It has now become apparent that Abu Dhabi can be a very frustrating place. We have noticed that often, when you hop into a taxi and ask him if he knows where "so and so destination" is, he will say yes and start driving. Once he has hopped on a main road, he will ask you which way to go and get frustrated when you do not know. And so the frustrations of taxi drivers begins and continues. If you want your day to be ruined, get into a taxi when you're somewhat stressed already. The majority of them speak VERY broken, or incomprehensible English, which is can add amusement to the journey when trying to explain and figure out if they know where the destination really is.
There is also a very distinct hierarchy of race here. The locals have precedence over all and everything. They can cut in line and get what they want. Then there are the Europeans and Americans, then other Arabs, and at the bottom are the Philippinos and then the Indians and Pakistanis. If you come here appalled by racism and discrimination you either leave a racist or fought during your entire stay to refrain.
Many things here don't seem to work right either. The systems. The hypocrisy. If you are from here and follow the religion, then you are not supposed to drink alcohol or be physically affectionate in public, and you wear the traditional clothes. The local men come to the nightclubs and bars and drink and drink and drink and fondle the whores who are everywhere, dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. And the rest of us? We have to mind our own business because if we get one of them pissed, we can be deported.
Switzerland made sense, and everything worked very well. I appreciate it so much more.
1 comment:
Finaly I got to your blog at home. Now I can catch up on time.That is funny. Abu Dhabi never changed. All the gulf countries are this way. Just ignore it, and enjoy whatever you can,take advantage of your being American :).Many locals, especially those who studied abroad would love to move to the US.Wait till the weather cols down, in December. You will enjoy the beach ;). Abu Dhabi and evn Dubai are places for indoor socialisation, and social life is very active and sometime gets too much. I will be very interested to see how things go after three months. Best of luck in thr new job potentials.Love youu .
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