More: Dubai Has Changed!

More of "Dubai has changed..."

Dubai Neighborhood THEN


Dubai Neighborhood NOW


National Telephone Company THEN


National Telephone Company NOW

Dubai Has Changed!

My how Dubai has changed... These are pictures from the 1960's contrasted with current day pictures.

Dubai Airport THEN





Dubai Airport NOW

"Fall in Line"

This was a sign in the convenience store near our office... I didn't see anyone fall on the ground while I was there!

To explain, many people here in Dubai are not used to lining up. They are from places where a crowd would push up to the counter all at one time. I guess this was the management's attempt to get people to stay in line. I'm not sure if it's working.

"Thanks-giving" in Dubai

This post is from my favorite guest blogger... my wife :) She wrote this to family recently and I thought you'd want to see it.

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Thinking of you today as I do some early Thanksgiving preparations. We are planning an afternoon meal on Thursday with our American co-workers. I am assigned to cook some of my family's favorites (spinach, strawberry jello, sweet potato casserole). I have also been making a pumpkin cheesecake today! That's a new one. I'll let you know how it turns out.

So often I find myself thinking that my life here is very similar to what things were like in the U.S. I suppose it stems from getting "used to" being here (after 4 years). In many ways it is the same. The routines of the day look a lot like they would look if I were still in Kentucky. And yet every few days I am reminded of how very different it is. Here are a few examples from this last week.

As part of our rent renewal (annual payment, one check, and really really huge!), our landlord has agreed to put a fresh coat of paint on the inside of the villa. This is nothing fancy, just white paint, but we are grateful for the fresh coat. So one day last week he sends the painter around to have a look at things. I see him coming from down the street. He's walking, with a grocery bag in hand (his supplies). He smiles and greets me, seems nice enough. But then I realize that he doesn't speak English. I think he is Iranian, but I am not sure. Maybe Pakistani? We try to communicate, using lots of hand gestures, but we don't get very far. I try to pull in the Pakistani gardener from across the street to help with the attempted conversation, but they can't communicate either. Oh well.... maybe next week.

I remember today that I need some new shower curtain liners. After four years of living here I am still not really sure where to find those.

I went to the grocery store yesterday to load up on all the ingredients for the Thanksgiving dishes I am about to prepare. I hesitated in front of the sweet potatoes. There were two choices. Australian and South African. One was about 5 times as much as the other, so I went for the cheaper option. This morning, while the water was beginning to boil, I washed them and started cutting them into chunks to put into the pot. Imagine my surprise when they were white inside! I worried that they were not "sweet" at all, but figured I would go ahead and cook them anyway, and see how they turned out. I figured no one in my family would mind mashed potatoes tonight. But sure enough, they were sweet after all. So my casserole has a different look to it this year. :)

I was lucky enough to find real sour cream yesterday for the jello. Usually I have to substitute with plain yogurt. What a treat!

I think about how I'd like to see the Macy's parade on Thursday morning when I wake up. And, yes, I'd even like to see some football! Maybe we can work that out on the internet somehow.

As I was cooking today I remembered an event from last year around this time. I have a gas stove and oven that is supplied with propane from a tank that sits in the garage. A long hose connects the two. It's hard to know when the propane will run out, no real warnings. Last year it happened as I was preparing my turkey :). Fortunately, there are many delivery trucks around town for this very purpose. They are just a phone call away. Twenty minutes later I was up and running again.

The weather is easing and we are really enjoying the temps in the low 30's (remember, that is Celsius). I cooked with the windows open today, so that was nice. I am thinking about getting some poinsettias this weekend. They love being outside on the front porch.

Two days ago Aqmed rang the doorbell. He is the Yemeni carpet salesman who comes by from time to time wearing his dishdasha (long white robe) and peddling carpets from the back of his Mitsubishi Pajero SUV. He is very friendly and speaks excellent English. He is probably 60 or so, and he brings his adult son with him to do the heavy lifting. If we show any interest at all they will come into our house and unroll carpets on top of carpets for our inspection. He has taught us the arabic word "helwah", (referring to his carpets) which means beautiful or excellent (I think). He's a hoot. He's the only male gulf arab who greets me with the British kiss on the cheek (touch cheeks, kiss the air).

