How much is that Christmas tree?

Oh, to have someone else set up your Christmas tree, no expense spared! Visitors to the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi get to enjoy possibly the world's most expensive Christmas tree. It was being set up when I went to visit my friend Paula on Tuesday. The tree itself--artificial--only cost $10,000, but the necklaces and other jewelry adorning the tree bring the price tag up to a whopping $11 million. This is the same 7-star hotel that dispense bars of gold in a vending machine, so I guess its visitors expect a nice tree. For all the cost, though, it did not strike me as over-the-top (that honor is reserved for the Burj Al Arab in Dubai). It was heavy on the gold but in a subdued understated way, and they weren't advertising the expensive jewelry.

I received a nice present upon my return to Pittsburgh when my housesitter Jaye offered to set up our Christmas tree. She probably got the idea after watching me do this last year--selecting the perfect tree, hauling it home on the roof of the car, dragging it through the front door into the living room, trimming the lower branches off, screwing the stump into the base with several attempts needed to straighten out the tree, hearing the tree fall over in the middle of the night as it was tilted too much to one side, dealing with the debris the next morning--all of this no small effort. So this year she found a landscaper who would do it all. When I got home, there it was, all set up and not tilting, ready to be adorned. Best of all, the price was only $89.95, probably less than I paid for the perfect tree last year. A very thoughtful gift. Sometimes it really pays to shop around!

Desert Hack on Horseback

A full moon was the occasion for our first experience with horseback riding in Dubai. Even though we are both beginners, Neal's associate encouraged us to join a desert ride, and it was a perfect introduction for us. The riding club is located in Mushrif Park, Dubai's biggest and oldest park, so big that you need a car to drive through it. Unlike the newer parks with their highly manicured greenery and gardens, this park looks more like a desert wilderness, with hills, trees and wild life. Getting on a horse was a little scary at first, but the club welcomes beginners and immediately put us at ease, supplying riding helmets and any help we needed to get in the saddle (English, we discovered, not western).

The instructors matched us with horses according to our riding ability, but that didn't mean we were relegated to slow plodders. These were all beautiful, lively horses, many of them Arabians, and we were told to hold our reins in and keep our hands and heels down. The names were a combination of Arabic and other: Sultan, Snow White, Nacho, Parking, 123, Bader, Concord. The instructors rode the most challenging horses, and it was neat to watch how they kept them in control. Soon we were in the heart of the park away from the lights and roads. The horses knew when we reached the running spots, breaking into a trot or light canter to go up the slopes with hardly any nudging. We did none of that the first night, but when we came back again, they had us trotting and cantering before we even thought we were ready. The best way to learn turned out to be the desert hack rather than lessons in the ring, as these horses did not want to trot in circles in the ring for us neophytes. The hack is what they call a recreational trail ride with a mix of walking, trotting and cantering, and gave us time to relax a bit and get comfortable on the horse. I'm not sure how a canter turns into a gallop but I think we did some of that as well. I made sure to keep my reins tight and my hands down so I wouldn't fall off, successfully not falling off so far.

An early morning ride proved to be the best of all, as the horses were fresh and frisky. A horse named Cruella ridden by an experienced rider ahead of me looked like she was dancing while she walked. Watching one of the instructors, Ahmed, take off on his horse for a gallop down through a valley was an amazing sight, as was seeing the sunrise from the top of a horse. We'll be back.

The BMSB is definitely not my BFF

Everyone I know in Pittsburgh was up in arms this fall about the great stink bug invasion. I got plenty of chances to see it for myself when I was home for Thanksgiving. Every day I would find a new one or two or three somewhere, usually dead, which wasn't that bad, but then when the weather warmed up a bit there would be quite a few more crawling on the window screens or flying around. Sometimes going into a bedroom that hadn't been used for a while I would find an alarming number around a window. Conrad, our friendly exterminator, came out and we commiserated about it for awhile as he admitted that there was very little he and chemicals could do beyond what I was already doing. He explained how hard it is for people to accept the fact that the bugs cannot be eradicated by the force of money and chemicals alone. The key is finding the openings in the house where the bugs get in and closing them down, and, when such efforts fail, learning how to deal with them as a fact of life. Conrad knows that I understand such things coming from the land of the giant palmetto bug, also known as Savannah, Georgia.

