The Post Office in Abu Dhabi

Lobby - Madinat Zayed Post Office
 

Before there was a post office...

Letters and documents were placed inside a metal cylinder and transported by camel through the desert.  

Finely Tooled Cylinder to Carry Documents

Metal Cylinder to Carry Mail

  

The Post Office

The one place where women have more rights than men in the Middle East.  I was allowed to go to the head of the line! Go figure...    

I went to the Madinat Zayed post office to mail a birthday card to my friend in the United States.  As I was waiting patiently in line, the postal worker at the counter started calling out and motioning.  I looked around to see who he was talking to, but the men in line had turned and were all looking at me.  Then everyone began to motion to me.  

Postal Workers and Customers

Puzzled, I looked around and one of them spoke to me in English telling me that I needn’t wait in line.  As a woman, I was to go to the head of the line.  

Now that was a first!  Most of the time, woman are not treated as equals here in the Middle East.  So, imagine my pleasant surprise. 

About a month after I arrived in Abu Dhabi, I began receiving boxes which I had packed and shipped to myself from the United States.  I must have sent 20 boxes with clothes, shoes, household items, etc.  

It cost a fortune to ship all of these cartons from the USA, but I thought I needed lots of my stuff.  So, we received notices in our PO Box that we must pick up our boxes in person at the post office.  Mind you, there is no mail delivery in Abu Dhabi.  There aren’t even any street addresses, no mail boxes, etc.

Everyone has to rent a PO Box at the post office.  So, Bill and I headed out to the post office to get our boxes.  First, we had to remember that the hours/timings are split for postal workers.  

The post office is open from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, closed for lunch and an afternoon nap, and then reopens at 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  Strangest thing…

Take Your Ticket and Wait...  

We finally arrive at the post office and find the counter for pickup.  We give the postal worker our notice to pick up boxes.  He looks at it, consults with other postal workers and asks us to wait.  So, we wait and wait and wait...  

Finally, they bring out a large push cart with about 12 boxes.  Now Bill and I are ready to push the cart outside and load the boxes into our SUV.  But, no, there is another form of bureaucracy for us to bear.  They inform us that they must open every single box in front of us and review the contents of each box.  What? 

So, Bill and I endured the opening of about a dozen boxes watching them sort through everything.  I had packed black bras, strapless bras, etc.  Imagine my embarrassment when they looked in that box! What to do? 

Empost (Post Office)

Post Office - Abu Dhabi

We had packed CDs, books, odds and ends.  They went through the CDs and books very carefully so as not to let anything objectionable into the United Arab Emirates.  Well, finally their search was over.  We were free to go.  

But first, we had to pay another tariff on the boxes.  Therefore, I paid to ship them from the United States and I paid another enormous fee to receive them into the UAE.  I should have known better because we paid to receive our boxes when we moved to Mexico the year before this experience.

The first Christmas holiday season in Abu Dhabi arrived.  I was so excited to buy gifts from the Middle East for our children, my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and our only granddaughter, (at that time) Colleen.  

Our 'Charlie Brown' Christmas Tree

I went to a small souk near the apartment and bargained for pashminas, small ornaments for Christmas trees, small Oriental rug coasters, silver cylinders which were ornately carved and were originally used as letter carriers years ago when camels were the mode of transportation, silk scarves, post cards, and small wooden camels. 

Souq in Sharjah

Excited about my gifts, I eagerly wrapped and boxed all of the special gifts I had so carefully chosen.  

I asked Bill to take me to the post office because I did not have a driver’s license and he had to drive me everywhere.  My boxes were filled with wrapped gifts, taped closed, addressed, and ready to mail.   

But the post office personnel had other ideas about my shipment.  They had to open each box and inspect every single item in it.  I really felt that my privacy was being invaded, but I kept my mouth shut.  This is not my country or culture.  These are not my customs.  I’m a visitor here.  I’m an expatriate and an American. 

After they looked at everything, I was told in broken English, signaled and motioned to go to another section of the post office where yet another postal worker would re-tape my boxes. 

The story gets better…  Here is the most interesting part.  Not only did they tape my boxes again, but they measured sturdy, white material to fit around each box.  

Abu Dhabi Post Office

Lobby - Post Office

Then, they wrapped each individual box with the white cloth and hand stitched it closed as I watched in disbelief!  Can you imagine as I watched this process?  It was the strangest experience I’ve ever had.  

Next, they handed me a big black felt marker and indicated that I was to write the name and address on the pristine white material.  How bizarre… 

The postage was exorbitant!  I sent Bill to the post office with another box the following week and he paid nearly $60 (US Dollars) to send the box!  I don’t know how it was shipped, but it should have been air freight and fast.  I made certain that I went to the post office after that and mailed them as cheaply and slowly as possible.  But, they were still fairly expensive. 