See, just like I said before, it's the same as in the US. :) I hope this inside look at my day reminds you that the impressions of Dubai in the media are not the whole picture of life here. See anything that strikes you as different from your week?

There's so much to be thankful for. New paint, plenty to chose from at the grocery store, running water, quick propane delivery, Butterball turkeys in the grocery store, and nice weather. And that's just the small stuff.

Most of all I am so thankful for each of you. I hope your Thanksgiving is fun and refreshing. (It really is the best holiday of the year, if you ask me).

Lots of love,
Joanne

Update: The pumpkin cheesecake turned out great! (It wasn't for Thursday, it was just for fun).

Mecca Property Ad: Room with a View?

This a very interesting property ad that recently appeared in one of our local papers. You may know that Mecca (or Makkah as spelled in the ad) is the most holy city for Islam. It is located in Saudi Arabia and it is the city to which Muslims take the Hajj, or pilgrimage, which is a Koranic requirement for all Muslims who can afford it.

Another fascinating fact about Mecca is that only Muslims are allowed to enter the city. Non-Muslims may never enter.

The large background picture in the ad is of the center of the Grand Mosque. In it stands the Kaaba which is the place of worship that Abraham is supposed to have built. When Muslims pray they orient themselves so that they are praying toward the Kaaba. You may have heard that they pray facing Mecca but more specifically it is toward the Kaaba.

To state the obvious, this ad is a fascinating example of "East meets West". Luxury property marketing with a deeply religious context.

Birthday Party at the Burj

Ah. Life in Dubai... it's different.

My 13 year old daughter attended a birthday party for a classmate at the ultra luxurious Burj Al Arab Hotel last night. Room rates run in the $4000 a night range I think. The friend was turning 14. (What did you do for your 14th birthday party?!)

The party was held on the one of the top floors in a special ballroom. The festivities included DJ and massive food layout. It was impressive.

My wife and I went to pick her up there (she needed us both there right?) and caught the amazing fountain and flames on tape on the way out. Enjoy.

By the way. The birthday girl left in a red Bentley sports car as the evening finished off. Wow.

Click on the link to watch the video... roughly 1 minute. Don't miss the big burst near the end!

Interesting Gulf News Articles... Labor and Corruption

Will anything change here?... the "jury is out" I'd say.

Discrimination common among UAE companies

By Saifur Rahman, Business News Editor


Dubai: About 65 per cent of the UAE's companies discriminate among employees on grounds of age, 41 per cent on gender and 41 per cent on disability, a latest survey said.

UAE least corrupt among Mideast states

By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign Editor


Dubai: The UAE has been named the least corrupt country in the Middle East by Transparency International (TI) in its latest report. The UAE ranked first among Middle East and Arab countries with a score of 6.2, and 31st among 163 countries in the world in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) issued yesterday by TI in Berlin, Germany. The CPI is measured on a scale from 0 to 10, with higher numbers indicating less corruption.

According to the index details obtained by Gulf News, Israel and Oman, which ranked first and second in 2005 declined to the third and fifth positions respectively, paving the way for the UAE to become the first in the region.

Mohammad: Protect rights of workers

Gulf News Report


Dubai: All necessary measures must be taken to ensure the rights of expatriate workers are protected and their living and working conditions are significantly improved, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai ordered authorities yesterday.

He also instructed the Minister of Labour, Dr. Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, during a meeting attended by other senior officials, to implement "an effective mechanism that empowers workers whose salaries have been withheld for more than two months to receive what is rightfully theirs, as well as enable them to switch jobs with no obstacles, as long as they meet the rules set by the UAE and the Ministry of Labour in this matter," WAM reported yesterday.

Made me Laugh...

Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?"/ Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."

Charles M. Schulz (author of Peanuts cartoon)

Worldwide Accents

Dubai is a truly multi-national city. It's reported that there are over 200 different nationalities represented in the Dubai/UAE labor market. And due to the nature of my work I interact with lots of different people each day.

