I completely abandoned my first blog a couple of years ago because the host's upgraded system was much less friendly than before. That, plus the fact that I was no longer able to maintain my commitment to write every now and then since free internet access became a luxury. I still replied to comments posted by visitors but being a pragmatic person, I decided to start fresh and anew. Looking back, I realized that I have actually changed a lot since I started my first blog. Was a stubborn idealist, now more of a pragmatic and realistic person. Was reserved and am no longer so, etc, etc. Most of you don't know me anyway, so I guess it would make no sense trying to list all changes have taken place these couple of years (though if you are that curious, then by all means feel free to drop me a line!)
I moved from Indonesia to Dubai a few years ago, not knowing that I would learn more ever since than I had in my entire life. I still remember how it was a decision driven more by emotion rather than logic. As most other young people, it was an opportunity to bid farewell to home and survive on my own feet. I had spent a few months living abroad twice even by that time, but Dubai seemed a significantly farther distance away for us. First of all, of course, it physically is far and secondly, the UAE, being one of the Gulf countries, was perceived as full of hardline Islamists forcing people to abide by (their interpretation of) Koranic law. It is worth noting that although 85% of Indonesians are Muslims, most of them are not in favour of such a law.
I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that Dubai is such a melting pot. Not only that 80% of the population are expats, but the residents do in fact mingle with each other without a lot of reservation. Stereotyping does of course happen, but although people naturally tend to flock with their own countrymen, it is not hard at all to find groups of different nationalities having some fun together or even make jokes of each other. This kind of interaction makes you feel like a global citizen as even if you have not lived in twenty different countries, you learn to appreciate people's different perspectives, customs, and values; things that make human beings human.
As of the law, you cannot of course expect the same level of freedom here as those in many western countries. You are still expected to respect the local norms, dress and behave respectfully in public places, but you can wear just bikinis or speedos on the beach and the police will not put you in the jail for holding hands. You need a licence for alcohol consumption at home but you can do so without one in bars, pubs, clubs, and many restaurants, etc, etc. In short, Dubai is much more open towards expats than some of its neighbours, perhaps because it needs expats like expats need Dubai.
I know I would never call this place home but I think spending a few years more wouldn't hurt :)
I moved from Indonesia to Dubai a few years ago, not knowing that I would learn more ever since than I had in my entire life. I still remember how it was a decision driven more by emotion rather than logic. As most other young people, it was an opportunity to bid farewell to home and survive on my own feet. I had spent a few months living abroad twice even by that time, but Dubai seemed a significantly farther distance away for us. First of all, of course, it physically is far and secondly, the UAE, being one of the Gulf countries, was perceived as full of hardline Islamists forcing people to abide by (their interpretation of) Koranic law. It is worth noting that although 85% of Indonesians are Muslims, most of them are not in favour of such a law.
I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that Dubai is such a melting pot. Not only that 80% of the population are expats, but the residents do in fact mingle with each other without a lot of reservation. Stereotyping does of course happen, but although people naturally tend to flock with their own countrymen, it is not hard at all to find groups of different nationalities having some fun together or even make jokes of each other. This kind of interaction makes you feel like a global citizen as even if you have not lived in twenty different countries, you learn to appreciate people's different perspectives, customs, and values; things that make human beings human.
As of the law, you cannot of course expect the same level of freedom here as those in many western countries. You are still expected to respect the local norms, dress and behave respectfully in public places, but you can wear just bikinis or speedos on the beach and the police will not put you in the jail for holding hands. You need a licence for alcohol consumption at home but you can do so without one in bars, pubs, clubs, and many restaurants, etc, etc. In short, Dubai is much more open towards expats than some of its neighbours, perhaps because it needs expats like expats need Dubai.
I know I would never call this place home but I think spending a few years more wouldn't hurt :)
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