Real Life Around the Camp

Camp Life here at the Beaat Project has many interesting features. The rooms we stay in, the cafeteria setting, the ADNOC gas stations, our work camp a few minutes away, and the local workers all have their idiosyncrasies. Everything around is slightly different then what we are used to in Canada.

Our rooms are a quite nice for the most part, we are part of the "Royal Catering Company" camp. The bed is quite big with a fairly hard mattress. With the lack of large blankets for the cool nights, some are forced to buy a room heater to help on the cool nights (even here the nights can get chilly). Laundry is taken care of for us, it just took some prompting to find out the system. Finally after talking to the management I was able to drop off my clothes, and they were returned nicely pressed in a much anticipated laundry bag. The showers are not very well designed, as they leak from not having a proper water containment system, apparently not a priority in these parts. The sand outside the room buildings has a clay-like quality to it, and is very sticky when wet. To point out the disparity around here, the camp next to ours just through the fence looks a bit rundown, with people hanging clothes all over the place, and more garbage laying around than in our camp.
All in all I have good living quarters.

The cafeteria we have in our living quarters is very unique. The appearance is a little drabby, but the food is usually very good, and professionally prepared. The food is a mixture of Western and Middle Eastern themes. The entrees consist of fish,
mutton, beef, and chicken, with the non-meat items consisting of potatoes, pasta, vegetable salona, fresh salads, rice dishes, and spicy Indian food. It is usually artistically prepared, which is very pleasing to the eye and the palate. Desserts are quite tasty with a variety of puddings, tarts, cookies, cakes, and fruit salads.
The cafeteria is probably the best part of the home camp life.

Gas stations around here are extremely clean. The locals go out of their way to shine the floors and keep the shelves looking appealing. The are well stocked and very busy, being little oases on long stretches of highway.

Our work camp a few minutes away is an ambitious, but long drawn-out project. There are many workers walking in each morning from the local camps, and some are bussed in. The plant is quite big, with many interconnected modules tied together with piping. It is quite a walk to get around where you need to go, with the flipside being we get a little exercise that way. People are in a funky Christmas work ethic right now, and there are multiple traditions being celebrated in one location. The plus to all this is we can actually make personal progress towards the ccompany when it is not quite so busy.

The locals are usually quite cheerful to talk to, but the language barriers are not small. It sometimes takes a few minutes just to get one point across, whether talking about life or about work. The ethnicity of middle eastern people is quite rich, of course complimented by North Americans, Philippinos, Australians, Germans, and a few other peoples. If it were not for the diversity of people here, I think it would be much less rewarding.

If anyone has any comments, please feel free.

SS

Night at the Dhana Hotel

We had a marvelous night at the Dhana Hotel on Christmas eve. This hotel is found only a short distance from our work site. We arrived and began snacking on nuts
and beverages. After that we were informed there would be a Columbian band named "Fiesta", who also danced on stage. Our main course was pizza cooked to a local style.

The night was fabulously long, and consisted of hearty laughing, smoking, dancing (the Indian men were the liveliest on the dance floor), and genuine good fun.

The Cultural Mecca of Dubai

My experience in Dubai was one of the most fascinating parts of my trip so far. As I previously eluded to, this city is undergoing a vibrant and magnificent acceleration in culture and Architecture. The richness, the metamorphosis in construction, and the cultural centers are unmatched in what I have seen in other parts of the world.

My hotel was very luxurious. It had a little sitting room with TV and it's own bathroom. The bedroom was large and the bed was very nice. My ensuite had a spacious sink area, and the shower section had a jacuzzi too. The service in my room was spectacular, as the bellboys would promptly give you anything you needed. Friday morning was a nice breakfast delight, and I enjoyed the local cuisine (one was a ball made with yogurt and cheese mixed, but with a local spice to give it a tangy flavour).

Thursday night was a miracle in the beauty of the December weather here in the Emirates. I took a boat ride on the inland artificial river, and it was well worth it. The night was a pleasing mixture of warmth with a slight breeze, the lights were dazzling (yes AM, I will bring you here), and the meal was no less amazing, a scrumptious buffet affair.

I took a ride on the "Big Bus Tour" on Friday afternoon. It was well worth it, and I took lots of pictures. We saw the beach tour running along the Persian Gulf, and it was fabulous. The architecture (including tall building and mosques), the December mild climate, and the greenery all yielded a very pleasurable experience for myself. The sail building, or Burj Al Arab, is a very fascinating hotel right on the beach. For between 2000 to 15000 per night you can enjoy a very luxurious multi-tiered room with an awesome view. There is an Eqyptian area that has several buildings shaped like pyramids, and they are very striking. Of course while on the topic of architecture, let's not forget the Burj Dubai, already the tallest building in the world, and quickly headed for 810m with a floor added every week. With it's modular cylindrical architecture it can also be added to whenever needed. Ski Dubai is a much valued stop also, with a very sizeable ski slope to give cool pleasure in the hot Arabian climate.

