Eid

Ramadan termino, y es celebrado con el festival Eid. Es algo asi como la Navidad para nosotros. La gente compra y usa ropa nueva, los niños reciben regalos y dinero, y tambien le regalan pastelillos a los vecinos y amigos y hacen cenas especiales. La gente tiene 2-3 dias festivos, aunque a los empleados del gobierno les dan toda la semana libre (por eso todavia no tengo ni internet ni telefono).

Ramadan came to an end, and it is celebrated with the Eid festival. It is something like Christmas for us. People buy and wear new clothes, give presents and money to kids, give sweets to their friends and neighbors and have special dinners. People get between 2-3 days off, but government employees get the whole week (that’s why I still have no phone or internet connection).

Nuestro amigo de India que estudio en Canada con nosotros y que es Musulman nos invito a un almuerzo de Eid en su casa. El dia anterior el se fue a dormir a las 4 de la mañana ayudando a preparar el almuerzo junto con su familia. Mi esposo me dijo que mas musulmanes venian asi que tenia que vestirme mas cubierta. Me puse unos jeans y una blusa con manga larga, solo que cuando llegue a su casa me di cuenta que las mujeres tenian bonitos y nuevos vestidos de India y que deberia haber usado uno de los mios, tambien los hombres tenian vestidos de India o ropa occidental nueva, pero mi esposo estaba en pantalones cortos… ( la verdad no se en que estabamos pensando). Tambien como es usual yo era la unica no hablante de Hindi o Malayalam.

La comida fue buena, ellos fueron bien amables de no prepararla con tantos condimentos y tan picante como generlamente lo hacen, sabiendo que para mi es dificil comer ese tipo de comida, comimos en el piso asi como lo hacen en las mezquitas. Tambien comi los pastelillos arabes que la gente usualmente regala durante Eid. Los habia visto antes en Carrefour pero no me habia atrevido a probarlos. Son bien deliciosos.

Our East Indian friend that we met in Canada and which is Muslim invited us for Eid lunch at his house. He actually went to sleep the day before at 4 am cooking food with his family for this lunch. The first thing I asked my husband was if more Muslims were coming so I had to dress covered, and he told me that I should not go so uncovered. I arrived there in jeans and a top with long sleeve, to realize that all the ladies were wearing new Indian dresses and thinking I should have worn mine, also the guys were wearing their new Indians dresses and my husband was in shorts…( I don’t know what we were thinking) , also as usual I was the only non-Hindi, non-Malayalam speaker so I lost part of the conversation.

The food was actually good, they were very kind not to make as spicy and hot as usual knowing we Colombians eat as plain as possible…we eat on the floor as they do at the mosque. I also got to try some of the Arabic sweets people usually give for Eid. I had actually seen many of these sweets at Carrefour, but never dare to try them. They are actually very tasty.


No tome fotos durante el almuerzo ya que no queria aparecer de inoportuna. Creo que las mujeres musulmanes nos le gusta que les tomen fotos.

I didn’t take any pictures since I did not want to sound inappropriate…I believe Muslim woman do not like to be photographed.

Moneda (Currency)

El "Dirham" es la moneda de los Emiratos Arabes. Un dirham equivale a 3.6 dolares americanos. Los billetes vienen en denominaciones de of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 dirhams. El frente es escrito en Arabe y el reverso en Ingles. Entre mas grande la denominacion del billete, mas grande es el billete en terminos de tamaño.

Las monedas son diferentes, no tienen el numero en ingles, pero es "facil" de identificar ya que como los billetes entre mas grande la denominacion, mas grande es la moneda. Ademas, solo hay 3 tipos de monedas: 25 y 50 fils, y 1 dirham. Un dirham son 100 fils.

Con tantas denominaciones de billetes ha sido un poco lento el proceso de reconocer cada billete rapidamente cuando me dan vueltas o tengo que pagar. Especialmente porque me dicen las cantidades en arabe, y me entregan los billetes del lado arabe, asi que me toca voltearlos, mirar el numero y contar.

The "Dirham" is the currency of the UAE. One dirham is equivalent to 3.6 US dollars. The bills come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 dirhams. The obverse is written in Arabic; and the reverse is in English. The larger the denomination, the larger the size of the bill.

The coins are a little bit different. They do not have the number in English. However, it is "easy" to identify the coin since the larger the denomination, the larger the coin, and there are only three types: 25 and 50 fils and 1 dirham. One dirham is 100 fils.

