It's been a very hectic week as I finish my job at ECAE today (Tues) and fly back to the UK in the early hours of tomorrow morning. As well as getting things sorted at college I'd also agreed to help out the comms agency who handle Masdar Institute and Masdar City. The two Abu Dhabi people were off to Australia to get married and the creative and studio is in London so I agreed to be the local 'go between'. We all thought it wouldn't be a huge task but, like everything, things overran and I have ended up with a huge amount to do. With the work being done in London on a four hour time difference and not working on Sunday it's meant being very organised and spending a lot of non work time making sure all is OK. Just to add to the trauma one of the key London people suffered a family bereavement so I have felt extra responsibility on my shoulders. It's always difficult picking up someone elses work and clients but hopefully I have kept everything on track. Poor John has also got to hear rather more than he might have liked to about the inner workings of his marketing department as I've been struggling with the various requests and differing time zones! Still it's been interesting work and the guys in London at Wordsearch are really excellent - they did my ECAE ad campaign as well and has given me even more insight into marketing and communications in Abu Dhabi, not to mention a better knowledge of the Masdar objectives.
As an added stress our flights were booked with British Airways so we had a nailbiting few days of not knowing if the strike was going ahead. The BA flights via Heathrow were half the cost of the Etihad ones so we chose them even though it meant two flights. I was pretty upset when I heard the news. John was an angel and immediately bought us some flights on Etihad as well so that we could be sure that we would be going home for Christmas. However, I did lie awake at night worrying about the huge cost. Mum, bless her, also offered to help out with the cost. I am so well cared for by everyone around me. However, in the end the high court put paid to the strike for now so we just have the snow and ice to contend with.
We had a lovely event on Saturday night when a few good friends came round for bubbly and home made cakes, sausage rolls but shop bought mince pies due to the lack of mincemeat mentioned earlier. So many new friends came along and it was amazing to think that, with one exception, they were not people we'd met through work. I can't think of a single person I know in Manchester that I didn't meet through mine or John's work! It was a lovely evening and our other neighbours turned up later, after everyone had gone and we had a super chat - great as I'd only met them in the lift on the way to work before now.
Today I said good bye to the lovely people at ECAE. I've really enjoyed the short time that I've been there and it has been very rewarding and good fun. With a press campaign running, some good PR coverage and a growing database of potential students I'd like to think that I made some difference. Everyone was so warm and friendly and I especially enjoyed working with Monika and Julie, Head of Student Services and Registrar, respectively. I'm going to keep a close eye on what's going on there and help out as best I can. I do hope it all bears fruit.
So now it's back to the snow and the familiar landscape of home which I'm very much looking forward to. I have one suitcase full of presents, table decorations and assorted delicacies and it will be so nice to spend Christmas with all our families - though a pretty exhausting schedule to fit it all in.
If anyone out there is reading this blog let me wish you a Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year and please keep reading in 2010.
Tuesday 22 December 2009
Monday 14 December 2009
John on CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/tech/2009/12/13/jamjoom.uae.carbon.free.cnn
Hopefully - if technology works, you can view the online CNN story about Masdar city which features John, complete with hard hat and boots talking (briefly) about the project.
it also features J's boss, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, at more length.
Hope it works but if not copy it onto your browser and, if it doesn't load, then search Masdar and it should load then - it takes an age here but that might be the speed of the broadband!
Hopefully - if technology works, you can view the online CNN story about Masdar city which features John, complete with hard hat and boots talking (briefly) about the project.
it also features J's boss, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, at more length.
Hope it works but if not copy it onto your browser and, if it doesn't load, then search Masdar and it should load then - it takes an age here but that might be the speed of the broadband!
Christmas time in the rain
An unusual sight - rain from our window. However, it does make the Christmas tree seem a little less incongruous!
Getting ready for Christmas in the rain
Well I've been complaining that it was hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it feel like summer outside. Every day in meetings, puttng the date at the top of my notepad, I had to pinch myself to remember it's actually December. Then on the weekend when I finally got my Christmas tree, went Christmas shopping and sent out the invites for our mince pies and bubbly event, I got my wish! Not snow, but rain of biblical proportions - it was quite awesome, even for someone who comes from Manchester and is pretty used to rain!
It started lighly enough on Thursday, Friday was warm and drizzly, reminding me of childhood holidays in Brittany. We had planned to go out for dinner on Thurs or Fri to one of our outdoor favourites but ended up returning to the Mexican at the Sheraton, where we used to go before we moved into the apartment and were staying there. Fortunately they had turned down the air con from the summer as after a walk in the rain we didn't really need it!
John was working on Saturday, attending a messaging workshop at the Yas Hotel so I thought I'd take him as it would be fun to try out the new motorway to Yas Island. By the time we got there it was pouring down and the car was covered in dust and water. There were lots of pile ups on the motorway as the surface is not really designed for the wet, more to not melt in the heat. I also realised that I have no idea how the windscreen wipes work on the car and I didn't even know that I had one on the back window! Well it's never been a priority up till now. However, the Jeep really came into its own, since by Sunday everywhere was completely awash. The rain came down in sheets of water and all the roads were flooded. I thoroughly enjoyed sloshing my way through several inches of water though I didn't enjoy the traffic melt down which resulted. It took me an hour and a half to get home from work, which normally takes about 15 or 20 minutes. There were also drivers, similar to those in the UK when we encounger snow, who's response is to go at 10 miles an hour with their hazard lights flashing - only here they tend to be in the outside lane! The college came off really badly, being a flat roofed building made of what seemed to be porous concrete. The water poured in and damaged a lot of equipment as well as making offices in accessible. The roads and carpark had about 10cm of water on them and looked like venice. I got soaked just trying to get out of the car into a lake when coming back from a meeting. However, the clean up team have done an amazing job and within 24 hours they had it more or less back to normal. The VC closed the college today to students and staff could come in on a discretionary basis so most did.