With highest regards,

SS

Arrival at Dubai

The Architectural Metamorphisis




Hello All,

Well, I just arrived in Dubai, what an amazing city. The growth here is extremely fast-paced. The architectural developments are rising at an exponential rate. See the above pictures taken from inside our Landcruiser on the way here. The columns represent a highspeed rail being added very quickly too. The building is being constructed at one floor per week to become the tallest building in the world.

Well, I must go for my boat cruise tour, I will get more pictures. I am also going for a bus tour tomorrow.

SS

The mood around here

Hello All,

Up to now I have reported on the positive, and with regards to the project there are many hurdles to overcome. The project is years overdue, but we are committed to finishing the contract, so that we can save face for other projects. There is much negativity, it may be a hard thing for me to overcome. The people vacillate between cheerfulness and camaraderie on the one hand to complaining about construction issues on the other. There is a clash of two cultures here, the one coming from an ornate curvilinear world, and the other one trained in orthogonal right-angled mathematics, so you can so the conflicts that this might pose with respect to design and construction. Couple that with being away from families for extended periods (one Philippino man has not seen his family in over two years, because of his pay grid I suppose). My biggest challenge is trying to find stuff, as my training time was less than stellar.

Overall I am positive about the work, as I believe with creativity and committment we can overcome anything, and because of the low pressure application the constructions issues may not be much of an issue in the long term, as there is much functional logic to be salvaged despite mathematical follies to the standards of the Western world.

My impending respite this weekend is a night in Dubai. The hotel is expensive, but because I have never seen this city I am justifying it. I promise to take lots of pictures, up to now they have been scarce, just getting oriented has been a challenge.

Regards,

Shane

A Different Take on the Emirates

Well, the second week is upon me. I am working with some French and Spanish-Canadians who are trying to get past western ethno-centrism and see the value of local customs. There argument is that the static customs provide a certain sense of stability that we have not obtained in the west with our individualism. I do not want to pass judgement, only to take interest in all views and have a great experience. The reason for bringing this up is that it was our post-supper chatter, and how it led to that conversation, I do not know. These two friends were proceding to drive to a local town just for the fun of it.

Work was easier for me today, I had much more energy. It is a challenge to figure out the spec.
for the project, and then to apply it to Design and Drafting. Everyone has different expectations, and it is a barter culture, all prices are negotiable. I went to reserve a hotel in Dubai online, then
the price doubled when they replied via email, after they checked pricing, and knew about the upcoming local holidays. I will be staying at the Meridian instead for much less money. I will be riding to Dubai with the PM and returning with a local fellow on Friday. Weekends here are from Thursday to Friday.

Everyone seems to be leaving, there are only about 5 people left in my group. I will be OK though as I have MSN working now on a fast connection, AM and I are communicating much better. I hope all goes well with the Canadian weather. It sounds like Alex and Millie arrived safely, that is good.

Bye for now, I will get some good pictures of Dubai soon.

SS

Abu Dhabi Mall

Abu Dhabi Mall, just north of the hotel apartment, is very expansive. It seems like West Edmonton Mall in many ways. There are many shops (jewellery, computers, etc.), and I actually found a bank machine, much to my relief.

They had some very nice cars on display, much like we see around Canada. The men and women around the Mall were very relaxed, and just seemed like they were out for a stroll. Most of the shops were closed today, as the weekend has begun here. I will have to come here again, it has everything one needs.

On the way back from the Mall I found a martiniser to dry my clothes, which I thought I could have done in the hotel room, but misunderstood the hotel people.

A Night in Abu Dhabi

After a long grueling week getting accustomed to long hours and foreign conditions, we finally get a break and we drove to Abu Dhabi at lunch. With a half-way stop at an Adnoc gas station, we actually had a nice lunch of Southern Fried Chicken, and I drank Pepsi out of a bottle with some Arabic printed on the side, very neat. We drove 160 km/hr and in some cases we were going slow. The French don't seem to mind, they just try to fit in and "Keep the hammer down".



I arrived at my hotel, and it too is very nice. It has nice mahogany furniture, a separate room for a kitchen c/w washing machine, the bed is King, the bathroom is small but luxurious, overall everything is good, except I had to pay for the Internet (15 Dirham or 4.00 and they think they are making a killing). The bellboy almost popped out his eyes when I tipped him 50 Dirham. I decided to opt out of supper, and just relax by myself. There is a mosque beside my hotel apartment, with many filing in just a little while ago. Occasionally I hear what sounds like a fighter plane overhead, but you look in the sky and see nothing. The marketplace down below looks very inviting, with some quaint little shops strewn about.



