Yup, it's already that time. I head home next week after what has been an amazing, fun and fulfilling 3 months. It'll be busy when I return: will fly quickly to see the folks in Canada (had no holidays while in Dubai. . . so looking forward to seeing them and having some time off.) Then I head to DC to start another fun and exciting phase: working in DC! ( Hmmmm, wonder if that will be blogworthy?)
But back to Dubai.
It went by too quickly. Lots of new friends, many of whom I'm sure I'll still keep in touch with somehow. I'm hosting my good-bye, karaoke and Korean food party tonight for friends and colleagues I met here. Renting out a big K room, and will ask everyone to sing me a song! (Ok, actually, I'll be one of those pathetic people singing tacky tacky songs into the mic, treating it like it's a lollipop. . . until someone has to physically drag it out of my hands with the stern words, "Betty, let GO of the mic. Other people want to sing too.)
So. . . what are my final impressions of Dubai, the UAE?
I find myself turning to the long-referenced, classic psychological model: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. A pyramid of needs, starting from basic, biological needs, running through need levels of safety, love, esteem to the last, "self actualization." If this needs paradigm could also be applied to describe societal maturity then I would rank this Middle East cosmopolitan hub as "stuck" in its need for "esteem and respect" of others. . . and wonder whether it will be able to obtain the more "self-actualized" levels that other developed countries have been able to attain . . . more naturally. . . over time.
And that is one concept I come away respecting: the importance of time, and the need to accomplish things in one's own time, and not always that of others, or trying to "beat the clock." When you take a look at a city like Dubai, which, literally, went from sand to metropolis in around 40 years, you realize it hasn't had the chance to grow into itself. It built its incredibly beautiful and modern shell, without building its insides yet. . .
And what are the "insides" of a society? Seeing what Dubai doesn't have. . .I think it's really quite simple. It's a true, established middle class. One that can only be built through generations of a calm, comfortable, peaceful middle class existence. Dubai has laborers (worker), and it has a strong, elite rich Emirati class. And then it has a bunch of transient, non-committed professionals/expats who are frankly living an upper-class existence. . . but not with their own money. Not really a comparable "middle class" to me.
And so I end my blogs with an ode to the a real middle class. . .
Only countries with a strong Middle Class can support professional sports teams. You can't have professional sports if 80% of your population is transient. I was dying here not being able to watch the Giants' run to the Super bowl, and totally bummed that I am missing what may be my next obsession: Linsanity. Got stuck watching imports like European pro soccer, horse and camel racing. Tennis and golf offered brief glimmers of joy.
Developed countries' Middle Class residents just have cooler people: I miss folks who aren't obsessed with money, success and status. They are more concerned with the more self-actualized goals of experience and comfort. It's a class of people who appreciate what they have. . . and aren't always looking at what others have. It's the type of person who just wants a small house with a yard, and to be able to watch your own grass grow. . . peacefully. Sh*t -- when you aren't around this for a few months, you start questioning everything around you.
I miss just going out for a drink or dinner at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, owned by someone's grand mother who just makes the best rice and beans. Every time I go for a meal here, it feels like a "statement" or an 'experience." I miss the corner diner. In other words, I miss good old fashioned home-cooking. .. that you can buy! (yes, the irony was intentional.)
But most of all, I miss that beautiful, quiet, pace of a content life. . . of not necessarily doing anything. . . and knowing it's ok. Here. . . you have a city filled with people who are afraid that if they don't do something they will "lose" or "miss out" on something. Or that they are some kind of loser or something. Everyone's got that nervous energy. Everyone's on the move. It's, frankly, exhausting.
My previous blogs were well-deserved homages to the local, wonderful people and colleagues that I have met. The people I met were TOTALLY cool. . . the Middle Eastern colleagues were traditional, yet open-minded. . . eager to give their children a better future, not unable to grasp the complexities of today's geopolitical landscape. And my ex-pat colleagues were wonderful people too. . . having the time of their life, but always knowing they will "go back" to the more calm existence they grew up with. (I made the analogy to a male co-worker that Dubai was like that sexy, hot girlfriend you loved being with, but you know you don't want to marry . . . but you can't dump her yet, because it's just too much fun right now. . . )
But, alas. . . I find myself totally ready to return home right now. To a calmer existence, one based on real demand, real supply and one that has matured at its own pace, and not based on the pace of others. One that understands the beauty of a quiet routine. . . the little "rituals" that give you the rhythm of your life. . . cable tv. . . a diner. . . . a slice of pizza. . . . where alcohol is priced low, and gas is priced high . . . . I know I live in NYC, and not
Yes, it's been amazing. Wonderful. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Yes, I'm ready to come home.