Gold Souk - Dubai

Textile Souk - Dubai

I must say that my sister-in-law, Joanne, was quite intrigued when she and her husband, John, received the Christmas package from us.  They didn’t quite know what to think about the white cloth covered box.  

Interesting packaging and not quite like the speed and efficiency of the US Postal Service.  It took a couple of weeks for the boxes to be delivered. 

That’s when I made the decision to send a card and a check for future Christmas presents!  Merry Christmas from the Middle East!!!

  

Dubai and the Lost Red Wallet

    Have you ever lost your wallet, your purse, your cell phone or your keys? Or, worse yet, have you ever had your wallet stolen?

    What a helpless feeling, right?

    All of your credit cards, your driver's license, cash, medical insurance cards, perhaps even photos like we had in the old days, all missing and need to be replaced.   What a nightmare!

    Bill and I always took a taxi to go out for dinner and drinks in Dubai on Thursday nights (the beginning of our Middle East weekend).   You certainly can't have an alcoholic drink and then drive your car.   Best way to go to jail or be put on the next flight home (as in deported). 

Le Meridien Hotel, Dubai

    We loved to go to Le Meridien Hotel because of the interesting selection of various restaurants on the beautiful grounds.  There are 18 restaurants and bars including Sukhothai, Kiku, Meridien Village Terrace, Casa Mia, M's Grill and Jules Bar.  You can dine or dance outdoor or indoor.  The hotel, pools, nightclubs, outdoor dance floors, indoor/outdoor venues and restaurants were first class.   Food was always great and people watching was outstanding!  

Pool at Le Meridien, Dubai

    After enjoying a delicious dinner at the The Dubliner's (great Irish restaurant) where I always ordered the best liver and onions with mashed potatoes and Bill had the tastiest pork chops in the world, plus ice cold Guinness, we hopped into a taxi in front of Le Meridien Hotel.   Not a lot of traffic on this hot, humid Thursday night, so we arrived home quickly. 

Barbara at The Dubliner's, Dubai

The Dubliner's, Dubai

    It was about 10:30 pm as Bill got out of his side of the taxi from the backseat.

    I paid the driver which is how we always did it.   I handed several Dirhams to the him and gave him a good tip.  

    I put my wallet back into my purse which was on my lap in the backseat of the dark taxi.

    I got out of the taxi and went into our apartment building as the taxi drove off.   We went up to our flat to get ready for bed.

Apartment in Dubai

    About 10 minutes after we were home, my cell phone rang.   Now, this was very odd because we were new to Dubai and I did not have many friends who actually had my cell phone number. 

    Who could be calling me at this late hour on a Thursday night? 

    I didn't recognize the number on my cell phone, but answered it anyway.   Hello? 

Festival City, Dubai - Shopping and Restaurants

Festival City, Dubai

    A deep male voice with an Arabic accent asked if this was Barbara Edwards.   I said yes, this is she. 

    He said that he had my wallet. Now, I was really puzzled.   

    How could he have my red wallet when I had just paid the taxi driver.  

    I asked him to hold the phone while I checked my purse.   Well, guess what?   No red wallet in my handbag.   What?   Where could it have gone?

    I asked him where he was so we could meet him.   He said he was at the market on the corner.   I told him that my husband and I would walk the one block to the market and meet him.

    Bill and I crossed the sand parking lot in front of our apartment building in the desert heat at 11:00 pm to the grocery store on the corner.

    There was a Middle Eastern man standing there holding my red wallet out to me.  Is this yours? Yes, it's mine. He asked me to check the contents to see if all of my money, credit cards, driver's license and business cards were there. 

    All there!   Everything was still inside my red wallet.   He was able to call me because I always carried business cards with my Dubai cell phone and my USA cell number.

    I asked him how he had gotten my wallet.   He said he had been walking through the parking lot in front of our apartment building and found it on the ground in front of our building. 

Our Market Area, Dubai

More Shops

    Oh!  It was then that I figured out how I had lost my red wallet.  I paid the taxi driver and thought I put the wallet into my handbag.   

    But, it had landed in my lap and when I got out of the backseat, my wallet fell to the ground next to the taxi. 

    It was too dark to see the red wallet on the ground and, of course, it had not made a sound as it landed in the sand.

    I was so thankful to this stranger in a strange land!   He found a wallet full of money and credit cards.   And, he did the right thing!  

    Not one Dirham or credit card was missing.

    I'm not sure how many cities or countries in the world where this story would have had a happy ending.   But, in the Middle East the people are kind, generous, thoughtful and honest.

