Anywhere, Dubai, UAE: World

Sometimes, do you ever think, as you are going about your day, seeing all walks of life, doing the same things you do, shop, eat, do laundry, that you really could be anywhere in the world?

Giuseppe and I spent a wonderful day yesterday out and about - only after sleeping and snuggling in for a few extra hours. We need that sometimes, well, I am sure he needs it more that I do.

So, we got up, and before I knew it, the clock said 12:00pm...to which I responded, "Oh my gosh, I have to get in the shower if we plan on getting to church at 5:00pm." That is typical for me, and anyone that may know of my grooming habits and the lengthy process it is for me to even get my feet in the shower (around 30 minutes usually, don't judge) - well, I knew that I had to get going, so I did.

So we headed out around 3pm (following a shower, waxing my lip, Giuseppe showering, blow drying my hair, putting on some eye make-up, changing clothes a few times, Giuseppe ironing a shirt, etc.), decided we would go to the earlier mass, at 4:15 (or 16:15 as they use Military Time here) and then to the movie. We haven't been to the movie theater here yet, and we thought it may be nice to go and experience the movie-going world in Dubai (more on this later). We picked The Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller. We had to drive about 15 minutes to another part of the city called Jebel Ali, in the direction of Abu Dhabi, and we figured that we would check out the Ibn Battuta Mall again while we are there, that is where the theater is, so...



We arrived at Church Complex (a little dirt road comprised of about 5 different parishes) about 20 minutes before the mass was (supposedly) starting and we wandered in, our first time at mass (our second time at the church, we went a few weeks ago to check it out, and to make sure we don't get lost), until we realized that early mass was in fact, very early at 6:15 AM! Oh well...we decide we will come back for the 17:15 mass, and that one we are sure is really in the evening.

So, we took off to check out yet another Hyper Market, Geant, next to the mall to kill some time....we end up liking it a lot, not as hyper as Carrefour, and equally clean and easy to navigate. We bought a nice blender and a juicer, to make nice fresh juices, wheat grass, etc. Excited about that purchase! It seems at times redundant to be purchasing yet another blender and juicer (not even close to as nice as the ones we got for the wedding...) but we want to have certain things sometimes and so we just took the plunge. Anyway, in addition to a muffin pan, some raw cashews, prunes and an apple turnover for Giuseppe, we headed back out to the church for mass.

What came next was such a welcome and in some way, highly deserved, surprise for Giuseppe. We walked in, there were a few others at this time, and of different countries - Indians, Asians, us, the Italian and American. It was cool. We talked about that for a minute in addition to the meaning of the cross. However, we noticed while we were kneeling there that people were going into another room, which I thought maybe was for the children or for the washrooms. So Giuseppe got up and checked it out....and guess what?!?! It was another mass, being held in Italian!

Well, needless to say, I have now added another new thing to my list of 2007 experiences: an Italian Mass. It was really, really nice. The priest was soft spoken, closing his eyes often as he preached. And there was a hand-out with all the prayers written in Italian, so that was helpful. Giuseppe said later that he felt "weird at first, but then it felt normal." (And for me, being not the most religious person, all I can say is that I enjoy being in that place together as a couple. Yoga, church, walking, whatever. I know, I am a cheese-ball, but I love our time.) And the people in the room, about 35-40 total, were such lovely people. Those Italians - really good looking peeps!

And I just love to be there with Giuseppe, I hold his hand and can just feel him being so peaceful and excited to be there, and to be able to tell his family after that, 10 years after leaving Italy, he has been brought back to his roots. What a great Italian week - we even met 2 Italian architects the other night, one of which lives right here near us! Neat!

Well, enough of that, we headed back over to the mall, and got a nice quick bite before seeing the movie (I had a healthy tuna-avocado wrap and lemon-mint fresh tea & Giuseppe had some Iranian food) and headed through the many countries of the mall...
Let me explain. Ibn Battuta was a world-traveler in the 14th century...read about him here.
So, basically, the mall is broken up into countries - you can eat in Egypt and then hop over to China for a bit of treasure hunting for Christmas, and then make your way through India for some incense sticks and traditional attire. Of course, strewn in there is H&M, Topshop and Aldo shoes...but the architecture and spaces are all in theme-by-country. You can see some images below and the rest on Flickr.

So we headed to get our movie tickets - which ended up being equal to $7.10 USD - and got some water and popcorn and headed into the theater. The movie was great. We had assigned seating, you have to pick your seats before you go in and then an usher seats you and makes sure that you didn't steal someone else's seat. Strange, but organized.

It wasn't until the movie was over, and Giuseppe and I just sat there as the others worked their way down and out of the theater, that I thought to myself, and proceeded to say out loud - "we could be anywhere." Here are all these people, watching the same funny movie as us, but some are British, some French, some Arab, Lebanese, Turkish....and as they all ushered out, some wearing their dish-dash and beautiful & ornate abaya, some really fat & unhealthy British women wearing their high school sizes, and we were all just there. All different walks of life, and although we don't see dish-dash and abaya all that often in America, honestly, I just thought we could be ANYWHERE.

It is really neat as we become part of this new home of ours, this whole new culture, whole new country and world, that you can honestly go about your day - laundry, eat, shop, groceries, church, movies, and everyone is doing the same thing. We all look different, we all speak different languages, and if you listen close enough, you can hear the occasional gossip in Italian, Arabic, French, Chinese, Spanish and even less often, American - or English, like mum-English.
But here we are, in Dubai, this international hub of business, architecture, design, fashion, and everyday life.

That's it for my thoughts. Check out the pics. Check out Flickr too...
Love d:)