It has been quite amazing and something which apparently only happens once every 4 or 5 years. Interesting that it happened during the Copenhagen talks when the world leaders are debating climate change - here in Abu Dhabi we were experiencing a one off rain event to equate with Noah's flood (though that did happen before the excessive consumption of carbon and fossil fuels.
In the midst of all this I bought a lovely Christmas tree from Carrefours and decorated it and rushed round all the Malls to try and buy presents which would be suitably UAE special but not too heavy to carry back to the UK! Difficult as all the special Christmas shops are full of European goods!
However, every shop is full of Christmas food and decorations so I had no trouble finding things to decorate the table with on Christmas day and I'll be able to buy things to eat for our drinks party. However, I couldn't find any mince meat so it'll have to ready made mince pies which is a shame I can make sausage rolls though, which is not something you see a lot of round here! We went to Spinneys once J finished work and stocked up on some very agreeable Australian bubbly that we are rather fond of! It doesn frustrate me that I can only buy wine when J is with me as he has the licence - we were getting dangerously low! We also went to have a key cut for the apartment so I could give the cleaner one whilst we're away and discovered that you have to have a letter from the police giving you permission! How you prove to them that it's your apartment I have no idea since nothing has your address on! Certainly a new piece of bureaucracy which I hadn't come across before!
Today things are drying out nicely, which was handy as J had a site visit up at Masdar and I didn't want him to get too wet.
It started lighly enough on Thursday, Friday was warm and drizzly, reminding me of childhood holidays in Brittany. We had planned to go out for dinner on Thurs or Fri to one of our outdoor favourites but ended up returning to the Mexican at the Sheraton, where we used to go before we moved into the apartment and were staying there. Fortunately they had turned down the air con from the summer as after a walk in the rain we didn't really need it!
John was working on Saturday, attending a messaging workshop at the Yas Hotel so I thought I'd take him as it would be fun to try out the new motorway to Yas Island. By the time we got there it was pouring down and the car was covered in dust and water. There were lots of pile ups on the motorway as the surface is not really designed for the wet, more to not melt in the heat. I also realised that I have no idea how the windscreen wipes work on the car and I didn't even know that I had one on the back window! Well it's never been a priority up till now. However, the Jeep really came into its own, since by Sunday everywhere was completely awash. The rain came down in sheets of water and all the roads were flooded. I thoroughly enjoyed sloshing my way through several inches of water though I didn't enjoy the traffic melt down which resulted. It took me an hour and a half to get home from work, which normally takes about 15 or 20 minutes. There were also drivers, similar to those in the UK when we encounger snow, who's response is to go at 10 miles an hour with their hazard lights flashing - only here they tend to be in the outside lane! The college came off really badly, being a flat roofed building made of what seemed to be porous concrete. The water poured in and damaged a lot of equipment as well as making offices in accessible. The roads and carpark had about 10cm of water on them and looked like venice. I got soaked just trying to get out of the car into a lake when coming back from a meeting. However, the clean up team have done an amazing job and within 24 hours they had it more or less back to normal. The VC closed the college today to students and staff could come in on a discretionary basis so most did.
It has been quite amazing and something which apparently only happens once every 4 or 5 years. Interesting that it happened during the Copenhagen talks when the world leaders are debating climate change - here in Abu Dhabi we were experiencing a one off rain event to equate with Noah's flood (though that did happen before the excessive consumption of carbon and fossil fuels.
In the midst of all this I bought a lovely Christmas tree from Carrefours and decorated it and rushed round all the Malls to try and buy presents which would be suitably UAE special but not too heavy to carry back to the UK! Difficult as all the special Christmas shops are full of European goods!
However, every shop is full of Christmas food and decorations so I had no trouble finding things to decorate the table with on Christmas day and I'll be able to buy things to eat for our drinks party. However, I couldn't find any mince meat so it'll have to ready made mince pies which is a shame I can make sausage rolls though, which is not something you see a lot of round here! We went to Spinneys once J finished work and stocked up on some very agreeable Australian bubbly that we are rather fond of! It doesn frustrate me that I can only buy wine when J is with me as he has the licence - we were getting dangerously low! We also went to have a key cut for the apartment so I could give the cleaner one whilst we're away and discovered that you have to have a letter from the police giving you permission! How you prove to them that it's your apartment I have no idea since nothing has your address on! Certainly a new piece of bureaucracy which I hadn't come across before!
Today things are drying out nicely, which was handy as J had a site visit up at Masdar and I didn't want him to get too wet.
Wednesday 9 December 2009
A busy week after the holiday
Back at work for both of us and an amazingly busy time as ever.
John had lots of visitors and ended up doing a presentation on their biofuels project to the Crown Prince's brother which seemed to go down well. He also met the US Undersecretary and a number of commercial VIPs. The Copenhagen summit has meant that he's been in demand from the media to talk about Masdar's work in relation to sustainability, carbon neutrality and all the wonderful, world saving research which they are engaged with. Hopefully it will mean some good press and broadcast coverage for the Institute and some great profile raising.
We both went to the inauguration dinner for NYU's Abu Dhabi campus which was a glittering event held in the courtyard of the Emirates Palace and attended by key local dignitaries (I was gatecrashing but J counts very much as a dignitary!)and academics from around the world.
We were also at the Emirates Palace on Saturday night, as John's partners at ATIC, who he is working with on a semi conductors research project, very kindly offered us some tickets to one of the Abu Dhabi classics concerts. This was a fabulous event with the whole Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra doing Mozart and Bruchner. I have to say that the acoustics at the EP auditorium are nothing like as good as the Bridgewater Hall but I think we are pretty spoiled on that account. The entire Bridgewater Hall (according to my aunty Brenda who has been on the backstage tour) is on springs, so you feel the music resonating through your whole body, you don't just hear it with your ears. However, we are so lucky to get such great cultural events out here and were thrilled to be invited. Even though we were a bit overdressed as the original programme stated black tie which has clearly been changed as a dress code since it was printed! Still J always looks good in his wedding suit and the waiters at the EP wear lounge suits or silk embroidered jackets so there was no danger of anyone asking him for a cup of tea!
