Do a simple Google search and you'll be occupied for hours. Dubai is expanding off the charts along with it's fellow "emirates" in the United Arab Emirates. It's not even the capital of UAE but is giving Abu Dhabi (the capital) a run for it's money in size and growth. And I'll admit right now -- yes, I had to Google map it because I'm lousy at Middle East geography. (Sad to say, when I last took a geography class (high school) alot of current Middle Eastern countries didn't even exist!)
In our getting-smaller-all-the-time world, a conversation I had last week with a friend was still a bit surreal. I was sitting outside on my porch, enjoying 75º Vegas sunshine, when my cell chirped with an incoming call. It was my friend Nick, calling from Dubai where he works for an American construction company. Our time difference is exactly 12 hours, so while I'd just finished breakfast, he was headed home from after-work drinks with friends. We chatted for some time about his work, and the sights he was seeing as he drove home. He's from metro New York, and he describes Dubai as even more cosmopolitan than the Big Apple.
The culture difference is sometimes small, sometimes big, but, he says, not hard to live with at all. His biggest adjustment has been to a Friday/Saturday weekend, as Islam is the main religion and Friday is their holy day like our Sunday. It can get confusing as some Middle Eastern countries recognize Thursday/Friday as the weekend. Makes it interesting when you're doing business with companies around the world. And, in a meeting with 30 other people, it's very possible they are all from different countries. Thank goodness English is as common as Arabic.
I encourage you to expand your horizons. I even found a link on the official Dubai government website where you can learn Arabic for free.
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment