Round-about Al Ain

Okay, here are a few of my thoughts on what I have seen and experienced in these first few weeks:

The heat-I knew it was going to be hot, but I think in the first few days I was very much taken aback at the intensity. If I went out between 1 and 4pm I couldn’t take it; a few minutes walking about just made me feel sick and dizzy. The temperature seems to have slightly lowered these past few days (could be my imagination, or maybe I have acclimatized) even though it is still sweltering.

Roundabouts-they are everywhere. Al-Ain seems to be the roundabout capital of the universe (hence the blog title). I didn’t particularly have a fondness for them back home (in fact I hated them)and to find this town littered with them just made me wince. But……..even I have to say that these are no ordinary roundabouts. They are spectacular. Each roundabout has a different theme, either they have beautiful fountains or amazing structures like castles, towers and believe it or not teapots and cups etc built on them which make them awesome. They are often huge, but each one an individual in its own right.
One of my favourites is the coliseum roundabout, I don’t actually know if that is its name, but that is what it looks like. Amongst my favourites are the roundabouts which look like parks, they have a huge patch of gorgeous green grass in the middle and beautiful trees dotted around. At night you occasionally see a few people sat chilling out (goodness knows how they get on there) or even asleep.
I can only link you to this amazing post on the roundabouts of Al-Ain because it’s probably the best you will find.

Taxis-my husband wrote a post on his blog (which is far better than this claptrap) about this so I am not going to go into it in great depth. Most of the taxi drivers seem to be Pakistani or Afghanistani men. They speak little or no English. They take daytime naps in these little shacks, and they may even live there – I don’t know. They are poor people who work long hours in the heat to get by. You can travel half way across town for 7-10 dirhams, which is between a pound and a pound fifty. We live in a area called kuwaitat (or so we thought), so whenever we tell a driver to take us there he usually brings us home, and then tells us in no uncertain terms that we live in neydat, so the next time we ask the driver to take us to neydat, he upon arrival never fails to tell us we live in kuwaitat. I have no idea where I actually live any more.
Also these drivers seem to be on some sort of permanent death wish. They drive like absolute maniacs. There is no such thing as a speed limit here, there is no such thing as courtesy on the road. It is always a hair-raising experience being out and about. Here people seem to drive very recklessly, zipping in out from behind others, changing lanes suddenly without any signal or warning. Even from my flat I can constantly hear the sound of tyres screeching. People have to constantly slam on their brakes, and I think it takes quite an alert driver to make the grade out here. The real entertainment is on the roundabouts, you need to see it to believe the mayhem.
I know that before I even begin to think about driving out here, I’m getting on the PS2 to practice on ‘Need for Speed’.
Then there’s the Al – Ghazal taxis which are slightly more expensive, but you can call these to your house to pick you up. They are a cool ride, slightly less mad and extremely courteous.

The people- walking around, and mingling with a few people here and there I find myself surrounded by people from every nationality I can think of. Here Filipino’s, Indians, Pakistani’s etc do most of the work. They run the shops, they clean the schools, malls and hospitals, they do generally just about everything. They seem to get very little recognition from what is reflected in the attitudes of many of the local residents because they seem to be generally looked down upon, as well as talked down to. Sadly there seems to be a lot of discrimination out here. However, these poor workers seem to have little riches but big hearts and are generally a sweet, friendly bunch of people trying to do the best they can with the little they have. I really feel disheartened sometimes when I see the manners with they are treated and I wonder what it will take for this to change. Unfortunately this is yet another ugly side of human nature, and I have a feeling that I would see this is in people wherever I were to go.
Also out here you will find a large ex-pat community who all seem to be a friendly (I would say that huh?!) bunch. British, Americans, Europeans and generally every Fred and Marge from all corners of the earth seem to inhabit Al-Ain, and together with the Arabs, and Asians etc, I think Al-Ain is an amazing pot of many flavours without being over-flavoured if you know what I mean. Although I have not yet been to Abu Dhabi or Dubai, I know they are very different from here, but there is a relaxed atmosphere here, and every one brings something different to the table. The diversity is a sweet and refreshing.

Ways-here it is a custom amongst many of the Arabs to have live in maids. You see them often in the shopping centers on days out. The husband and wife shop while the maid trails alongside taking care of the children. I remember seeing a couple sat eating with their two children in the mall, and next to their table sat their maid on her own table quietly eating her food. I remember smiling at her as she smiled back shyly. I found her demeanor really gentle and sweet, and would have loved to have chatted with her. A few minutes later the husband waved some money at her, and I could see they were asking her to get more food, because she quietly got up and joined the queue at one of the food outlets. I felt sorry for her, I wanted to go and tell the Arab man to get his own food and allow the poor girl to finish her food in peace, but it wasn’t my place.
I know this is the norm out here, and it is something that I knew about before I came, but I really do have a bit of a hard time getting my head around it. Most of these maids are trying to save enough money to get by, or to send back home, and whatever else only God Almighty knows. I can’t help but feel sorry for them. There are those few who seem content (on the surface) with it-and who knows -maybe they are. I know that there are people out there in the world who really are in dire situations, and work for much less in far worse conditions, may Allah make it easy on them, and may He open our hearts to compassion and mercy upon each other.

I will leave it there for now, otherwise this post will go on and on, and I will bore myself to tears well before I bore any of you. I do have more to share with you but it will wait insha’Allah for another time.