I have been very busy with lots of exciting things going on at college. Our press advertising campaign breaks on Sunday so I've been running around sorting the ads out with our agency partner wordsearch, who've come up with some great concepts to promote teaching as a career in the UAE. I've always had helpful and clever support people to get the media booked and the ads sorted in the past so I very much missed the likes of Becky, Gemma, Tracey, Jenny and Lie Yan when it came to the final stages of the getting the campaign put to bed. Next week I need to sort out creating the versions for the Arabic press which should be a challenge - no chance of proofing any of those myself! We also had to make sure that we had everything prepared for what I hope will be a huge influx of enquiries. However, the Admissions department were well ahead of me on that one and have everyone briefed and (hopefully as we're talking technology here) the web site updated and the on line application form all set to go.
I also had the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony, for our partnership with the Abu Dhabi book fair in March, happending on Wednesday. You might not think that this sounds like a very exciting press event - however, such things seem to be of great interest and we were able to invite His Excellency Mr Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, who is the Director of Abu Dhabi Education Zone to come along which also seemed to create a great deal of press interest. So in the end it was like an oscar ceremony with about 8 photographers all crowded round and snapping away. I hope we get some good coverage in the papers as a result but it was a very successful event. I really enjoyed working with Kitab on it and with their Marketing Manager Irum, who was so friendly and professional and helped me to find my way round what needed doing. It was an education and a great learning experience. I'm so relieved that it went well, despite there being no coffee (lots of food and juice but no hot drinks) and having to change the background slide at the last minute because the Director of Corporate Services felt that the logo wasn't big enough!
I had to break the news to the college this week that I won't be staying on after Christmas as I have finally decided to accept the role with Emirates Advanced Investments. It was a hard decision as I enjoy working at the college and the people are fabulous. However, the other job is a permanent one with the chance to set up the department (marketing and comms), recruit my own team, control my own budget and reports directly into the CEO. I may hate it but I think it needs to be given a go. I am hoping that I may be able to continue to do some consulting for the college to make sure everything is on track and stays that way. However, I am really hopeful that with what I've managed to do so far, they will see an huge increase in student numbers for next year and that's what it's all about.
John had lots of visitors and ended up doing a presentation on their biofuels project to the Crown Prince's brother which seemed to go down well. He also met the US Undersecretary and a number of commercial VIPs. The Copenhagen summit has meant that he's been in demand from the media to talk about Masdar's work in relation to sustainability, carbon neutrality and all the wonderful, world saving research which they are engaged with. Hopefully it will mean some good press and broadcast coverage for the Institute and some great profile raising.
We both went to the inauguration dinner for NYU's Abu Dhabi campus which was a glittering event held in the courtyard of the Emirates Palace and attended by key local dignitaries (I was gatecrashing but J counts very much as a dignitary!)and academics from around the world.
We were also at the Emirates Palace on Saturday night, as John's partners at ATIC, who he is working with on a semi conductors research project, very kindly offered us some tickets to one of the Abu Dhabi classics concerts. This was a fabulous event with the whole Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra doing Mozart and Bruchner. I have to say that the acoustics at the EP auditorium are nothing like as good as the Bridgewater Hall but I think we are pretty spoiled on that account. The entire Bridgewater Hall (according to my aunty Brenda who has been on the backstage tour) is on springs, so you feel the music resonating through your whole body, you don't just hear it with your ears. However, we are so lucky to get such great cultural events out here and were thrilled to be invited. Even though we were a bit overdressed as the original programme stated black tie which has clearly been changed as a dress code since it was printed! Still J always looks good in his wedding suit and the waiters at the EP wear lounge suits or silk embroidered jackets so there was no danger of anyone asking him for a cup of tea!
I have been very busy with lots of exciting things going on at college. Our press advertising campaign breaks on Sunday so I've been running around sorting the ads out with our agency partner wordsearch, who've come up with some great concepts to promote teaching as a career in the UAE. I've always had helpful and clever support people to get the media booked and the ads sorted in the past so I very much missed the likes of Becky, Gemma, Tracey, Jenny and Lie Yan when it came to the final stages of the getting the campaign put to bed. Next week I need to sort out creating the versions for the Arabic press which should be a challenge - no chance of proofing any of those myself! We also had to make sure that we had everything prepared for what I hope will be a huge influx of enquiries. However, the Admissions department were well ahead of me on that one and have everyone briefed and (hopefully as we're talking technology here) the web site updated and the on line application form all set to go.
I also had the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony, for our partnership with the Abu Dhabi book fair in March, happending on Wednesday. You might not think that this sounds like a very exciting press event - however, such things seem to be of great interest and we were able to invite His Excellency Mr Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, who is the Director of Abu Dhabi Education Zone to come along which also seemed to create a great deal of press interest. So in the end it was like an oscar ceremony with about 8 photographers all crowded round and snapping away. I hope we get some good coverage in the papers as a result but it was a very successful event. I really enjoyed working with Kitab on it and with their Marketing Manager Irum, who was so friendly and professional and helped me to find my way round what needed doing. It was an education and a great learning experience. I'm so relieved that it went well, despite there being no coffee (lots of food and juice but no hot drinks) and having to change the background slide at the last minute because the Director of Corporate Services felt that the logo wasn't big enough!
