Downgrade on the world's largest airlines

I am finally back in Dubai after being away for more than six months, which is nice, except that it took three tries for me to make it on the daily United flight from Dulles Airport to Dubai as a space available passenger. While my husband pays the list price for business class, I try to fly on a buddy pass as much as I can, which gives me flexibility and the chance to go back and forth from the USA more often than I could afford otherwise. My sister works for United, and she usually has more passes than she can use. It's a great deal when I can get a seat that way, but the key word is "when".

Now that United has merged with Continental to become the world's largest airlines, many things have changed in the United flying experience, including the buddy pass program. Flying on a pass from Dulles to Dubai is much more difficult, possibly due to increased demand since there's still just one flight per day and Continental passholders are part of the picture. Getting a seat in business class--one of the best features of the program--may never happen again since all upgrades go ahead of space available passengers. Getting a seat in coach is also a challenge, even when there appear to be seats available, due to mysterious weight and other factors that come up often at the last minute. Of course, if there is ever a problem with a flight, that will have ripple effects into the next day.

I make sure I have plenty of leeway when I try to travel space available so I will not go crazy when it doesn't work out, which is often the case. I wanted to fly with my sister to Dubai when she had a trip there in mid-September, but the flight was unexpectedly full and then some seats had to be given up at the last minute due to missing fire extinguishers in the crew cabin, so I didn't make it. Probably a good thing I did not fly that night as they encountered another problem with the smoke protection system in the passenger cabin and had to return to Dulles four hours after take off.

The flights between Pittsburgh and Dulles can be just as challenging. The schedule is very limited, and the planes are small. When you add in flight delays, it suddenly seems much easier to just rent a car and drive the five hours to Dulles airport from Pittsburgh.

None of this tends to bother me very much, since you get what you pay for and I am not paying very much. The one thing that riles me most at the moment is the increasingly lousy food offered in coach. I remember the days when an international flight of any kind brought with it a printed menu and tablecloth service. Now you are lucky if you get served anything edible. There might be two options, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, and they are both bad. The flight attendants are not to blame. They are very busy and do what they can. I imagine that they even feel a bit ashamed at the unappetizing offerings. But a tasteless tricolored mush with bits of corn the only identifiable ingredient and a frozen roll was more than I could bear the last time I flew. The only edible food over 13 hours was yogurt and a cookie. I hear the coffee has even been downgraded since the big merger. I had my own Snickers bar and cookies that I brought along in case of emergency but never touched them having lost all appetite.

I feel bad for my husband as a Global Services-level elite passenger, who suffers from the stress of unhappy travel experiences a lot more than I do, having to reschedule meetings and deal with staff from afar. While the food he gets in business class is much more acceptable, the "elite" service leaves much to be desired. He was not notified, as he should have been, when his connecting flight from Pittsburgh to Dulles was delayed, causing him to miss the flight to Dubai later that day. A simple phone call or email would have made it possible to get on an earlier flight in time for the Dubai flight. He is paying top dollar and deserves better.

I hope these are temporary problems, perhaps due to the big merger. Emirates is one airlines that will not hesitate to eat the US airlines for lunch if they find an opening, and it will cost us all a lot more in the long run.

A newly minted American

I wrote an article for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about my friend Hanna Besterman, a native of Poland who recently became a U.S. citizen. I was honored that they chose to run it today alongside the many 9/11 commemorative pieces.

I wrote a longer version, which I am including below. The picture shows Tom, Hanna, and me with our friends Linda, Patty and Nancy. While the article has nothing to do with Dubai, I am sure everyone can identify with being a stranger in a strange land.

A Newly Minted American

When I was invited to attend the U.S. naturalization ceremony on July 15, I didn’t know what to expect. My friend Hanna Besterman was becoming a U.S. citizen. I was meeting her and her husband and other friends at the Pittsburgh Field Office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, located on the South Side. Hanna had passed the citizenship test there a few weeks earlier.

