue...
|
|
|
Driven to Distraction 3 |
|
|
December 30, 1993
Abu Dhabi, UAE
None of the Abu Dhabi maps, or the city's residents, use the aforementioned numbering system.
Instead, they use both 'official' and 'unofficial' names - neither of which bear any relationship to the zones, sectors or street numbers used by the street system signs.
Sometimes the official and/or unofficial street name will be posted at an intersection, sometimes not. None of the buildings have numbers; all business addresses are post office boxes.
It's all very confusing for newcomers...
|
|
Click to continue...
|
|
|
Driven to Distraction 2 |
|
|
December 29, 1993
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Most (i.e. about 90%) of the vehicles on the road here are late models in very good condition. You never see an “old beater,” they're not allowed.
Every second or third car is a Mercedes or BMW, and there are tons of four-wheel drives (Range Rovers, Nissan Patrols, etc,). We also see a smattering of Audis, Legends, and assorted sport cars.
This weekend in Sharjah we parked next to a Ferrari Testosterone - oops, I mean Testarossa.
|
|
Click to continue...
|
|
|
|
