Hello Dubai. How refreshingly sweet you are, despite the oddly excessive dust in the air and humid heat. I guess you're a desert welcoming me with open arms? lol...
So I'm in Dubai - one of the world's richest and most luxurious places. The buildings are shiny, some of the highways are illuminated with neon lights underneath their bridge structures, and there's a gigantor market filled with blocks and blocks of gold. (I went to the Gold Souk today, and although you can bargain there, I still couldn't afford anything on those rows and rows of glittery gold bangles and baubles. haha.)
It's actually a pretty highly Westernized place, relatively speaking about food. I took a walk to the nearby mall yesterday, and there was a Burger King, McDonalds (of course), Fuddruckers, Chili's (shout out to Joey, hey-o! haha), Tony Roma's, Macaroni Grill, Johnny Rockets, and On the Border. I haven't had Mexican food in forever, so I of course went with the latter for dinner. Yes, on my first night in Dubai, I had a taco and chile relleno.
Anyway, the weather has been really odd here (at least that's what the guy at the coffee shop told me). There's so much dust just hanging out in the air and its so humid that there is a "how bearable is this?" meter in the daily newspaper. Visibility is extremely low at 600 meters. Asthma sufferers have been warned not to go outside. I guess it makes sense because its a desert...but apparently this hasn't happened in forever. So I have been relegated to hanging out at the hotel mostly (not poolside though, because just being outdoors is pretty gross - like walking into a dusty sauna), and taking the walkway to the adjacent mall (and of course that one excursion to the Gold Souk this afternoon).
Note about the Festival City mall -- I realize there are a LOT more Filipinos here than I would have ever thought. It's strangely interesting.
Anyway, today it's supposed to be 108 degrees Farenheit or something like that here. I'd like to think I'm a pretty culturally sensitive person, but I think I just committed a pretty bad faux pas. Wrapped up in the sadness of the weather that is not allowing me to explore the city as I had previously planned (well, I STILL have a paper to work on, so I guess all things fora reason), I chose to dress for the weather instead of the culture. Let me explain. So most ladies here are in full black attire. Most wear headscarves, and many wear burkhas. So you hardly see their bodies. You usually only see their faces and hands. It isn't that I have anything against this type of dress...I just forgot how conservative this culture is. I've seen ladies walking around in t-shirts and pants (though they are obviously not from the UAE) and I've seen men walking around in t-shirts and shorts...so of course, I dawned a pair of gray shorts that came mid-thigh today. These would be considered "conservative" in the United States...but here, I think that anything above the knee is a faux pas. I got a few looks. So as I observed other people, I noticed that even the kids had on long shorts or pants. Matt tried to walk 10 feet away from me during our short walk from the mall to dissociate himself.
So when I decided to go to the Gold Souk today, I changed into a pair of jeans. But I was still a little embarrassed by my show of leg today that I decided to purchase what I thought was a traditional Arab (or at least UAE sort) of dress. It's a pretty silk one, with flowing half sleeves, full length. I got it for pretty cheap, so I was quite happy with myself...psyching up my purchase to "righting a cultural wrong"...until of course I got back to my hotel. And the tag said, "Made in China."
I knew it had to happen sometime. But when I was considering my wardrobe options this morning, I thought that a tank top would be a worse faux pas than shorts. Then I thought that the dress would help. Oh well, at least I can postpone my laundry for another day...
Sorry it's just been a quick' "Hi!," Dubai. It's been real, but...I'm most excited for Italy. TOMORROW!
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