The giant logo of American Eagle Outfitters seemed to show me the way as I drove across the Hot Metal Bridge. Hanna and her husband were wearing red, white and blue and carrying little American flags, and we took pictures waiting for the doors to open. But Hanna forgot her identification, having changed purses to go with her outfit. It looked like we might have to come back another time, but then they said Hanna could participate and bring her ID later. We all breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the wise person upstairs who thoughtfully made an exception.

The ceremony room was full, with standing room only for the last arriving guests. Field Office Director Michael Klinger conducted the ceremony, welcoming Hanna and 24 others from 17 different countries, calling out each country by name. I watched Hanna and the others as they took the oath of allegiance and were pronounced citizens, many with tears filling their eyes. Mr. Klinger then offered the podium to any persons who wanted to share their story.

The first person to speak was a woman who had been a missionary in Haiti. A little Haitian girl needed new parents, and she and her husband were hesitant at first, having just lost a granddaughter about the same age, but then they decided to adopt her. Of course, the little girl won their hearts as she became a part of their family. They had to leave Haiti after the earthquake struck in January 2010. Her daughter Valerie was adjusting well to life in West Virginia and became the youngest new U.S. citizen that morning.

Hanna was the second to speak. I was curious to hear what she had to say because she has a remarkable story, but I knew it would be hard for her to keep it short since she loves to talk. She spoke of her excitement when she first came to Pittsburgh from her native Poland in 1992 with her husband and two small sons, 3 and 9 years old. Westinghouse invited her husband to work as guest engineer for a three-year contract. It was a big deal for them to get this chance to come to America, because at this time it was very hard to get a visa from Poland. Hanna said it was like a dream come true. She looked forward to the adventure of living in the U.S. and the opportunity for her kids to learn English and explore new things. She also hoped it would help her marriage.

Despite not knowing a word of English, Hanna made friends, found an apartment and enrolled her sons in school. Her kids did great, learning English easily, making friends and playing soccer and baseball. Hanna also learned English and finally found a job in her field, working with people with disabilities, after being underemployed in various temporary jobs to help support the family.

Hanna and her husband were not getting along. The three years in America convinced her that she needed to get out of the marriage. When the contract with Westinghouse ended, her husband went back to Poland ahead of her. But Hanna didn’t go back. She got a new work visa and moved to an apartment in Aspinwall to be closer to her job. Her husband showed up one day and wouldn’t leave until he convinced her to go back to Poland. She quickly realized her mistake, as life under the same roof was a living hell.

With lots of help, Hanna managed to escape to Pittsburgh with her children. Fortunately, she still had a year left on her work visa. She got her job back and found another apartment in Aspinwall. She felt like she and the boys were coming home. She also found a new green card sponsor, having been turned down the first time she applied.

Hanna’s story, of a wife stuck in a bad marriage and a mother fighting for her kids to have a normal life, struggling to get legal work status and make a new home in the U.S., had a happy ending. She got a divorce and green cards for herself and her sons. She married her new husband Tom in a red, white and blue ceremony in PNC Park. Her two young sons grew up in America into well-educated, compassionate young men.

The older son, Jakub, has a love of sports that he embraced growing up in Pittsburgh, graduating from Slippery Rock with a degree in sports management. He married an American girl and works for the Phoenix Coyotes. Marcin is a senior at Juniata, majoring in peacemaking and environmental studies, having won a scholarship for his work with a Presbyterian youth group raising money for Invisible Children in Uganda and doing mission work in Rwanda, Haiti and Costa Rica.

Hanna was fortunate to be able to solve her immigration problems, spending thousands of dollars to obtain legal status, which took her several years to pay off. As Hanna put it, “only the ones who are desperate end up here.” Things aren’t perfect, but she is forever grateful for her second chance at life. America has been her home for a long time now, so becoming a U.S. citizen for Hanna was the culmination of many years of effort, like a hard-earned prize. She declared it one of the happiest and most profound moments of her life.

