A dog gone year
All hail oh father, the end of the year of the rooster...
Welcome Year of the Dog
Although I guess technically since the Chinese new year hasnt happened yet, it is still year of the rooster and the dog year has yet to begin.. Chinese new year by the way happens to be on January 29th 2006. Dont you hate it when a new year begins and it takes you months before you get used to writing the new year when you're writing dates? Like you know you'll be still accidentally putting 05 when you mean 06 in Feb... Unless of course you happen to be you know, quite anal.
But interestingly it is Year 4702 by Chinese calendar - which means without actually realising it we are living in the future. And we really should be writing 02 in our dates since Chinese civilisation is far more older than the dominant western one.
So yesterday as we were on our way to the new years eve celebrations in the desert, it started to rain - in the desert, and I couldnt believe that I was in the desert and it was bloody well raining! And OK so rain is not that Uncommon in the desert but still... its an actual desert and I was there and it was raining! What are the chances of that?
The rain incidentally made front page news in The Gulf News. Our daily subscription to the paper has taught me a lot of facts about this part of the world. Which despite all its technocratic appearances, with its big malls and luxury hotels reveals a country still holding on to archaic religiously-influenced laws which has no real rights for the expats who form a majority of the population.
For eg - Facts:
- Homosexuality is illegal. As my Gulf News informed me there was outrage when a few "gays" started sending photos of each other using bluetooth technology. How the old and new world collide.
- Bachelors are regarded as less-desirables. My Gulf News informed me of how a landlord evicted all the bachelors of his building, just because of their single status. And how certain residents complained of bachelors living next door to them. The shock! Can you imagine The Odd Couple next door to you? Really..
- Labourers are treated akin to animals. With their shocking labour camps and no working rights, means that as my Gulf News reported, a whole bunch of them could work for no pay for 6 months, and their employer still doesnt have to pay them despite being caught out.
OK so its not really my Gulf News, just a paper that keeps my singular functioning braincell occupied with its rather haphazard reporting. What my Gulf News didnt report is that living in the UAE can make you fat.
Fact: No body walks, everyone drives. You can even drive to the laundry beep your horn and a little man comes scuttling out to serve you.
You have people to clean after you cook for you, i'm sure you could even find someone to chew your food and inject it straight into your gullet if you couldnt be bothered with the tiresome act of chewing.
Counting down to 5 more days to London... I know I'll regret looking forward to coming back as soon as I arrive back into Heathrow - which is a place that surely must feature on one of Dante's rings of hell.
Welcome Year of the Dog
Although I guess technically since the Chinese new year hasnt happened yet, it is still year of the rooster and the dog year has yet to begin.. Chinese new year by the way happens to be on January 29th 2006. Dont you hate it when a new year begins and it takes you months before you get used to writing the new year when you're writing dates? Like you know you'll be still accidentally putting 05 when you mean 06 in Feb... Unless of course you happen to be you know, quite anal.
But interestingly it is Year 4702 by Chinese calendar - which means without actually realising it we are living in the future. And we really should be writing 02 in our dates since Chinese civilisation is far more older than the dominant western one.
So yesterday as we were on our way to the new years eve celebrations in the desert, it started to rain - in the desert, and I couldnt believe that I was in the desert and it was bloody well raining! And OK so rain is not that Uncommon in the desert but still... its an actual desert and I was there and it was raining! What are the chances of that?
The rain incidentally made front page news in The Gulf News. Our daily subscription to the paper has taught me a lot of facts about this part of the world. Which despite all its technocratic appearances, with its big malls and luxury hotels reveals a country still holding on to archaic religiously-influenced laws which has no real rights for the expats who form a majority of the population.
For eg - Facts:
- Homosexuality is illegal. As my Gulf News informed me there was outrage when a few "gays" started sending photos of each other using bluetooth technology. How the old and new world collide.
- Bachelors are regarded as less-desirables. My Gulf News informed me of how a landlord evicted all the bachelors of his building, just because of their single status. And how certain residents complained of bachelors living next door to them. The shock! Can you imagine The Odd Couple next door to you? Really..
- Labourers are treated akin to animals. With their shocking labour camps and no working rights, means that as my Gulf News reported, a whole bunch of them could work for no pay for 6 months, and their employer still doesnt have to pay them despite being caught out.
OK so its not really my Gulf News, just a paper that keeps my singular functioning braincell occupied with its rather haphazard reporting. What my Gulf News didnt report is that living in the UAE can make you fat.
Fact: No body walks, everyone drives. You can even drive to the laundry beep your horn and a little man comes scuttling out to serve you.
You have people to clean after you cook for you, i'm sure you could even find someone to chew your food and inject it straight into your gullet if you couldnt be bothered with the tiresome act of chewing.
Counting down to 5 more days to London... I know I'll regret looking forward to coming back as soon as I arrive back into Heathrow - which is a place that surely must feature on one of Dante's rings of hell.
posted by samscomps at 10:34 am
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