Abu Dhabi has begun building a green city called Masdar City. There will also be a new post secondary institution aligned with this development called the Masdar Institute. For me these initatives are fare more interesting and vital to the region and the world than most of Dubai's engineering marvels (biggest mall, tallest building, etc.).
Our fair city continues, I think, to quietly upstage Dubai by hosting an Islamic Arts exhibition at the Emirates Palace. It should be an educating experience too. It's too bad that we couldn't have also built a new Museum of Islamic Art like Doha did.
I won't say too much about Bush's trip to the UAE. I think it was a short vacation for him to see the area for the first time. It's unfortunate that Bush had to be the first sitting President to visit the UAE. His only speech during his week long trip was at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. The next day Bush traveled (by car?) to Dubai. All residents of Dubai were told to stay home or at least not drive so that Bush's convoy would not get stuck in traffic. It was strange to see photos of Dubai's empty streets - imagine shutting down a city of over 1 million people for 1 day!
hello, michael and darcy!
ReplyDeletemy wife and i very much enjoy reading your excellent blog, as we stumbled upon it a few months ago whilst looking for employment information and positions in the UAE. sadly, we're still looking. :)
like you and darcy, my wife jennifer is a librarian and has over ten years experience in reference/instruction; currently employed by a local college of nursing that's affiliated with a large hospital here in cincinnati. after speaking with friends who had lived in abu dhabi in the mid-1990s, she too became interested in pursuing a library position somewhere in the UAE.
would you be willing to (via blog entry or personal email) offer any advice to a fellow librarian looking for employment in the gulf? after being turned down recently for an open position at HCT, jennifer is not sure what she's doing wrong -- or even if she has the emotional wherewithal after this setback.
come what may, best of luck with the inshallah blog and all future endeavors. we've learned quite a bit about middle east living through your thoughtful accounts.
many thanks.
-troy turner
cincinnati, oh