With so many bill denominations, the process of recognizing bills quickly at the moment of paying or getting change has been a little bit slow. Especially because they say the amount in Arabic and give the bills showing the Arabic side, so I have to flip them, look at the number and count.

Hoy es Domingo?, no es Lunes! (Is it Sunday?, no its Monday!)

Una de las cosas a las que me estoy o me tendre que acostumbrar es al fin de semana. En los paises occidentales es Sabado y Domingo, Domingo siendo el Dia del Señor o para muchos el dia de ir a la iglesia.
En Emiratos es diferente ya que es un pais Musulman. El dia santo para ellos es el Viernes. Hasta el pasado Septiembre, el fin de semana era el Jueves y Viernes, pero lo cambiaron para no perder tantos dias de desconexion con el mundo. Ahora es Viernes y Sabado. El problema es que es solo obligatorio para empresas estatales y colegios. Algunas empresas privadas lo cambiaron, otras no. Asi que el primer dia de la semana (o el Lunes para nosotros) para algunos es el Sabado, para otros el Domingo.
Ya que el Domingo es dia laboral, la iglesia ofrece servicios de misas Viernes y Domingo. Desafortundamente hay una sola iglesia Catolica en la ciudad y se esta quedando pequeña, no hay espacio para tanta gente, ni parqueadero. Somos alrededor de 100,000 catolicos en el pais. La mayoria de los feligreses son de Filipinas y de India.

One of the things I am getting or will have to get used to it is the weekend. In western countries, it is Saturday and Sunday. Being Sunday the Lord's Day or the day people go to church.
In UAE is different since it is an Islamic country. Their holy day is Friday. Until last September, the weekend was Thursday and Friday. However, they changed it so they would not lose so many business days with the rest of the world. Now, the weekend is Friday and Saturday. The problem is that it is only mandatory for government institutions and schools. Some of the private companies changed the weekend, some did not. Therefore, the first day of the week (or Monday for us) it is Saturday or Sunday depending on the work place.
Since Sunday is a work day, the church offers services of mass Fridays and Sundays. Unfortunately, there is only one Catholic Church in the whole city, and it is getting small, there is not enough space inside or parking. There are around 100000 Catholics in the whole country. Most of the parishioners are from the Philippines and India.

Emirates Palace

La primera vez que vi Emirates Palace (Palacio Emirates) pense era el palacio del gobernador de Abu Dhabi o de un principe. Pero estaba equivocada, es un Hotel. Un hotel de 5 estrellas. El hotel costo 3 billones de dolares, es el hotel mas caro que se haya construido. Dicen los expertos que el dinero invertido en el hotel nunca sera recuperado, ni le dara ganancias, pero al gobierno de Abu Dhabi eso no le importa; ellos querian impresionar al mundo. A pesar de que no he conocido en persona el Burj Al Arab que es el unico hotel 7 estrellas en el mundo. Yo creo Emirates Palace es mucho mas lujoso, hermoso y grande. Es inmenso e impresionante. Las fotos de abajo fueron tomadas por nosotros.

The first time I saw the Emirates Palace, I thought it was the governor's palace, or some prince’s palace. However, I was wrong; it is a hotel, a five star hotel. The hotel cost 3 billion dollars, it is the most expensive hotel ever built. They say the invested money will never be recovered, it does not even give any profits, but this does not matter to the government of Abu Dhabi, they just wanted to impress the world. Although I have not seen the Burj Al Arab in person, which is the only seven star hotel in the world. I believe the Emirates Palace is much more luxurious, beautiful and larger. It is huge and outstanding. The below pictures were taken by us.


Esta es una foto del palacio desde la playa. Todo lo que se ve es el hotel, es inmenso.

This a picture of the palace from the beach. Everything on the picture is the hotel, it is huge.

Show some respect (muestren algo de respeto)

7DAYS un periodico popular en Emiratos, publico esta noticia en primera pagina... (pueden ver el resumen en espanol abajo)

7DAYS, a popular newspaper in the UAE, it just published this news on the first page...


As Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic year, enters its second week, disquiet is being expressed by Muslim and non-Muslim alike about the way it is being treated by some people. 7DAYS readers of all ethnic and religious backgrounds have bombarded the newspaper with complaints, largely about the way many people dress in unsuitable clothing in public places like shopping malls. The images on this page were taken yesterday at major malls in Dubai...more

El articulo dice como durante el mes santo de Ramadan, muchos musulmanes y no musulmanes se han quejado de como mucha gente usa ropa que no es apropiada en sitios publicos como centros comerciales. La foto de arriba es una foto tomada en uno de ellos. La gente se queja de que se revela mucha piel. Entrevistan tambien a un jefe de la policia que dice que ya no se penaliza el usar ropa que revela mucha piel como se hacia muchos anos atras. Hay penalidades para gente que bebe o come en publico durante Ramadan pero el dice que no recuerda ningun caso en que alguien haya sido penalizado por hacerlo.

