Lesson One: Do not visit Dubai in the Summer
Vegas is hot; Phoenix is hot. Both are in the desert; both experience hot summers. Hot, dry summers. Having lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life, where humidity hovers in the low 30s, I have little experience with high temperature, high humidity environments. While in Dubai, I have never experienced such uncomfortable heat in my life. For example, as I write this at 2pm, the temperature outside is a reasonable 95 degrees, but with the humidity, Weather.com shows a 'real feel' of 113 degrees (and we've still not hit the forecasted high temperature of 104 today).
Just stepping outside produces an instant sheen of sweat, drains mental energy, and starts an inexorable physical deterioration even with constant water intake. It's simply miserable. However, while crossing the city on a taxi journey in the middle of the day, I see construction workers - all dark skinned, foreign guest workers - laboring under the sun in dark jumpsuits. Obviously, humans have the ability to adapt to most environments; some more than others.
Besides the heat, there is a constant haze, greatly diminishing the views of the city and casting a yellow tinted veil over the adjacent Persian Gulf. The combination of the heat and the haze greatly diminishes the attraction of the city - there's nothing pretty to look at, sun worshippers are brutally punished, and any foray into the authentic, cultural pockets of Dubai requires surviving the oppressive heat.
Lesson Two: The Cultural Melting Pot is Hard to Endure while Jet Lagged
With the eleven hour time difference from Seattle, we've not had the chance to fully synchronize with Dubai's time zone. We awake tired, struggle against the fatigue, and have found our patience threshold severely tested. I've observed that the kids are just as negatively impacted by the jet lag, but in different ways. Where Leslie and I can recognize just how tired we are, Liam and Lily tend to get cranky and have acted out on numerous occasions. There have been instances of intense civil war as the four of us have gotten on each others' nerves. This low tolerance for irritation applies to dealing with the foreign cultures we've encountered.
For example, Arabian kids. Bratty, undisciplined with their parents taking seemingly no interest in keeping them in line. We hear them running through the hall outside our room late at night (these are small kids!), we tire of them cutting in line or trying to push their way into elevators without any regard to our presence.
Another example is the lack of apparent friendliness in Arabian culture. There is such a lack of smiles and playful energy as we're accustomed to experiencing it. There is a sense of entitlement, and definitely a stratification of class between the haves and have-nots.
I recognize that cultural differences are a reality, and that every person - wherever he/she lives - experiences the same range of emotions and feelings as I do. I observed the tenderness a father showed his Down's Syndrome son, and the caresses of a mother for her dwarf son. This is where my lack of fully functioning facilities fails to allow me to chill and simply experience and enjoy the differences. I chalk this up to my jet lag.
Lesson Three: Planning Ahead for Activities was a Mistake
Several weeks before we departed on this long trip, I researched the various activities in Dubai, looking for fun things for our family to do. However, I didn't account for a few things: the oppressive heat, the disabling jet lag, and the extreme lack of demand of activities due to this being the low season. The result? In some cases, it was hard to enjoy the activities (ones I'd already paid for) due to the fatigue, and in others, we simply chose to forfeit what we paid because we simply didn't have the energy to do them. Though jet lag and heat won't be such extreme factors for the remainder of the trip, I won't pre-book anything more, leaving us more flexible.
Vegas is hot; Phoenix is hot. Both are in the desert; both experience hot summers. Hot, dry summers. Having lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life, where humidity hovers in the low 30s, I have little experience with high temperature, high humidity environments. While in Dubai, I have never experienced such uncomfortable heat in my life. For example, as I write this at 2pm, the temperature outside is a reasonable 95 degrees, but with the humidity, Weather.com shows a 'real feel' of 113 degrees (and we've still not hit the forecasted high temperature of 104 today).
Just stepping outside produces an instant sheen of sweat, drains mental energy, and starts an inexorable physical deterioration even with constant water intake. It's simply miserable. However, while crossing the city on a taxi journey in the middle of the day, I see construction workers - all dark skinned, foreign guest workers - laboring under the sun in dark jumpsuits. Obviously, humans have the ability to adapt to most environments; some more than others.
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| Hazy, Hot and Humid Dubai |
Besides the heat, there is a constant haze, greatly diminishing the views of the city and casting a yellow tinted veil over the adjacent Persian Gulf. The combination of the heat and the haze greatly diminishes the attraction of the city - there's nothing pretty to look at, sun worshippers are brutally punished, and any foray into the authentic, cultural pockets of Dubai requires surviving the oppressive heat.
Lesson Two: The Cultural Melting Pot is Hard to Endure while Jet Lagged
With the eleven hour time difference from Seattle, we've not had the chance to fully synchronize with Dubai's time zone. We awake tired, struggle against the fatigue, and have found our patience threshold severely tested. I've observed that the kids are just as negatively impacted by the jet lag, but in different ways. Where Leslie and I can recognize just how tired we are, Liam and Lily tend to get cranky and have acted out on numerous occasions. There have been instances of intense civil war as the four of us have gotten on each others' nerves. This low tolerance for irritation applies to dealing with the foreign cultures we've encountered.
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| One of the 'Haves' |
Another example is the lack of apparent friendliness in Arabian culture. There is such a lack of smiles and playful energy as we're accustomed to experiencing it. There is a sense of entitlement, and definitely a stratification of class between the haves and have-nots.
 |
| One of the 'Have-Nots' |
I recognize that cultural differences are a reality, and that every person - wherever he/she lives - experiences the same range of emotions and feelings as I do. I observed the tenderness a father showed his Down's Syndrome son, and the caresses of a mother for her dwarf son. This is where my lack of fully functioning facilities fails to allow me to chill and simply experience and enjoy the differences. I chalk this up to my jet lag.
Lesson Three: Planning Ahead for Activities was a Mistake
Several weeks before we departed on this long trip, I researched the various activities in Dubai, looking for fun things for our family to do. However, I didn't account for a few things: the oppressive heat, the disabling jet lag, and the extreme lack of demand of activities due to this being the low season. The result? In some cases, it was hard to enjoy the activities (ones I'd already paid for) due to the fatigue, and in others, we simply chose to forfeit what we paid because we simply didn't have the energy to do them. Though jet lag and heat won't be such extreme factors for the remainder of the trip, I won't pre-book anything more, leaving us more flexible.
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| One of our activities |
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