Several others told their stories that morning, and it was obvious that they shared the same emotions and gratitude for their new home country. A research scientist from Morocco said coming to America was the best thing she’s done in her life, because everything has been good for her in America, and it has been wonderful to have kids here and see them bloom with all the opportunities they have. A young mother from Mexico with a newborn infant told her story about falling in love with her husband, an American Marine, and being so happy to be able to live with him here, start a family, and find a job. Hanna sat next to a young woman who was a Bosnian refugee granted asylum in the U.S. She worked at BNY Mellon and was joined by her sister who became a citizen before her. Each one had a story, different in the details but similar in parts, most having traveled a long, hard road to U.S. citizenship. They all shared the common theme of love for America and feeling like America was their home long before they received the right to call themselves Americans.

Most natural born Americans take their citizenship for granted and have no idea how hard the process is for immigrants to obtain work visas, green cards, and citizenship. Many Americans can’t even pass the citizenship test that Hanna took—in fact, 38% failed when Newsweek gave 1,000 people the test earlier this year. If more Americans could hear Hanna’s story and those of other immigrants granted citizenship, maybe they would be more sympathetic to immigrants and appreciate the hardships they endure as they navigate the complicated maze of U.S. immigration law.

I was surprised to find out that the Pittsburgh Field Office conducts naturalization ceremonies every two weeks, swearing in 200 new citizens each month. As Mr. Klinger said, it’s the stories that make these days special, but we don’t often hear about them unless we have a personal connection like I have with my friend Hanna.

Diane O’Toole, the Immigration Services Officer who handled Hanna’s application for citizenship, was one of many who came up to Hanna afterwards to thank her for sharing her story. It was also a special day for Director Klinger, whose grandparents were immigrants, because it was his last oath ceremony in Pittsburgh before moving back to his Detroit hometown.

Seeing the faces of these newly minted Americans, I find it hard to understand the anti-immigrant sentiment voiced by some in this country. After all, this country was started and built by immigrants. In the words of Michael Klinger, “we all have an immigrant story, whether we were born here or somewhere else.”

P.S. Here's a link to the version that appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11253/1173399-109-0.stm. Hanna and I are working on a book version of her story, so stay tuned!

Hadda Go to Hatta

We've been meaning to go to Hatta for a while, for several reasons. It's not far from Dubai and is the site of various local attractions, including the Hatta Fort Hotel (nice for getaway weekends) and the Hatta pools (pools in the desert? that I gotta see). It's also the closest place to exit the UAE for those needing to do a "visa run". That's what people do when their UAE tourist visa, limited to 30 days, is expiring. If you leave the UAE with the requisite exit stamp, enter the bordering country of Oman, paying 200 dirhams for the Oman visa, then turn around and leave Oman and reenter the UAE, you get a new tourist visa (free for Americans!) with entry stamp good for another thirty days. Apparently this is a well-accepted practice, but those of us who may need to do it scour the expat discussion forums for updates, afraid that it may not work and we may get stuck somewhere. The word "run" does have a somewhat negative connotation, after all!

I wanted to practice the visa run in case I ever needed to do it for real. We got confused at first due to the presence of several border checkpoints that we had to pass through along the way. The heavily armed guards wanted to look at our passports and seemed interested in where we were going, but they did not seem to want to stamp our passports, even when we thought that perhaps they should. Eventually we realized that these were just checkpoints and not the real border crossing. The real border crossing areas turned out to be much more involved, with big buildings and facilities on both the UAE side and the Oman side. Most disconcerting of all was a huge line of trucks waiting to get though an area for agricultural inspection and quarantine on the way to Oman, but this turned out not to be a problem for us as cars were waved through.

We both agreed that if asked about our plans in Oman we would admit that we were turning around and heading back into the UAE--honesty is the best policy, right? That appeared to be the case with all the westerners like us at the border, and they made it easy on us by assuming that was what we were doing and having us simply confirm our plan to return immediately to the UAE. Which made me wonder why we had to go through the trouble of entering Oman and paying for the Oman visa--why not just get the UAE exit stamp and skip going to Oman? My husband tried to explain that we had not really exited the UAE until we entered Oman, which made some sense, I guess, and who am I anyway to question the logic of the accepted practice?