I had to break the news to the college this week that I won't be staying on after Christmas as I have finally decided to accept the role with Emirates Advanced Investments. It was a hard decision as I enjoy working at the college and the people are fabulous. However, the other job is a permanent one with the chance to set up the department (marketing and comms), recruit my own team, control my own budget and reports directly into the CEO. I may hate it but I think it needs to be given a go. I am hoping that I may be able to continue to do some consulting for the college to make sure everything is on track and stays that way. However, I am really hopeful that with what I've managed to do so far, they will see an huge increase in student numbers for next year and that's what it's all about.
A wonderful week in Muscat
We were very fortunate that the Eid holiday and the National Day holiday coincided this year so both Masdar and ECAE were closed for 10 days which allowed us to take a break which was well earned (in John's case anyway).
We had a day at home getting sorted out and John had his first Abu Dhabi haircut which seemed to go well (I haven't yet taken that plunge but then I've never been a big one for hsircuts!) The second day we got ourselves in holiday mode by spending the day on the newly opened beach. It is so cool being able to stroll across to the Corniche, hire a couple of loungers on the water's edge and spend the day relaxing in the sun and swimming in the sea. The water is quite cold at this time of year but nothing compared with the English channel, the North Sea or the River Wharfe! The only challenge is that it's a popular spot so you tend to bump into people you know and, when I'm so used to covering up, it feels very weird having a chat with someone whilst wearing a bathing costume!
We then went to Muscat in Oman for a week. We went once before when we were still in the UK but this time we managed to get into the Chedi, which is really the hotel in Muscat and frequently features in top hotels of the world lists. It was certainly very special and a lovely hotel, set in spacious grouds with pools and beach front and lots of fountains and ponds. The food was incredible and we managed to put away breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. The beach front seafood restaurant is probably one of the most beautiful restaurant locations I've ever eaten in and the main restaurant was also fabulous. We went to the Grand Hyatt for one dinner for old time's sake which was lovely.
The room itself was perhaps a bit too modern and minimalist for an old fogey like me though very Conde Nast traveller. I find integral bathrooms and stone walk in showers no substitute for separate marble bathrooms with a nice deep bath!
We went on two incredible trips. The first took us through the mountains and into the desert where our driver took us into the dunes in the 4WD and up and down some pretty steep inclines. We also had coffee with the bedouins and admired their camels and heard a bit about their way of life. I am keen to spend an overnight in the desert, a bit nearer Abu Dhabi, so that we can see a sunrise and a sunset, it is so beautiful and different to any landscape I'm familiar with. We also visited a water filled Wadi, but being a holiday it was absolutely packed with picknicking Omanis, who bring everything, literally including the kitchen sink (and cooker, water bottles, carpets and coffee urns) which they take up from the car park in wheel barrows. So we enjoyed the view over a chicken biriani at the outside restaurant but decided it was too busy to swim and, as a western woman in a bathing costume I think I might have caused quite a stir!
The second trip we went out to sea on a small boat to see dolphins and whales. This has to be one of the most brilliant things I've ever done and I really didn't think we'd get to see as much as we did, as these are wild creatures and the Arabian Sea is a big place. The skipper was constantly on his phone to other boats and eventually they tracked the sea life down. We say two pods of huge whales, right on the surface next to the boat and dozens of dolphins. The dolphins lept out of the water, rode the waves and generally put on a terrific show - it was amazing. I couldn't believe that they were just doing all of this for the fun of it, oblivious to our presence. I'm afraid I failed to photograph any of it but it was enough just to have seen it.
The rest of the time we lazed about, eating, drinking, reading and swimming and just enjoying each others company away from the stress of life in Abu Dhabi. I also managed to go out running a bit to try and ensure that I didn't come back resembling one of the whales which we saw!
All in all it was a terrific week.
We had a day at home getting sorted out and John had his first Abu Dhabi haircut which seemed to go well (I haven't yet taken that plunge but then I've never been a big one for hsircuts!) The second day we got ourselves in holiday mode by spending the day on the newly opened beach. It is so cool being able to stroll across to the Corniche, hire a couple of loungers on the water's edge and spend the day relaxing in the sun and swimming in the sea. The water is quite cold at this time of year but nothing compared with the English channel, the North Sea or the River Wharfe! The only challenge is that it's a popular spot so you tend to bump into people you know and, when I'm so used to covering up, it feels very weird having a chat with someone whilst wearing a bathing costume!
We then went to Muscat in Oman for a week. We went once before when we were still in the UK but this time we managed to get into the Chedi, which is really the hotel in Muscat and frequently features in top hotels of the world lists. It was certainly very special and a lovely hotel, set in spacious grouds with pools and beach front and lots of fountains and ponds. The food was incredible and we managed to put away breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. The beach front seafood restaurant is probably one of the most beautiful restaurant locations I've ever eaten in and the main restaurant was also fabulous. We went to the Grand Hyatt for one dinner for old time's sake which was lovely.
The room itself was perhaps a bit too modern and minimalist for an old fogey like me though very Conde Nast traveller. I find integral bathrooms and stone walk in showers no substitute for separate marble bathrooms with a nice deep bath!
We went on two incredible trips. The first took us through the mountains and into the desert where our driver took us into the dunes in the 4WD and up and down some pretty steep inclines. We also had coffee with the bedouins and admired their camels and heard a bit about their way of life. I am keen to spend an overnight in the desert, a bit nearer Abu Dhabi, so that we can see a sunrise and a sunset, it is so beautiful and different to any landscape I'm familiar with. We also visited a water filled Wadi, but being a holiday it was absolutely packed with picknicking Omanis, who bring everything, literally including the kitchen sink (and cooker, water bottles, carpets and coffee urns) which they take up from the car park in wheel barrows. So we enjoyed the view over a chicken biriani at the outside restaurant but decided it was too busy to swim and, as a western woman in a bathing costume I think I might have caused quite a stir!