Penn State's College of Agriculture Sciences has posted useful news and information about the stink bug on its Entomology webpage. Its full name is the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), which is not native to North America, but apparently was "accidentally introduced" into eastern Pennsylvania. First seen in Allentown in 1998, it has since been collected in 37 counties in Pennsylvania (although the site says it is probable that they are in all counties) and numerous other states. While it does not cause any known harm to humans, it is becoming a serious agricultural pest damaging fruit and other crops.

The Penn Staters explain that "BMSB becomes a nuisance pest both indoors and out when it is attracted to the outside of houses on warm fall days in search of protected, overwintering sites. BMSB occasionally reappears during warmer sunny periods throughout the winter, and again as it emerges in the spring." No mention of what they do over the summer--maybe that's when they get out and do their crop damage to fatten up for the winter hibernation. In terms of dealing with them, the site recommends "mechanical exclusion" to keep them out of the dwelling and vacuuming them up after they've gotten in. They apparently do stink if squashed or vacuumed up en masse, hence the name.

They are very slow and easy to pick up, so that part is easy unless you are squeamish about bugs. Even if you are as crazed as I am about the giant palmetto bugs in the south, you will be able to handle the BMSB, which is small, docile and almost attractive by comparison. Penn State's lead photo, shown above, is almost fetching. However, it is not easy to get one out of the microwave door, and how the heck did it get in there, anyway? I am careful not to squash them (gross!) and just throw them out the door or flush them down the toilet. I find no obvious mass entry points or any way possible to exclude them from the house, which basically is just a large wooden barn with cracks everywhere, hopefully not to become a BMSB's dream overwintering lodge. I have friends who seem to have it much worse than me so I'm trying to feel grateful for that while praying for a winter that is just bad enough to kill them off.

The scientists do not seem interested in speculating as to how this accidental introduction may have occurred. It isn't hard to figure out, though, as my recent experience will show. A few days after I got back to Dubai I noticed something on our window sill. Having never seen a bug in the apartment, I thought it might be a dustball or piece of paper. Boy, was I surprised when it turned out to be none other than a BMSB! I have no doubt that it stowed away in our luggage. How clever to seek out an overwintering spot in the desert. Thankfully the long journey or lack of food or absence of wall crevices in our Dubai concrete haven, who knows what, must have done the stinker in. I have yet to find any others, but will keep my eyes peeled.

Qatar, Host for the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Qatar's winning of the FIFA World Cup bid for 2022 is big news here, and great news for all the Arabian Gulf States.* You'd think the games were due to start next year with all the talk and press coverage. There's hardly any mention of Russia in 2018. Of course, the attention is mostly due to the fact that it's a surprise, being a first for the Middle East.

The radio talk shows are abuzz with excitement over what Qatar's hosting the World Cup will mean for the region. Certainly there will be a surge in tourism, as the UAE is just a hop, skip and jump away from Qatar. There will also be a surge in demand for business and professionals out of the UAE. (I hope my husband's office starts to get some of these calls soon.) There's also talk of a new railway system that would link all of the GCC states, which if approved may be in place as soon as 2017. The thought of hopping on a train and going from Dubai to Muscat, Kuwait City, Doha and points in between, traveling across the desert or with views of the Gulf--I find that extremely appealing, having had more than my share of airports for now. (Dubai is supposed to be extending its metro system to Abu Dhabi, but I don't hear much about that now.)

I also heard that the dates may be changed so the event is held during the "winter" here (December through February). With temperatures in Dubai now in the pleasant range, compared with the unbearable heat of the summer, I really, really hope they decide to do this! It would be so much nicer for everyone and save lots of money in air-conditioning to boot.