In Hatta we enjoyed a nice brunch at the Hatta Fort Hotel where we met the Swedish ornithologist and were glad we had not sprung for an overnight stay. We skipped the Hatta Heritage Village (having seen a model on display at the Hotel) and went in search of the pools. Missing the turn "at the flags painted on the rocks" we got an unexpected chance to visit the newish looking dam, which had an impressive lake of water on display for us and several other visitors, and where we thought we spotted a few of the birder's missing birds. (We could have spent more time admiring the water there as we discovered later that the Hatta pools paled by comparison.) We continued our search for the Hatta pools, for which there was no signage whatsoever, wandering through a huge wadi (ravine), walking by all kinds of puddles and litter in the rocks and recesses, coming upon small groups of picnicking families in shady spots. Finally we spotted a group of SUV's signaling what we hoped to be the real pools, with yet another walk down the rocky wadi to reach an area where young men wearing swimwear were climbing down through rocky passageways. I guess they found water there but it was too narrow and deep to see and my shoes too slippery to make the steep descent to look. I didn't even see any wet bathing suits! So I am not really sure there were any Hatta pools (unless you count the puddles). Perhaps that explains the lack of signage and the now understandable popularity of the dam.

The most amazing site of all on our day trip was not in Hatta but along the way, in an area of big sand dunes referred to in our offroad tourbook as Big Red. In the morning as we headed out we came across a couple of places advertising motorcycles and dune bashing trips. By the time we returned, the area was full of traffic and activity, pictured above. The highest dune was covered with vehicles of all types madly racing around like ants on an anthill. Police and emergency vehicles were also on hand, apparently for good reason. It looked like fun in a crazed sort of way, but not the kind of fun that can be sustained with people en masse, so we didn't stop, and I doubt we'll return anytime soon. That is, of course, unless I need to go on a visa run.

Sanctuary of Another Kind

Another kind of sanctuary can be found in Dubai, right in the middle of all the new buildings, roads and desert. It's name is Ras Al Khor, and it's a wildlife sanctuary for migratory birds, especially flamingos, which numbered over 2,700 at last count (including a few fibreglass models used to attract the early arrivals!) The area started as a dry inland tidal creek, but is now a successful protected wetland full of mudflats and mangroves and birds of many kinds. The public is now encouraged to take a look with the construction of bird hides. It's a magnificent place to see the city skyline, softened with greenery and avian grace. A massive residential development called The Lagoons is planned for the vicinity, which also includes an industrial area, so it's a good thing the sanctuary has time to get established first and prosper.

Living on a man-made island I feel a simple joy whenever a bird comes in for a landing and looksee. On one of my treks around the Palm, dodging cars and buses where the sidewalks disappear, my day was made by the discovery of an exotic-looking bird, later identified as a hoopoe. On a day trip to Hatta we met a young biologist from Sweden who was spending a month in the UAE looking for one specific bird. He was bemoaning that he'd only managed to spot three in his first week. Later my husband and I were certain we saw several, but we could have been mistaken.

UAE Rising

The unrest and uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and other parts of the middle east contrast with the relatively quiet scene in the UAE, which seems to be emerging as a safe haven in the storm and rising to a leadership position in attempts to address the crisis. People from all countries and their money seem to find refuge here, at least temporarily. (The UAE is very successful in keeping its population of discontents to a minimum through its strict visa and immigration controls.) President Obama reportedly called Sheikh Mohammad, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, to discuss the situation in Egypt. The official UAE position is one of concern for the threat to Egypt's stability while rejecting foreign attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. How this translates into what we all hope will be a smooth and orderly transition process is, of course, unclear, as the antigovernment protests continue in Tahrir Square.

Life goes on as normal here. Over a year since my arrival in September 2009, Dubai looks better than ever, despite suffering through a very serious economic downturn. All is peaceful in the Global Village, pictured above, where families flock at this time of year to buy sweets and souvenirs from other countries (Yemenis begged us to try their famous honey, while Iranians welcomed us with an impressive array of goodies to sample). Landscaping has filled in at new developments, with flowers and birds adorning the scene; projects that were half completed are now being finished. Studio City, which used to look like a Hollywood movie set with nothing behind the facade, now towers with solid looking buildings and activity, right next door to a gorgeous polo club, which looks to be the center of a sprawling new subdivision of enormous villas for those looking to live the "equestrian" lifestyle. Not far away, in the middle of nowhere, we discover a huge blue metallic blob, which must be a brand new sports stadium, looking to hold 50,000+. Our neighborhood on the Palm Jumeirah boasts several new hotels on the fronds, monumental in size and scope, and a brand new mosque with modernist architectural notes. The Dubai Pearl, a multipurpose development at the base of the Palm, is also continuing to rise with the promise of a bespoke lifestyle.