The second trip we went out to sea on a small boat to see dolphins and whales. This has to be one of the most brilliant things I've ever done and I really didn't think we'd get to see as much as we did, as these are wild creatures and the Arabian Sea is a big place. The skipper was constantly on his phone to other boats and eventually they tracked the sea life down. We say two pods of huge whales, right on the surface next to the boat and dozens of dolphins. The dolphins lept out of the water, rode the waves and generally put on a terrific show - it was amazing. I couldn't believe that they were just doing all of this for the fun of it, oblivious to our presence. I'm afraid I failed to photograph any of it but it was enough just to have seen it.
The rest of the time we lazed about, eating, drinking, reading and swimming and just enjoying each others company away from the stress of life in Abu Dhabi. I also managed to go out running a bit to try and ensure that I didn't come back resembling one of the whales which we saw!
All in all it was a terrific week.
Thursday 26 November 2009
Masdar summit
On November 17th, John gave a key note address at the Masdar summit 'Exploring Masdar, the sustainable economy and Abu Dhabi 2009' to an audience of over 400 business people, government and media.
Wednesday 25 November 2009
My first National Day celebrations
National Day is the day when Emiratis celebrate the founding of their country and, at just 38 years old, it's still a living memory for many people and they certainly do it in style. National Day itself is December 2nd, but as that falls in the middle of the Eid holiday, everyone has an extended break and celebrates in their schools and offices on the last day before the holiday. With the exception of Masdar who did it on Sunday for some reason!
Emirates College for Advanced Education had an amazing celebration and the college was completely decked out in red, green, white and black, the colours of the national flag. I went along with an I love UAE wristband and lapel badge but decided not to wear the scarf which J had brought home, complete with the Sheikh's photo, however everyone else was completely done up with scarves, tinsel and all manner of colour themed outfits. The ladies looked amazing in their best Abayas and the guys had decorated their cars.
After a lot of early rushing around to get some work done, the day started in the auditorium which had been decked out and we were all given wristbands and coloured balloons. We had the Emirati national anthem and pictures of the late Sheikh Zsyed, the father of the nation and the one who decided to use the oil revenues to create a world leading nation as well as the current leader, Sheikh Khalifa and the Crown Prince (who John met on Sunday), Sheikh Mohammed. The VC said a few words. Interestingly enough Masdar City featured large in his address and everyone asked if I'd written his speech!
The students made patriotic theatrical presenations (in Arabic so I was relying on the pictures to work out that they were about the country's history and vision) and played various games.
It was really humbling to see the younger generation's passion for their country and pride in their very brief heritage. I can't imagine an audiorium of undergraduates cheering in the UK every time their was a mention of the Royal Family! Amazingly it all kept to time so, when the stick dancers came on I had to beat a hasty retreat to get changed for my role in the event.
Several Faculty ladies took part in a fashion show - Abayas and the more flamboyant Jalabayas, which are worn for weddings and special occasions. I managed to sashay about the stage without falling over either garment and it was well received by the students. Both outfits were beautiful but, for a simple routine, it was quite a nerve wracking experience. However I waved my Emirati flag with aplomb as the two students finished the show with beautiful wedding outfits.
After this we went outside to watch the military band perform and watch people riding camels and horses.
Everyone repaired to the courtyard for tradiational food, music, stalls, more stick dancing and a dessert in the form of the national flag. I'm afraid at this stage I mainly watched from my office window and, although the Arabic music lent great ambience to the occasion it was quite nice when it stopped! However, everyone else must have been enjoying similar celebrations as no-one called or I would have had to shout over the music.
All in all it was a tremendous experience and a touching one to see a young nation so clearly proud of what they have achieved in a very short time.
Emirates College for Advanced Education had an amazing celebration and the college was completely decked out in red, green, white and black, the colours of the national flag. I went along with an I love UAE wristband and lapel badge but decided not to wear the scarf which J had brought home, complete with the Sheikh's photo, however everyone else was completely done up with scarves, tinsel and all manner of colour themed outfits. The ladies looked amazing in their best Abayas and the guys had decorated their cars.
After a lot of early rushing around to get some work done, the day started in the auditorium which had been decked out and we were all given wristbands and coloured balloons. We had the Emirati national anthem and pictures of the late Sheikh Zsyed, the father of the nation and the one who decided to use the oil revenues to create a world leading nation as well as the current leader, Sheikh Khalifa and the Crown Prince (who John met on Sunday), Sheikh Mohammed. The VC said a few words. Interestingly enough Masdar City featured large in his address and everyone asked if I'd written his speech!
The students made patriotic theatrical presenations (in Arabic so I was relying on the pictures to work out that they were about the country's history and vision) and played various games.
It was really humbling to see the younger generation's passion for their country and pride in their very brief heritage. I can't imagine an audiorium of undergraduates cheering in the UK every time their was a mention of the Royal Family! Amazingly it all kept to time so, when the stick dancers came on I had to beat a hasty retreat to get changed for my role in the event.
Several Faculty ladies took part in a fashion show - Abayas and the more flamboyant Jalabayas, which are worn for weddings and special occasions. I managed to sashay about the stage without falling over either garment and it was well received by the students. Both outfits were beautiful but, for a simple routine, it was quite a nerve wracking experience. However I waved my Emirati flag with aplomb as the two students finished the show with beautiful wedding outfits.
After this we went outside to watch the military band perform and watch people riding camels and horses.
Everyone repaired to the courtyard for tradiational food, music, stalls, more stick dancing and a dessert in the form of the national flag. I'm afraid at this stage I mainly watched from my office window and, although the Arabic music lent great ambience to the occasion it was quite nice when it stopped! However, everyone else must have been enjoying similar celebrations as no-one called or I would have had to shout over the music.
All in all it was a tremendous experience and a touching one to see a young nation so clearly proud of what they have achieved in a very short time.
