Meet My Nemesis

THE AUTOMOBILE.

"What?" I hear you asking. "Cars? What's wrong with cars?"

There's nothing wrong with cars. But there's a great deal wrong with drivers. I learned to drive in Canada. Smallish-town Canada, for that matter. I can drive in rain (boy, can I drive in rain) and snow and sleet. I can drive in fog. You throw any kind of weather at me, and I can drive in it.

Or, at least I could before we moved to New York. Because no one drives in New York City. Apart from a couple of jaunts when I was home to visit, I went five years without driving. I can tell you how to get to Point Z from Point A on the New York subway system, but I've lost my nerve when it comes to sitting behind a wheel.

Abu Dhabi is a driving city. Everyone drives. Gas is cheap, cars are plentiful, and absolutely nothing is walking distance from anything else. It's the exact opposite of New York.

So, here's the other problem: this little Canadian can drive in any kind of weather, but she learned to drive on two-lane roads. At most, the roads I drove would widen out to four lanes, two in each direction, where you only ever had to pay attention to what the driver in the next lane over was doing.

Abu Dhabi is a huge grid of superblocks bounded by vast, multi-lane highways. To go anywhere, you have to travel on these crazy streets of four to six lanes in EACH direction. U-turns aren't just accepted--they're normal. You need to make them all the time. Inside the superblocks are smaller streets, usually one-way, and usually crowded with people and cars.

Drivers. Are. Crazy. Maybe it's because they come from all over: Abu Dhabi is full of expatriates from the US and Canada and the UK and Australia and India. Everyone drives differently. Some people use their turning signals. Most people don't.

You know how, in Canada, you learn to leave a two-second gap between vehicles? For safety? Here? NO SUCH THING. Drivers squeeze into impossibly small spaces between cars. They pass on the shoulder (I have, on at least one occasion, seen people simply DRIVING on the shoulder. Yes. Treating it like another lane, when it clearly is not). They drive fast. They drive stupid.

And it is terrifying.

Still, I dutifully went and got my license. (And, wow, talk about efficient! I have never had an experience like it. I was in and out with a new United Arab Emirates driving license in less time than it took to drive to the office to start out with! And, hey, it's even a reasonably good picture.)

I have been out driving exactly twice in the two weeks since then. Both times to the grocery store. Ten minutes away. On the deserted island where we live. (Really, it's deserted. Or, rather, it's in progress. But here, at least, all the many, many lanes are mostly empty.)

Baby steps, right?

Bad Habits. And The Weather.

Yikes.

So, it's been nearly three months since I updated this thing. I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be keeping a better record! That's the point of the whole blogging thing! We all know how it works, though, don't we? First you forget one day. Then you forget one week. A month goes by. Then you start to wonder if it's even worthwhile to go back, since you've done such an abominable job to begin with.

Well. I think it's still a worthwhile endeavor. But in order to move on, I have to leave my bad habits behind me.

The truth is, I was actually away from Abu Dhabi for seven weeks (I could probably have written about tea in those time zones, too... I just didn't), and have been back for one and a half.

The Abu Dhabi I came home to is so different than the one I left at the end of November.

You know why?

THE WEATHER. Instead of 30C+ and ridiculous humidity, we're down to a the respectable low twenties, with cool sea breezes. It's beautiful. And even though I know it's going to be short-lived, it transforms this city, and I am determined to enjoy it as long as I can. Instead of huddling inside where it's air-conditioned, we've been able to go outdoors. During the day, even! We've been able to walk! Outside! For longer than fifteen minutes! (I still got a bit of a sunburn on my chest the other day. Oops. Lesson learned: be religious with the sunscreen. I can feel my mother's disappointment from twelve time zones away.)

The new year is a time for fresh starts and clean slates, so let's treat this blog as such, okay? I'll try to be better about updating. Maybe next time I'll tell you about the trials and tribulations of moving an animal from one side of the world to the other! (The story comes complete with a local vet trying to convert me to Islam in the middle of the night after a thirty-two hour travel day, so I bet you are ALL ON THE EDGES OF YOUR SEATS.)

Until next time!

Tara Meets Abu Dhabi's Healthcare System

Never fails, right?

