Because I don’t have photographs to illustrate each of these points, I’m going to include scans of vintage UAE postcards. Remember when I asked if you’d like one? Now you can see what other readers received. I’ll post a few of the more recent ones here, and a few of the older ones with the list of things I will miss.
Here we go.
Top 5 Things I Will Not Miss About Abu Dhabi (in no particular order):
1. Scalding hot water. There seems to be no regulation as to how hot water can be out of the tap. I don’t know how many times I burned my hands while doing dishes or had to jump out of the way in the shower. It’s hot, I mean, steaming hot. You can make a decent cup of tea straight from the tap. I think each of my visitors let out a yelp at least once or twice while washing their hands or helping with dishes. I couldn’t help but wonder about how many small children get serious burns from the dangerous water temperature. Plus, it’s tricky to continue cooking/cleaning when you need to keep your hand in a bag of ice.
2. Lack of correct change. This really drove me nuts at times. When you pay for something at the store, you will rarely get correct change handed back to you and will often be asked to pay more than you owe. For example, if your total comes to 10.85Dhs, you’ll be asked to pay 11Dhs. Don’t expect change. Or if your change should total something like 17 fils, you won’t be getting it. I’m not the only one this annoyed. There are news articles about how markets are costing the people money by rounding up and down. Personally, I don’t understand how cashiers balance the till at night.
3. Staring. It’s a fact of life in Abu Dhabi. If you are a female, you will be started at. If you have blonde hair, it will be even worse. It’s something I got used to over time while never quite forgetting. When I was in a silly mood it helped to play a little mental dialog “That’s right… I’m hot. You want it but you can’t have it!” At other times, it just pissed me off. I mean, they aren’t subtle. You can try to stare back but if you don’t want to have sex with them, I don’t recommend it.
4. Inshallah. A word and attitude that means “If God wills it.” You hear it all the time and will start to say it yourself. In general, it’s not a bad thing. When you tell your co-workers “See you tomorrow!” and they say, “Inshallah.” No problem. When you really need to get paperwork completed on a deadline and the person in charge will only say, “Inshallah, inshallah,” you’ll probably want to slap someone. In short, hearing “Inshallah” in a casual conversation…totally ok. Hearing “Inshallah” when your passport, paycheck, or visa are involved…incredibly frustrating. You might cry.
5. Fajr Prayer. This is the first prayer call of the day. Depending on the time of year and your location it can sound as early as 4am. This is not pleasant. Remember, the call to prayer sounds like this, is very loud, and sounds even louder to your sleepy ears at 4 in the morning.*
So those are the 5 things I will not miss about living in Abu Dhabi. I didn’t include the severe heat and humidity because those are just a given. In the near future I’ll post all of the lovely things that I will miss, or do miss already.
xo, jill
P.S. Did you see your postcard?
*I couldn’t find the earliest fajr prayer can be, but it’s the predawn prayer so it can be quite early. The earliest I remember hearing it in Abu Dhabi was 3:58am.
Jill, your list makes me smile… There are so many little things like that in all of these foreign cities. Oddities and irritations scattered around. I can imagine the joy you’ll feel when 4am passes by and you sleep peacefully through. Love the vintage post cards! -Bethany
The staring…this has always been my least favorite thing when I travel to certain countries. No matter how covered up I get, people still gawk. Cool post and the postcards look great.
I like this idea of ending on a high note! I think it is especially a good idea if you happen to be experiencing some homesickness/reverse culture shock… remind yourself of all the things that drove you bananas so that you won’t miss the place so much!
I have never been to Abu Dhabi, but I could definitely see how all those things would be annoying. My parents have essentially no thermal regulation on their kitchen faucet and the number of times I have burned myself is high enough that I definitely understand your pain!
I hear alot of good reports about Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Can’t wait to go there one day.
I know, it can be so uncomfortable! It’s interesting too how there is different kinds of staring… traveling in Asia it’s more “You look different so I’m going to stare at you.” At times in Abu Dhabi it was “Western women are slutty and I’m having sex with you in my mind.” So gross.
Strangely enough, when I first came home I woke up at 3-4am anyways from the jet lag! But now I do prefer waking up to birds instead of a a loud voice coming out of a speaker.
I am definitely missing my little apartment!
I know this shouldn’t be funny… but I found the hot water thing hilarious. I know it would suck in real life, but it seems like such a strange, unique problem!
Oh Jill, I so so feel you here. I don’t know about in UAE, but in Saudi instead of giving us change, the cashiers give us bottles of water or sticks of gum to make up the cost difference. Inshallah, is also “never gonna happen” in wonderful KSA. The joys of living in the ME!!