Monday 23 November 2009
School visits
Yes the bare feet are deliberate as Jenny and Amal are presenting to these school girls in the Prayer Room.
Visit by the President of MIT
This weekend saw a vist to Abu Dhabi from the President of MIT, Dr Susan Hopfield, who came, along with her husband to visit the city and to judge the Zayed Future Energy Prize, along with a host of other world wide dignitaries. The winner will be announced at the Future Energy Conference in January.
On Saturday we headed off to the Emirates Palace to meet up with Dr Hopfield and Fred and Pat from MIT who are starting to feel like old friends. Along with John's colleague Marwan we went for a formal lunch at Sheikh Nahyan's Majlis. John had been to one before but it was my first experience. They tend to be men only events, but, since the guest of honour was a woman, then women seemed to be allowed. Pat and Fred are always very thoughtful about including me in things which is much appreciated.
After the formal reception in a grand room we went through to lunch to a table absolutely heaped with food. J had told me how to behave and not to panic about trying to do the English thing of presenting a clean plate - round here it suggests that you haven't been given enough! I received a plate full of rice and camel which was very tasty - I'm not so sure about the grey, jelly like stuff which arrived on my side plate and looked like the stock in which the camel had been boiled. No-one seemed too worried about me not giving that a try though! We also had a plate loaded with serious stodgy desert but once the Sheikh rises you have to get up and leave anyway so that wasn't too much of a difficulty. Sheikh Nahyan is Minister for Higher Education and seemed a very gentle and welcoming soul - everyone who has met him says so and many of my colleagues know him personally as he is the Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology where several of them used to work.
After lunch we returned to the Emirates Palace and were able to look at some of the artwork on show for Abu Dhabi Art week. We also saw the Guggenheim mini exhibition, aimed at wetting our appetite for the day when the Guggenheim opens on Saadiyat Island, though that is some years away. After a lot of Emirati style hanging around we went on a helicopter trip over the city whcih was really exciting and I was so lucky to get a invite to. What a treat to see the city where you live from above, something I've never been able to do in Manchester or Leeds, except from a long way above in a plane. We saw the Yas Marina circuit, Saadiyat Island and the whole city including where we both work and our apartment block. It was a bit noisy but we are trying to point out places of interest to the American visitors. Sadly we didn't get to see the Masdar Institute building though I'm not sure if this was because the pilot didn't know where it was or because it was too near the airport. We also got a birds eye view of the power boat grand prix taking place in the bay which I'd also been watching the day before from the balcony.
It's a great example of Abu Dhabi schizophrenia that they could be hosting the Zayed Future Energy Prize, for ideas on sustainability and renewable energy, at the same time as the finals of a sport which must burn more fossil fuel per second for no possible gain, than any other activity on the planet! What a tremendous place - you have to love it!
On Saturday we headed off to the Emirates Palace to meet up with Dr Hopfield and Fred and Pat from MIT who are starting to feel like old friends. Along with John's colleague Marwan we went for a formal lunch at Sheikh Nahyan's Majlis. John had been to one before but it was my first experience. They tend to be men only events, but, since the guest of honour was a woman, then women seemed to be allowed. Pat and Fred are always very thoughtful about including me in things which is much appreciated.
After the formal reception in a grand room we went through to lunch to a table absolutely heaped with food. J had told me how to behave and not to panic about trying to do the English thing of presenting a clean plate - round here it suggests that you haven't been given enough! I received a plate full of rice and camel which was very tasty - I'm not so sure about the grey, jelly like stuff which arrived on my side plate and looked like the stock in which the camel had been boiled. No-one seemed too worried about me not giving that a try though! We also had a plate loaded with serious stodgy desert but once the Sheikh rises you have to get up and leave anyway so that wasn't too much of a difficulty. Sheikh Nahyan is Minister for Higher Education and seemed a very gentle and welcoming soul - everyone who has met him says so and many of my colleagues know him personally as he is the Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology where several of them used to work.
After lunch we returned to the Emirates Palace and were able to look at some of the artwork on show for Abu Dhabi Art week. We also saw the Guggenheim mini exhibition, aimed at wetting our appetite for the day when the Guggenheim opens on Saadiyat Island, though that is some years away. After a lot of Emirati style hanging around we went on a helicopter trip over the city whcih was really exciting and I was so lucky to get a invite to. What a treat to see the city where you live from above, something I've never been able to do in Manchester or Leeds, except from a long way above in a plane. We saw the Yas Marina circuit, Saadiyat Island and the whole city including where we both work and our apartment block. It was a bit noisy but we are trying to point out places of interest to the American visitors. Sadly we didn't get to see the Masdar Institute building though I'm not sure if this was because the pilot didn't know where it was or because it was too near the airport. We also got a birds eye view of the power boat grand prix taking place in the bay which I'd also been watching the day before from the balcony.
It's a great example of Abu Dhabi schizophrenia that they could be hosting the Zayed Future Energy Prize, for ideas on sustainability and renewable energy, at the same time as the finals of a sport which must burn more fossil fuel per second for no possible gain, than any other activity on the planet! What a tremendous place - you have to love it!
Sunday 22 November 2009
School visits week
Last week I spent much of my time, in between putting media schedules together, organising brochure copy and creating web content, going on school visits with the recruiters. This is always an interesting experience since the recruiters present in Arabic and, although I know the content of the presentation, I don't actually know what they are saying! For all I know they could be saying 'don't worry about this English idiot, she hasn't got any idea what we're on about'!