Esto me hace pensar de que a pesar de que es un pais moderno, hay todavia mucha gente tradicionalista. No creo que las mujeres en esas fotos muestran mucha piel. Si ese es el caso, entonces no me he estado vistiendo apropiadamente. De todos modos, no hay ley que lo prohiba, y los que se quejan tendran que acostumbrarse ya que cada dia hay mas y mas gente de paises occidentales viviendo aca.

It just makes me think that although it is a modern country, there are still lots of people that are very traditionalist. I don’t even think many of these ladies on the picture are dressing too revealing. If that it is the case, then I have been dressing inappropriately. Anyways, there is not law against it, so the ones that complain will have to just get used to as more and more westerners are moving here.

Marina Mall (Centro Comercial Marina)

Marina Mall es uno de los centros comerciales en Abu Dhabi. Es muy bonito y esta localizado a la orilla del mar. Es bien lujoso con pisos de marbol y fuentes de colores. Hay almacenes de disenadores como Chanel, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton como tambien Carrefour, Ikea y La Senza (de Canada). Estan construyendo en el centro comercial una ciudad de nieve aunque en menor escala que Ski Dubai.

Marina Mall is one of the shopping malls in Abu Dhabi. It is very beautiful and it's located right by the sea. It is very luxurious with marble floors and coloured fountains. There are high end stores such as Chanel, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton as well as Carrefour, Ikea y La Senza (from Canada). They are also building inside the mall a snow city similar to the Ski Dubai but smaller.

Ahi me ven en la foto en la playa con el centro comercial al fondo ( esta es la prueba para los que no me creian de que puedo usar la ropa que quiero sin tener que cubrirme)

Here I am on this picture on the beach with the mall on the background ( this is also the proof for those that did not believe it before that I can wear any clothes I want here)

En frente del centro comercial.

This is in front of the mall.

Mi esposo en el interior del centro comercial

This is my husband inside the shopping mall

Mas fotos del interior del centro comercial. Estaba vacio ya que casi todas las tiendas estaban cerradas por lo de Ramadan

More pictures of the interior of the mall. It was empty because almost all the stores were closed due to Ramadan.L

Manejando en Abu Dhabi ( Driving thru Abu Dhabi)

Tienen muy buena e interesante señalizacion (al menos para alguien que no lee arabe)
They have very good and interesting traffic signals (at least for someone that does not read arabic)

Las autopistas y calles son muy modernas y en excelentes condiciones. Mucho mejor que las autopistas y calles en USA y Canada. No he visto el primer hueco o imperfeccion en las calles. Esto hace que la gente le guste ir mucho mas rapido que el limite de velocidad (o esa es la excusa). La gente no maneja muy bien en comparacion con paises industrializados, pero mucho mejor que en paises subdesarrollados.

Freeways, highways and roads are very modern and in excellent condition. I would say they are much better than the ones in the US or Canada. I haven't seen any pot hole or imperfection on the roads. However, this makes people exceed the speed limit (or at least that is the excuse) . Driving standards are worse than in any industrialized country, but they are much better than in third world countries.

Adquirir y mantener un carro es relativamente barato, sobretodo por que no hay impuestos y la gasolina por supuesto es barata. Se ven muchos carro lujosos. Los carros mas comunes son Toyotas, Mercedes y BMW's. Tiene uno de los mas altos niveles de propiedad de carros en el mundo per capita.

Buying and maintaining a car is relatively cheap, especially since there are not taxes, and of course gas is very cheap. There are many luxury cars . The most popular cars are Toyotas, Mercedes and BMW's. It has one of the highest per capita levels of car ownership in the world.

Sitios desbloqueados ( Sites unblocked)

Friday, 29th September, 2006

(Version en Español, abajo)

At last! The news that 7DAYS readers have been waiting for: Etisalat have finally decided to unblock a number of hugely popular web sites that, over the last few months have not been accessible to the public. And you, our readers, fully played your part. The ongoing campaign, through our letters pages, and through complaints to etisalat themselves, to get these web sites back on our computer screens has paid off, common sense has prevailed and the public is once again free to enjoy sites such as Myspace.com, Youtube.com, Piczo.com, Metacafe.com and Hi5.com, among many others.
http://www.7days.ae/2006/09/29/you-win.html

The only strange thing is that from the beginning I had access to myspace.com, but for some reason most of people complained they did not. Anyways, I am happy that at least the most popular sites are unblocked.