Nice, if you can afford it! Unfortunately, most people can't, and the wars between the haves and the have nots continue elsewhere.

Here We Go Steelers, All Night Long

Steeler madness is not exactly sweeping the UAE, but there are Steeler fans everywhere if you look hard enough. We decided to host a get-together in our apartment to watch the NFL Championship games last Sunday, since there was no place to watch the games live in Dubai. This would also be an all-night marathon if you wanted to see both games, since they started at midnight and 3:30 a.m. Dubai time.

If you think Sunday seems awfully long when you are waiting for a 6:30 p.m. Steeler game to start, think what it would be like if you had to wait until 3:30 a.m. the next day. Endless. I was ready way too early with not much to do except nap since it was a workday for Neal. When he got home, we had dinner, and we still had plenty of time to kill, so he took a nap. Our first guest arrived at 11:45 p.m. with a couple from Chicago shortly thereafter, as the Chicago Bears faced the Green Bay Packers starting at midnight. The Bears were no match for the Packers, although the third string quarterback gave them a run for their money towards the end, but our Chicago couple did not seem too upset or at all surprised by the bad showing at QB, which has been a perennial weakness going back even further than when they picked up Kordell Stewart from us.

The couple bid us good luck and farewell for the game between the Steelers and the New York Jets, but we had three intrepid friends keep us company in what looked to be a blowout for the Steelers in the first half up as much as 24-0, but turned into a scary close game at the end, 24-19. Even Ben looked worried at one point, but he came through, gotta love him even if you hate him. I don't remember a lot about the game, but we can watch it again anytime we want using my Gamepass. (Don't think that will be necessary.)

Now I'm investigating the Super Bowl viewing options, and we're hopeful the U. S. Consulate here will host an audience for the big game, which will again be a middle of the night affair, starting around 3:30 a.m. If need be, we will happily host again and round up even more fans. I only wish we had been able to bring some of our Steeler gear, as I miss my #92 jersey and our terrible towels, blankets, hats, etc. I justify the sorry lack thereof by saying it's best not to test fate with such displays. My husband has his own madness, on display during the tense part of the game against the Jets: anyone making a comment suggesting that the Steelers were going to be fine was immediately accused of being responsible for anything bad happening thereafter. Fortunately, none of those present was left with the responsibility of losing the game, and we all departed on happy terms!

On the occasion of the big win, I do miss being in Pittsburgh for the post-game euphoria that sweeps the town. My friend Jaye sent me the perfect antidote to homesickness on this occasion, a feel-good, tongue-in-cheek look at Pittsburgh by a talented young singer with a beautiful smile. Enjoy:

SUPERBOWL UPDATE: In a welcome nod to the Americans in the area, our local cable company, which carries Fox Sports, broadcast the Super Bowl live starting with the pregame shows at 11:00 p.m. and the game at 3:30 a.m. We chose to skip most of the former by taking a nap after dinner and setting the alarm for 2:00 a.m. when our guests were to arrive. (Three, including two associates of my husband, showed up.) You probably know the outcome already--the Steelers were down as much as 21-3, then rallied in the second half for a valiant comeback but fell short at the end 31-25 to Green Bay. None of us noticed Christina Aguilera's national anthem gaffe but we couldn't help but see how lame the halftime show was--lipsyncing robots would have been better than the B.E. Peas and Usher. We would have missed the commercials entirely but for being able to watch them from home via slingbox and my laptop, which also gave us a three-second preview of the action on TV. These were mostly as uninspired and juvenile as the products they promoted, with the bright spot being the powerful pug whose spectacular leap reminded me of our cousin's dog who shows similar prowess. Final verdict: I was very glad for the nap and didn't miss our lack of Steeler paraphernalia or being in Pittsburgh for the post-loss letdown.

