Okay, I am going to relate random events and moments that resonated with me in some way. This will not be a typical narrative.
Within the first week of arriving I was walking to work early one morning through a nice park when I heard the sound of leaf blowers - a common sound in Oak Park. I turned to see what leaves they were blowing in this desert environment and discovered it was not leaves at all but litter from the night before. Long lines of trash being blown to a central location to be collected and hauled away. Manpower takes care of the fact that littering is a very accepted practice here - let me give you an example:
A local family is walking along and I am behind them. The kids have ice cream treats that they are unwrapping while they walk. When they free the wrapper from the treat they both discard the wrapper and continue walking. Their parents are a few steps behind and they do not bat an eye. I am shocked.
Local lady exits her car with a big water bottle, as she walks to the gate to her house she throws the water bottle on the ground and then enters her yard throught the gate. Why bother taking it to the trash can when you have all this space in front of your house to park your junk...sort of like rural Kentucky (did I just say that?).
I went on a site vist for a potential project in an area called the Empty Quarter. It is a few hours south of Abu Dhabi and it is comprised of huge sand dunes and nothing else. Absolutely stunning and in an odd way reminded me of the mid-west...a simple textural ground plane and big sky - that's it. A wonderfully seductive landscape.
Our balcony overlooks the Corniche and we are about 11 floors up. We have a great view of the water, Emirates Palace and Marina Mall (yes, a mall, but a nice looking one). Tonight Adrienne and I sat and watched the sun set while enjoying some white wine. It was lovely.
Speaking of our place here it is about the same size (without the basement) as our house in Oak Park. It is a duplex and the corridor from the elevator to the entry door is exterior - people put plants out and it has a great vibe about it and we are happy with our place here. The only bummer is the local cable company is totally unresponsive - we have no internet, cable or land line. We tap our neighbors wireless (with his permission) to get on the internet.
That's it for tonight.
Wow, you guys! This is your old real estate agent, Ellen. I tried emailing you with my usual reminder about changing the clocks this Sunday morning for daylight savings time. My transmittal to your Comcast address, Adrienne, didn't work. That sent me to the phone and John's old office told me about the move to Abu Dhabi. Wow again! Coincidentally we have a student staying with us right now from Saudi Arabia. A lovely fellow and we are learning a ton about that part of the world through him. So can you email me with both of your email addresses? Reach me at Ellen@ChicagoCommunities.com. All the best to you with this adventure! How long will you be there.
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