Hi!
This is a mailing to several folks who expressed interest in what I will be doing and what my life will be like here in the UAE. For those who don't know, I have taken a position as Instruction/Reference Librarian at the United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is in the Middle East, located on the Arabian peninsula and bordering Saudi Arabia and the Persian (Arabian) Gulf and the country of Oman. It is very modern, very friendly to the US and very safe. No, I am not afraid to be here. It is also very Arabian in many ways and the Emiratis are Muslims. Although the Emirati women and other women from the region wear their traditional dress, including the veil if they choose, Western women wear western clothing and it is considered inappropriate for us to dress as they do.
I arrived about 10 days ago and finally have gone through most of the initial employment, health screening and housing processes and just today have an assiged computer at work. So I'm sending along the following description of my apartment because of what it says about the culture. I'll be posting my experiences periodically and including you in the mailing but if you are not interested in receiving them, just let me know and I'll remove your address. I'm well, fine and sleeping far better that I thought I would (jet lag usually does me in for a couple of weeks!). Well, here goes.
My first week was spent in a hotel, paid for by the university. Then I moved into my university-provided apartment. After sleeping on the floor for three nights, it was a relief to have a mattress last night. The bed and mattress were delivered yesterday but there were two right side posts for the headboard in the packaging so the delivery/setup men couldn't put the
bed together. I didn't care! I plunked the mattress, in it's protective plastic covering, onto the floor, tossed bedding across it and zonked out. It was great. Supposedly the correct bedpost will be delivered tonight and they'll put the bed together.
So far I've purchased for my kitchen a tiny washer, a small refrigerator, a microwave oven and a mini-cooker (cooker"" is British for stove). This one has two electric burners on top and a
microwave-sized oven below. The entire thing is about the size of my microwave, which ! also grills. Also, I bought a very cool dinette set consisting of an oval table and two chairs that fit around it so that from the top it looks like an oval with an oval band around it. I'll take a picture of it when I get a digital camera and email it.
Besides the bed and mattress I purchased a wardrobe since there are no built-in closets in the apartment. It has three doors and the middle one is a mirror. I had to purchase a child sized one to avoid having something huge that took up an entire wall!
I live in a gated apartment complex that has four two-story buildings of light-colored brick situated in a square around a central courtyard consisting of a fenced in area with two heavily-laden date palm trees where the children can play. The windows in the buildings are arched in typical Arabic architectural style.
About the apartment. I love it! It's spacious, airy and has lots of light from windows and glass balc! ony doors, walls either white painted walls or tiled and white marble floors. The front door is carved dark wood and huge - at least 1-1/2 yards wide and very high. It is in two parts, with the door itself being the largest part and a section on one side which usually is shut but can be opened to allow for entry of large items. The rectangular entry hall is about 10x6 feet. To the left are the doors to the majlis ("maj-liss") or main room. The doors opening into the room are like the front door, large, carved, of dark wood and can be locked. Actually, every door in the apartment can be locked!
The majlis has two parts although it is one open area, a large square area and a smaller rectangular area to the right as you enter the room. There is a wide window directly ahead which looks out over the courtyard to the building beyond. In that area I will put a "conversation pit," a piano and maybe a tv or sound system. To the right of the window is a short wall at a 90-degree angle that has a smaller window. The smaller area ! is to the right of the mail area, is what I think of as the dining area. I hope to put a dining table and chairs there. At the back of that area is a sliding glass door leading onto a small enclosed balcony.
A quick word about the balconies. They are enclosed on the outer side by open weave wooden slats - I can't think of the word right now - with firm metal reinforcements and have stucco-covered cement walls on two sides. You can see out, air can circulate and it's almost like being outside, but with protection from the elements. They have the same white marble tile floors as the rest of the house.
From the dining area, on the back wall is another large dark carved wood door that locks and leads to the kitchen. The kitchen is quite large and rectangular. It has cream colored
built-in metal cabinets with a long marble countertop in an L-shape. A stainless steel drainboard and double sink are on part of the short side of the L and the rest is a long stretch of countertop! At the end of the short L side is a space for a cooker and beside that is a
glass door opening onto a small balcony. At the end of the long side of the L is space for a washer and beside that is a regular, but larger than US standard, door leading into the hallway. Beside the door I currently have the cool dinette set and the refrigerator. Beside that is the previously mentioned door to the majlis. The walls are tile in a cream color with a picture tile of a basket and two pieces of fruit placed at intervals.