See you soon.
But back to Dubai.
It went by too quickly. Lots of new friends, many of whom I'm sure I'll still keep in touch with somehow. I'm hosting my good-bye, karaoke and Korean food party tonight for friends and colleagues I met here. Renting out a big K room, and will ask everyone to sing me a song! (Ok, actually, I'll be one of those pathetic people singing tacky tacky songs into the mic, treating it like it's a lollipop. . . until someone has to physically drag it out of my hands with the stern words, "Betty, let GO of the mic. Other people want to sing too.)
So. . . what are my final impressions of Dubai, the UAE?
I find myself turning to the long-referenced, classic psychological model: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. A pyramid of needs, starting from basic, biological needs, running through need levels of safety, love, esteem to the last, "self actualization." If this needs paradigm could also be applied to describe societal maturity then I would rank this Middle East cosmopolitan hub as "stuck" in its need for "esteem and respect" of others. . . and wonder whether it will be able to obtain the more "self-actualized" levels that other developed countries have been able to attain . . . more naturally. . . over time.
And that is one concept I come away respecting: the importance of time, and the need to accomplish things in one's own time, and not always that of others, or trying to "beat the clock." When you take a look at a city like Dubai, which, literally, went from sand to metropolis in around 40 years, you realize it hasn't had the chance to grow into itself. It built its incredibly beautiful and modern shell, without building its insides yet. . .
And what are the "insides" of a society? Seeing what Dubai doesn't have. . .I think it's really quite simple. It's a true, established middle class. One that can only be built through generations of a calm, comfortable, peaceful middle class existence. Dubai has laborers (worker), and it has a strong, elite rich Emirati class. And then it has a bunch of transient, non-committed professionals/expats who are frankly living an upper-class existence. . . but not with their own money. Not really a comparable "middle class" to me.
And so I end my blogs with an ode to the a real middle class. . .
Only countries with a strong Middle Class can support professional sports teams. You can't have professional sports if 80% of your population is transient. I was dying here not being able to watch the Giants' run to the Super bowl, and totally bummed that I am missing what may be my next obsession: Linsanity. Got stuck watching imports like European pro soccer, horse and camel racing. Tennis and golf offered brief glimmers of joy.
Developed countries' Middle Class residents just have cooler people: I miss folks who aren't obsessed with money, success and status. They are more concerned with the more self-actualized goals of experience and comfort. It's a class of people who appreciate what they have. . . and aren't always looking at what others have. It's the type of person who just wants a small house with a yard, and to be able to watch your own grass grow. . . peacefully. Sh*t -- when you aren't around this for a few months, you start questioning everything around you.
I miss just going out for a drink or dinner at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, owned by someone's grand mother who just makes the best rice and beans. Every time I go for a meal here, it feels like a "statement" or an 'experience." I miss the corner diner. In other words, I miss good old fashioned home-cooking. .. that you can buy! (yes, the irony was intentional.)
But most of all, I miss that beautiful, quiet, pace of a content life. . . of not necessarily doing anything. . . and knowing it's ok. Here. . . you have a city filled with people who are afraid that if they don't do something they will "lose" or "miss out" on something. Or that they are some kind of loser or something. Everyone's got that nervous energy. Everyone's on the move. It's, frankly, exhausting.
My previous blogs were well-deserved homages to the local, wonderful people and colleagues that I have met. The people I met were TOTALLY cool. . . the Middle Eastern colleagues were traditional, yet open-minded. . . eager to give their children a better future, not unable to grasp the complexities of today's geopolitical landscape. And my ex-pat colleagues were wonderful people too. . . having the time of their life, but always knowing they will "go back" to the more calm existence they grew up with. (I made the analogy to a male co-worker that Dubai was like that sexy, hot girlfriend you loved being with, but you know you don't want to marry . . . but you can't dump her yet, because it's just too much fun right now. . . )
But, alas. . . I find myself totally ready to return home right now. To a calmer existence, one based on real demand, real supply and one that has matured at its own pace, and not based on the pace of others. One that understands the beauty of a quiet routine. . . the little "rituals" that give you the rhythm of your life. . . cable tv. . . a diner. . . . a slice of pizza. . . . where alcohol is priced low, and gas is priced high . . . . I know I live in NYC, and not
Yes, it's been amazing. Wonderful. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Yes, I'm ready to come home.
See you soon.
