Al Ain

Al Ain in Arabic means “The Spring.” It is a natural oasis! Desert (sand—not like Arizona desert) surrounds us on every side. To the south, there is desert that stretches all the way to Yemen, and they call it the Empty Quarter. The border between the UAE and Yemen is unofficially “official.” They haven’t actually set up border crossings, etc., because there is NO life, no roads, and no people that travel that way. If we want to go to Yemen...we fly.

Al Ain is difficult to describe. Every street in the town center looks similar, and it is only by its themed roundabouts (there is a giant jewelry box, a clock, a globe, etc.) that we are able to tell which street we are on. There are hundreds (bit of an exaggeration) of tailors, Lebanese restaurants, banks, travel agencies, and gas stations on each street in Al Ain. The people drive like madmen, and I don’t think that there are many laws, let alone policeman on the roads. We have come to see that stop lights are just suggestions (only if there are people at the crosswalk will they probably stop) and stop signs are just a congestion point that people butt their way through.

We haven’t decided about getting a car yet... The city has cheap taxis, but fighting with the Emirate people for them has been a learning experience. There are no such things as lines or queues in the UAE. It is survival of the fittest, and needless to say, Chris and I learned very quickly to just jump right in. One night we went to Carrefour (similar to Wal-Mart/Tesco). We bought groceries for the next few days, and apparently, we went during the busiest time of the night. People pour out of their homes during the nights. We waited 45 minutes for a taxi. There were a lot of taxis available, but people would seriously accost the taxis and the people getting out. Finally, one taxi driver pulled right up to us, and he said he had seen us the time before he had picked someone up... After this, Chris and I decided two things: 1) NEVER go out past 7:00 pm (without our own transportation) and 2) Learn to be more assertive...

For us so far, Al Ain has been a plethora of contradictions. The people are pushy and impatient, yet they are lazy and unpredictable; the town can be completely dead during prayer time and look like it’s been invaded an hour later; and so many more...

While this might sound a bit negative, it really isn’t. It has been a great learning experience and a huge stretch for both of us. When we studied abroad, we were both going to countries that had similar values and traditions, and Al Ain is grossly different from the Western world. We are happy here, though, and we are happy to be here versus Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Although a bit chaotic, the town still feels small, welcoming, and charming...