My family and I have begun to acquire a taste for trying to recognize and imitate different accents from around the world. For example, would you know the difference between a South African accent and an Australian accent? Or an Australian accent and a New Zealand accent? (that's a tough one!)

For your fun, The Speech Accent Archive is a website that will play different English language accents from all around the world. Try a few from different places even from the same country!

Quote on Salvation

My wife read this quote to me recently from a book called Hard Sayings of the Bible (IVPress)... I thought it summed up Christian salvation quite succinctly. See what you think.

"Salvation is not something we possess. It is rather a relationship in which we stand."

Are you counting salvation as something to acquire or a relationship to enter and maintain? Food for thought.

Where in the World are You?

 
This is the view of our "neighborhood" from 1300 miles above the earth courtesy of the program Google Earth. You can see my pin cushion marker in the lower righthand corner. Jerusalem, Syria, and Jordan are in the upper lefthand corner. Iran is north of us. Click on the pic to enlarge it.


This is a closer picture of Dubai and our area of the city. You can click to enlarge. The view is from about 9700 ft above ground. The pin cushion again marks our block.

If you really want to fly over and see us you could do it with Google Earth itself. Click on the link and install it if you haven't already done that. (You'll need at least a newer computer... ~4 years old or newer, an internet connection, and Windows 2000 or XP).

Now, click on this link below and select "open with Google Earth" to fly over if your computer doesn't automatically open it.

Parks Dubai Neighborhood

Give it time to load all the hi-res photos and it will take you literally 'down into our neighborhood. (I've placed the pin cushion in a vacant lot near our home for a little anonymity!... but our home is still in the photo.)

Now zoom out with your mouse scroll wheel or the zoom out/in buttons on the Google Earth control panel. If you go out to about 20 miles above ground (see the number in the bottom right corner of the Google Earth screen) then you'll see at least two interesting things... the palm shaped islands jutting into the Arabian Gulf is called Palm Island. It's a set of manmade islands. And the two little clusters of little islands just off the coast from where we live is The World. These are manmade islands that are being built for luxury homes. The finished island cluster will resemble a map of the world. 

First Desert Trip this Year

 

The temps have just cooled down and we went to the desert with some work colleagues. Here Maher is ready to take the dive! Later we cooked kebabs over the fire. A fun time was had by all. 

Another Tough Parable - 3 Servants

Matthew 25:14-30

22 "The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, `Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.'
23 "The master said, `Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!'
24 "Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, `Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate.25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.'
26 "But the master replied, `You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant and gathered crops I didn't cultivate,27 why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.'

I recently attended a Bible study with quite a few new or non-Christians there and this was the passage selected. I was frustrated with the leader thinking the passage too hard for the crowd attending. Later I realized that my frustration may have had more to do with my own discomfort with the passage and my inability to connect it to the Gospel.

So I've been pondering this passage asking, "how does this relate to the Gospel?

A superficial interpretation seems to lead to a simple lesson... Put to good use all the advantages or blessings God has given you and you will be rewarded when the final judgement comes.

But that explanation seems inadequate.

First a few observations. The NLT says that the Master "gave them money to invest for him". The NIV translates it "entrusted his wealth to them". Both indicate that the Master expected the servants to invest or handle his wealth for him or on his behalf. He also expects to return and collect. He's not giving away his wealth. Also, based on their responses when he returns, all three seem to know that he was to return and "settle accounts" with them.

My second observation is that all three work while the Master is away. But the first two work for the Master's purposes. The third seems to bury the money and then go about his own business. This more implied by the text rather than explicitly stated. The Master is away a long time, surely the third servant worked during that time. He just worked on his own behalf.

Thirdly, the third servant doesn't seem to understand the character and goals of the Master nor does he even act appropriately based on his mischaracterization of him.

These three observations, taken together, lead me to think that it's not so much if you make interest or if you use what the Master has given you but for whom you work while the Master is away. Are you working for yourself or the Master?

This is how the passage connects to the Gospel. What God has done for us through the cross of Christ demands a response. Believing in Jesus and setting him as the Lord of our lives is the appropriate response. Mere acknowledgement of Jesus is not enough. Even the third servant did that. He called him Master. But he didn't live for the Master.

