Highlights and Lowlights of the Gulf

I am home now, and mentally retracing my most interesting steps across the sand.

(1) The Dubai Police Department wowed me with its level of transparency, at least for our Fulbright crew, though I’m quite sure that the UAE has more human trafficking cases than statistics indicate, given its strategic position in the Gulf. The giant surveillance screen, likely monitoring every calorie-laden hot chocolate we drank in various malls throughout the UAE, reminded me of Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove”. Look at the “big, big board!” I wanted to shout. Instead I snapped a photo.

(2) The Kuwaiti stock exchange provided the perfect visual for the separation of the sexes. There is the main stock exchange, and then there’s the area for female traders. The big, big board is, of course, found in the male area. Please refer to photo for image of the smaller board.

(3) Lunch made by the Kuwaiti kids accepted into the U.S. State Department “Yes” program (student exchange) was made more delicious by the presence of these 16-year old shining stars. I wanted to hug all of them, and so I did, before I left, with a belly full of baklava.

(4) In my humble, hippie opinion, “desert nature” is decidedly beautiful and in no need of more dune bashing, attack nature, adventure-style tourism common in this region. Deserts, like most human hearts (I mean this metaphorically), are sensitive and fragile. I sat on the dunes and cared little that my camera lens died here in this giant sand box. It was simply love at first sight.

(5) Falaika is found 20 km offshore Kuwait, and while this hot, economically depressed, once-visited-by-the-Greeks, archaeological treasure of an isle in the Gulf is sad, to say the least, the process of getting there is simply spectacular. The island was mined during the Iraqi invasion, some 2,000 settlers were exported back to the mainland, and Failaka never quite recovered. There is a bizarre zoo found here, and reliable access to several flavors of Baskin Robbins ice cream. But take my advice for the boat ride: head to the bow, wrap a scarf around your head, and breathe, breathe, breathe in the sea spray knowing that history was, and is, made here.

(6) Islam. I told my mother that any religion that reminds me to pray five times per day and step out of the “me-me-me mentality” that so dominates everyday life is just fine in my book. I can still hear that call to prayer as I sit here in my suburban cul-de-sac, giant cottonwood trees whispering in the breeze. Mom replied: “If you’re planning on converting, please wait until I die”. I told her she’d love the mosques of the Gulf, like Grand Zayed, and that they even use New Zealand wool for their giant prayer rug. Had the Norwegians contributed in some small way, she may have been convinced.

(7) Al Jazeera. During our visit to this famous Arab network, I suspect that most of us were screaming internally: “OMG! OMG! OMG! I’m at Al Jazeera. Am I really at Al Jazeera? It’s just not possible that I’m at Al Jazeera! Let’s go buy out the Al Jazeera gift shop to prove that we were actually at Al Jazeera!” And so we did. In addition to purchasing key chains and coffee mugs, I also cried here. Unprompted, unanticipated, uninhibited, and nowhere to hide kind of crying experience. You see, we’d met a cameraman – a gentle soul - who’d been arrested in Afghanistan and jailed at Guantanamo for 6.5 years, released only a few years ago.

(8) Incensed. Having been a lifelong avoider of the department store cologne section, being customarily “incensed” by our host in the aftermath of a scrumptious, gut-busting dinner was an entirely new experience, one that I’d love to incorporate into my own traditions. In a culture so modest, there’s something a bit sweetly scandalous about tenting open the base of your blouse to beckon in the smoky scents of Arabia.

(9) The Mall. While Malls of the Gulf are often deemed engineering marvels, I just can’t shake the nausea that accompanies my visit to them, even if they do contain a super cool indoor ski slope and a multi-storied aquarium. Without ruining it for those seeking to visit Dubai, let’s just close with a Homer Simpson quote: “I want to shake off the dust of this one-horse town. I want to explore the world. I want to watch TV in a different time zone. I want to visit strange, exotic malls...I want to live, Marge! Won't you let me live?”

(10) People. Oh, how I like them. I was honored to have met Prem, the security guard at the Sheraton who invited me to his wedding in Kathmandu. And Joy, the Phillipina I hugged after a protracted conversation about happiness and culture at, of all places, the airport. As for my colleagues, the Vanistanis (since we spent most of our time in the van, nicknamed Vanistan) - they were collegial, good spirited, smart, and quick to laugh despite soaring temperatures and what were sometimes downright weird, awkward site visits (think: Dickson house). I’m quite sure I’ll know some of them - in’ sha’ allah – for the rest of my life. (Bunch of crazies).