when i first set foot here in UAE, there are a couple of things that i found bizarrely interesting from what i got used to in manila, aside of course from the language which is really new for many. so for those who are planning on coming here, following are some of the things you need to check out:
olfactory exercise - different race, different smell! starting off when you land at the Dubai airport... must be the food that they eat, and their hygiene. this is something i haven't gotten used to even until now... and i'm proud to say that Pinoys here are known as very clean and hygienic, so you will see that pinoys are given priority when it comes to service-oriented posts.
call to prayers - five times a day, thru public speakers, you will hear the chant of the call to prayer which starts at 4am! before, it used to awaken me and even scare me... but now, it's just but normal. malls use the PA system for this, while for outside, all mosques are equipped with public speakers with sound loud enough to be heard by everyone! also, prayer rooms is a norm for all public places here. plus, for fridays, they really make it a day for prayer, with most of the public places being open only at 2pm. i wish we could place the same amount of importance to prayers and church life in manila...
british influence - you can see much of the british influence here. for our radio ad wayback 2002, the agency stressed on using a voice talent with brit accent. for regular conversations, common words that i encountered here are "to let" (for rent), "take away" (take out), "from here" (dine in), "signal" (traffic light), "timings" (schedule), "madam' (ma'am) etc. the influence can also be seen on the way the brits are given the preferential positions in companies. so where are the americans? i have not met a lot of them in the industry circle, but there are many in our church.
mobile phone calls - the calls always start with "hi, how are you?" even if you've spoken with the person thrice that day! also, our mobiles here (not called cellphones) is a like a part of our body already, bringing it around, even if we just go to the toilet (CR). the people here are accustomed to calling you straight on your mobile rather than on company landlines, especially if you're in a service-orineted industry like ours. plus, SMS texting has the same charge as 1 min call, so people call rather than send a text message.
addresses - when you are finding your way here, you better get hold of a landmark because most establishments do not have the typical address where there is number, street and area. why not? maybe because the road name is in arabic which is difficult to memorize, or in nos (e.g. 34 St. Community 138). only major roads command space in our memory! i've also noticed that most companies here uses P.O. Box for their office addresses.
ladies and family first - oh, ladies are given priorioty in almost everything (banking, bus queue, dining, etc). there are designated "family and ladies days" and "families only areas" so that the men will not intermingle with the ladies. people usually go out together as a family! i guess it's because they have the logistics to do this.
men holding hands - i used to think they were gays!!! but get used to men holding hands here.. be they locals, indians, pakistanis. and the locals do the nose to nose greeting, matched with a 'tsk tsk' sound and pouting on the lips! on the other hand, when we pinays do our holding hands thing and other cosy gestures (which is common in the philippines among girls), we get this questiong stares! haha!
courtesy greetings - get used to people being friendlier here. 'salamalaykum' is common greeting, to which you answer 'alaikum asalam' (and not 'malaykusayo!!!). they smile at you, greet you and may even talk to you. in manila, i used to be so 'suspicious' when someone talks to me, but here, just feel free to smile and greet back.
weekdays and weekends - for many, work days have long break from 1-4 pm, but some have already adapted the western straight shift. and for off days, start to switch your weekend mode to fri and sat, instead of sat-sunday! may be confusing at first, but in the long run, you'll get the hang of it.
shopping mall timings - usually on weekends, they are open until 12 midnight, with the cinemas open til 130am! the crowd usually thickens at 6pm... they are really nocturnal people!
construction cranes - it's everywhere! even dubbed as the national bird of UAE! with 90% of the world's cranes here in dubai, what do you expect?
writing of date - it is done using the day/month/year format as opposed to what we know as month/day/year. so it will be confusing at first. to be safe, write the shortened version of the month.
national costumes-- you'd identify most by how they dress up here. locals, indians, pakitanis, iranians, palestinians, normally wear their country clothes. it's like UN Day everyday! haha!
AC (aircon) - from office to flats, it is a must! so even if temp reaches 48 deg celcius, as long as we are indoors, it is no problem. the malls have used also a double-glass-door strategy which i think is basically used to temper the heat when it gets so hot outside. this helps to avoid glass breakage from temperature difference on the opposite sides of the door. but then, i also see this in the doors they use for toilets which are already inside the mall.... hmmm... maybe they are just used to having 2 doors... oh well..
laws can change overnight- oh, very normal! no need for the long discussions with senate and congress (none of those bodies here)... this week, this is the rule governing the visit visa holders, tomorrow it can be changed. the week after, another change. whew!
complaints complaints complaints - in our industry, i would be surprised if a weekend passes by without a complaint! people are very assertive of their rights and privileges as customers because they get immediate actions from the company and even to any government agency they can involve. from marketing promotions, to height restrictions on our attractions, to unfriendly service staff, to as bizarre as non-compliance (daw!) to building codes! and they are impatient in waiting for answers (thus, we need our mobiles always turned on and battery-loaded!!!) at first, it really terrified us, coz they always drop the phrase "i will call the police!" but then in the long run, we also learned the tricks of the trade.
police police and CIDs (civilian police)- very much respected here! and mind you, they are present in all places and they really do random inspections! in sharjah, a police/CID can put you into detention if you are found walking around in a dark place at night with a guy who is not your husband. so beware! and note also that it pays to have a police friend in this country, especially if they already start barking in arabic!
tissue tissue tissue - it's in all the toilets, and it's free! and i'm sure the environmentalists will be awed at the amount of tissue being used everyday! the toilet cleaners even use this, instead of the washable mops! crazy!
groceries - almost all things come in BIG package! well, i think it is only in the philippines where sachet-ization has happened! also, you will notice here how people are so 'galit with plastic bags!'. as in 3-4 items only in one plastic! soon, i'm so sure, they'll learn of cost-cutting! haha!
no National Bookstore-type - as in nada!!!! this is one of our frustrations here. if you need office supplies, the choices are limited in the mall. you can go to locations outside the malls, but they are inaccesible. i wonder how the parents buy stuff for their kid's school needs? they have bookstores, but not the complete National Bookstore types.
ahhh... those are just a few of the things you have to adjust to. well, for some items, if you can't beat them, join them!
that dare was in 1998, and as they say, the rest is history!
