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redeyes
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 254
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:39 am Post subject: Understanding the UAE locals and culture you live/work with. |
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Just wondering which books you'd recommend -- if indeed, you think any books are valuable reading as a preparation for life in UAE.
I am not really specifically looking for books exclusively about Islamic religion/history -- I have never lived in the Gulf, but I have lived in Islamic cultures/areas and had close Muslim friends/workmates for many years. I have a �workable/practical� understanding of the differences between the Islamic sects, their histories, and taboos related to �Sharia culture �which dicate what is haram and what's allowable etc.
I�d appreciate your advice -- I have the easily available lonely Planet book on the area, and a handful of other books I have been advised to read, including one book on how decadent Arabs find us Europeans and Americans to be ! ( �Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies� by Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalit ) I am not sure about the usefulness of the latter to everyday life in UAE, but it made a good, if speculative read.
Thanks for any advice you can give. Much appreciated.
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allyp
Joined: 29 May 2008 Posts: 52
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:12 am Post subject: |
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Culture????
I am not joking ....really. Remember something like 80% of pop in UAE are expats, and majority of those Indians and Pakistani. Unless you take a position out somewhere like madinat zayed or the like its very difficult if not impossible to become involved with local culture. Maybe on the road .... but that's usually not a positive experience. |
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allyp
Joined: 29 May 2008 Posts: 52
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:14 am Post subject: |
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oooooops I forgot Mall shopping. |
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redeyes
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 254
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:25 am Post subject: |
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AllyP wrote -- "Culture???? I am not joking ....really. Remember something like 80% of pop in UAE are expats, and majority of those Indians and Pakistani. Unless you take a position out somewhere like madinat zayed or the like its very difficult if not impossible to become involved with local culture."
Thanks -- but I don't really mean that I am looking for books which tell me about the local "culture" ( with a capital C ) as in their beliefs, ways of life in a deeper sense such as explaining their arts, literature, roots or whatever -- I am not looking for that at all, or even ways to integrate in any deeper sense with the locals -- I know that's a pipe dream and largely impossible and most probably largely unwanted from their side, since we are just guest workers anyway. ( I have been in the EFL game for nearly 20 years, so am hardly naive about these things, or looking for some kind of multi cultural "experience" ).
I guess I am really just looking for books which will make is easier to understand how it will be living and working and interacting with them successfully in the most practical, everyday sense.
So -- the Lonely Planet guide it is then?
Keep the suggestions coming!
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al bidarnd
Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 53
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:35 am Post subject: |
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Any biography of Sheikh Zayed
Tagalog, Farsi, Sinhalese, Tamil, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Afghan and Hindi phrase books. (The cultures you'll live and work with)
Any histories of the experiences of expat Indian / Nepalese / Philippino / Bangladeshi... workers in the UAE
"Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques" by U. Geddowdathaway
The Guide to Workers Rights in the UAE (I've been looking for this for many years - let me know if you find a copy)
"Surviving Management" by U. R. Ouddahere
The Lonely Planet guide to Oman |
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redeyes
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 254
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:37 am Post subject: |
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redeyes
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 254
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:38 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by redeyes on Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:55 am; edited 1 time in total |
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lall
Joined: 30 Dec 2006 Posts: 358
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:53 am Post subject: Blogs |
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There's a list of blogs under the topic, UAE Blogs on the UAE forum. Most of them will give you a good insight into life in the UAE and by extrapolation, in the other Gulf states.
Couldn't help but chuckle at the following:
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Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques" by U. Geddowdathaway
The Guide to Workers Rights in the UAE (I've been looking for this for many years - let me know if you find a copy)
"Surviving Management" by U. R. Ouddahere
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In ending, take a look at the archives of the online newspapers in the ME, especially at the "Letters to the Editor" section.
Good luck. |
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redeyes
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 254
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:58 am Post subject: |
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Lall wrote --
"In ending, take a look at the archives of the online newspapers in the ME"
Thanks Lall -- do you have links to the major Gulf online press, or names so I can google them?
( PS -- Hmmm,and there's me thinking "U. Geddowdathaway" was a Burmese politician, and
"U. R. Ouddahere" a Sri Lankan business man! Lol.... ) |
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lall
Joined: 30 Dec 2006 Posts: 358
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:09 am Post subject: Link |
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I've PMed you. Should you find the links useful, please post them online. |
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Bklyngrl
Joined: 25 Jan 2008 Posts: 20
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:21 am Post subject: |
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No one's mentioned The Dubai Explorer. It might not be focused on UAE culture, but I found it incredibly heplful when I moved to Dubai. It's a guidebook that gets updated each year with restaurant listings and reviews, etc.. It also has a really helpful section for new residents. It tells you how to register your car and about a million other helpful things that you won't find in Lonely Planet. They have a similar one for Abu Dhabi. You can probably get one before you arrived through Amazon or the Explorer website. They're also available at the bookshops in Dubai. |
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uaeobserver
Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 236
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:18 am Post subject: |
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If you're teaching locals (HCT/ZU/UAEU),
Rags to Riches provides an interesting history of the UAE - particularly Abu Dhabi. The author went from a poor kid in Al Ain to the chair of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce.
Author Christopher Davidson has published a few engaging pieces. Chris is from the UK, but grew up, and taught in the UAE (ZU, I believe). He has a deeper understanding of the country's culture and history than your average Joe.
A good, technical book is The Road Not Travelled from the World Bank. |
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bje
Joined: 19 Jun 2005 Posts: 527
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:40 am Post subject: |
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al bidarnd wrote: |
Any biography of Sheikh Zayed
Tagalog, Farsi, Sinhalese, Tamil, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Afghan and Hindi phrase books. (The cultures you'll live and work with)
Any histories of the experiences of expat Indian / Nepalese / Philippino / Bangladeshi... workers in the UAE
"Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques" by U. Geddowdathaway
The Guide to Workers Rights in the UAE (I've been looking for this for many years - let me know if you find a copy)
"Surviving Management" by U. R. Ouddahere
The Lonely Planet guide to Oman |
Good lord Al Bidarnd; have you got summer time on your hands? Not off to Manchester to revisit your local pubs? Have you yourself suffered at the hands of local drivers/management? You seem a bit jaundiced...  |
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Mia Xanthi

Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 955 Location: why is my heart still in the Middle East while the rest of me isn't?
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 3:08 pm Post subject: books |
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There is a book that was written by an Indian journalist -- I think it was called Raining Bricks and Bats or something like that. It was an irreverent, but very funny, look at life in the UAE for expats and Emiratis alike. I bought a copy from Amazon.com while I was in the US, so I know it is available.
If you read French, there is an excellent ethnography of Emirati women called "Femmes des Emirats" or Women of the Emirates. It's a bit dated by now, but still an interesting look at the lives of the women in the UAE. I don't think it is published in English. |
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mishmumkin
Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 929
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 3:45 pm Post subject: Re: books |
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Mia Xanthi wrote: |
There is a book that was written by an Indian journalist -- I think it was called Raining Bricks and Bats or something like that. It was an irreverent, but very funny, look at life in the UAE for expats and Emiratis alike. I bought a copy from Amazon.com while I was in the US, so I know it is available.
If you read French, there is an excellent ethnography of Emirati women called "Femmes des Emirats" or Women of the Emirates. It's a bit dated by now, but still an interesting look at the lives of the women in the UAE. I don't think it is published in English. |
The Day it Rained Bricks and Bats: And Other Tales From the Gulf  |
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