Through the door to the hallway, you are in the short end of an L; the long end is the entry hall. Directly ahead is a two-part bathroom. There is no door to the first part which contains a dark blue freestanding ceramic sink with a mirror above it. Then there is a door leading to a room with a dark blue toilet and a low service tub with shower hea! d, also dark blue. On the wall between them is a sprayer similar to the ones on sinks in the US. All my bathrooms have
them; they are used for hygiene while seated on the toilet!
From the hallway, going in the opposite direction from the entry hall, is another door that locks. Beyond that is a hallway with four rooms leading off it. To the right is another, and much larger, bathroom with beautiful tile walls. The tiles are rectangular, taller than
wide, with a marbled look including gold in the marbling colors. Interspersed are tiles with the same background but with a lovely bouquet of pale pink roses. The freestanding ceramic sink, the toilet and tub are cream colored. It's a lovely, spacious room. It has its own water heater which must be turned on by a wall switch about 20 minutes before using hot water.
Next along the hallway to the right is the master bedroom, a large square room. To the left are! glass doors leading onto a balcony; beside the glass doors is the door to the master bathroom which is smaller than the hall bath and has the same tile walls and same colored sink and toilet as in the other bathroom and a water heater. It also has a bidet! I haven't figured out exactly how to use it.
Straight ahead from the beginning of the hall is another bedroom, smaller than the master bedroom, square, with a window similar to the one in the majlis. This is the only main room without a balcony and is the one I will probably use as an office.
Finally, across from the master bedroom, the only door on the left as you start down the hall, is another bedroom about the same size as the other small one but having a balcony with a glass door leading to it. It will probably become my all-purpose room.
That's it! Lots and lots of light, lots of space, lots of white - all floors, the majlis, the entry, the interior halls. I really like it and am getting used to! how all my new appliances work - the washer is from Korea, the fridge and cooker from France (I can't read the instructions, they're in French!). The microwave is from Japan.
It rained last night! That is most unusual here in the desert. I was in the kitchen when I heard a huge loud sound. I thought it sounded like thunder but reasoned that it must have been a jet, although I hadn't heard any jets nearby before that. Then came the sound of a
cloudburst and rain pouring down. The children playing outside started shouting and cheering. I hurried to a window in the majlis and looked out with amazement at water cascading from the sky. I rushed down the stairs (I'm on the second floor; there are two flats per floor) to stand under the awning outside the building door and watch the rain and feel the relative cool after days of blistering temperatures in the high 40s (celsius, that is).
That's when I met my first neighbors, a married couple who soon came out from their flat on the first floor (oops, ground floor; I actually live on the first floor if you use the British terms as they do here) to see the rain. He is from Kenya and teaches architecture at UAEU; she is from Costa Rica and teaches at a local private school. They were very pleasant and friendly. That's just a taste of the international flavor of the people who live and work here.
More later - unless you ask me not to.
Pat
bed together. I didn't care! I plunked the mattress, in it's protective plastic covering, onto the floor, tossed bedding across it and zonked out. It was great. Supposedly the correct bedpost will be delivered tonight and they'll put the bed together.
So far I've purchased for my kitchen a tiny washer, a small refrigerator, a microwave oven and a mini-cooker (cooker"" is British for stove). This one has two electric burners on top and a
microwave-sized oven below. The entire thing is about the size of my microwave, which ! also grills. Also, I bought a very cool dinette set consisting of an oval table and two chairs that fit around it so that from the top it looks like an oval with an oval band around it. I'll take a picture of it when I get a digital camera and email it.
Besides the bed and mattress I purchased a wardrobe since there are no built-in closets in the apartment. It has three doors and the middle one is a mirror. I had to purchase a child sized one to avoid having something huge that took up an entire wall!
I live in a gated apartment complex that has four two-story buildings of light-colored brick situated in a square around a central courtyard consisting of a fenced in area with two heavily-laden date palm trees where the children can play. The windows in the buildings are arched in typical Arabic architectural style.
About the apartment. I love it! It's spacious, airy and has lots of light from windows and glass balc! ony doors, walls either white painted walls or tiled and white marble floors. The front door is carved dark wood and huge - at least 1-1/2 yards wide and very high. It is in two parts, with the door itself being the largest part and a section on one side which usually is shut but can be opened to allow for entry of large items. The rectangular entry hall is about 10x6 feet. To the left are the doors to the majlis ("maj-liss") or main room. The doors opening into the room are like the front door, large, carved, of dark wood and can be locked. Actually, every door in the apartment can be locked!
