Ramadan started today and our morning buffet breakfast was moved to a more private restaurant in the hotel so that we would not be eating in public during daylight hours.
Many countries in the Arab world – in fact the Muslim world – still operate on a lunar calendar. That in itself isn’t so complicated, although it’s a bit tricky. But, Ramadan, held during the ninth and holiest month of the year, begins when the new moon is spotted – yes, spotted – by some guy. I don’t exactly know how it happens, but someone climbs to a high vantage point and waits for the new moon. When he can see and confirm that it is a new moon, Ramadan begins. So, until about 10:00 PM last night, we weren’t really sure if Ramadan would start today.
When Ramadan starts all Muslims here will fast during the day (and pig out at night). The fast includes liquids – so no water is allowed. Eating or drinking in public is a fineable offense. Women and men must wear conservative dress – no short sleeves, no low necklines, long pants, etc. Women do not need to cover their faces, unless they are from a group that requires that on any other day. I do not want to get into an explanation of Islam (partly cause I’m learning by the seat of my pants), but the month of Ramadan is the 4th pillar of the Islamic Faith – so it’s pretty serious business.
We’re now in Al Ain, the town where I’ll be living the next two years. When we checked into the hotel I learned I had a premium suite. Among other things, that means I have free internet in my room. The generosity of the Abu Dhabi Education Council does not cease for a minute. But, I have more interesting stories to tell today…
I left the hotel yesterday at 4:30 for a stroll. There is a large public park across the street from my hotel with jungle gyms, manicured gardens, large sprawling lawns, beautiful fountains – well, they’re neat anyway – and a few historic sites that the park incorporates into its boundaries. (See pictures). At 4:30 there were maybe ten people in the whole park. When I was wrapping up my walk around 9:30 PM there were over 200 people in the park and the jungle gym – though somewhat dark – was filled with kids and their parents. The park is simply too hot to use in the daytime.
Before leaving San Francisco I spent my last weekend with my mom who visited from Sonoma County. We saw three exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art – The Georgia O’Keefe / Ansel Adams “Natural Affinities”, Robert Franks “The Americans”, and Richard Avedon “Photographs 1946 – 2004”. Franks’ “The Americans” – which is an exhibit with each of the prints that were selected to be in the book by the same name – left the strongest impression on me. In his book he includes 83 photographs taken in 1955 and 1956 which gave a portrait of America’s culture – juke boxes; segregation; patriotism. It shows the loneliness, alienation and angst felt by so many Americans who did not fit the pop TV culture of the day (Leave it to Beaver, etc.). (The exhibit ends August 23rd for those who haven’t seen it yet).
I’m struck by the parallels here in Abu Dhabi to life in the US in the 1950s. I hope I can expand on that more in future e-mails.
There are other similarities too – and sometimes they strike quite out-of-the-blue. As I approached the first fort on my walk – Al Jahili Fort – I was struck by the similarity in design to a Church that both O’Keefe and Adams rendered in their collection on display at the MOMA.
But the highlight of the walk – and especially at this time of year when the dates are ripening – was the Al Ain Oasis. This is a large are of date palms with an ancient irrigation system that weaves through several subdivided gardens over an area of a few square kilometers (I think). There are roads and pathways lined with mud brick walls that weave through the oasis connecting the various plots. It strikes me as one of the oldest “community gardens” I’ve ever visited – though I imagine the plots have been passed down generation to generation. I did notice all of the workers I saw there were wearing the Omani head coverings, and I therefore assume that the actual farming of the plots has been contracted out – so perhaps the community garden metaphor is no longer apt.
Walking through an oasis – especially after the urban congestion and smog and noise and humidity of Abu Dhabi and the drive to Al Ain through the long expansive desert of varying shades of sand – well, it’s a real sanctuary. And, you can walk there even at 2:30 in the afternoon thanks to the cooling effect of the shade and ground vegetation. The tree canopy is surprisingly effective at cooling the air – outdoor temperatures here are regularly over 100 degrees at this time of year! But, the oasis is filled with birds that are flying around singing at sundown.
After meandering through the oasis I came across another fort, and this time I read the sign. It was built in 1910! Only 100 years ago. Until the freeway connecting Abu Dhabi and Al Ain was built, Al Ain was a 6 day camel ride from Abu Dhabi. So, it isn’t surprising that the architecture from 100 years ago resembles the architecture from 250 years ago in New Mexico or California.
Well, around this time I got tired and headed back to the hotel by walking along Zayed Blvd – a long street with many shops. Then back through the park where I was just one of many immigrant workers enjoying s few hours of respite from the city. I passed couples and families having late night picnics, kids riding their bicycles, and several children running races that were organized by an adult. Groups were naturally divided by their nationality – as was evident by dress – but the children all mingled. There is a “melting pot” happening here, though it is still a bit stewy (if you’re not familiar with the metaphor, don’t worry).
If you are using Google Earth you can see the hotel I am staying at (and the town where I will live)by typing the following latitude and longitude coordinates: 24°13’05.20” N and 55°44’56.11” E. You should see a weird shaped pool and some trees. You’ll see that across the street there is a city park that is the size of a very large park, and just below that is the first old fort I visited. Travel East and you’ll see a large patch of trees – this is the Al Ain Oasis. The palace is on the western edge of the oasis. For some reason Google Earth labels Al Jahili Fort as Al Mutawaa Fort, but you can type the latter into the “fly to” box and you’ll be able to see the fort.