The numbers being bandied about are getting very high, so let's hope this isn't another bubble in the making. Qatar is supposed to spend $4 billion on new stadiums and $50 billion on infrastructure. I hear the stadia will be designed for export to other countries after the World Cup and/or convertible to other uses, such as hospitals or theatres. They expect there to be new bond issues to finance the costs, on top of Qatar's existing $100 billion in debt, so Qatar's debt may grow dramatically. It's a scary undertaking for such a small country. According to Wikipedia, the population of Qatar is only 1.7 million, with almost three-fourths being expatriates, much smaller than Dubai or even the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Presumably Qatar has enough anticipated revenue from its oil and gas supplies to pay for all of this, while it continues its attempts to diversify its economy. One advantage it has is not having to worry much about politics and local pressures--if there's one thing Arabs are good at, it's getting things done quickly.

One of Qatar's most noteworthy accomplishments so far is its establishment of campuses of various American universities in its Education City, including Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Texas A & M, Virginia Commonwealth, Cornell Medical School, and Northwestern. (Similar efforts in Dubai have not been so successful.) I know several Pittsburghers who have spent time in Doha teaching for CMU, and I expect that they will welcome its transformation to the world stage, although the ongoing construction will undoubtedly be a major pain, as it has been here in Dubai.

Since I hear it pronounced many different ways, I looked up the official pronunciation of Qatar for English language broadcasts: "KA-tar", which I would pronounce "Ka" as in "cat" followed by "tar" with emphasis on the first syllable. (Wikipedia emphasizes "KA-tar" and not "KAT-ar" although I'd be hard pressed to explain any difference there.) I often hear versions that sound like "Ka-TAR" or "Cutter" or "Catter" and I'm not sure if these are correct.

Having flown Qatar Airways to the USA a couple of times, I can say with confidence that they always pronounce it "KA-tar". I can recommend this airline as a good, reasonably priced travel option, with newer planes, helpful cabin crews, and decent food. The tail fins of the planes are nicely emblazoned in burgundy with an oryx, the national animal and symbol of Qatar. If the quality of the airline is any indicator, I'd say we may be okay as far as the World Cup goes. We will have plenty of time to practice our pronunciation and plan our trip before tickets go on sale.

*Perhaps due to the controversy over the name of the Gulf (see post dated 2/28/10), these six states are usually referred to as the GCC states, for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

What they don't tell you in the guidebooks

There are plenty of good travel guides for Dubai and the UAE, the most ubiquitous being the Dubai Explorer series (we have several copies, it being a popular gift for newcomers). But there are some things I have learned along the way that do not seem to make it in the guidebooks, things that I would have been very happy to know sooner rather than later. Here are a few, in no particular order:

• There is no "P" in the Arabic alphabet. For someone whose name begins with P, this is good to know. My name in Arabic thus becomes Bamela, or as I now like to call myself, Bam-Bam, for short.

• Dogs are not beloved or considered fine substitutes for children by Arabs the way they are in the USA or other countries. The reason was not apparent to me until I learned that Islam considers dogs unclean and anything a dog touches with its nose or saliva must be washed. This would certainly make it challenging to keep a dog in the house. (Dogs are permitted as watch or guard dogs, presumably kept outside, and the saluki "desert" dog is the breed associated with this area.) This probably explains why I have yet to see an Arabic person here with a dog. Needless to say, Dubai is not a dog-friendly place, so people with dogs may find it difficult to find housing that allows dogs and places for walking them. Many expats with families who live in private villas do bring their dogs over from the states, which is not too hard (for the humans, that is) with no quarantine required. Apparently cats are okay here, but I haven't seen many of them either.

• The Islamic holidays are floating and not always predictable, which can cause scheduling problems. They are officially declared based on a moon sighting a day or two in advance. There is no entertainment allowed (including eating at restaurants) until sunset (around 6:30 p.m.) on official holidays. Sometimes the government even moves the date on which a holiday is celebrated, to combine with a weekend for a longer break for public employees. People who were planning to have a day off this year for the Islamic New Year on December 7 discovered at the last minute that it would be celebrated two days earlier. The American Women's Association of Dubai had to reschedule its Christmas luncheon due to the unexpected holiday date change. A general corollary to the above: things may change at the last minute and often do.

• Having Friday off in Dubai instead of Sunday is not a good trade. This is because none of my husband's clients or colleagues in the states feels obligated to honor Friday as his day off. Of course, some of them may still believe my husband is handling their business from Pittsburgh. But it does make it hard to take two days off for the weekend, since he often has conference calls throughout the day on Friday and has to be in the office on Sunday.