The people treat you like royalty almost to an excess. It is very friendly in most of what I have seen so far. It almost seems like a forced futurism here, keep up with the west but cherish the customary Muslim values to a high degree. Everything is good though, and the people I work with are very much liking the adventure, just like myself. Apparently the UAE is planning to build a new "Sister museum to the Louvre", and many other grand Architectural enterprises.

Well more to come, I am exhausted.

SS

Getting Oriented to Takreer

There are literally "many" stacks of drawage to peruse in the Engineering and Controls buildings. This project is approximately 4 years old so you can imagine how quickly they pile up. Many are frustrated at the slowness of the project to come to fruition, but there are unenviable issues in Engineering caused by dwindling budgets, different Project Management
companies butting heads, multicultural variegated expectations, blustery sandy weather conditions, pesky flies constantly landing on your hands, etc. The very slowness of the project may very well be it's genius, as I am pretty sure you could treat "anything nasty" with this place. You can drive a truck in full of toxic sludge, dump it in a bunker, and it basically will treat the stuff with numerous "process units".

The cafeteria and living quarters are a quick drive and 15 minute walk from the work site. My room is clean, and the bathroom is acceptable. They have people to come get the laundry, and tidy up if required. The cafeteria has a lounge room, where I am currently seated, that has pool tables (although missing tips and chalk), a good TV, bar area, and ping-pong. The food here is usually well planned out in buffet style. The food is equally good and strange looking. The strange food is unappealing only because of the cultural differences in what it is prepared with. The Indian dishes are prevelant and quite spicy.

Our work hours are 7:00 to 6:00, so I am quite bagged so far, and it will take me awhile to get used to it after having 5 weeks off. The only saving grace is we can get out in the open to stretch our legs and check on the plant.

More to come, this is Shane signing off.

Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi

After a long wait in T1 at Toronto, we boarded Etihad enroute for Abu Dhabi. What first struck me as fabulous were the ornately curved seating arrangements with laydown position, and helped immensely for the long 13 hour flight. There was also nice gourmet Arabic food (Arabic Mezze complimented by Chilean Sea Bass, finalized by Blue Cheese dessert), but the taste was offset by the seasoning which eventually gave me a stomach ache. The onboard entertainment system had many games (I beat the chess computer) and western movies. It is fascinating to see Bourne Ultimatum play beside you in Arabic. The service was great as the airline workers bent over backwards for us. I got over my fear of airplane restrooms also, these ones were very sanitary, and very necessary for a long flight. I met an Islamic man from Toronto doing IT business in Kirachi, it was nice to hear his views on conditions in the Middle East.

We had to land in Doha because of fog in our destination, so we refueled and were delayed a few hours before taking off for the remainder of the flight to Abu Dhabi. The airport in Abu Dhabi was very strange, and I was disoriented in trying to get through. Customs was easier than I thought it would be, I was expediently stamped through, and that was relieving. I found the driver easily, and he was very courteous, although he drove 140 km/hr to get me from the airport to our camp. The country has a strong cleanliness ethic in the face of the unending slow barrage of blowing sand. There are many planted palm trees to hold back on sand migration.

I made it to the work site, got oriented, and was driven to the camp that had our living quarters. Very acceptable room, but could barely hold back feelings of being "A Stranger in a Strange Land", as everything is a mixture of Arabic and Western themes. Most of the people around here are very friendly, the project has a few challenges, but overall it is a rewarding experience. I heard "The Call of Mohammud" (that is what I call it) over a loudspeaker at the end of work yesterday, that was very interesting. The process work we are doing is cutting edge, SNC Lavalin and the French are great to work with, very passionate and articulate about the project.

Back to work.

Getting Ready

Hello Everyone,

It has been a hectic week for myself and Ann-Marie getting ready for this major adventure in our lives. There have been many things we have had to finish: Finishing our home theatre room downstairs, small fixes around the house, lots of pre-Christmas activities, lots of activities with the kids (we saw Bee Movie tonight), all of the required paperwork, packing, etc. We have done well, and I believe I am ready to leave, the departure time being just after midnight Friday night.

It will be a culture shock for me, as I have been an Alberta boy virtually all of my life. It seems
that my sense of adventure has got the best of me, and we made a family decision to try a three month contract. I will miss my family immensely, as I will be rotating 6 weeks in and 2 weeks out. I am sure Ann-Marie will do fine though, as she has a lot of support here. I will keep this blog active and fresh to keep everyone abreast of my activities in UAE. Please fell free view and post anything you wish.

Thanks to Everyone for your support, I am sure everything will be great over there.

Shane