Wearing western dress creates a somewhat alienating feeling here in Al Ain. There are so many varieties of clothing. With that come many fabric stores, and tailors. The Pakistanis have shops, the Indians have shops, the Filipinos mostly dress in western clothes as do the Lebanese (who are often Christian). The Omanis – who come from across the border about six blocks from my hotel for work in the City – wear a similar long robe to the other Arabs, but they wear only a woven round cap that covers the top of their head. And, all of the tailors and laundries vie for the work that the Emirate Arabs provide by having their clothes washed and pressed after each use. Even among the Emirate men there are at least a dozen styles of headdress, and I do not know if they are simply fashion variations like our baseball caps, or indications of family or regional ties – as I have witnessed so many times in my travels.
The women’s clothing is even more diverse. I had a Pakistani cab driver the other day who was commenting on how cruel it was that Arab men get to wear white while the women have to wear black. In this hot climate the disadvantage to women is obvious. Women do have a lot of style in their dress. Some wear solid black robes with veils that cover their faces. But, most have no veil and enjoy some form of decoration on their clothes – embroidery, sequins, etc. I have A LOT to learn about both traditional dress and modern styles. I did see one woman in the mall in Abu Dhabi who was wearing an outfit that showed her face, but as she got closer I realized I was not looking at her face but rather at a painted mask. I had seen this on TV before getting here – many women who have to cover their faces for religious reasons use masks to do it so that they can appear more western.
Many people back home are probably thinking of the oppressive nature of the Arab relationships, and I do think that in many cases it exists. But, I have also been struck by the number of couples I see walking arm-in-arm in even, well-paced strides as if in a Victorian era. What has struck me most is the look of friendship that is so often evident in couples that get along well. It is by no means ubiquitous, nor do I imagine it is the norm, but I see more outward expressions of that calm, rooted affection that grows in fulfilling marriages than I have seen for a while in the United States. At the mall there are two paces – the pace of workers who are briskly seeing to the needs of customers, and then a leisurely pace of shoppers. Imagine visiting the San Francisco Center or another mall and slowing the pace of everyone who is shopping to a Victorian park stroll. That, I think, is Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
People have asked about safety and police. I’ll try to answer briefly:
The city is safe. Crimes are solved. Tonight I walked back home through the oasis area. This is a twisty, dark, often confusing series of paths and an easy place for a thief to hide out. I didn’t have many valuables on me and was willing to turn everything over if I had to; but of course, it wasn’t an issue. I’m here safe and sound. I did encounter a few people out for strolls in the pathways, some by themselves, some in pairs. All men though – and when they walk it is often arm-in-arm as I described earlier among couples. But I was alone plenty, and never felt unsafe.
There is not a large public police presence or military presence – but there is a military and a police force. And, they have a very sophisticated system for tracking everyone who enters the country. Everyone is fingerprinted – and they scan every part of your hand – with a digital live scan machine. You are photographed, passport scanned and kept on file (you keep the original), and screened at the health department for communicable diseases (primarily HIV and Hepatitis). In the paper you read about crimes being solved all of the time; but, one has to wonder if that really is the whole crime report, or if they only report on crimes that are solved. I have to think they actually do solve the crimes.
A friend looked up the UAE on Wikipedia and e-mailed me an interesting piece of information: The average net worth (of UAE citizens – not foreign workers) is $17 million. The students I teach in Al Ain will likely come from these families. They will be given oil royalty money from the day they turn 18 – probably more money per year than I will earn.
I did some thinking when I first heard that – I will have 6 classes a day with between 25 and 30 students each. So, that’s 150 - 180 students a day passing through my classroom. At $17 million per student, that means about $2.5 billion of personal wealth will walk through my classroom each day. Why is that intimidating? Something to think about until school starts.
We are starting to hear information about our new apartments filtered though the students that arrived a week before us. Each teacher gets a two bedroom apartment (3 or 4 bedrooms for families). We do not share, but we are all located in one of four properties located around the city. They have seen the building we will (likely) be in. The only thing left to do was hang fixtures. I still haven’t seen it yet, but they said there is also a pool and a fitness center. They also said the apartments are dirty from the construction. I think I’ll be able to live with it. Cleaning my own space for free rent?? Sounds doable.
Anyway, there’s plenty of time to worry about setting up my apartment later. Starting tomorrow we are up every day at 5:30 AM to take a bus to Abu Dhabi for our second week of orientation (back to our hotel by 3:30 PM). In the evening we will have plenty of time to shop for necessities. So, today I think I will just go to the gym and then sit pool-side while the sun sets. Afterall, we won’t have a pool like this for the next two years.
On a somewhat unrelated note, a teacher I have met here mentioned a film that I would love to see. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to come this way. It’s called Crude: The Real Price of Oil. It will be in San Francisco from 9/25 – 10/1 at the Lumiere. The filmmaker will be there on 9/25. See the web site for a trailer, film description, and more show times in other cities. This is a documentary about the lawsuit against Chevron / Exxon by 30,000 indigenous people in Ecuador.
