American Women

I want to meet more Americans here, and people have recommended that I join the American Women's Association (AWA) of Dubai. The process turns out to be a bit convoluted--first you have to be invited to an event. How to get one's self invited is a challenge when you don't have anyone's name or phone number, going only through faceless website inquiries and replies, which ends up being the equivalent of voicemail limbo. I finally get a ticket to an event but there is no location listed--location to be announced--and my inquiries as to location direct me back to a website page to which I don't have access since I am not yet a member. I persevere, knowing this will be worth it, and finally make my way to the event, which is the annual Christmas luncheon party. The strangeness is heightened by my having to drive through my first sandstorm in Dubai (pictured above) to get there. Not knowing a soul, I feel completely lost even after I arrive but eventually get myself seated with other newcomers.

The first person I meet is a dentist from Sweden! Stockholm in the summer sounds very nice. The group accepts associate members who do not have to be American, so all in all it looks to be a very diverse group with a strong American contingent, but there's no time to mingle. We are entertained at the luncheon by a jazz band from the Dubai American Academy, who did an admirable job on a number of holiday favorites without much audience participation. I have noticed that people seem more restrained in such settings, perhaps out of respect for cultural differences. And the menu is all over the place, with food choices from every continent. While I did not get a chance to talk with many people other than the Swedish dentist, I found out that there is a large group of Americans living out my way on the Palm, and I even met a woman soon to move in my building, so it was certainly a worthwhile outing.

According to a local expat website, you can tell if a man is an American often by just looking at his shoes and clothes. With a woman, it's a little more tricky to use clothes, but pretty easy if you just wait until she opens her mouth. Accents are definitely the tell-tale sign. That explains why no one ever seems to have any problem figuring out where I'm from. Since everyone is from someplace else, no one seems that interested, however, and it can be tough to take the conversation from there.

Neal and I are supposed to have a scuba diving lesson in the evening but it is cancelled due to instructor illness. I believe this is a fib because one of the other instructors told me there was a big concert featuring The Killers in Abu Dhabi that night. But I don't mind at all since I am not really looking forward to doing scuba in a pool at night. So that frees up our schedule to attend another Christmas party in the evening, this one for the American Business Council, in the Ballroom of the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm, very close to where we live. I am glad for another chance to met some fellow Americans, but again we are in the minority. We meet a very interesting guy from Canada who is peddling a waste water treatment product, as well as vacant lots in South Carolina, Colorado, or Arizona; the local managers for UPS, an Indian and a Brit; and a Russian and Lebanese couple who have opened a radiology center featuring new types of MRI machines that don't require you to put your whole body in a tube. I mentioned that I had heard of issues with getting good quality MRIs done in the states, and was offered a free MRI on the spot!

We also met an American human resource manager for GE who had lots of good advice on the best cable TV packages in Dubai for watching American sports. I managed to set up a Slingbox before I left home, which lets me watch and control my home television over the internet using my computer, but I imagine it must be kind of freaky and annoying for my housesitter Jaye to be watching TV at home and have me unexpectedly change the channel. Apparently that's why it's called a Slingbox Solo, and I need to get something called a Slingcatcher so she and I can watch different channels at the same time. The thought of getting another device, which I may use only a few times, is not very attractive. I decide to try to let Jaye know when I am going to be hijacking the TV remote control. Since the Steelers are in the dumpster now it may be a moot point. The last time I turned on a game the old movie Jaye was watching was definitely better!

I have been able to watch some of my son's college wrestling matches over the internet. There's a live video stream for some of the home matches, and one of the other mothers posts match results on a blog and sends results by instant message. The video is very raw and grainy with no indications of the score or commentary and often the official's butt is in the middle of the screen, but it's still very nice to have. The only problem is staying awake in the wee hours, but we discover we can even replay the video later.