WANTED:

My French/Arab intellectual/radical look.

This is the alternate personna I have been cultivating while recruiting in the MidEast. I think the glasses and facial hair work well here. Yeah, I certainly can't pass for native, but I definitely don't look so American. I'll probably go back to normal this afternoon. From here I fly to Goa, where I'm gonna get some sun.

Today is a "free" day - Friday is the weekend in the Gulf. However, I'm using it to catch up about 60 student emails and I'll be meeting with a student and her parents in the hotel lobby in a couple of hours. I also have expenses and other piddly details to keep track of. Much fun.

The fair last night was decent. I had meant to go out afterwards, but I was too damn tired. I fell asleep before my room service arrived, but of course I woke long enough to eat my burger. Then I was conked out again - for 10 hours.

I am really looking forward to Goa. I planned the trip out using my guidebook while on the plane yesterday (didn't take long).

Kuwait, and Cultural Commentary (but no insight)

Another Valentine’s Day came and went while I was overseas, which is fine with me, as I find it nauseating. It is not celebrated much in Kuwait, so I was not forced to witness yet another nation adopt some useless piece of our culture (I’m talking to you, India).

Kuwait is pretty damn boring. It is bone dry. The ex-pats wet themselves (ha ha) at the UK or US embassy, or sneak booze in and party at home. Some of these affairs, I hear, get pretty elaborate, even having bands booked. So maybe it isn’t so dry. If you are non-Arab, I suppose it is slightly moist. I don't know anyone in this scene. So, I used this social pause to catch up on some laptop work, go to the gym, and watch Seinfeld DVDs. Oh, and to catch up on US news. Good ‘ole Dick Cheney. Gotta love that guy.

Our one school visit was to an Indian high school. It was a good event. Later in the evening we had the fair proper at the hotel. It had steady attendance, and I was happy to speak to many more native Kuwaitis this time around. I had one group of 4 girls who are now eager to all move to Southville and live together in a house off campus (I think this is seen as better than living in co-ed dorms). Sounds like the beginning of a WB or UPN sitcom to me. Kuwaitis Gone Wild! Whoooo!


Kuwait airport. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha. Pitiful smokers.

I write this as I sit in the Kuwait airport, waiting for our flight to Bahrain, digesting my food. I love a good breakfast buffet. It sets me right for the rest of the day. I also think this is why I typically lose weight while travelling – I fill up in the morning, then cruise the rest of the day on small bites. I’ve discovered a great East/West breakfast combo: French toast dipped in hummus. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm. I filled my mouth with this cultural harmony as I read about new protests due to the release of further Abu Graib photos, and further protests due to the cartoons. I wish I had some clever insight into this, or a way to relate it to the French toast and hummus, but I don't. Come up with your own allegory. Or read Thomas Friedman.


Yes, more towers under construction. This time in Bahrain. My hotel is in-between them.

Update in Three Parts

Leaving Atlanta

It is now 1:45 AM on February 10, 2006. I just checked in to the Tulip Inn, inside Knowledge Village, Dubai, UAE. I entered the Hartfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta at 7:00 PM on February 8. It actually didn’t seem that long.


The first 25 stories of the Burj Dubai, which will be the tallest building in the world, by about 200 meters. They are completing a floor per week.

Had to do some last minute re-packing. The airlines have lowered the weight allowance on international flights to 50 lbs per piece. I used to like to just check one piece, but it would weight around 70 lbs or more. One trip to Target later, I now have two pieces to check. The cheap collapsible I bought will work well for my excursion to Goa later on. Then there is my carry-on, which is a backpack. It is kind of like a Christmas stocking, just full of fun goodies. I won’t give a list. Finally we have my personal item, the Nikon D-70 that I take all my lovely pictures with. I bought a third battery for it so I don’t have to lug the charger around.


