In writing this blog for the last almost-3 years I have tried to convey a little of what it’s like to live in the UAE, share with you some of the more interesting or offbeat stories and generally give you an unbiased viewpoint on my life in the desert. Where-ever possible I have stayed away from political or religious judgments, comments or opinions, as it has never been my intention to offend or upset anyone. However there is a small and interesting rebellion going on in Saudi Arabia at the moment that I feel I must share with you – in case it’s not made the news anywhere else – and furthermore give my support to. And this is not because it’s a religious or political thing, but rather a way of showing my solidarity with these women who are making a point about what isn’t working for them.
When you drive through the English countryside you are most likely to see sheep, cows and even the odd horse in the pastures and fields you pass. I can guarantee this is not the case when you leave the city of Dubai. But you will see farms, and on these farms you most definitely see camels. I always thought that they were bred predominantly for speed (camel racing) and then learnt they are also bred for beauty – camel beauty pageants are big business here. Once we had actually lived here for a bit I further discovered that they are bred for milk and meat (camel biltong is yummy and camel burgers supposedly very tasty too). The milk is rich in vitamins and minerals, and also lactose free. Stu was brave enough to try some once but I haven’t yet worked up the courage. Anyway the logical conclusion to all this milk production, although I would hate to have to do the milking myself, is that there would be some milk-based products available. And yes, it seems they do make camel chocolate. I wonder about cheese but I haven’t found any (not that I have really looked).
[custard apples]I am not going to start this post with an(other) apology for my lack of input in the last few days (ok weeks then). All I will say is that the highlight of my week this week was buying a new exotic fruit from the supermarket today, namely a custard apple, all the way from Latin America (or maybe Australia, who can say). Supposedly you let it ripen like an avocado, then cut it in half and spoon out the flesh. No idea what it will taste like, certainly I hope it will taste better than it looks, but I will be sure to let you know.
Despite the signs of recovery they keep going on about on CNN (in an effort to convince us through repetition), and in the papers here, the reality seems to be that we haven’t yet turned the corner. Illustrative of this is the fact that there are two vehicles parked at the small shopping centre close to our house where we go to gym in the morning, and they have both clearly been abandoned. The one, a Porsche Cayenne, has 2 flat tyres now (tragic) and the other, a Pajero, is covered in a thick layer of dust.
Traditionally the gift for reaching your first anniversary is paper. Well, that is for a wedding anniversary anyway. I wonder if the same thing applies for other kinds of anniversaries? I have been thinking about this all weekend, probably because I have now officially been in the UAE one year, as of the 30th July. I think I will have to buy myself a new notebook (the paper kind that is not a pc) to commemorate the day.
