Dubai – If you want more than you think, your thoughts begin to bleed – Society, Eddie Vedder.

 We all have different opinions, visions and expectations in life. I try to remain objective on this project and never purposely intend to flatter or hurt anyone. I simply try to render the feelings of an expat, travelling and based in Cairo.

There was an opportunity for Professional development in Dubai last week end and I was impatient to see the place. A week ago, I had seen some pictures of Dubai and referred to the landscapes as a terrible mixture of ‘futuristic’ architecture. In addition, I had praised living in Cairo, despite its problems; therefore, even with the best intention, I would lie saying that I had no prejudices about Dubai, and I was looking forward to validate or discard them.

I arrived in Dubai and was struck by the heat. Cairo is hot indeed but it is a sauna heat, dry but hot, and due to my Estonian ‘connection’, I do love a sauna heat! The temperature here has shifted actually and it has gotten cooler (relatively speaking of course, still 25-30 degrees). In Dubai, it was 39 degrees and we landed and the humid heat, reminding me of the Turkish hammam I loved so much, hit us. It is incredible, especially when you pace from one place to the next, outside, you are instantly overwhelmed by the humidity and then it all cools off very rapidly with the full on air conditioning system, provided in all buildings. The heat does not decrease at night but I was told by a good friend, who has been living in Dubai for a while, that this is better and nothing compared to August.

The other thing is the landscape and here are some snapshots.

I am still skeptical as for its beauty and perhaps, if I were an engineer, I would look at it in awe and appreciate it differently. I went up Burj Khalifa, and I do admit that its height and shape is rather incredible, the 10 meters a second ascension also left me speechless. It is impressive in a sense and you do have to spend time in those buildings, as the heat outside is scorching.

And there it is, the point in this article where I cannot help but say my opinion and once again, they belong to me and I welcome all others but if you have stuck to reading this blog, it is also to hear it through my voice and my personal opinion.

Once upon a time, Money had an affair with Vanity, Narcissism, Superficiality and they all had babies. They needed people to run their services and called in people from the outside world but considered them as slaves. They, M,V,N and S and their offspring  lived happily ever after- Welcome to Dubai.

In Dubai mall, there is an aquarium. As you stroll between H&M and other clothes shops, you encounter a blue wall, where I saw two hammer heads for the first time, amongst many fish, a big majestic sting ray and some aquatic life. My initial and only thought, which I could not overcome, was along the lines of:”Damn you Dubai “! I have never seen hammer head sharks and I see them here, next to H&M, in a giant prison of glass”. If I had been given all the time in the world to figure something new for a mall, I would have never thought of it. Such beautiful creatures, representatives of nature, aimlessly swimming amongst “wealth and beauty”! It reminded me of the poor polar bear trapped in his tiny cell in Tallinn zoo. The difference however, is that in Tallinn, there is a huge project to help change the circumstances, a sponsorship system and a clear yearning towards helping the animal. For those sharks, this isn’t a temporary solution until a better financial future…

Dubai mall but also Dubai itself has a very large population of immigrants from the Philippines, India and Pakistan. I was lucky enough to speak to one lady who had moved from a town north of Manila ten months ago and told me that she liked Dubai because she could work here, make money and support her family and that it was very clean and very safe. I have, within the few days, seen unfortunate examples of the abuse, whether verbal or obnoxious attitudes they are unfortunately victims of. I despise it, I despise that whatever you see yourself as, you believe that another human being is lower than you to the point of lacking the elementary and basic manners.

I was impressed by one particular lady: an Arab lady, who challenged herself to ski to the North Pole. Not only were her journey, story and circumstances amazing, she also had the unbelievable tool of eloquence and articulation to retell us her story in the most beautiful way. She is an inspiration to all the women in the world, especially in the UAE nowadays and her humility and yet determination gave me hope for Dubai.

Yesterday, the 6^th of October, was an important day in Egypt but also a bloody day. I knew that I was returning to a place that isn’t clean, not as safe, chaotic in its architecture and many of its system, a place where I might be stranded at the airport if the curfew has changed for the day. Yet, it is with a big smile on my face that I rediscovered the landscape that scared me and made me question my decision 6 weeks ago. Welcome home  :)