Yas Island

From what I understand, there has been a sort of rivalry between Dubai and Abu Dhabi for a while. Even though Dubai has been in the lead for a while, Abu Dhabi seems to have overtaken. In my mind, building the Formula One track on Yas Island and bringing the race here was the point where Abu Dhabi really surpassed Dubai.In this image, taken from this website, you can see both Ferrari World and the Formula One track next to it.
Here is a closer view of the Yas Hotel at night taken from this website. The Yas Hotel is the only hotel in the world with a Formula One track running through it. They run things like production car races, and a racing school. In addition, there has been a weekly cycling event run on the track since March. Recently the organizers have been extending the hours and turning on the lights for the cooler (?) evening hours.

Next to the track is a large concert and event venue. During last year's Grand Prix, there were a series of concerts held there: Beyonce, Aerosmith, The Kings of Leon, and Jamiroqui. In that same venue, they held UFC fights.

Yas Island is being built up as an entertainment island and they're working on the infrastructure to make that viable. Right now, it's mostly vacant apart from a few hotels, a Formula One Track and an amusement park set to open later this year. The track itself is a pretty good draw and has loads of events. Hopefully in a few years it will be developed enough to make staying in one of the hotels at any time of the year worth it.

X-pat

Sure this is kind of cheating, but when you consider that 80% of the people living here are non-Emirati, x-pat (short for ex-patriate, or someone who lives outside their native country) is kind of obvious. One of the things that struck me initially when I came here were to variety of nationalities that I worked with. Sure in Japan, we had a lot of people from various English-speaking countries, but even that mostly four countries: the U.S., Canada, Australia and England. Sure, there were a few Kiwis (people from New Zealand) and maybe the occasional Irish and Welsh, but not really a lot of variety. I'm not saying there weren't a lot of people from European, African, South American, or Asian countries, just not that many that I saw.

Here, that's completely different. Now, not only am I a minority among English speakers (I swear there must be more Irish living in the U.A.E than in Ireland), but among other nationalities. I work closely with French, Turkish, Lebanese, and Scottish. One of my closest friends is from Syria. They're all wonderful to work with, but it's funny to work while various languages are being spoken around me.

When I go to events for my kids' school or birthday parties for one of their classmates, I feel like one of the only Americans around. Most of the families seem to be Canadian or Australian. There are a lot of European families. In addition to my kids' school, each country seems to have its own international school. Britain, Canada, Australia, the U.S., France, Germany, Japan, I'm sure there are plenty of others that I don't know about.

That, of course, isn't taking into account all the people I see on the street or working in the shops or driving the taxis. It really isn't taking into account all the people working to build all the buildings. Looking on Wikipedia and other websites, I've found that of the approximately 6 million people living in the U.A.E., 1.75 million are Indian nationals and 1.25 million are Pakistani. Yes, that's right, half of the people living here are from India or Pakistan. An additional 600,000 are Bangladeshi. About another million are from other parts of Asia (Iran, the Philippines, Sri Lanka). So far that gives us over 75% of the U.A.E. population. 5% is from other Arab countries as well as North American, Oceania and European countries (100,000 British nationals). This leaver the remaining 20% or so which is Emirati.

These numbers give the U.A.E. the highest net migration rate in the world at 21.71. If that number means as little to you as it does to me, consider that only five countries have a net migration rate over 10 and of the countries in the top ten, eight of them are city-states or tax havens for offshore holding companies.

The upshot of this statistic-heavy entry is that once again I find myself outnumbered as an American. Unlike Japan, it's the other nationalities rather than the natives.

Water

Sure this is a desert, but why should that mean that there can't be a huge fountain on every intersection? Also, while I've only been to one, there are some amazing waterparks here. Abu Dhabi is a modern city and as a growing modern city, needs plenty of water. Every morning I drive past the sprinklers watering the lush, green grass.

All drinking water is either bottled or provided by water coolers. Every home has its own. a container of 18 liters (about 5 gallons) is 7 dirhams or about U.S. $2 so it works out to not be that bad.

The natural question is: Where does Abu Dhabi get this vast supply of water? The answer is desalination. According to this site, Abu Dhabi gets 72% of its water from desalination with efforts to expand its groundwater wells. In addition, there is an effort to get people to conserve water at home. While I agree with the sentiment, and admire the effort, I have a hard time believing attitudes will change anytime soon.

Vehicles

People here sure do love their cars and trucks. At least, they love buying expensive ones then beating the crap out of them. I've seen more expensive cars and trucks in the past year than I probably have the whole rest of my life. I've never really paid attention to car models and types, but after seeing so many top-of-the-line cars and trucks, I can't help but notice.

I also cant help but notice the ridiculous paint jobs on some cars. Here is a link to a previous post with some pictures of a Bentley painted pink with a Sonic the Hedgehog design. Below is another wonderful paint job that I saw on a Toyota Land Cruiser. While it's not an especially expensive car, I should point out that you can't see from the picture that the pink paint job is glittery.
It's also hard to miss how my students will rev the engines of their expensive trucks in the parking lot of the college until they backfire. As mentioned in previous posts, young Emiratis will drive around the city during times of celebration revving their engines until smoke comes out of them. Hence the first bit of advice that you'll get when you state your intention to buy a car: NEVER buy from an Emirati.