I went with Amal to two schools in Shamkha which was quite an experience as Amal hadn't been to the schools or the town before and came equipped with a college car and Sat Nav. Sat Nav is a very different thing in a country with no postcodes and where everything changes on a weekly basis and not to be trusted. It had been pre-loaded with schools, one of which has the same name as one we were visiting but happened to be in Al Ain, about 70 miles from where we were going. It was only when I pointed out that the Sat Nav reckoned we had another 68 km to go when we should have been nearly there that we realised it was taking us to somewhere else altogether! We then tried plugging in the name of the town, but, being a new town it didn't feature on the UAE programme. However, Amal used her local knowledge and we found the town and a school who were able to point us in the right direction. This short detour did mean that I got my first glimpse of the desert - undulating dunes of sand as far as the eye could see, which was amazing and really beautiful. Shamkha is clearly a new dormitory town for Abu Dhabi and felt strangely empty during the day. We agreed it would be a good place to learn to drive as there were no cars on the road so we were able to take all kinds of strange routes. There didn't seem to be much in the way of shops or malls and all the houses looked to have been built to the same design. Even the two schools were identical, giving an uneasy feeling of deja vue at the second one and I wondered if we might be trapped in a school visit version of ground hog day!
In both schools the best place to conduct the presentations was in the Prayer room. I can't say I've ever done a presenation in bare feet before but it was a new experience and also lost one of my main topics of conversations with the girls afterwards where they always admire my shoes! The presentations went well and the project worked on both occasions which was a novelty. We gathered lots of names of interested girls. It always makes me wonder about the life expectations of girls, especially in such a strange town but they all looked like the bright, shiny school girls anywhere, sure that life is going to be good to them.
The next day I went with Salem to the boys schools which was a whole new experience again. We went to three schools and in one of them we were presenting in a science lab so had to present to several groups one after the another. It's tough sitting through the same presenation many times anywhere, but when the presentation is in Arabic its even tougher. Salem is excellent at his job and really engaged the boys before starting on the power point, which was good since it only worked half of the time. He talked to them about their career aspirations and got them thinking about teaching and the bachelor of education degree in general so gathered hundreds of names from the different schools. I hope we can convert at least some of them as we have very few male students. Teaching is not seen as an appropriate career for boys, here or anywhere so its a global problem. The boys we do have call themselves 'pioneers' and are a great bunch. I was the novelty turn and attracted lots of attention. Salem has a great rapport with the schools so there was lots of relationship building going on around the presentations - excellent from a marketing point of view though it was largely lost on me.
I was most impressed when one lad, who was messing about at the back, was called to the front and Salem sent him out of the room. After that everyone else sat in rapt attention till the end of the session! He'd have made a great teacher.
I went with Amal to two schools in Shamkha which was quite an experience as Amal hadn't been to the schools or the town before and came equipped with a college car and Sat Nav. Sat Nav is a very different thing in a country with no postcodes and where everything changes on a weekly basis and not to be trusted. It had been pre-loaded with schools, one of which has the same name as one we were visiting but happened to be in Al Ain, about 70 miles from where we were going. It was only when I pointed out that the Sat Nav reckoned we had another 68 km to go when we should have been nearly there that we realised it was taking us to somewhere else altogether! We then tried plugging in the name of the town, but, being a new town it didn't feature on the UAE programme. However, Amal used her local knowledge and we found the town and a school who were able to point us in the right direction. This short detour did mean that I got my first glimpse of the desert - undulating dunes of sand as far as the eye could see, which was amazing and really beautiful. Shamkha is clearly a new dormitory town for Abu Dhabi and felt strangely empty during the day. We agreed it would be a good place to learn to drive as there were no cars on the road so we were able to take all kinds of strange routes. There didn't seem to be much in the way of shops or malls and all the houses looked to have been built to the same design. Even the two schools were identical, giving an uneasy feeling of deja vue at the second one and I wondered if we might be trapped in a school visit version of ground hog day!
In both schools the best place to conduct the presentations was in the Prayer room. I can't say I've ever done a presenation in bare feet before but it was a new experience and also lost one of my main topics of conversations with the girls afterwards where they always admire my shoes! The presentations went well and the project worked on both occasions which was a novelty. We gathered lots of names of interested girls. It always makes me wonder about the life expectations of girls, especially in such a strange town but they all looked like the bright, shiny school girls anywhere, sure that life is going to be good to them.
The next day I went with Salem to the boys schools which was a whole new experience again. We went to three schools and in one of them we were presenting in a science lab so had to present to several groups one after the another. It's tough sitting through the same presenation many times anywhere, but when the presentation is in Arabic its even tougher. Salem is excellent at his job and really engaged the boys before starting on the power point, which was good since it only worked half of the time. He talked to them about their career aspirations and got them thinking about teaching and the bachelor of education degree in general so gathered hundreds of names from the different schools. I hope we can convert at least some of them as we have very few male students. Teaching is not seen as an appropriate career for boys, here or anywhere so its a global problem. The boys we do have call themselves 'pioneers' and are a great bunch. I was the novelty turn and attracted lots of attention. Salem has a great rapport with the schools so there was lots of relationship building going on around the presentations - excellent from a marketing point of view though it was largely lost on me.
I was most impressed when one lad, who was messing about at the back, was called to the front and Salem sent him out of the room. After that everyone else sat in rapt attention till the end of the session! He'd have made a great teacher.
Sunday 15 November 2009
A working week and a quiet weekend
After John's hectic schedule and stresses over the last couple of weeks he was pretty exhausted by the weekend and for me it's been the closest thing to a 'proper' working week since I got here with being at college, going on school visits and having meetings.
So we were pretty glad to have a quiet weekend at home, especially since next weekend it looks like J will be on MIT duty again as the President of MIT is visiting Abu Dhabi.
We lazed around at home reading the paper and watching TV. There have been some really thought provoking films on recently - never heard of them but one in particular 'Crossing Over', about different experiences of trying to achieve citizenship in the US, was very interesting. Our neighbour Helen joined us for supper on Friday night but otherwise we stayed anti social after so much activity over the last couple of weeks.
