al ain oasis

The Al Ain oasis sits in the middle of the city.  It is an area where there is water and many date palm trees, as well as the occasional lime or mango tree.  It has beige walkways with low walls that twist around the palms and is a good place to walk.  It is quiet here, with only the occasional twitter of a bird.  Throughout the oasis, you can see falaj, or irrigation channels that supply water to the palms.  Al Ain is known for its oasis and green areas throughout the UAE.  #ibmcsc uae

Path through the oasis

Dates hanging in a tree

Nets protect the dates from birds

Falaj

survivor anniversary

Today is my 2nd anniversary of being a survivor.  Celebrating it here in the UAE, surrounded by this incredible group of new friends from around the world, knowing that I have my family waiting for me, is the greatest gift I can possibly imagine.

The last 3 weeks, like the 2 years before them, have been about something really, really simple:  learning to live each moment with a sense of wonder and gratitude.  My journey is not over.    #ibmcsc uae

abaya shopping

By now you know I've got lots of interest in abayas, and as I shared earlier, they come in a stunning array of designs.  Here's a little photographic review of some of my favorite embroidery and beading during a weekend shopping expedition....  #ibmcsc uae

L to R:  Karen (US), Kanako (Japan), Felipe (Colombia)

Kanako in the abaya she bought, absolutely lovely

where's leo the lobster? #9

Where's Leo the Lobster?

Hangin' in the desert! (going on a desert safari)

community day & writing Arabic

As part of the CSC experience, each team participates in a local community day during their month of in-country service.  For our day, UAE Team 2 was scheduled to be mentors during a business workshop for students at the male-only UAE University in Al Ain.  The workshop was put on by INJAZ, which is the name for Junior Achievement in this part of the world.  Our job was to each support small groups of young men in learning critical business skills of communication, business plan development and networking.

When we arrived at the beautiful glass and marble building at the university, we were told to expect approximately 50 students for the workshop; in reality, about 80 appeared.   As I looked out at the large roomful of young 20-something men, I suddenly realized I felt very tense.  They looked back at us curiously as the group leader introduced the IBM mentors and made introductory comments.  My neck knotted up.  I realized with shock that the only time I had ever seen a group of men in traditional Arab clothing was on TV after 9/11.

My group of 6 male students, all clad in the white dishdash, included a pair of twins.  The six young men were first and second year students, majoring in law, business or social science.  One of the twins wore a red Ferrari baseball cap and the other had the traditional red headscarf, seen on most of the students in the room.  After introductions, we were led through the first exercises.  I grabbed a pen and some paper on the table and started writing notes about our discussion on the first exercise.  A wave of activity went across the table as I wrote and the twins, one on each side of me, stared at my left hand as I wrote.  The men spoke to each other in Arabic and continued to watch me write.  I looked at my hand, then suddenly realized I was writing with the left hand.  Later, one of the twins would quietly observe that I am left handed and ask if I knew what the left hand is used for.  I told him I did know and then explained how I had been really worried before I came about eating with my left, which is not polite in the UAE.  As I have done several times, I pantomimed my attempts to get food to my mouth with my right, which made the whole table laugh and chatter in Arabic.

Working on our business plan (Sheela and I shared the afternoon team)

Mansour, one of the twins

Group preparing to present their business plan

In the afternoon, the workshop continued with a task to complete a short business plan for an innovative idea.  As the preparatory exercises were being explained, one of the twins and I talked quietly:  I told him I had been trying to learn to write in Arabic but I wasn't completely sure how to write my name.  He snatched a paper from me and a squiggle of writing appeared.  He smiled and slid the paper across the table to me.  I smiled back and (with my left hand!) slowly formed the new shapes, working right to left as Arabic is appropriately written.  I slid the paper back.  He smiled and told me I forgot 2 dots below the final arch of my name.  He slid the paper back.  I wrote them and smiled, then wrote my last name in English.  I slid the paper back.  He wrote a series of squiggles and slid the paper back toward me.  We continued sliding the paper back and forth, until we had both written the Arabic versions of my first and last names, and the names Alex and Sophie.  Each time, he smiled at my childlike scrawl, gently corrected me and watched as I slowly moved my pen through the loops of Arabic.  #ibmcsc uae

My Arabic writing lesson

american at the mall

As I've mentioned in this post, I've tried my best to talk to as many women here as I can manage, simply because I'm so interested in their views of things.  One day last week, we went to a local mall to pick up a few necessities and I had a bit of a situation that really surprised me.

I was in a store that sold a lot of different household items and was waiting to pay for an eyeliner sharpener.  At the register, I noticed another woman with blonde hair holding a brand of shampoo and conditioner that I use at home.  Since I managed to forget mine and had been stuck with the hotel stuff, I asked her where she found it.  As the words came out of my mouth, I saw the head of a woman fully covered in an abaya snap around to stare at me.  She said something in Arabic to another abaya-clad woman standing near the counter and they both overtly looked me up and down.  Soon both of them were unabashedly staring at me.  Another woman cut in front of me as her two friends moved to watch me from a spot near the counter.  The group continued look at me, as their friend in front gathered numerous bags of pillows and linens she had purchased in the shop.  She spoke in sharp tones to the young Filipino saleswoman behind the register, who looked at me with a sad, resigned look, then slowly placed the purchases in plastic bags.  I noticed the Emirati's cascade of black ruffles down the back of her abaya.  It occurred to me how pretty it looked.  As she snatched several packages away from the saleswoman, she turned to look at me, then tossed her head and said something else to her friends, who laughed.  I looked around for my teammates but could no longer see them in the shop.

Finally, it was my turn to pay.  I stepped forward to the counter and smiled broadly at the Filipino girl and asked her how she was doing.  Her shoulders relaxed and she smiled slightly.  Then another young Emirati woman stood on my left side, while talking to the gaggle of others to my right.  She nearly touched my left side and stretched her hand right in front of me where she twirled a small card in her fingers, right in my face.  I felt my entire body tense.  She continued to menacingly twirl the card, while I tried to focus on the girl who was now putting my items in a small plastic bag.  As the Emirati woman continued to stand right beside me, brushing me with her twirling arm, I was surprised at the intensity of my annoyance.  I looked down at her but could only see eyes staring back at me.  It was easy to imagine any number of facial expressions, all obscured by the black fabric.  The eyes suggested she might have been smirking.  Eventually my purchase was complete and I stepped away from her, past her friends, and back out to my teammates who were waiting in the mall.  #ibmcsc uae

greetings in the UAE

Since we had some formal meetings with the client this week, we had an opportunity to observe the traditional greeting between Emiratis.  The women simply reach a hand out and clasp (not really a shake, just holding for a minute), very similar to the United States.  Women are allowed to touch other women, but men do not touch them at all.

The men touch noses.  It was fascinating to watch the Emirati men each walk into the room and then go down the line of other men, very slowly moving the face closer and closer until the noses touch, then move to the next man.  I was across the room so I couldn't hear but Tahir said they make a kissing sound at the moment the noses touch too.

Interestingly, the first day we arrived, we were greeting our project sponsors, one of which is a woman (L).  As she went down the line of us saying hello, Felipe was right beside me and, like everyone else, he held his hand out too.  L giggled a bit and said "well, I'm not supposed to, but ok..." and quickly shook his hand.  Then we laughed.

So much fun to see this tiny bit of culture!  #ibmcsc uae