The new skyline of Dubai Marina

Back-tracking, my last night in Atlanta I met another college chum at the Vortex on Peachtree. We will call him Whiskey. Whiskey is about to finish up his studies for his MBA and MIB, at the same time. He recently spent six months working with the US government in Shanghai. Through a series of circumstances I won’t explain, the little jackass got to be the judge for the first ever Ms. Hooters China, on the chain’s first anniversary over there. Talk about a cultural exchange. That’s a cultural organ transplant. Whiskey had a big day ahead of him, so he went home while I met up with Codename: Winter Nun and Xmas Tinsel in Virginia Highlands. Another tame night. However, Winter Nun’s girlfriend offered me a personal tour of the CNN Center, where she works. After checking out of my hotel the next day (and going to Target) I took her up on it. A lot goes on in that building. Not sure if I could handle working there.


Front view of towers going up at Dubai Marina

In Dubai

So the first night I obviously went straight to bed. It was almost 2 am by the time I was settled in my room. The next day I slept in and got my eight hours. Hopefully that will put me on local time. Naser picked me up from the hotel and we met friends of his at one of Dubai’s 42 five-star hotels for brunch. Pigged out, of course. It was all in the interest of overcoming jet-lag; you are supposed to eat your meals whether you feel hungry or not, to re-set your body-clock. After that we drove to Dubai Marina, which is basically a brand new city west of Dubai proper, being built from scratch. Not kidding, there are scores of towers going up simultaneously, and that is not counting the work still under way on the Palm island. Sheesh.


The buildings in the horizon are the "stalk" of the growing Palm Island.

After the driving tour we stopped at the Jumeirah Beach hotel, which is part of the complex where the famous Burj al-Arab is located. We walked out the pier that encloses the marina, where there is a bar/restaurant called 360, due to the views it offers of the Gulf and the beach (see pics).


Burj al-Arab at sunset, from 360

Afterwards, Naser dropped me at my hotel. I quickly changed clothes and went to dinner at the home of an applicant to my university. The weather was actually very pleasant, so we cooked out and ate on the back porch. After dinner, the student’s mother dropped me off at the previously mentioned Marina. Naser was at a friend’s condo. I joined him and met many of his “regular” friends (Mike, his fiancé Iman, Marian, and Don, the condo owner). After some wine, Naser, Mike, Iman, and I drove back in town for a private party on the rooftop of another residential tower. The host had always wanted to be a DJ, so he decided to indulge himself and invite all his friends. However, the party was winding down when we arrived. We relocated to Cu Bu Bar, one of Naser’s favorites, where he knows the entire staff.


The Jumeirah Beach Hotel from 360

The next day I had two school visits. In the evening Naser picked me up again and we met Damara for dinner and drinks at Long’s Bar – a pub-style place with the longest bar in town (appropriately) and Guinness on tap. Damara is the rep for a Canadian university that travelled with me in Africa (see previous entries). A group of them is in town having a fair at the same time as our group of American universities. Great timing. Even though we had fun catching up, we had to call it quits early, as we both had appointments in the morning.

So, I was at my next appointment all morning. For lunch, Naser and I went to the Hard Rock Café. After that it was back to the hotel at Knowledge Village to meet up with the other US reps and get the official tour under way. Our fair was very conveniently located right next to the hotel, and went from 4 until 9. Afterwards I went out with Naser and Katie for dinner and drinks.


Another rep pitches some local students.

Off With Their Hands!

Today we rose early and hopped on the bus for a day trip to Abu Dhabi, the capitol of the Emirates. It hurt. Naser, Katie and I stayed up way too late last night (we went to Bar Zar, Carter’s at Wafi City, then Long’s Bar again). However, we were unable to sleep on the bus due to the number of reps stuffed on it, and the erratic weaving of the driver.

In town we set up our tables for a mini-fair at a local public school. Our morning session was attended by the female students, all in traditional dress. Most were Emiratis or Saudis. I went through materials pretty quick, but saved some back for the afternoon sessions. For lunch were dropped off at the marina mall. After eating at the food court we decided we REALLY needed a nap, but nowhere to accomplish this. Since there was still over an hour until we had to be back on the bus, I decided that it would be a good idea to buy a ticket to a movie and get some sleep once inside. Naser and Katie agreed. We bought our way into Casanova. However, it was pretty interesting, so we ended up not sleeping. Even worse, we had to leave just as it was getting good. Dammit!

Back at the school, we discovered that the materials we left behind had been ransacked. Luckily, I was left with my personal copy of the university catalog, but that was about it. Now I have nothing to hand out to the male students who are supposed to visit this afternoon. Sigh…