These days, there's a lot of waiting. I should be grateful for it, because it's a chance to catch my breath after going non-stop for ... well, a year. As my generous boyfriend never fails to remind me, it's been a busy year full of change (although I think he lets me off the hook too easy). I have never been one to relax well. It's an art, and I am a novice.
I'm here in Abu Dhabi, having put out feelers to all my contacts in the Emirates...just waiting for them to get back to me. In the meantime, it's also Ramadan - which means shorter working hours. Most places in the UAE follow the requisite 9a-2p workday, and since it's illegal to eat, drink or smoke anything in public places (including buses and taxis) during daylight hours in the UAE during Ramadan, you can't even go work in a coffeeshop for the afternoon. They're all closed. Things open up at night after evening prayer, and iftar, when Muslims break their fast. So the tea shop I'm currently sitting in is only open from 7p-midnight, daily. The weather in the evenings is nicer, a blistering 95 degrees instead of the 111 during the day.
Another slight complication for my plans is that I don't have a keycard to get into the building I'm staying in, and security has to buzz me in every time I come back. Half the time they remember me and it's no problem - I've taken to trying to make eye contact and smile every time I exit the building to encourage friendly recognition - or asking questions I already know the answer to so that they remember talking to me. The other half of the time, we have an awkward conversation where I show my passport and the key and namedrop, attempting to communicate across multiple language barriers to the Filipina/Singaporean/Pakistani/Indian security guards that they should let me back in. It makes every outing an adventure. Can I go home again? Will I ever see my belongings again? Stay tuned!
I have been busy making plans, hoping that, as the Beatles song promises, life will start happening because I'm making other plans. I am interviewing the ED of the Tourism and Culture Authority tomorrow, and she has promised to put me in touch with her senior culture managers to interview them as well. Hopefully that starts the ball rolling. One of the artists I reached out to has responded to me. I have signed up for a couple of talks and workshops on Saadiyat Island, and looked up talks at the Abu Dhabi Art Hub. There are a bunch during Ramadan - and all at 10:30pm. I've been working my schedule sideways to accommodate Ramadan, but in general I don't like going out at night, and I definitely don't like going out alone at night via taxi. But I'm going to bite the bullet, because otherwise I'll just hide in my overly air-conditioned apartment and never get any actual research accomplished. And figuring out these sorts of logistical things are important - they are clues and indicators of how I'm going to have to structure fieldwork in the long-term. Important to know, but honestly, a pain in the butt and seriously outside my comfort zone. Is this what I signed up for? Oh. Yeah. I did.
Additionally, I made an executive decision to spend the last three days (2 nights) of my trip in Dubai. I want to check out the gallery scene in Dubai, as well as the museums in Sharjah, and connect with an NYU colleague who works for the Sharjah Museums Authority. Dubai is a 2-hour drive from here, so I wouldn't want to make the trip multiple times, and since everything is open at night, it makes sense to stay overnight rather than drive back to Abu Dhabi at 2am. In an odd way, I am looking forward to my little trip - I will have a key to my room and unquestioned access (!), wifi on my own computer (I have to borrow my host's because NYU, despite still taking chunks of my meager income for my MA degree, won't let me sign onto the NYU wifi WITH MY NYU LOGON), a car and the flexibility to go where I want when I want, and a pool. When I come back, I'll drive to Abu Dhabi to attend one final talk on Saadiyat on Monday evening, then go to the airport, turn in the rental car at 11pm, and (in sha allah) board a 2am flight to London, connecting to a 10am flight to Chicago O'Hare.
I'm here in Abu Dhabi, having put out feelers to all my contacts in the Emirates...just waiting for them to get back to me. In the meantime, it's also Ramadan - which means shorter working hours. Most places in the UAE follow the requisite 9a-2p workday, and since it's illegal to eat, drink or smoke anything in public places (including buses and taxis) during daylight hours in the UAE during Ramadan, you can't even go work in a coffeeshop for the afternoon. They're all closed. Things open up at night after evening prayer, and iftar, when Muslims break their fast. So the tea shop I'm currently sitting in is only open from 7p-midnight, daily. The weather in the evenings is nicer, a blistering 95 degrees instead of the 111 during the day.
.JPG) |
| Abu Dhabi's Corniche at dusk - today's mandatory "you can't stay inside all day alone or you'll go crazy" preventative outing |
Another slight complication for my plans is that I don't have a keycard to get into the building I'm staying in, and security has to buzz me in every time I come back. Half the time they remember me and it's no problem - I've taken to trying to make eye contact and smile every time I exit the building to encourage friendly recognition - or asking questions I already know the answer to so that they remember talking to me. The other half of the time, we have an awkward conversation where I show my passport and the key and namedrop, attempting to communicate across multiple language barriers to the Filipina/Singaporean/Pakistani/Indian security guards that they should let me back in. It makes every outing an adventure. Can I go home again? Will I ever see my belongings again? Stay tuned!
I have been busy making plans, hoping that, as the Beatles song promises, life will start happening because I'm making other plans. I am interviewing the ED of the Tourism and Culture Authority tomorrow, and she has promised to put me in touch with her senior culture managers to interview them as well. Hopefully that starts the ball rolling. One of the artists I reached out to has responded to me. I have signed up for a couple of talks and workshops on Saadiyat Island, and looked up talks at the Abu Dhabi Art Hub. There are a bunch during Ramadan - and all at 10:30pm. I've been working my schedule sideways to accommodate Ramadan, but in general I don't like going out at night, and I definitely don't like going out alone at night via taxi. But I'm going to bite the bullet, because otherwise I'll just hide in my overly air-conditioned apartment and never get any actual research accomplished. And figuring out these sorts of logistical things are important - they are clues and indicators of how I'm going to have to structure fieldwork in the long-term. Important to know, but honestly, a pain in the butt and seriously outside my comfort zone. Is this what I signed up for? Oh. Yeah. I did.
Additionally, I made an executive decision to spend the last three days (2 nights) of my trip in Dubai. I want to check out the gallery scene in Dubai, as well as the museums in Sharjah, and connect with an NYU colleague who works for the Sharjah Museums Authority. Dubai is a 2-hour drive from here, so I wouldn't want to make the trip multiple times, and since everything is open at night, it makes sense to stay overnight rather than drive back to Abu Dhabi at 2am. In an odd way, I am looking forward to my little trip - I will have a key to my room and unquestioned access (!), wifi on my own computer (I have to borrow my host's because NYU, despite still taking chunks of my meager income for my MA degree, won't let me sign onto the NYU wifi WITH MY NYU LOGON), a car and the flexibility to go where I want when I want, and a pool. When I come back, I'll drive to Abu Dhabi to attend one final talk on Saadiyat on Monday evening, then go to the airport, turn in the rental car at 11pm, and (in sha allah) board a 2am flight to London, connecting to a 10am flight to Chicago O'Hare.
No comments:
Post a Comment