    I thanked him profusely.   I offered him money, but that was actually disrespectful on my part.   He was embarrassed by the offer, especially coming from a Western woman.   Bill shook his hand and thanked him too.

    He said he was only happy to have found the owner of the red wallet.   Then, he turned and disappeared into the hot, steamy night.

Desert outside of Dubai

Barbara Jumping for Joy!

  












    I later sent him a text message to thank him again.   He did not respond because I'm a woman and he is a Middle Eastern man who would never dream of texting a woman he did not know.

    We were so impressed by the honesty of all the people we met in the Middle East.   This is but one example.  

    Shukran!

ExpatFocus Newsletter Interview – January 2017

Barbara and the Falcon, Jebel Ali Resort

Who are you?

I have been an educator for over 30 years with a Master’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin.  I taught graduate and undergraduate business management and communication courses at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.  I also taught music and theory (private piano lessons) for over 23 years.   

I also have extensive professional experience both in the USA and in the Middle East.  I was also an award winning sales representative in the pharmaceutical industry.

My overseas experience began in 2004 as I became the Executive Director of the American Business Group (American Chamber of Commerce) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for two years which included fund raising, membership sales and development, and special events. 

Barbara on a Night Out in Abu Dhabi

Then, in 2008 my husband and I returned to the UAE and lived in Dubai for three years.  I held the position as the Executive Director of the International Technology Education Center, Knowledge Village, Dubai (an ESL language-teaching institute) which taught adults from all over the world.   

I was also appointed as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  Unfortunately, we were not able to move and honor this commitment. 

 

Barbara and Bill - Desert Safari - Dubai

Where, when and why did you move abroad?

My husband and I moved to Abu Dhabi in 2004 for his career in higher education from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where we had been living for over six months. 

We lived and worked in Abu Dhabi in 2004 and 2005.  My husband was the Executive Director of the UAE Military Language Institute.  I taught ESL for a few months before becoming the Executive Director of the American Business Group. 

Barbara at the Grand Mosque

Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Shoes at the Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

In 2008, we returned to the UAE to live in Dubai for three years until 2011.  Again, my husband’s career took us back to the Middle East.  This time he was the Principal of two all boys, government funded, science and technology based high schools in the Emirates of Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah.

What challenges did you face during the move?

It was challenging to find our way around the larger city of Dubai due to increased traffic, more roads and highways, plus the sheer volume of people living in a fast growing city.  Abu Dhabi was a much easier city to navigate because it is laid out on a grid and there were fewer people living there.  Also easier because it’s an older city, as well as the capitol of the United Arab Emirates.

 

Abu Dhabi Apartments

My 30-mile commute to work in Dubai took two hours each way from our flat.  The stoplights, the round-abouts, bumper-to-bumper traffic and so many pedestrians all increased the stress and drive time.  This was the only time I rented and drove a car during all of the years in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Burj Al Arab, Dubai

It was also challenging to go grocery shopping locally because most labels were in Arabic and many clerks did not speak English.  However, it was easier to shop at the large grocery and retail store called Carrefour which catered to a more international customer. 

Approximately half of the labels were in English and the other half were in Arabic.  But, there was a large selection of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and other goods.  I found myself looking at the pictures on the cans and made decisions based on that visual.  I could not always understand cleaning supplies though. 

There were challenges finding taxis at times too.  Not enough taxis and too many people.  It was very hot and humid and so many other pedestrians waiting for taxis.  My husband used the car daily for his job, therefore I had to take taxis. 

I also had to furnish and start new households three different times.  Not only that, but we moved eight times in nine years!  That meant using taxis and filling them with a mop, broom, bucket, cleaning supplies, glassware, dishes, kitchen utensils, bedding, pillows, lamps, rugs, towels, etc.  Anything that you need to start a new household or a new apartment, from scratch. 

Are there many other expats in your area?

We never lived in an American compound as many expats did in the Middle East.  We knew a lot of Americans from various companies.  They all lived in compounds filled with villas and Americans only.  We also met Brits, Australians, Canadians who had the same living arrangements.  They also had their own private clubs with swimming pools, activities, restaurants and bars.  But, again, they would only associate with expats from their country.

El Diar - Our Apartment Building, Abu Dhabi

Corniche, Abu Dhabi

 

We did not live in that manner.  We always rented a flat or a villa living next door to people from other countries, cultures and nationalities.  I loved the aromas as the women cooked.  I found that I could identify which country they were from by the seasonings being used.  I interacted with everyone in my apartment building and got to know the men and women.

To me, living abroad meant living with people NOT like me.  That was one of the most interesting and exciting things about living abroad.   

Burj Al Arab near the Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai

Shisha Pipes, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai

What do you like about life where you are?

