Fifteen years ago, I moved to New York over Labor Day weekend. This Labor Day, I moved to the Persian Gulf, departing Dulles with a full moon rising and deplaning on the tarmac to the same full moon the following night and the distant sound of the call to prayer. The photo is of a mosque outside my window at daybreak on Sunday around 5am. It's all auspicious.
First day of assimilation on Saturday wasn't too bad - spent the better part of the day at the W Hotel either at the Bliss Spa or at lunch at Spice Market; the jet lag, heat and the clandestine eating and drinking during daylight were the only indicators that I was no longer in New York.
But then there was the first day at the office....the protocol to obtain a Resident Permit, Driver's License and Liquor Permit were loosely explained and apologies offered for the absence of the "coffee and tea people" during Ramadan as no one is allowed to eat or drink anything during daylight at the office. They will apparently resume their duties at the end of Eid Al Fitr, which follows the conclusion of Ramadan, when the office will be officially closed for 10 days. Right now, the place clears at 1pm so the faithful can finish their fast in the comfort of home and all the shops are closed at 1pm until 8pm, when they reopen past midnight.
All the local women wear the Abaya at the office and the men wear the Thobe, a long white tunic with a white or red-checked headpiece secured with a black ring. It was initially odd to see such a concentration of this customary dress as the city is teeming with nationals from the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, secular Muslims from other parts of the region and westerners from Europe, Australia and the US, who do not dress as such. My PC keyboard has both the English and Arabic keys and if I can wrest a company-issued BlackBerry from HR, the keys will be the same on this device. My eyes are adjusting to a lot.
There are two other Americans in my area that arrived 8 weeks ago, at the height of the savage heat and humidity. They laughed at me today when we departed the office at 3pm and it felt like peak heat since my arrival Friday night - it was 105 degrees and extremely humid. They've not only toughed out the temporary hotel arrangements and the rigomorol of obtaining the permits and licenses but they are also certified heat warriors, having endured 115+ degree days and sandstorms in August.
I plan to go to yoga boot camp at a studio I just found during Eid, if the office is indeed closed or on an abbreviated schedule. I cannot maintain my 90-minute walking regimen here as it's too hot and as a woman, I cannot wear shorts and must wear sleeves - not my idea of an exhilarating walk by the Persian Gulf in this sauna...maybe in December. Until then, I'll be a gym rat and find my schedule at the yoga. My heart sinks a little to miss the US Open at Flushing Meadows for the first time in 14 years but happy to be here.
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