Fancy Duds

Posted by Kanga.

Photo by Shruti Jagdeesh

Here we are in our Indian attire at the wedding of Mali and Zarina. DaddyBird is wearing a sherwani and I am wearing a salwar kameez.

It was our first Muslim Indian wedding. It was held in a hotel ballroom. Men and women were separated by a partition. The event was scheduled to begin at 8 pm, but most people arrived around 9:30 pm. The bride joined the ladies and sat on a couch where she was greeted and congratulated by the guests. Many pictures were taken. Dinner was served about an hour later. Around 11 pm it was announced that the partition would be taken down so that men and women could come together. The announcement is made to allow the women who cover their hair time to wrap up. This actually happened about 45 minutes later. The groom joined the bride and the speech making by friends and family began. We left at 12:30 am because we had an hour drive ahead and I had to go to work the next morning. Word is that the party continued until 3 am. Sometime after we left there was a Star Wars Death Star wedding cake.

We wish Mali and Zarina all the best. They are wonderful people.

(Our thanks to Shruti for taking our picture!)

No Lingerie For You

Posted by Kanga.

I am puzzled. There are many, many lingerie shops, especially in Dubai (not so much in Fujairah) and, yet, the only thing sold at Victoria’s Secret is perfume.

One of the things that we found surprising in our first week in the country was the contrast in the malls where there will be abaya and gown stores right next to lingerie stores (displaying some pretty naughty stuff in the windows). These stores display things that I have never seen at a Victoria’s Secret (U.S.) store. More along the lines of Frederick’s of Hollywood.

Because Sequins Just Weren’t Enough

Posted by Kanga.

The mall window displays never cease to amaze.

I’m not sure what Louis Vuitton is selling, but I found this off-putting.

Random Words on T-Shirts

Posted by Kanga.

We haven’t posted crazy t-shirts in a while and found a few gems while shopping this evening, so here’s a fresh batch:

“Chan meal love best beateliful things mahe thin feel good” – If you say so.

This is for that layered look that never gets old or tacky.

This one says “Employd women wieh infane children face, dilemma of whether tokeep” The best I can make out of that is “employed women with infant children face a dilemma of whether to keep.” Why would anyone want such a depressing message on their shirt? What are they deciding to keep/not keep – the children or the job?

I never cease to be amazed at the amount of Playboy imagery there is here.

Apparently, the young Pluto started out with Shopmark before he was picked up by Disney.

Kandora Chic

Posted by Kanga.

The kandoras we ordered on Saturday were ready for pick up today. So, nothing would do, but a quick trip to Dubai to pick them up.

The white really shows off DaddyBird’s beard, don’t you think?

Oliver got under the black kandora, playing hide and seek, but the white one freaked him out. Maybe he doesn’t like the competition.

Kandora Shopping

Posted by Kanga.

With the help of an Emirati friend, DaddyBird went kandora shopping.

First, a few measurements were taken and decisions were made on length and features.

Next, the fabric and colors were chosen. He ordered two black, one blue, and one white. After a bit of negotiation, a 50% deposit was paid. The total cost came to approximately $60.00 each.

When the finished product is ready, perhaps we’ll have a little fashion show.

Rosie the Robot

Posted by Kanga.

Due to the small space in our kitchen allotted laundry machinery, we have a single machine that both washes and dries clothes.

This is a new experience. I don’t think these are sold in the States. It takes a very long running time to dry clothes. It also does a thorough job of wrinkling everything. It appears I will be ironing all my outer clothes.

Ramadan, Iftar and Cultural Understanding

Posted by Kanga

Thursday evening we joined 9 of our Twitter friends and others at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding for a dinner and cultural exchange. The purpose of the centre is to help visitors (both tourists and residents) better understand Emirati culture.

First a little explanation for those who might not be aware – Ramadan is a month long fasting experience that occurs once a year. During daylight hours, muslims refrain from eating and drinking. At sunset, the call to prayer sounds and the fast is broken with a meal called iftar. The fast is usually broken with water and a date (the fruit – either dried or fresh), then prayers are said and a full meal is eaten.

Here are some of our friends, Mita, Lin, Dru, Maddy, Mohammed, and Khalid.

Here is the food. Biryani, Fareed (aka Thaleed), Harees, Vegetable Magooga, and salad. It smelled delicious! Tasted delicious, too.

After dinner, we ladies covered in abayas and sheylas. Men were offered the option of wearing kanduras, but I don’t think any took the opportunity. Then we were off to the mosque.

Once inside the mosque, Nasif, a volunteer at the centre, explained what goes on inside and the basic tenets of Islam in a very pleasant and humorous way.

The whole point of this is one of cross cultural communication, to dispel myths and misunderstandings.

Along with dessert, we got a little fashion information. This is a type of veil called a niqab. (This is what all the fuss is about in France and a few other countries that assume if a woman is veiled she is oppressed. Wearing a veil is not required by Islam and is discouraged by the UAE government, as in, if a woman wants a government job, she cannot wear a veil. In the UAE, women wear them for their own individual reasons.)

And this is what is called a burqa (burka) in the UAE. It is a leather face guard designed to shade the eyes and face from the desert sun. It is usually worn by the older generation.

The volunteer staff were very open and answered any question frankly. It was a very pleasant evening. If anyone ever comes to visit us (hint) we will make a point of taking them to the centre.

Then we all had camel shaped chocolates (yum) and went home.

Bull Butting Again

We went to Fujairah for the bull butting contest again, one last time before the heat and humidity get unbearable. The crowd was smaller and most of the spectators were gathered in the shade of the two large trees. I suspect we aren’t the only ones who will be taking a break from the sport until next winter.

I couldn’t pass up taking a picture of this grandfatherly figure. This is technically inside the arena. It is very dangerous, not just from the bulls, but from the panicked spectators who run frantically any time a bull heads into the crowd (and they do).

We spent a few minutes on the beach. The sand is dark. It is almost chocolate brown when it is wet. I resisted the urge to collect this shell and settled for a picture. Takes up so much less space that way.

There was a family near us and their daughters (approx. 10 yrs old) were swimming in the surf wearing full length dresses and head scarves. They were having a blast.

Fujairah’s known for its roundabout sculptures, large art works in the middle of roundabouts. (Previously posted pictures here) Unfortunately, these pictures were taken at dusk from a moving car, but you get the idea. The guy sitting on its leg is a nice touch.

After this it was off to Al Meshwar restaurant for great food, then a two hour drive back home dodging the dangerous drivers. A day well spent.

Jumeirah Beach Residence Sights

This probably seems like an innocuous picture to you. Nothing out of the ordinary. However, if you live in a Muslim country and are aware of local customs and standards, you would know that there is too much skin showing in this picture. These tourists are apparently unaware of where they are vacationing. Yes, Dubai is very liberal, especially in areas predominately populated by tourists, but I still find scenes like this odd.

The wind was gusting so hard that it was blowing most of the water out of this fountain.

This “old” hotel is being torn down. No wrecking ball, just a large jackhammer slowly nibbling away at it. Keep in mind that this country was formed in 1971, so old is not necessarily old here. This hotel was probably the best at one time, but it is sitting on prime beach property and is behind the times, so down it comes. Everything is made of cement here, so this is a tangle of rebar and cement chunks. I don’t know if they don’t know about explosive demolition or if there is some reason not to do it that way.