Ramadan - Bah Humbug

Every holiday needs a Scrooge, and I'm here to offer my services as the Scrooge of Ramadan. I think even Tiny Tim couldn't get me excited about this Holy Month of fasting and Starbucks' closings. The ghosts can come and go, but I'm still saying "Bah Humbug" to not being able to chew gum in public. Is it just me, or is the Ghost of Christmas Past following me... oh wait, no it's just my neighbor. It's so confusing sometimes. Soon I will be flying out of the Ramadan zone to a land where people chew between the hours of 4:30 am and 6:30 pm. A birthday in London to be followed by 6 weeks in Texas. When I get back we will discuss the different types of local dress (dishdash, abaya etc) and finish up that last Islamic pillar, the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj).

Saudi Arabia Here I Come

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and I have much in common

(when it comes to celebrating birthdays)

Saudi Arabia can always be counted on to put a wet blanket on any party you might be thinking about and last month the Grand Mufti went as far as to ban birthdays. This may seem horrible to some, but I say..."just in time". To those of us who may be turning 50 this year (Madonna are you listening), what a great place to be when that milestone hits.

The Grand Mufti can extinguish all the flames on my birthday cake...we can just pretend it never happened and I put on my burka and go on my way smiling under my veil
because I'll be 49 forever.

Shake, Rattle and Snore

I never thought I'd ever experience an earthquake, but today Abu Dhabi got the aftershocks of an Iranian one of magnitude 6.1. People flooded the streets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi when their buildings started to shake. Most of the people reported that they felt very dizzy, but since it is Ramadan and many are fasting, they didn't know if it was the earthquake or hunger.

So what was it like to be in an earthquake??? Well, I'm not fasting so I'm pretty sure it wasn't like being hungry. Actually, it was naptime back in the high rise...so I have no idea what it was like. I do know, however, if I had been awake it would have made this blog much more exciting.

Censorship's new look for Fall '08

BEFORE

AFTER

Those folks at the censorship bureau are always looking for new ways to stay progressive. They have just launched a new look for their censorship block. It is so much nicer to be denied access to internet sites with this new updated look don't you think?

Brave Visitors

Even though Iraq is hundreds of miles away, most people envision me living in downtown Baghdad and that mental image has a way of curtailing visitors. Luckily, a dear friend of mine and her daughter decided to risk life and limb make the perilous journey to the Middle East for a visit. Their first impressions were that it looked like Florida and that 112F was really, really hot. We had a fun time sightseeing, riding camels, bashing sand dunes and wearing burkas. (The verdict on the burkas were "they are hot, yet slimming.")

No trip to the UAE is complete without seeing Dubai and we were able to squeeze in 2 days there. Only in Dubai can you spend the morning baking on the beach and the afternoon freezing on the ski slopes of the Mall of the Emirates. All that and we were still back in Abu Dhabi by dinnertime.

I think the trip opened their eyes to a Middle East that they were not expecting; a region with a strange mix of modern and traditional without a terrorist in sight. I'm happy to say that they weren't kidnapped once and the most frightening thing they had to endure was eating my cooking. Thanks for coming you two!!!

Random act of Ramadan

Last night at the mall, I witnessed a random act of kindness. A man sneezed and an Emirate man said "bless you." This random act of kindness can only mean one thing...Ramadan has begun. A text message from the phone company a few minutes later wishes us "Ramadan Kareem" and verifies our thoughts...a new moon has been sighted. Now everyone starts their fast and becomes nice. Nice and hungry.

David left this morning with his thermos of coffee to be hidden in his desk and granola bars to snack on behind closed doors. I had to sit through my mani/pedi w/o my green tea. The holy month of Ramadan is already getting on my nerves.