• You better hold back that hand if you're a woman here. The western habit of shaking hands is fine if you're a man but can be problematic as far as women are concerned. Most Arab men refrain from shaking hands with women. What makes this even more strange is the fact that Arab men can often be seen holding hands! Think of it this way--same sex, okay to shake or hold hands; different sex, not okay.

• You better be careful where you point that camera. Dubai is a great place for taking amazing photos, but at some point an official looking person may come up to you and tells you photos are not allowed. Usually there are signs saying when photography is prohibited (such as on the public beaches) but sometimes there isn't a sign and you'll be told to stop anyway. This happened to me taking pictures around the Gate Building where my husband's office used to be. I also heard that the CEO of an American company had his camera confiscated after he took pictures of a government installation, and was asked to leave the country shortly thereafter.

• Being on a first name basis is not a sign of intimacy here. With so many different nationalities, it is easier to focus on first names and not bother with last names. At the hotel we stayed in when we first arrived, we became known as Mr. Neal and Miss Pam. The Arabic custom is to use the first name as a matter of course, so it is not a sign of friendship. If you are on a close basis with an Arab, you would show it by using Abu (which means "father of") and the name of his first born son (or daughter if no son). For example, a man named Mohammed with an eldest son named Zayed would be Abu Zayed to his friends.

• Any Arabic you try to learn beforehand will be useless. (Fortunately, it is not necessary to speak any Arabic at all to get by in Dubai.) The Arabic phrasebooks with the formal Arabic greetings are not helpful. The most useful word I have learned in Arabic, Marhaba, which means "Hello", I learned from a 10-year-old boy in the airport, after searching in vain in my phrasebooks for a simple greeting. On the other hand, it would be nice to know more everyday phrases, the alphabet and the numbers in Arabic, but this is difficult living in Dubai where English is always spoken and used everywhere on signs. A phrase that you may often hear expats use is "inshaa'allah", for God willing. This can be confusing--the first time a fellow American told me she was going home, inshaa'allah, I responded, you're going where? Another good word to know is "shukran" for thanks.

• Trying to economize by bringing stuff to Dubai from the U.S.A. sounds like a good idea, but isn't. The reason, I discovered, is that I have to keep taking things back and forth, and I often forget to do so. Eventually everything I need ends up in the other place. Better to just buy an extra set and forget about taking things back and forth. This saves on valuable luggage space as well.

• Being 9 hours ahead in time usually doesn't work in our favor, although sometimes it does. It makes for a long work day for my husband as his Dubai day starts in the morning but his U.S.A. clients only get started in the late afternoon and evening. It is kind of cool to wake up on Monday or Tuesday morning to find a Steeler game from the night before still in progress, but watching the entire game would require a 5:30 a.m. alarm, so you get the idea. It is also nice to know there's always a lot of time left in the day to make calls to the states. But it is not nice to get calls from the states in the middle of the night, which we have learned to ignore.

Rugby Sevens Supersized

The Dubai Rugby Sevens had its 41st annual appearance during the National Day weekend, and I was amazed to find it even bigger and better than last year. I was thinking "been there, done that" but honestly found that I had just as much if not more fun this year, as it is a unique experience being in the middle of the desert with about 50,000 people having a very good time, with plenty of games and costumed characters to watch, food and drink, and fun activities for kids and adults.

While the temperatures continued to hover in the 70's the combination of heat and drink can be too much for some, especially those who start in the morning, and there were undoubtedly a few needing help to get home, but that being said, it was a friendly, well behaved crowd again this year. The police are quick to chase down anyone who runs on the field or otherwise gets out of hand, and there are plenty of buses and taxis to transport people who should not be driving.