Although I am generally healthy, for some reason I always end up needing to deal with some medical thing within the first couple of months of moving to a new place. In the US, this was a nightmare, because I never had proper insurance. Except for one notable and expensive occasion, luckily the few times I needed to deal with doctors there, I was covered by travel insurance and didn't have to bear the brunt of  the costs involved (I don't care if it's a Sunday and you have to go to emergency instead of a clinic: it should never cost $1500 to pee in a cup and get a prescription for antibiotics, m'kay?) I could write a long treatise on the various and sundry issues I had while wading through the insanity of insurance and treatment in the US, but I'll spare you. Suffice to say, my personal experiences were all various levels of frustration and headache and leaving that behind was a huge relief.

I've been dealing with a back pain issue for a long time (or not dealing with it. See above re: insufficient US insurance) and since moving here, it's been bothering me more than usual. So yesterday I got my first taste of Abu Dhabi's healthcare system.

I have never experienced a trip to any clinic more effortless and streamlined. I had an appointment for 10am. I arrived early, checked in, and was called for my appointment at 10am exactly. 10AM EXACTLY! After an initial consult, it being my first visit, I was then sent to the doctor and given a thorough exam. From there, I went immediately to radiology (conveniently located upstairs in the same building), and had some x-rays taken.

I was in and out by 11. X-rays and all. I know you can't see the baffled look of surprise on my face, but trust me: it's there.

No one wants to get sick, but I think, if you have to, this might be an okay place to do it.

The Pork Room

Here's the truth, completely unvarnished, and completely un-vegetarian-friendly:

I love bacon. I really love bacon.

When Abu Dhabi first came up as a relocation possibility, accessibility of bacon was a genuine concern. I had friends agree to be illicit bacon-smugglers for me, should I require their services. I don't even eat bacon that often, but the idea of being utterly and completely deprived was unsettling. And trust me, you never want something more than when it's just not available. (See also: living in the USA and craving ketchup chips or maple walnut ice cream.)

In the beginning, I felt uneasy. We'd gone out for brunch a couple of times since our arrival, and the bacon they served was always beef bacon (which tastes a little like a cross between steak and jerky and just isn't... crisp enough to deserve the name bacon, in my opinion) or turkey bacon (which can be an acceptable stop-gap, but will never serve as a complete bacon replacement). I ate my not-quite-bacon and dreamed of porkier times.

Then we discovered... the PORK ROOM. Our local grocery store has a glassed in, separate chamber. Above the door is a large "Non-Muslims Only" sign, and you have to press a button on the wall to gain entrance. It feels a little illicit, frankly. Carl says it reminds him of how, back in the days of video stores, there was always the ADULTS ONLY section in the back.

Only in this store, the back room is PORK ONLY.

Inside the pork room, one can find a dizzying array of pork products. Sausage! Ham! Pork chops! Split pea and ham soup!

BACON.

And not just any bacon, mind you. Our grocery store is a British Waitrose. They sell all kinds of British products. (My little anglophile heart swells at the very thought. Tea! Cadbury chocolate--even the Turkish Delight kind I've only ever seen in England! Butter!)

They sell British bacon.

Those in the know (Mom, Natalie, Sarah) are aware that, in a world of bacon love, British bacon is the bacon I adore best.

So, sure, perhaps it feels a little strange (and even borderline risque) to have to press a button to enter the SECRET PORK CHAMBER, but oh, for bacon (British bacon!) it's so, so worth it.

(And guess what? The Waitrose has ketchup chips and maple walnut ice cream, too!)

Addresses, or Lack Thereof

Here's something a lot of people take for granted: addresses.

Having an address.

Giving directions by dictating an address.

Finding a building based on its address.

Receiving mail at your address.

But here's the thing:

Abu Dhabi doesn't have addresses. Not the way this North American is used to them, anyway. First, most of the major streets have more than one name. Confusing. Then, buildings don't have numbers. If you get into a cab, often you have to describe where you want to go. For example, you might say, "I want to go to Sama Tower, on Electra Street," but then, if the driver doesn't immediately know where that is, you'd qualify it with, "Next to the NMC hospital."

The roads are wide and nice and have clear signs, but it's still a challenge to find a place, because it's not as easy as punching in a number and following directions. You have to have a description of a place if you want to grab a cab, because unless it's something straightforward like, "Take me to the Marina Mall," there's a good chance your driver won't automatically know how to get where you're going. For me, it's like a mini research project every time I think about an outing. How will I describe where I'm going? (And how else can I describe it, if the first description doesn't work?) How will I make sure I get to the right place?

