Six Years Living in the United Arab Emirates Were Expansive, Mind-Boggling
My wife and I lived in the United Arab Emirates from 2011 through 2017. We know that what we witnessed was mostly just a snapshot of life there during a specific time in history and that things have changed since we left. Yet our experiences — both pro and con — gave us new perspectives on the world, the Middle East, the US, and ourselves. They were expansive.
The UAE is a country of about 9.7 million people about the size of Colorado, with a unique history and culture. The citizens understandably have a lot of pride in what has been accomplished since the country’s founding in 1971. Comparison of UAE and US from MyLifeElsewhere.com.
First of all, some background:
UAE’s ‘Rags to Riches’ Story of Mind-boggling Change
When I told my American friends and family I was moving to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, most responded with blank stares. They had either never heard of it, or had only vague notions of where it is and what life would be like. Actually, I didn’t have much idea either, except I knew it would be HOT.
Sheikh Mo’s Vision Attracted Global Migrants to Help Build Emirati Nation
First Impressions of Teaching English At University in Abu Dhabi
By Lucia Holliday Buie My first day teaching English at a university in Abu Dhabi, UAE was 9/11/11. As an American, this made me nervous, and the day began with a figurative bang. Hailing a taxi to work, I happened to get a Pakistani driver. He told me that on 9/11/01, the Americans did it to themselves. It was the Jews who did it and the ones working at the WTC made sure to take that day off. He offered to send me documents proving this.
In Abu Dhabi, Feeling Like a Global Citizen
Eating out in Abu Dhabi in the summer involved waiting until the sun went down and the city cooled.
Middle Eastern Human Rights Abuses Seemed Rare While Living There
Cartoon accompanying article calling for an end to human rights abuses in the Middle East by Dr. Abdul Hameed Abbas Dashti, president of the International Council Supporting Fair Trails and Human Rights. While living in Abu Dhabi, UAE for six years, 2011-2017, human rights abuses seemed rare. Sure, we met a few people who said they spent a night in jai…
Teaching Freedom of Speech, the Press, and Media Law in the Middle East in Contrast to US
Assigned to teach media law in the Middle East, specifically at a university in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, I quickly learned that I had to teach it quite differently than how I learned it in the United States, because the cultural assumptions of students were entirely different.
Consuming International Cuisine While Living Abroad And At Home
UAE TV Series Shatters Stereotypes of Subservient Women
11 Questions and Answers About My Time Teaching in the UAE. On Global Awareness, Educational Investments, Censorship, Democracy's Decline, Differences Between Urban and Rural Emirates.
While the UAE is unique, I could make larger observations about it, the region and the world in my series on
Global Studies: Traveling, living, studying, teaching abroad: An Overview. The upsides and downsides of globalization. Nationalism and trans-nationalism: Forces for good or evil? Culture Shock! 9 Posts On Coping With Uncomfortable Cultural Changes. (28 posts total)
including
Middle Eastern Men and Women Are Group-oriented Rather Than Individually Oriented. But What Does the Veil Mean?
‘Downton Abbey’ Illustrates Similarities to Lives of Gulf Aristocrats Today. So does ‘The Help.”
Offensive Questions from Both Sides of the Global Divide
and in my series on
Autocracy, Authoritarianism and Surveillance Societies As Inevitable Global Threat (30 posts)
as well as in individual articles on
Travel As An Act of Religious and Political Bridge-Building
Remembrance Day, For All Who’ve Died in War
Lost Fear of Muslim Extremism During 8 Years Living in the Middle East, Through Interfaith Dialogue