October 11th - a trip to Marina Mall
After being escorted to our temporary rooms we took showers and changed into fresh clothing. We ordered room service breakfast. After long flights it seemed like the best food ever. We ordered steak breakfasts and I had Rob ask for my egg to be scrambled. Apparently they misunderstood what we wanted. They scrambled the egg but instead brought us three breakfasts, two steaks with sunny side up eggs and a scrambled eggs breakfast. We just shrugged at each other and made the best of it:=) Rob ordered mango juice for us because he absolutely loves it and was so enthusiastic that I must have this. I just sighed and tried it (some things never change) but he is right. I am now a believer! Lots of vitamin C while I am here!
After our extravagant breakfast we decided to go across the bridge to the enormous mall. Since it was Ramadan the stores were only open 10 - 3 and then they didn't reopen until 8. Rob wanted to buy a tour book and map. One of our favorite past times when we travel is to go to local stores and explore. We especially love to wander through grocery stores to see what the people really eat and compare dietary habits to our own at home. So we parked in the the ginormous parking lot and wandered into what was seemingly a mostly empty mall and the patrons all looked to be western ex-pats. In our search for a book store we passed rows of fancy and elaborate children's clothing shops. Ironic to me since the adults wear clothing of such uniformity and conformity - or so I thought. I now understand that the traditional black abayas that are worn by women are more of a nylon overcoat. They wear them to hide their clothing underneath. As we walked through the mall it seemed more and more crowded especially with women and children. I was becomin accustomed to the sight of black abayas, the women wear them with dignity and grace. I noticed teenaged girls wearing them and giggling into their cell phones (it just goes to show that it's a gene - they are the same everywhere). Rob and I were chatting along as we were walking and feel comfortable and suddenly I found myself breathless and unable to remember what I was saying to him. Fortunately he sensed right away why I had become silent as he must have been following my gaze (yes, I know, so unlike him). As we were heading into the crowds a woman here and there would float by completely shrouded in black. Not even a window for her eyes. A black scarf wrapped entirely over her head and face. What surprised me the most about my reaction was how emotionally naked the contrast made me feel. I have always found the idea of completely covering up like that to be repressive and intended to make women truly invisible to society, hiding all shreds of humanity and identity as though they don't matter. It was actually quite intimidating to realize that they could see me, stare openly if they wanted, glare, but I had not a clue as to what they might be thinking or feeling. Rob tells me that here in the U.A.E. it is a personal choice, not enforced upon them. I can respect that.
Every food stand in the entire mall was empty and dark. It was very strange since by now the rest of the mall was crowded and busy. Even Starbucks was closed! That was a shock - the mighty Starbucks closed when the mall is open. First we went into Ikea. I can now say with certainty that if you've seen one Ikea, you've seen them all. We were able to buy a relatively inexpensive plug adaptor so it was worth the walk through. Then we went into Carre Four which is the French version of a Walmart superstore and quite prevalent in the Middle East according to Rob. We bought a map, some mango juice (yum) and postcards. The lines were crowded, noisy and very long. No one wears deodorant(or at least that is what it seems). Lots of perfume but no deodorants. As I was completely exhausted I began to feel overwhelmed and longed to escape - not unlike visiting one of those stores at home! Afterward we drove around the city for a bit and then went back to our room and crashed for a two hour nap.
After our extravagant breakfast we decided to go across the bridge to the enormous mall. Since it was Ramadan the stores were only open 10 - 3 and then they didn't reopen until 8. Rob wanted to buy a tour book and map. One of our favorite past times when we travel is to go to local stores and explore. We especially love to wander through grocery stores to see what the people really eat and compare dietary habits to our own at home. So we parked in the the ginormous parking lot and wandered into what was seemingly a mostly empty mall and the patrons all looked to be western ex-pats. In our search for a book store we passed rows of fancy and elaborate children's clothing shops. Ironic to me since the adults wear clothing of such uniformity and conformity - or so I thought. I now understand that the traditional black abayas that are worn by women are more of a nylon overcoat. They wear them to hide their clothing underneath. As we walked through the mall it seemed more and more crowded especially with women and children. I was becomin accustomed to the sight of black abayas, the women wear them with dignity and grace. I noticed teenaged girls wearing them and giggling into their cell phones (it just goes to show that it's a gene - they are the same everywhere). Rob and I were chatting along as we were walking and feel comfortable and suddenly I found myself breathless and unable to remember what I was saying to him. Fortunately he sensed right away why I had become silent as he must have been following my gaze (yes, I know, so unlike him). As we were heading into the crowds a woman here and there would float by completely shrouded in black. Not even a window for her eyes. A black scarf wrapped entirely over her head and face. What surprised me the most about my reaction was how emotionally naked the contrast made me feel. I have always found the idea of completely covering up like that to be repressive and intended to make women truly invisible to society, hiding all shreds of humanity and identity as though they don't matter. It was actually quite intimidating to realize that they could see me, stare openly if they wanted, glare, but I had not a clue as to what they might be thinking or feeling. Rob tells me that here in the U.A.E. it is a personal choice, not enforced upon them. I can respect that.
Every food stand in the entire mall was empty and dark. It was very strange since by now the rest of the mall was crowded and busy. Even Starbucks was closed! That was a shock - the mighty Starbucks closed when the mall is open. First we went into Ikea. I can now say with certainty that if you've seen one Ikea, you've seen them all. We were able to buy a relatively inexpensive plug adaptor so it was worth the walk through. Then we went into Carre Four which is the French version of a Walmart superstore and quite prevalent in the Middle East according to Rob. We bought a map, some mango juice (yum) and postcards. The lines were crowded, noisy and very long. No one wears deodorant(or at least that is what it seems). Lots of perfume but no deodorants. As I was completely exhausted I began to feel overwhelmed and longed to escape - not unlike visiting one of those stores at home! Afterward we drove around the city for a bit and then went back to our room and crashed for a two hour nap.
posted by Melanie at 3:32 AM
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