“Every one of my books has killed me a little more” NM

Dearest you all,

I’ll need a little bit more reinforcement from the English speaker community reading these news. So far, only one charitable soul has corrected my writing. When working hard, a bit of feedback is very welcome. Bear in mind that writing in Spanish is easier, quicker and more satisfying to my person, so please, give me some help here!

As you can imagine, I have been keeping myself busy for the last few days :).

Last Friday I skyped with the director of the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society – that is, a very, very important WL organization). Lovely man, very engaged with his work and worried about making the world a better place. He advised me to get some more field work experience if I want to pursue a career in the One Health field. No more rehab centers, he said. Therefore, I’ve already started my eternal quest for the next (hopefully)-right step: research assistant, PhD, anything that gives me that that I lack (wow, we could talk ages about this sentence!). My CV is already flying to Australia, Ivory Coast, the States, Canada…

As usual […].

Anyway, that same day in the morning we went to the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition. I had never been in such kind of place before. It was quite impressive. In the UAE the Emirati (local people) make up only less than 15 percent of the population: I think all of them where there that day (my camera run out of battery, Sarah (the nurse) got some pics for me: I’m waiting for them to be emailed). There was a nice heritage section where they showed the traditional way of living at the UAE: how men used to go out for pearl diving in a dhow (traditional boat), toasted and grained the coffee beans to make Arabic coffee in the dessert while hunting with the saluki hunting dogs and falcons and how women stayed indoors sewing traditional cloths and baskets.

Mongolian Eagle

Saluki dog

Young generation keeping falconry alive

Yes, those ARE diamonds

They like stylish camping

We got to see saluki dogs (one of them was even stained with henna!), a camel auction (O.ô), crazy hunting guns, painted artwork about UAE history and customs, and some fancy accessories (see pic below).

We met our Big boss (BB) there (the brother of the ruler), who joined us for the rest of the journey. We were stopped and invited to have Arabic coffee and chai everywhere we passed by. There are no written rules about tea, but regarding coffee, if you finish it and simply pass the cup to the guy who served it, you’ll get it refilled. If you want no more, you’ll have to shake with a little tilt the bottom of it! (the menace of loads of wee wees afterwards will teach you quick!). I pointed out the nice smell coming from one of the stands and 3 seconds later we all got a present each from the BB: a nice and expensive kind of incense.  He said that you can put your cloths over it while burning and they’ll get sweetly impregnated with its magnificent essence (nevertheless, it is to be used with caution:). After the unexpected present and once walking in privacy through the corridors, he remarked that I “have a great body”. A mí se me quedo cara de pez con esas.

Saturday was a day I spent with one of the vets from the hospital, Antonio (Italian). We first went to the Jumeirah beach (swimming in a 31-32^oC sea at 7.30am does induce sleep) followed by a visit to one of the (thousands of) mosques here in Dubai where we got an “Open doors, open minds” introductory session of Islam. They almost got my soul with all that love and respect but failed when tried to explain the scientific evidence of their religion… I still have to make another trip to Abu Dhabi to visit its mosque (according to Wiki: It is the largest mosque in the UAE and the 8th largest mosque in the world). Dinner was at a Lebanese (yes!) restaurant at another of the Dubai’s malls (I gathered enough leftovers to cover my food needs for two days!).  

Insiders

Una más

Ok... this was the car thermometer... but still quite impressive!

Jumeirah beach

On Sunday I met a CS who mistakenly thought we were going on a date. Good thing: I got a pretty foulard by the face!

We met at Madinat Jumeirah, another “resort” that comprises a couple of hotels, several villas, gyms, spas, a huge theater, a market (or Souk), ballrooms and over 40 restaurants and bars. We decided to spend some time in the traditional Arabic-style Souk and go for a drink after. How we ended up in a wedding ring shop, I do not know; but I can assure you that wearing a £1,200 yellow, white and rose-gold loop (rose?!) in my chubby ring finger was not part of my plans! The bar we went to was a nice latino-ambient dancing place, with the exception that people were not dancing, but drinking. We, however, did. During our second dance the bouncer came to us and whispered in my ear. I genuinely though he was going to ban me from dancing, as my dancing skills are conspicuous by its absence; anyhow, he politely “asked” me to wear my shoes again (yes, I do love barefooting (Toccoa, if you’re reading this, I want you to know that I feel your pain)). There was some more dancing after (which made me wonder again about my neperian hormons) and cinderella’s time called the night (O_ô).

To life.

Burj Al Arab

Ladies

Random note: I find it interesting the complicity that we women have with each other in this city. If lost or wandering alone at night (or during the desert torrid street at daytime) you always feel a deep feeling of reassurance when asking a woman for directions. You (well, I) feel safe and feel as if you were talking with an old neighbor who’s known you for ages and who’s always been there to lend you some eggs for baking. The other night an Italian girl stopped me for directions and we almost end up having dinner together (you’re warned: sometimes I enlarge upon certain events); such was our sisterhood feeling.