With all the expensive vehicles on the road, you'd think that people would be fairly cautious of how they park. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I've seen some amazing parking techniques. Here is a photo of how someone parked their truck in front of my building. Keep in mind that this isn't running in to get something for five minutes. This is overnight.In addition, there are so many trucks and SUV's on the road combined with so many crazy drivers that you need an SUV here to have any hope of surviving a crash. And crash they do. According to this site, there are 600 auto fatalities per year, 24 per 100,000 residents.

For the people who don't want to brave the roads of Abu Dhabi behind the wheel, there are tons of taxis that are dirt cheap. The only catch is getting one when you really need it. Near where I live, it's getting harder and harder to get one. Initially when we got here, we didn't have a vehicle for the first few months. We were surprised at how cheap and convenient taxis were until we tried getting one at peak hours.

Previously, I'd mentioned that the bus system wasn't worth figuring out. Well, I'll go back on that. It's worth it to me for my wife to figure it out. My wife loves public transportation and it didn't take her long to figure out the bus system. It costs one dirham for adults and kids are free. She's worked out how to get where she wants and pretty much has the whole system figured out by now. Of course, now that we have two vehicles, none of that matters now.

Overall, I'm pretty used to the driving situation in Abu Dhabi. I've also gotten over some of my squeamishness of parking if I know I'll be right back. The real question is: If the traffic situation is that much worse than last year as people say, what's it going to be like next year?

United Arab Emirates

The chances are that if you're reading a blog about Abu Dhabi, you've heard of the United Arab Emirates. I've found that when I tell people that I live in Abu Dhabi, I tend to get looks ranging from confusion to embarrassment for not knowing where it is. When I tell them that it's in the U.A.E., most people are still not sure of where it is. Finally, when I say the full name of the country, I get mild looks of recognition. It's easy to forget that Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, a country that a lot of people have never heard of, and not a country in itself. It's a young country, only 39 years old.

As a former British colony, oil was discovered in the late 1960's. A few years after that, the sheiks in the area formed a coalition. Britain read the writing on the wall and set December 1st, 1971 as the date that the sheikdoms were on their own. Both Bahrain and Qatar claimed their independence earlier that year. On December 2nd, 1971, the leaders of Abu Dhabi and Dubai got together and convinced the leaders of Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajiman, and Umm Al Quwain to join them in forming the United Arab Emirates. Ras Al Khaimah joined the next year to complete the set of seven Emirates.

The whole thing seems to have worked out for everyone, including the U.S., Britain, and Japan who remain close allies with the U.A.E., their reasonable human rights record, and their oil.

Temperature

I've had friends remark to me that when I first got here I didn't talk much about the heat, but by the spring, that's all I seemed to talk about. I guess, that once you get used to going out and enjoying the nice weather, you notice not being able to leave your apartment a lot more.

Before I begin with the complaining, I'd like to say that from late October to early April, the weather is beautiful. It is a joy to be outside and as I've mentioned in previous posts, there is a lot going on outside to enjoy. If the weather were like that year-round, I'd never want to leave. But what fun would that be if I only said nice things?

Towards the end of May when I was getting up early to go running or cycling (the only times of the day in which exercise outside is possible that time of the year), I would notice that the temperature on the bank clock would read 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) at 5:30 in the morning and would sometimes read 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) when I was coming home at 9:00 am. I was able to console myself by realizing that exercising in Japan or in Wisconsin summer heat would seem cool by comparison.

Most people who don't live in Abu Dhabi hear about the heat and assume that it's a dry heat. That is incorrect. In fact, the humidity is regularly in the 70% or 80% range. Admittedly, the humidity is only that high at night when it's a mere 30 deg Celsius (86 deg F). In the day when the temperature reaches the 100's or even 110's the humidity goes down to the 20% to 40% range.

The point when a lot of people determine that it is no longer possible to enjoy being outside is when you leave a building and your sunglasses automatically steam up. That or when standing outside is enough to make you completely sweat though a shirt in five minutes.

Shopping Malls

The number of shopping malls and shopping centers in Abu Dhabi is pretty impressive considering the size and population of the city. For me, shopping malls are a place to be avoided, only going there when I absolutely need to buy something. Here in Abu Dhabi, going to the mall is what you do on the weekend. In a country where it's nearly impossible to enjoy being outside for five or six months of the year, that makes sense.

Every shopping mall that I've seen has a family entertainment center with some sort of bowling alley, video arcade and rides including mini roller coasters and bungee-type rides. There are, of course, movie theaters and food courts as well. They're a place to meet friends in the cafe near the fountain in an outdoor-like atmosphere when going outdoors is impossible. They're a meeting point for young people in a society where meeting others of the opposite gender is very difficult. In other words, shopping malls in Abu Dhabi have become a center of socialization in Emirati culture.

That's not to say that shopping isn't important here. You can find some great stores here, be it Wollworth's or the Ed Hardy store. There's Victoria's Secret, Ikea, Toy's 'R Us, and the Ferrari Store. Also, pretty much any high-end store you could think of is available at a shopping mall somewhere in Abu Dhabi.

Unfortunately, Abu Dhabi's shopping mall technology is vastly behind that of Dubai, almost to an embarrassing degree. In Dubai, from what I could see, an aquarium was a requirement for any shopping mall to be considered legitimate. Then of course there's the gimmick. Dubai has developed the shopping mall inside a pyramid, the shopping mall with a 400 meter indoor ski slope and the shopping mall with a world's tallest building. Sure Abu Dhabi has shopping malls with scenic towers, tiny little ice skating rinks and, by the looks of it, seem to be trying to construct a mini indoor ski slope, but there is an obvious shopping mall technology gap between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.