To give you a glimpse of what living in Dubai is like, we
have become very fond of an area in Dubai known as Satwa. I cannot describe to
you what this little village is all about, behind the towering skylines of Dubai
lies this crazy 24/7 town. The hustling and bustling, chatter and car horns and
sounds of mosques gives it this incredible unique atmosphere. We buy lots
of things from freshly made bread to every nick and knack that u can possibly
imagine from these lovely, friendly people. They now have become accustomed to
the red head and the Arab. For example, the hustling and bustling that took
place while buying our Christmas tree was a script for a Hollywood film. We were
escorted from the main shopping street through back doors, backyards and alleyways
to a waiting truck that had just arrived from Scandinavia full of the most
beautiful Christmas trees. Now people from Dubai know there are a lot of easier
and luxurious ways to buy a Christmas tree. But my god you cannot beat this
experience. After all the wheeling and dealing we eventually agreed on a price
to a great cheer as we managed to drop it from 1,200 to 550 dirhams (120
euros). A great day’s work. Here is a picture of it now.
Thank you so much to all our friends in Satwa….. Happy Christmas.
We also attended our very first Thanks Giving with great friends.
What shocked me most about this experience is all the politics and war that is happpening in the world at present, I have never sat with a more genuine, kind
and peace loving people. At the table we sat Syrian, American, Czech, Palestinian
and of course, Irish. How I wish there was a fly on the wall to record the
events of this memorable evening. The stories that were told from all different
cultures were hilarious. One in particular was our friend who was working in Africa
and visited a top restaurant and ordered a roast chicken. The chicken arrived
at the dismay of our friend missing a leg. When he questioned the management he
was quickly informed “sorry sir, this is way the chicken arrived’. Another hilarious
story was when they asked the maid to wash the dog. Soon after, they ran to the
sound of the dog barking only to see the maid scrubbing the dog on the
washboard. The poor maid had never washed a dog before , but happily both the maid and
dog lived to tell the tale… woof woof. The best thanks giving ever. For the
first time in my life somebody spoke more than me ha ha.
On the following Monday Dec 2nd we celebrated national Day . We experienced the biggest
fireworks display I have ever seen. The actual sky lite up. Not only in
celebration of national day but also the win of Expo 2020. Kids were off school
and a great holiday feel. People ask me do I miss Ireland at Christmas and of
course I do. I miss Christmas Eve with my closest friend Pat Conway and his
yummylicious Irish Coffees, old familiar faces , great sing songs , open fires and that Incredible Christmas spirit……but
you know what I have created my very own . God help my lovely Emirati neighbours
who by now for sure could sing you every Christmas song that Bing Crosby and
Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland have ever sang. But it is all in good Christmas fun. One thing I can be very certain of .....I am dreaming of a White Christmas.
Just before I say good bye till the next time, there is one
other subject to share with you; an Irish friend of mine, Toni Leslie, posted
on her Facebook page a wonderful story on how the Muslims helped the Irish
during the great famine under the reign of Queen Victoria. Enjoy the read here an incredible story. http://abiggersociety.com/how-quickly-we-forget-how-muslims-helped-ireland-during-the-great-famine/
My Irish friends in Cork, I miss you all dearly and hope
very soon you will meet my new ones.
One last note; we have lost one of the greatest men of
modern history this week. Nelson Mandela. If we were only touched a little bit
by his greatness, the world will be such a great place. Nelson, may your soul
rest in peace. I hope you dance to this in heaven https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgtcTVDcjH0&feature=youtube_gdata_player