It is another hot and sunny morning and Chris is getting ready for work. They never told him what time to come so we figured 9 was good. My big to do list for the day is to begin blogging and wait to find out when we are looking for places to live. Yesterday we went to the Mall of Emirates, a huge mall with everything from H&M to Gucci and Louis Vuitton. They have a lot of my favorite English stores- Boots being at the top of my list. It is essentially just a British CVS but so much better because well it is British. They also have a Harvey Nichols which I have never seen outside of countless Absolutely Fabulous episodes. If Dubai had been a big destination in the early 90s I think Patsy and Eddie would have had a blast here. Ski Dubai is also in the mall so you can watch people skiing from the food court. Pretty crazy! Everything was pretty quiet and none of the restaurants were open because of Ramadan (more on this later).We didn't buy anything except a camera (and some lunch to bring home from the HUGE grocery store in the mall) because our camera was stolen in Mexico. The camera was a bit old and temperamental so that wasn't the big loss. It's the memories to be a little dramatic. I was hoping to be able to have a lots of sappy pictures of our honeymoon one year after our wedding but oh well. We will just have to actually remember it in our minds now.After the mall we were really exhausted after the night from hell aka the Emirates flight to Dubai. We have been in America too long because it felt like a tro-tro in the sky to me or for those of you not familiar with Ghanaian transportation methods: a greyhound with wings. So after the trip to the mall we rewarded ourselves with a nap and a massage in the spa downstairs. Very posh! After that we ventured out to the Marina walk which is not far from our hotel and the Dubai Marina is visible on any map of Dubai. It is really nice, lots of restaurants, cafes and apartment buildings along the Marina. We chose a traditional outdoor place and had felafel and lots of grilled meat. We watched many parents bring their children to the fountain across from our table. The children were changed into swimsuits and allowed to play in the fountain. The fountain was really sophisticated and the water followed all kinds of patterns set to a soundtrack of water noises ending in a grand finale of the sound of a huge wave crashing. The kids loved it and we enjoyed watching them chase the geysers shooting up but most of all I enjoyed the fact that it was 10pm and no one minded kids running all over the place getting wet even if they were in their clothes! After dinner we ordered apple shisha (mild and fruity tobacco smoked through a standing hookah). Every table around us was also smoking them, young, old, in traditional or modern dress.A little bit about clothing:On the whole the National population wears their traditional dress in public. For men this is the dish dash (a) or khandura- a white full length shirt, which is worn with a white or red checked headdress, known as gutra. In public, the local women wear the black abaya- a long, loose black robe that covers their normal clothes- plus a headscarf called the sheyla. This traditional dress totally covers them up and this is what is considered appropriate within the constraints of the Muslin culture. I took this from a page for other expat women and if you wish to know more about life here this link is a great overview:
Everywhere we go people are from all different places. I am not sure where lots of people are from yet but people watching is a lot of fun because you get to see all kinds of cultures on display. The style of dress is modest on the whole and I think things are even more conservative now because of Ramadan. The most prominent feature of Ramadan is the daytime fasting which is meant to be a sacrifice. Eating, drinking and smoking in public is illegal during this time. (Ramadan is also a time when Muslims are supposed to slow down from their worldly affairs and focus on self reformation, spiritual cleansing and enlightenment and establish the link between the God almighty and themselves by prayer, supplication, charity and showing good deeds, kindness and helping others). I got that from wikipedia because it is a great summary. It is a really special time to be entering Dubai and I think we can all learn from this practice. Everywhere we go there are reminders of donation and even huge collection centers for used books, phones etc.So now I am enjoying tea (not illegal because I am in my hotel room). Restaurants use screens to block the view into the restaurants to accommodate the eating and drinking needs of tourists and non-Muslims. I think the only thing you can't do is drink alcohol during the day, alcohol is not served everywhere so Ramadan limits it even more. Chris just left for his first day and I am contemplating breakfast. The food is wonderful here- a huge block of feta cheese only costs about 50 cents! Chris and I both love Middle Eastern food and there is also a lot of fusion of various Asian and North African foods. Until later!