So it's not enough to put the advantages and blessings of God to some kind of good use. He calls us to live for him.

I feel warned by this passage. Am I working for the furthering of his purposes before he returns? Or am I working for my own benefit? Do I know who the Master really is and what he wants to see happen while he's away?

Read the passage. The outcome is either extreme joy and benefit or extreme regret and crushing loss.

Eid Holiday - Henna Hands

Here's a fun picture from the local paper. Today is the first day of Eid Al Fitr, the celebration at the end of Ramadan. Common activities include visiting relatives, giving gifts, special meals, and dressing up for the festivities... thus the henna decorations for these Pakistani girls.

NYTimes Article: Culture Clashes in Dubai

(This photo accompanies the online version of the NYTimes article)

Here's an interesting story a friend alerted me to the other day.

With more than 150 nationalities and almost as many expressions of culture, Dubai is one of the most diverse cities in the Middle East.

But after decades of selling dreams to foreigners, this Persian Gulf emirate has begun debating the limits of multiculturalism.

Tensions burst into the open in early October when an English-language newspaper published an article protesting the growing disrespect for Muslim customs here during Ramadan, setting off a rare public debate about Dubai’s cultural identity.

The rest of the article "Beyond Skimpy Skirts, a Rare Debate on Identity" is a good look into some of the difficult things Dubai is dealing with these days. I can understand the loss of culture that the locals are feeling. And yet, Dubai's leaders have flung the door open to the world and are, in fact, seeking to quadruple the population in the next 10 years. If the locals thought it was hard to maintain culture now... just wait until the population swells even more.

I have noticed that this Ramadan does not seem to have the same religious tone as in years past. But one difficulty for the expat is knowing what's appropriate and what's not. While the newspapers run articles every year about what Ramadan means they don't say too much about what's expected of people during that time. And honestly it's hard to tell what's expected even from observing the local population. What wasn't mentioned in the NYT article about the incident that sparked the email deluge for the local paper was that the offending person cited in the article was actually an Emirati.

I just don't see how you can expect to maintain your culture when you turn your country into a 'tourist Mecca'... pun intended.

Ramadan Iftar Meal in our Neighborhood

We're in the middle of Ramadan here in the Arabian Gulf. Ramadan is the annual month of fasting for Muslims. Iftar is the meal that breaks the daily fast at sundown each day. One focus of Ramadan is to serve the poor and show generosity to others. In keeping with that spirit many of the mosques offer free meals to low-income workers. This is a popular mosque about two blocks from our villa. The picture was taken 3 years ago but is representative of the scene every evening at this local mosque that I pass by 4-8 times a day on average.

Gulf News Headlines of Note...

File this one under "Duh"

Violation of rules is main cause of accidents

By Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Failure to abide by rules is one of the key reasons for rising traffic offences, a senior police official has said. Brigadier Eisa Aman, Acting Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, said motorists who ignore traffic rules were causing accidents.

Read further

File this one under "Huh?"

Bad road manners 'cause of jams'

By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Dubai Roads and Transport Authority blamed drivers for causing traffic congestion in the city. "It is about behaviour on the road and drivers are the one to be blamed for most of the traffic jams and accidents leading to injuries and deaths," said Engineer Maitha Obaid Bin Udai, Chief Executive Officer of the Traffic and Roads Agency at the Dubai Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA).

Read further

File this under "Hmm"

Scholars fear influence of foreign universities

By Barbara Bibbo', Correspondent

Doha: The growing presence of foreign universities in Qatar has spurred a debate among local scholars who fear foreign education will westernise the region. "Westernisation is the biggest challenge Arab and Islamic societies are facing today. Globalisation being the latest incarnation of colonialism threatens to undermine the Islamic identity and poses a threat of cultural invasion to the region," reported the Peninsula quoting noted Doha-based scholar Ali Al Quradaghi.

Read further

John Piper's Day Off at Barnes and Noble

Here's a 'must read' from John Piper's newsletter about Christians who respond hatefully to secularists and the interaction of church and state.

