Nobody bats an eye or exclaims “Wow”, when I tell people that I have been an expatriate for more than 12 years, living the Dubai life.
There is usually no change in the facial expression and the person just nods and calmly acknowledges the fact that living away from your country for a decade or more is the new normal among the breed of economic migrants.
The reason over the lack of surprise is maybe because every expat in Dubai has been living here for 30 years or so. “When I first came here, the “Toyota Building” [as it is popularly known] was the only high-rise on Shaikh Zayed Road,” kind of an expression.
I smile when I hear some people say that when they landed here, they had planned to work only for three years, save a lot of money and open a shawarma shop back home. Years pass and they find they are still here wolfing down shawarmas at the corner cafeteria.
When I landed, I had no such plans. In fact there were no plans at all. Zilch about thinking about the future and actually had hoped that I would live here for the rest of my life and in the distant future go shopping in malls, being pushed in a wheelchair by a grumpy caretaker.
I remember that the first years of living here were spent trying to get from point A to point B, without getting lost as something or the other was under construction. First there was the Madinat Jumeirah, with outrageous rumours floating about how hotel guests can cruise down a lake in an abra (small boat) as they step out of their rooms.
That did not cause much traffic jams, but as time passed I was getting more and more lost in a traffic maze as giant shovels dug up the roads to build a Media City and then Dubai Marina, the Dubai Metro, Jumeirah Lakes Towers ... and being a reporter and trying to reach anywhere on time was a bit stressful on the heart.
As time went by, things got even more hectic as construction continued non-stop and awesome things popped up here and there, rapid-fast, like a movie shot in fast-forward.
Jeffrey Archer (author of Kane and Abel; Be Careful What You Wish For) even told us reporters on his foray here once that he heard Dubai had the most number of cranes on the planet, and we nodded wisely, looking out of the window to a surreal scene of cranes silhouetted against the setting sun.
Here are some of the things that still fascinate me about Dubai despite living here for years:
1) There is a mall wherever you go and still more are being built. It is nice to see people walking and window-shopping all the time, but what I cannot understand is why are there so many large people despite all this walking?
2) It’s amazing how many expatriates are incredible risk-takers and never keep their valuables in a safe deposit locker in a bank or buy health insurance.
3) It’s sad that I have not learned any Dubai slang. If I was living the expat life in Mumbai for instance, I would know what “First Class” “Pandu” or “Satkela” mean. (“First Class”, is a response to, “How was lunch?” Or “How was the movie?” Or simply “How’s life?” “Pandu” is a cop, and “Satkela” means ‘the guy is nuts’).
4) Whacked to know that some camels cost as much as a Lexus. I thought these creatures just wandered around the desert, looking for greener pastures, so to speak. (I have not yet tried a camel milk chocolate or a camel-meat sandwich).
5) That every festival is celebrated here with equal enthusiasm and joy and that all festivals require shopping and a visit to the mall.
Mahmood Saberi is a freelance journalist based in Dubai.