It's definitely been a learning process.

The other thing about lack of addresses is that there's no real concept of mail delivery. People here have post boxes, and mail is delivered to those post boxes. We don't have a post box yet, but can receive mail through NYU's post box. This, too, is a strange adjustment. Every day around noon, I find my feet itching to head downstairs to check the mail, but there's no mail to check.

But at least we've achieved home internet, so I can check my electronic mail as often as I like! It's not quite the same, but it will do in a pinch.

Athens: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

First: let me apologize for the long delay between posts. Unfortunately, things have not been entirely hassle-free or straightforward in the home-internet-setup-department. Saturday, we're told. SATURDAY.

So. Athens. As part of the visa process in the UAE, I had to leave the country while they processed my visa, and the process couldn't begin until Carl's visa was finished. Hence, having to leave the country right in the middle of the getting-set-up process. We decided to go to Athens because a) we wanted to go to Greece b) it's a relatively easy country to get to from here that c) wouldn't be problematic to enter with a Canadian passport.

The Good:

• The food. I don't know what they put in their tomatoes in Greece (see also: Italy), but I couldn't get enough of them. I ate a greek salad every day I was there. Sometimes twice. To say nothing of the feta! And then there were the kebabs! And the lemon potatoes! (Also, after no-alcohol-zone Abu Dhabi, having a glass of wine at the rooftop bar of our hotel, overlooking the Acropolis, was... really very nice.)
• Delphi/the Islands. Sad as it is to say, one of the nicest things about Athens was... getting out of Athens. Full disclosure: Athens was not my favorite city. But Delphi was amazing, and well worth the excursion. And I did a day trip out to some of the nearby islands, just to get a taste, and it was a lovely experience.
• Acropolis. Let's just throw in a blanket history here. Athens is steeped in history, and it's hard not to marvel at the sheer scope of it. 
• Hammam. (Turkish bath.) I spent an afternoon here, and it was one of the most peaceful, lovely afternoons I've ever spent. And at the end of being boiled, scrubbed, and massaged (no, seriously, it was magical), I was given a plate of the most delicious Turkish Delight I've ever tasted.
• The weather. Sure, it was hot. But you know, after a month in Abu Dhabi, 30C felt reasonable.

The Bad:

• Smoking. Everywhere. EVERY. WHERE. On the street. In every restaurant (and I don't think there's such a thing as a no smoking section.) EVERY. WHERE. For someone with a sensitive respiratory system, Athens is hell. I thought I'd get used to it, but nope. I spent the entire week feeling a bit like someone was punching me repeatedly in the sinuses. With a lit cigarette. Or fifty.
• Signage. We rented a car to drive out to Delphi. Wow. Driving in Greece is madness. Made more mad by the complete lack of signs to point you in the right direction. Oh, maybe you have a map. It doesn't matter. You will NEVER ever see a sign that lets you know which road number you're on. However, you will see ten signs pointing you to random tourist locations. None of those signs will include addresses. Meanwhile, on the roads, everyone will drive with a death wish.

The Ugly:

• Graffiti. Like the smoking, it's everywhere. On every surface. On the rare signs that might tell you where you're going, except you can't read through the black spray-paint. No city I've ever visited has ever been so blanketed in graffiti. I wasn't a fan.
• The economic crisis. The people we met were friendly, although the extremely touristy vibe does make one feel like everyone's out to make a buck somehow, even if it means ripping you off. (Even if they're NOT ripping you off!) But that's not what I mean. I can't put a finger on it, but the country felt depressed, to me. And it was depressing. It seems sad that a country so rich in history and that's existed for so long can be in such dire straits.

All in all, it was a lovely trip. Get out of the city, if you go. Give yourself a couple of days and then see the countryside (then again, this is almost always my advice, no matter where you're going). Eat tomatoes. Eat a lot of tomatoes. And go eat kebabs at Thanasis. They were so good I went two days in a row. And the waiter recognized me. Embarrassing. But worth it!

Sunset Over the Gulf

Desert sunsets are strange and beautiful. This picture was taken from the window of our temporary apartment.

Doubtless I'll have more to say soon. We should be moving to our more permanent location within the next couple of weeks, and there's a trip to Greece before then. (I have to leave the country so they can process my residency visa--apparently it can't be done while I'm within the country's borders. So Greece it is. Tea in yet another time zone.)