A trip to Barnes & Noble on my day off takes me beyond the Star Tribune and NPR in my daily culture dose of postmodern pronouncements. Consider Sam Harris’ Letter to a Christian Nation (Knopf, 2006). It is ranked as the fourteenth best seller in the nation at Amazon as I write (just behind Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion). It begins like this:

"Thousands of people have written to tell me that I am wrong not to believe in God. The most hostile of these communications have come from Christians. This is ironic, as Christians generally imagine that no faith imparts the virtues of love and forgiveness more effectively than their own. The truth is that many who claim to be transformed by Christ’s love are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism. While we may want to ascribe this to human nature, it is clear that such hatred draws considerable support from the Bible. How do I know this? The most disturbed of my correspondents always cite chapter and verse."

Later he says that not believing that man evolved from lower life forms is like not believing the sun is a star. Our nation is being overrun with anti-intellectual people who scoff at true science. The Intelligent Design movement is a scheme to replace science with religion by people who get PhDs to provide a cloak of respectability for their anti-science agenda. And so on.

What makes Harris’ book postmodern and not simply modern is that it treats Christian “fantasies” not merely as rational errors, but as dangerous cultural and political power plays. I have no desire to scoff at this book. There is too much right-wing, radio-show-type Christian scoffing. Besides, I am old enough to be Sam Harris’ father (I was twenty-one when he was born), and that makes me want to rescue a son, not skewer a peer.

Of course, he thinks I am the one who needs to be rescued. My concern for us evangelicals is not that we bash Harris but that we try not to give the impression that we fear science, and that we make clear that we want Sam Harris to have the freedom to say false things about us.

So my dip into Harris’ book was good for me. I may even read more. I don’t fear it. I wish he didn’t fear us. God, he should fear. But I will do all I can to keep my fellow Christians from playing God. As long as Christ’s kingdom comes not by the sword but by the Spirit and the Truth, I will resist the unholy union of conscientious church and coercive state. I stand with those who believe that Christ is the best foundation for a view of the state that refuses to enforce Christ. I also stand with those who believe that true science (not presuppositional secularism) will not contradict true biblical interpretation.

For more from John Piper visit his website Desiring God

First Trip to India!

I traveled to India for the first time last week. I spent most of the time in Delhi which is in the north. We took one day and traveled to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It's a fascinating place full of all different kinds of people. You can view my pictures here.

2006-10-6 India

Sep 28, 2006 - 114 Photos

Sermon Posting on Church Website

For those of you who were coming here to download the sermons from UCCD church, they are now posting them on the church website. You can get the rest of the 1 Peter series plus John Folmar's new Genesis expositions. Also, you can get the sermons from the summer from John Welkner, youth pastor, and from Daniel Splett, pastor of cell groups.

If you use the iTunes software you can set it up so that it will automatically download the sermons as well. This is a very nice feature. Enjoy them!

Now Serving... two "fresh slices" of 1 Peter!

My apologies for the delay. I've been traveling in the Western Hemisphere...

2006-6-16
1 Peter 2:4-10
Home Away from Home


2006-6-23
1 Peter 2:11-3:7
An Honourable Lifestyle

1 Peter 1:13-2:3 ... How to Live Overseas

New sermon posted. How to live overseas. It's the third in the series. I only am posting one file this time. It's about 14mb so it's halfway in between the size of the others I've posted before.

2006-6-9
How to Live Overseas
1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Take it to heart...

New Sermon Series Started! - 1 Peter

My pastor has just started a new sermon series on 1 Peter. It's great teaching... click on the links and download to listen on your computer or to put on your mp3 player.

2006-5-26
You Were Chosen for this Assignment
1 Peter 1:1-2 (mono ~10mb)
1 Peter 1:1-2 (stereo ~20mb)

2006-6-02
Retirement Benefits
1 Peter 1:3-12 (mono)
1 Peter 1:3-12 (stereo)

Enjoy!

p.s. If you just want to listen to it on the computer simply click the link. If you want to download and save it for later or to put on your mp3 player... then right click and chose "save link as...". It will then begin to download to your computer. It may take 5-10 minutes depending on your connection speed. Leave me comments if you're having trouble.