DUBAI DIARIES | Nov 2011

Asalam Walekum,

So it’s almost getting into my sixth month since we transferred our lives from one end of the planet to the other (well middle-other). A lot has happened that most people around here would find of little interest but I know that my fans would be waiting with bated breath to hear about. :p

Getting a job

As I recall last, I had received my shipment, set up the house and completed our First Born's 1^st birthday. After that came the routine…hubby goes to work, I attempt planning a fun day out, get turned off by the heat…sit at home and spend time with the baby…wait for hubby to come so that we can go out….then both of us get turned off by the heat…we stay at home. Well that was the routine for a month or so. Hubby would come home to a cranky wife, to which one day he loudly proclaims…

”Honey….you need to go back to work….you’re going insane…”

To which I responded

“You think I haven’t been trying?.....wait…..why am I the insane one?”

So after a series of sending out resumes, speaking with the most accented English to any calls I received, begging ANY recruitment agent that picked up, attending interviews (to which my beloved FIL and hubby transported me to), going through depression saying that Dubai people don’t like me and then declaring that they ALL suck….to one evening, while in the middle of a domestic disagreement in the middle of a shopping centre, I get a call…..”Linda, the company has accepted to go ahead with you”. I didn’t know quite how to react. Do I continue to want to throw something at my husband or jump up and down with glee in the glass aisle of the shopping centre? Luckily for Ach, I chose the latter.

I recall the interviews as being funny. Here they place a lot of importance on education and you better be able to answer in detail about whatever statement you put on your resume. If you say you saved thecompany, they’ll ask you exactly what steps you took and what documents were used.

One Indian interviewer guy looked at me and said: “You don’t look like your picture on the resume”

Me: “I won’t ask you whether that’s a good or bad thing.”

Indian Interviewer Guy: <remains quiet>

<a short while later>

Indian Interviewer Guy: “I don’t know about Sydney companies, but companies here are we-ri we-ri(very) professional and you won’t understand the people here.”

Me: <Having gotten offended by that statement and knowing that I by no means in my statement or dress looked unprofessional> “Have you been to Sydney?”

Indian Interviewer Guy: “No”

Me: “I’m not sure what you mean by that statement. The companies I have worked for are multi-national, have procedures and guidelines AND considering I’m an Indian who has grown up in a Western culture, I can work all around the world, especially Dubai….so if you can give me an example of unprofessional behaviour and how people are different then I can tell you how I’d deal with it.”

Indian Interviewer Guy: “bah bah bah”….

I obviously didn’t get that job….but I was really satisfied with the interview though. :p

Another job interview, of which I applied as a business analyst

Receptionist: “Right this way Linda, just going to get you to answer a few questions on paper before you meet the interviewer”

<I looked at the paper>

‘Draw the system diagram of an SQL database and its’ components’

The rest of the hour I spent wondering if I had applied for the right job. :p

First born

Enough about me. First born has grown up a lot. He is running, climbing anything his legs can reach and opening doors….meaning he cannot be confined to one area. Forget toys, the boy prefers getting pots and pans and making avial (to the non-mallus…this is essentially a Kerala vegetable mash dish).

Took him out recently to play in the sand (as part of my attempt to get him used to nature). He slowly put his legs in, then his hands in….then shot forward to cover his face and eat the sand. Not quite what I had in mind….

Ramadan

We just finished a month of Ramadan, which is when the Muslims fast for a month. Rules are that you can’t eat or drink in public during daylight hours. The non-muslims like us have to go to the blocked off kitchen area and eat and drink there. The time period changes each year so it was interesting seeing them go through it during the ‘long daylight’ period of the year. Admired their discipline. I mean, here I hesitate over giving up meat during lent. After the month, when they sight the full moon, the fast is broken and they declare holidays. They only declare holidays the night before, so can’t exactly plan a trip out. They say ‘EID (ee-th) Mubarak”, which is kind of like saying ‘Happy, blessed and prosperous breaking of fast’. Oh yeah, most companies send everyone home after 6 hours of work….but not mine! Shops are open until 1 or 2am…which is awesome!

The weather is getting better…as in I can stand outside for 10 mins before sweating like a pig.

Signing Off