The majlis has two parts although it is one open area, a large square area and a smaller rectangular area to the right as you enter the room. There is a wide window directly ahead which looks out over the courtyard to the building beyond. In that area I will put a "conversation pit," a piano and maybe a tv or sound system. To the right of the window is a short wall at a 90-degree angle that has a smaller window. The smaller area ! is to the right of the mail area, is what I think of as the dining area. I hope to put a dining table and chairs there. At the back of that area is a sliding glass door leading onto a small enclosed balcony.
A quick word about the balconies. They are enclosed on the outer side by open weave wooden slats - I can't think of the word right now - with firm metal reinforcements and have stucco-covered cement walls on two sides. You can see out, air can circulate and it's almost like being outside, but with protection from the elements. They have the same white marble tile floors as the rest of the house.
From the dining area, on the back wall is another large dark carved wood door that locks and leads to the kitchen. The kitchen is quite large and rectangular. It has cream colored
built-in metal cabinets with a long marble countertop in an L-shape. A stainless steel drainboard and double sink are on part of the short side of the L and the rest is a long stretch of countertop! At the end of the short L side is a space for a cooker and beside that is a
glass door opening onto a small balcony. At the end of the long side of the L is space for a washer and beside that is a regular, but larger than US standard, door leading into the hallway. Beside the door I currently have the cool dinette set and the refrigerator. Beside that is the previously mentioned door to the majlis. The walls are tile in a cream color with a picture tile of a basket and two pieces of fruit placed at intervals.
Through the door to the hallway, you are in the short end of an L; the long end is the entry hall. Directly ahead is a two-part bathroom. There is no door to the first part which contains a dark blue freestanding ceramic sink with a mirror above it. Then there is a door leading to a room with a dark blue toilet and a low service tub with shower hea! d, also dark blue. On the wall between them is a sprayer similar to the ones on sinks in the US. All my bathrooms have
them; they are used for hygiene while seated on the toilet!
From the hallway, going in the opposite direction from the entry hall, is another door that locks. Beyond that is a hallway with four rooms leading off it. To the right is another, and much larger, bathroom with beautiful tile walls. The tiles are rectangular, taller than
wide, with a marbled look including gold in the marbling colors. Interspersed are tiles with the same background but with a lovely bouquet of pale pink roses. The freestanding ceramic sink, the toilet and tub are cream colored. It's a lovely, spacious room. It has its own water heater which must be turned on by a wall switch about 20 minutes before using hot water.
Next along the hallway to the right is the master bedroom, a large square room. To the left are! glass doors leading onto a balcony; beside the glass doors is the door to the master bathroom which is smaller than the hall bath and has the same tile walls and same colored sink and toilet as in the other bathroom and a water heater. It also has a bidet! I haven't figured out exactly how to use it.
Straight ahead from the beginning of the hall is another bedroom, smaller than the master bedroom, square, with a window similar to the one in the majlis. This is the only main room without a balcony and is the one I will probably use as an office.
Finally, across from the master bedroom, the only door on the left as you start down the hall, is another bedroom about the same size as the other small one but having a balcony with a glass door leading to it. It will probably become my all-purpose room.
That's it! Lots and lots of light, lots of space, lots of white - all floors, the majlis, the entry, the interior halls. I really like it and am getting used to! how all my new appliances work - the washer is from Korea, the fridge and cooker from France (I can't read the instructions, they're in French!). The microwave is from Japan.
It rained last night! That is most unusual here in the desert. I was in the kitchen when I heard a huge loud sound. I thought it sounded like thunder but reasoned that it must have been a jet, although I hadn't heard any jets nearby before that. Then came the sound of a
cloudburst and rain pouring down. The children playing outside started shouting and cheering. I hurried to a window in the majlis and looked out with amazement at water cascading from the sky. I rushed down the stairs (I'm on the second floor; there are two flats per floor) to stand under the awning outside the building door and watch the rain and feel the relative cool after days of blistering temperatures in the high 40s (celsius, that is).
That's when I met my first neighbors, a married couple who soon came out from their flat on the first floor (oops, ground floor; I actually live on the first floor if you use the British terms as they do here) to see the rain. He is from Kenya and teaches architecture at UAEU; she is from Costa Rica and teaches at a local private school. They were very pleasant and friendly. That's just a taste of the international flavor of the people who live and work here.
More later - unless you ask me not to.
Pat
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