As I said, I loved the intercultural exchange as I got to know ladies and men from other countries.  I also taught ESL to adults from all over the world.  But the most interesting students were the ladies from the United Arab Emirates.  Most of my classes were segregated – Women Only or Men Only.  The classes at ITEC in Dubai were typically co-educational.  I also was a substitute teacher for an all girls school and an international school (K-12) in Dubai.

As I taught women in Abu Dhabi, I became great friends with them.  I was invited to share meals with them in their homes, I met their families (not the men though), I went shopping with them, I went to weddings with them and we had great times together!  

Dubliner's Pub, Le Meridian, Dubai

Barbara, Dubliner's Pub, Dubai

They were very intelligent, curious about everything Western, lovely and friendly women who were good students, wanted to learn English, wanted to get married, and be good mothers and wives.  This was the cultural exchange and experience that I loved about living in the Middle East!

What do you dislike about your expat life?

At times it was difficult to communicate with people from other cultures due to their accents and my not understanding their English.  Sometimes, as a teacher, if I could not get my message across in English, I had to ask a student to translate into Farsi or Arabic so more students in the class could understand the concepts. 

Also, there were rules in society for expats, yet no rules for the Emiratis.  We expats were expected to obey traffic laws and rules of the road.  However, a UAE citizen could break traffic laws and not be punished.  Also, men had a tendency to pop right in front of you in a line, no matter where you were.  I had that happen in hospital, grocery stores, restaurants, etc.  They felt privileged and protected by being a citizen of the United Arab Emirates.

Jebel Ali Resort, Abu Dhabi

Shisha Pipes, Jebel Ali Resort, Abu Dhabi

Jebel Ali Resort, Abu Dhabi

The society was very patriarchal, as I expected.  But at times, this frustrated me as I made more and more friends with the women of the Middle East.  If I had a lunch or coffee planned with one of my Middle Eastern lady friends and her husband decided that he didn’t want her to go, he simply forbade her to go. 

She would text or call me telling me that her husband said she could not go out that day.  I felt very badly for these women who, of course, must obey their husband, their father or their brother, whoever was the family patriarch.  No independence for the women in these countries.  Unfortunately, I don’t see that changing within their societal norms, culture or religion.   

What is the biggest cultural difference you have experienced between your new country and life back home?

Well, living abroad simply widens your horizons more than you can ever begin to know until you have the experience.  I realize that freedom and democracy are values that we take for granted as citizens of the USA.  Other countries simply do not govern or operate by those rules.  As a woman in the United States, I am blessed to have the right to vote, to drive a car, to take a job, to make choices about our pregnancies and so much more.  The women in the Middle Eastern countries in which I lived do not have even those basic rights and freedoms. 

Rotana Cove Resort, Ras Al Khaimah

Rotana Cove Resort, Ras Al Khaimah

Also, people in the USA are not always as geographically and politically aware and knowledgeable of other countries unless they have traveled extensively or lived abroad.  I found a disconnect with friends and co-workers upon my return from the Middle East because their experiences and world awareness was simply different from mine.    

I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to live and work abroad, especially in the Middle East as a western woman. 

Falcon & Trainer, Jebel Ali Resort

What advice would you give to anyone following in your footsteps?

Go for it!  Live in another country for six months to a year!  Find an opportunity to live abroad and embrace it!  Research the country in which you will live and the surrounding countries, especially religion, women’s rights, employment and living conditions.  Find a city large enough to have good jobs, affordable housing, public transportation, restaurants, coffee shops, universities, etc. 

But be prepared for the unexpected and go with the flow.  Also, meet new people every opportunity you have.  Make new friends with men and women from other cultures.  Go out to eat with them, cook with them, meet their families and enjoy your differences!  It will be the most rewarding time of your life!  

Look Out for Camels near the Roads

What are your plans for the future?

My husband and I travel often and have begun using Airbnb in other countries.  We love the experience of living in someone’s apartment, meeting the host, learning about the neighborhood from them and not living in a tourist area or hotel.  It’s a great experience. 

We just traveled in August 2016 in Europe – Amsterdam, Germany, Austria, Budapest, and Prague!  Fabulous fun!

Barbara in Amsterdam

We also traveled to Spain last year for the month of April.  In 2017, I’m going again to do the Grand Tour of Spain with three lady friends.  Then, I’m taking my 18-year-old Granddaughter on her first trip to Europe.  We are going to see Italy for 15 days in June!  I can’t wait to share my love of travel with her! 

My husband and I are also planning to return to Ireland and stay in Airbnbs this autumn! 

Again, we love going to local pubs, driving our rental car or taking public transportation and just meeting and talking to people from all walks of life.

Happy Travels!