There’s a moment that happens quietly, almost without announcement. You’re standing in line for coffee, or waiting for a lift, or sitting in the back of a taxi, and it hits you. The person next to you speaks a different language. The person behind you follows a different culture. The person serving you grew up…
People usually focus on major aspects when they talk about life in the Emirates. The skyline, the airports, the ambitious construction projects that one hardly believes to be real. Those things are certainly impressive. However, they usually are not the main reasons why residents decide to extend their stay beyond their original plan. The genuine…
Walk into a café in Dubai on any given evening and just sit for a while. Don’t scroll your phone. Don’t rush your coffee. Just listen. You’ll hear three, maybe four languages in the space of a few minutes. A group discussing business in English, a family switching between Arabic and Hindi, someone on a…
Something strange happens to many people about twelve months after they come to the Emirates. Initially, everything seems temporary. The buildings look like a dream. The heat is very uncomfortable. Even the grocery stores are not like the ones you are used to. You tell yourself you are only going to stay here for a…