Since my husband entertains clients at this event, I act as the designated driver/photographer/refreshment procurer. My hard-earned knowledge of rugby also comes in handy. I explain to anyone who listens how I suffered as a rugby widow for many years while my husband played in college, law school and thereafter for various different teams working his way up the regional ladder until he made the USA National Men's Team (the aptly named Eagles), playing in several international matches including the very first Rugby World Cup in 1987 in Australia. Amazingly, the famous England prop who was Neal's opposite in the USA's match against England way back when, Gareth Chilcott, was also attending the tournament, sitting in spitting distance from our group. Neal chose not to say hello, knowing that the recognition would not be mutual, or perhaps fearing flashbacks (I will not say the score but at least it wasn't a shutout).

The USA team had an incredibly tough draw but made it to the quarterfinals after beating Argentina and Zimbabwe, losing only to defending champs New Zealand in pool play. They then dropped to the plate competition after losing to Samoa, finalists both last year and this, and then lost again to the ultimate plate winner South Africa. England squeaked through pool play with an unexpected loss to Portugal but then solidified their side nicely, managing close wins against Australia, New Zealand, and, in the final match, Samoa, much to the delight of the highly partisan Brit-loving crowd. The orange and yellow kit worn by the English team was a bit offputting to their fans, who fancy the traditional white jerseys with red cross, but no one was complaining about that at the end!

The wide open expanse of the desert makes it easy for helicopters to fly in and out next to the stadium. I was thinking that there must be a lot of serious injuries until I realized that this was the preferred method of transport for certain VIPs. When a plane buzzed out of nowhere to swoop down inside the stadium as part of the evening show, however, it was a bit scary because it was headed into the endzone stand if it stalled. Six parachute artists also swooped in making pin point landings on the field. Those guys must make a good living as they always seem to be part of the big shows in town.

The stadium has a makeshift feel, looking like temporary stands with unpaved parking lots for the most part, and may have seen its last tournament if new digs are built for next year. I wouldn't mind a bit if it stays the way it is--more concrete and paved roads won't make it better. The open air nature of the venue allows lots of interesting vendors to roll in their displays, including a new feature this year, the "Extra Cold Freezer". This is a portable two-story bar with patio, air-conditioned so the inside temperature is at least 10 degrees Celsius colder than outside, with beer served at close to freezing. A little different from the "ice clubs" that are now catching on in London and Dubai where the furniture is made of ice and customers are given parkas to put on (Dubai's new club is called "Chillout"). The Extra Cold Freezer doesn't have anything frozen inside except the beer and keeps the temperature warmer so people will be able to stay inside longer. The challenge for their marketing will probably be finding places that will allow them to set up, since most places serving alcohol need special licensing. While I was intrigued enough to want to visit the E.C.F., I was unfortunately turned away as it was only open to VIP ticket holders.

Since the final wasn't over until 10:00 pm with a long drive home to follow, we were grateful to the ruler for declaring the next day a holiday as part of National Day celebrations. Maybe next year we'll get the whole week off for the UAE's 40th/Dubai Rugby Sevens'42nd birthday!

Kullunna Khalifa

National Day rolled around again on December 2, celebrating the formation of the UAE 39 years ago. Since it fell on a Thursday the powers that be declared Sunday a holiday to make it a four-day weekend, which called for an even bigger celebration than last year. The theme was the cryptic "Kullunna Khalifa", translating as "we are all Khalifa", but the meaning was clear with pictures of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of the UAE, appearing throughout the city. This seemed a logical development since the Burj Dubai was renamed Burj Khalifa in honor of the ruler (and his large bailout of Dubai) almost a year ago now.

The Emiratis love their cars and many go all out to decorate them in honor of National Day with pictures of the ruling sheiks, the national flag colors of red, green and white, and various accoutrements, including feather boas in those colors. The authorities tried to crack down on decorations obstructing the rear view mirror and said feather boas, without much success.

With temperatures hovering in the 70's and perfect clear blue skies, many locals headed to Mushrif Park, Dubai's largest, for picnics, at the same time as Neal and I were scheduled to have our latest horseback riding lesson. We went on a desert ride where the horses can let loose a bit and we find out if we can stay in the saddle. It got a bit hairy when we passed large groups with children trying to spur our horses on with whistles and giddyap sounds, but we held our reins tight and made it back to the stables in one piece, enjoying a beautiful sunset on the way.

Hakuna matata, kullunna Khalifa!