For the past several days, life in Abu Dhabi hasn’t really had the usual “Oh man, it’s pretty hot”-type of vibe to it. Instead of getting blasted by the 35+ deg.C heat, it’s been cloudy, windy and filled with thundershowers – just like it likely is in Toronto right now.

After coming back from a run on the city’s corniche, I noticed that the sky above me was omniously filled with black splotches of clouds, looming below an unusually brown-tinted evening. Loud, thundering booms sounded overhead filled the earth throughout my jog, temporarily cutting out my iPod. “A military exercise,” I thought. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Oh, but as it turned out, I was quite wrong. (more…)

I’ve only been in Abu Dhabi for less than one month but the coolest thing I’ve experienced here has got to be the IIHF’s Challenge Cup of Asia ice hockey tournament I attended here last week.

Knowing that you don’t really think of ‘hockey’ when you think of the Middle East, I was pretty happy after the tournament pretty much landed in my lap. I really had no idea the tournament was taking place until I was on a highway driving to Dubai earlier this month and saw a huge ad on the side of a bus. I actually had to slow down just to make sure I wasn’t suffering heat stroke but sure enough, there it was – ice hockey in the desert.

Now, I know that Abu Dhabi hosted an hockey tournament in the past – the Arab Cup of Hockey was a pretty interesting event – but this one was different. For starters, all the players had to be nationals, so no Belarusian ringers. It also featured a fairly diverse line-up of teams – UAE, Macau, Thailand, Taiwan, Mongolia, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong and in their first international ice hockey match, India. Yes, India. (more…)

I haven’t been here in the Middle East for too long but it didn’t take me long to discover that the people here love their technology just as much as we do in North America. That said, there was one development today that I think will usher in a completely new wave of internet usage in this part of the world, care of none other than Facebook. (more…)

After one week in Abu Dhabi, not one minute has gone by where I think I’ve made the wrong decision to come out here.

Although I’m stuck inside a hotel room with a rather slow internet connection (think dial-up, but a bit slower), the city is a vibrant, dynamic, busy metropolis – nary a sign that this so-called “global economic slowdown” has hit the place hard. Dubai, on the other hand, hasn’t fared out so well but Abu Dhabi remains a strong financial pillar of the Middle East. It’s definitely something I don’t take for granted given the bad news I hear from back home.

Anyways, I’ve wanted to write a bit more but I’ve been pretty busy with getting work documents processed, training and the odds and ends of relocating to a new city.

Like, for instance, dealing with my laundry. After shopping around for a laundromat, I’ve found a place near my hotel where, after some hand signals and repeated haggling, three Indian men will clean my shirts, socks, etc. for about $20.

There’s also the call to prayer, or adhan, which every mosque broadcasts from its speaker five times a day. The first begins around 5 am and the last ends around 6 pm. It’s a beautiful, fascinating experience, one that always helps to draw me away from the rather westernized-environment and remind me where I am again.

Lastly, the customer service model they have over here is something that I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. For every car wash that has no less than three men scrubbing, vacuuming and waxing your car for about $10, there’s a restaurant whose servers will not pay attention to you for almost an hour, even though several other tables have already received their food.

So, aside from some minor inconviences (have I mentioned the internet? or the indoor smoking?) I still haven’t been hit with any major culture shock. It’s fairly westernized here and most people speak English, albeit with a strong accent.

Regarding work, I’m not really going to talk much about The National for a number of personal reasons. However, without any sense of hyperbole, I will say that the newsroom has been everything I’ve imagined it would be and a bit more. Along with the brand new chairs – a welcome change from my old newsroom – I’m really enjoying my job and the people are great to work with.

It’s been a few years, but I’ll never forget the first time I stepped into Windsor’s Phog Lounge. (more…)