Finalmente, las noticias que los lectores de 7DAYS han estado esperando: Etisalat ha decidido desbloquear un numero de sitios populares in Internet, que no habian podido ser accedidos por el publico. Y ustedes los lectores, jugaron un papel importante. La campana, a traves de nuestras paginas, y quejas a etisalat, para dar acceso a esas paginas valio la pena, y ahora el publico es libre de disfrutar paginas como Myspace.com, Youtube.com, Piczo.com, Metacafe.com and Hi5.com, y otros mas...

Lo unico extrano es que desde el principio tuve acceso a myspace.com, pero por alguna razon, mucha gente se quejaba que ellos no tenian acceso. De todos modos, estoy feliz de que al menos los sitios mas populares estan desbloqueados.

Site Blocked (Sitio bloqueado)

Iba a entrar a http://youtube.com/, y esto aparecio:
I was going to check http://youtube.com/ , and I got this:

Mi primer sitio bloqueado. Que otros sitios que me gustan estaran bloqueados?

My first blocked site. I wonder what other sites I like are blocked?.

Hablando de Ramadan (About Ramadan)

(English version below)

El Ramadan es el mes santo para los musulmanes. Es el noveno mes del calendario islamico que se basa en el calendario lunar. Durante este mes, los musulmanes hacen ayuno. El ayuno comienza desde que sale el sol hasta que anochece. Durante este tiempo no pueden comer, beber ni fumar. Empiezan el dia a eso de las 4 de la manana con la primera oracion de las cinco del dia. Las mezquitas usan parlantes para alertarlos de que es tiempo de oracion. En Emiratos Arabes, durante las horas del dia tambien es prohibido para los no musulmanes comer, beber o fumar en publico.

Al anochecer cuando es la ultima de las oraciones y se rompe el ayuno, los musulmanes celebran con banquetes "iftar".

Aca en Abu Dhabi hay mezquitas en cada barrio asi que es dificil no escuchar los llamados a oraciones desde cualquier casa. En frente de cada mezquita es comun ver grandes carpas que son generalmente patrocinadas por el gobierno donde dan grandes banquetes cuando se rompe el ayuno, durante ese tiempo no se ve casi a nadie en la calle, es algo asi como cuando la seleccion Colombia juega en el mundial y no hay nadie en la calle. Tambien los hoteles tienen especiales y banquetes. Es una gran celebracion, despues del "iftar" la gente esta en las calles hasta altas horas de la noche, los centros comerciales y restaurantes cierran a media noche. Es normal ver gente en la calle en horas de la madrugada. La verdad no se cuando duermen, me imagino durante la tarde, despues de que salen de trabajar, ya que trabajan menos horas durante el Ramadan. Los almacenes cierran al medio dia y reabren despues del "iftar".

Ramadan finaliza con el festival Eid al-Fitr que sera el 24 de octubre.

En Abu Dhabi estan construyendo una mezquita que sera una de las mas grandes del mundo. Desde la autopista parece un palacio gigantesco y se ve impresionante. Esta foto la tome desde el carro...

English Version

Ramadan is the holy month for muslims. It is the nineth month of the islamic calendar, which it's based on the moon calendar. During this month, muslims fast. The fast starts from sunrise to sunset. During this time they are not allowed to eat, drink or smoke. They start their day at about 4 am with the first of the five prayers of the day. Mosques use loudspaekers to call muslims to pray. In UAE, during the day hours is prohibited for non-muslims to eat,drink or smoke in public.

At sunset when they break their fast, muslims have nice banquets called “iftar”.

Here in Abu Dhabi, there are mosques in every neighborhood, so it is not hard for non-muslims to hear the call for prayers. In front of each mosque it's common to find large white tents that many times are sponsored by the government where people celebrate the “iftar” by having banquets. During this time there are very few people in the streets. It is a big celebration, after the "iftar" many people stay out till late hours in the night. Shopping malls and restaurants close at midnight. It is normal to see people in the streets even after midnight. I don’t actually know when they sleep, I supposed during the afternoon hours, after they finish work, since during Ramadan they work shorter hours. Stores usually close at around noon and reopen after the “iftar”.

Ramadan ends with the Eid al-Fitr festival on October 24th.

In Abu Dhabi, they are building a mosque that will be one of the largest in the world. From the highway it looks like a gigantic palace, and it is astounding. I took the pictures above from my car.