Staying Connected Is Complicated

Going back and forth from the USA to Dubai as many times as I have this last year, it's proving difficult to stay connected in either place. I still don't have a residency visa for Dubai so technically I can't stay here more than 3o days at a time. Often I am by myself for most of the day as Neal works until 8 p.m. or later, even on the weekend. But being home in Pittsburgh by myself is not much fun either. It's also hard to leave Pittsburgh when the Steelers are in the playoffs, as these games are invariably the most interesting of the season.

We are fortunate to have a very good internet connection at our apartment. When we can watch things over the internet, this makes up for the lack of attractive cable TV offerings, very sparse when it comes to the NFL and nonexistent for watching the playoffs live. (Believe it or not, there are no Steeler bars in Dubai.) So we have been relying on our home TV via slingbox. But the picture quality is not good, and we wanted to invite guests to watch the NFL championships, so I checked out buying an internet package from the NFL Network. While not cheap--a one-week pass costs $24.99--this provides us with a high definition picture almost as good as watching an HD channel on cable. To subscribe to the NFL Network, you must be located outside the USA, obviously to protect their deals with the networks in the USA paying big bucks to carry the NFL games in the states. Not a problem in Dubai.

It gets more complicated when I try to watch other things over the internet, such as Netflix. My account allows me to watch movies instantly over the internet, but to use this my computer must be located in the USA. Netflix can tell from my computer's IP address--set through my internet provider in Dubai--that I am not in the USA. So the trick here is getting your computer on another network that gives it an address in the USA. This involves setting up a VPN, for virtual private network. There are many ways to do this, some free and some not, and I tried a few different ones before I found one that worked. For simplicity's sake, let's just say the basic level wasn't good enough and I had to opt for a higher level with encryption. When I want to use my VPN, which is not always, I open this application and it resets my IP address and directs all my internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel. This has the added benefit of allowing me to see sites that may be blocked in the UAE. So now my Netflix instant queue is available for watching in Dubai!

I also wanted to watch the Australian Open, which is not being shown on any local TV channels. ESPN3 provides free online streaming of matches live, but requires that you have an account with one of the cable companies that is carrying the coverage in local markets. This does not include my cable company in the UAE, which has no coverage, but does include my cable company in the USA, Comcast. So I have to use my VPN to give me a new USA IP address, instead of my Dubai cable company address, and then use my Comcast account to get the ESPN3 coverage. It's amazingly good and much more extensive than I would have been able to see on Comcast at home, which does not broadcast many matches live and usually only provides replays in their daily coverage.

The final complication was to hook my laptop up to our large screen TV, so we could expand the viewing audience. This involves getting an HDMI cable with a small plug that hooks into the laptop and a big one that goes to the TV. Once these are plugged in and the proper HDMI input selected on the TV, you expect the signal to transfer automatically and are disappointed when it doesn't. Turns out you have to get the laptop to go to sleep first and then wake it up for the signal to transfer. Which means you need to wait until the signal transfers to start the internet stream for the program, which may otherwise get disconnected when the computer goes to sleep. So you need to use your mouse and keyboard to be able to control the computer screen as it appears on the TV set. Not too difficult as it turns out, but I had to practice a bit before I got the hang of it.

The final step was dealing with the inadequate audio levels coming out of the laptop speakers, as only the video transfers to the TV, not the sound. The TV has audio inputs (the RCA style red and white plugs) but the laptop doesn't have have those kind of outputs. It does have a mini-jack plug for headphones so I used a small cord with mini-jacks on both ends (which I had been using to play my iPhone in the car) and hooked it between the laptop and our iPod speakerdock. This works like a charm, and now we have decent audio and video for a crowd!

Needless to say, I am quite proud of myself for getting everything to work with no need to purchase any additional equipment. It's not free--I am paying for the NFL Gamepass and also for my secured VPN--but relatively cheap as these things go and also taking advantage of my Pittsburgh-based Comcast and Netflix accounts which I am paying for anyway.