We had a run to Spinney's to stock up on the wine supplies which nearly ended in disaster when J dropped the precious liquor licence out of his pocket when getting into the car! We went back to look for it and luckily the guy who had found it had not yet driven away to hand it in or do whatever one does with lost liquor licences so we got it back - quite a relief. He looked nothing like John so I think he's have had a hard time passing himself off as Dr John Perkins.
On Saturday night we took a half hour stroll along the sea front and went for dinner at 'Amalfi', our favourite Italian at the Royal Meridien. This time we sat by the pool outside and it was just heavenly. It felt just like being on holiday - apart from on Sunday morning we had to get up and go to work! Still I'm not complaining - how amazing to wander along by the sea on a beautiful evening and eat dinner by the pool - in mid November!
Into the working week again and last night we attended a lecture on CO2 given by NYU Abu Dhabi which was really interesting and well put together. Not only that it was very well attended and took place inside the Al Mamoura building (home of Mubadala which is a very powerful organisation round here) which I'd been keen to see inside. I work across from there and J did his Board of Trustees meeting there so it was great to actually make it inside. It's every bit as impressive as it looks from the outside, complete with internal glass atrium with Formula One cars! We met the Provost of NYU who is delightful as well as being helpful to meet as I would love to work for them at some stage.
Today J went to the Dubai Air Show to meet a VP from Boeing - that I would also have loved to see but, unlike air shows in the UK, it isn't open to the general public. I went to meet Mark Rix again, from 7Days and ex MEN so a friendly face from home. This time to talk business as I'd like to use 7Days for the college. We met at the Alraha Beach hotel, outside the city and then I went on to a meeting at Masdar city with a consultant I've been trying to hook up with. Its my furthest foray in the car so I felt very pleased with myself for finding my way around. I did have a bit of a fun time at Masdar as the police had closed the road to the airport so they weren't letting anyone out. The security guy on the gate was directing everyone to another gate but forgot to tell the other security people so we ended up drving round the building site for some time. It gave me a great few of the Masdar Institute building, which i haven't seen since it was steel posts in the ground in March. It looks like it's going to be amazing and hopefully they'll start to move in early next year with an official opening in September. I was jolly glad of the 4x4 off road vehicle as much of this trek involved sandpits and unmade road. Not something I'd have been happy to tackle in the BMW. Once I'd done a tour round they did manage to direct me to the other gate but I was then on the wrong road into Abu Dhabi and desperate for petrol so it was a nail biting journey back to civilisation and a petrol station. Still a good way to test the car and my driving ability!
So we were pretty glad to have a quiet weekend at home, especially since next weekend it looks like J will be on MIT duty again as the President of MIT is visiting Abu Dhabi.
We lazed around at home reading the paper and watching TV. There have been some really thought provoking films on recently - never heard of them but one in particular 'Crossing Over', about different experiences of trying to achieve citizenship in the US, was very interesting. Our neighbour Helen joined us for supper on Friday night but otherwise we stayed anti social after so much activity over the last couple of weeks.
We had a run to Spinney's to stock up on the wine supplies which nearly ended in disaster when J dropped the precious liquor licence out of his pocket when getting into the car! We went back to look for it and luckily the guy who had found it had not yet driven away to hand it in or do whatever one does with lost liquor licences so we got it back - quite a relief. He looked nothing like John so I think he's have had a hard time passing himself off as Dr John Perkins.
On Saturday night we took a half hour stroll along the sea front and went for dinner at 'Amalfi', our favourite Italian at the Royal Meridien. This time we sat by the pool outside and it was just heavenly. It felt just like being on holiday - apart from on Sunday morning we had to get up and go to work! Still I'm not complaining - how amazing to wander along by the sea on a beautiful evening and eat dinner by the pool - in mid November!
Into the working week again and last night we attended a lecture on CO2 given by NYU Abu Dhabi which was really interesting and well put together. Not only that it was very well attended and took place inside the Al Mamoura building (home of Mubadala which is a very powerful organisation round here) which I'd been keen to see inside. I work across from there and J did his Board of Trustees meeting there so it was great to actually make it inside. It's every bit as impressive as it looks from the outside, complete with internal glass atrium with Formula One cars! We met the Provost of NYU who is delightful as well as being helpful to meet as I would love to work for them at some stage.
Today J went to the Dubai Air Show to meet a VP from Boeing - that I would also have loved to see but, unlike air shows in the UK, it isn't open to the general public. I went to meet Mark Rix again, from 7Days and ex MEN so a friendly face from home. This time to talk business as I'd like to use 7Days for the college. We met at the Alraha Beach hotel, outside the city and then I went on to a meeting at Masdar city with a consultant I've been trying to hook up with. Its my furthest foray in the car so I felt very pleased with myself for finding my way around. I did have a bit of a fun time at Masdar as the police had closed the road to the airport so they weren't letting anyone out. The security guy on the gate was directing everyone to another gate but forgot to tell the other security people so we ended up drving round the building site for some time. It gave me a great few of the Masdar Institute building, which i haven't seen since it was steel posts in the ground in March. It looks like it's going to be amazing and hopefully they'll start to move in early next year with an official opening in September. I was jolly glad of the 4x4 off road vehicle as much of this trek involved sandpits and unmade road. Not something I'd have been happy to tackle in the BMW. Once I'd done a tour round they did manage to direct me to the other gate but I was then on the wrong road into Abu Dhabi and desperate for petrol so it was a nail biting journey back to civilisation and a petrol station. Still a good way to test the car and my driving ability!
Meeting the team
Jenny meets Mark Hughes at the Manchester reception at the British Embassy and refrains from telling him that it's not as good as it was in Colin Bell's day!
Manchester and Abu Dhabi in partnership
As I have already mentioned last week was Manchester week here in Abu Dhabi, with an 80 strong delegation of public and private sector dignitaries visiting to forge links and look at ways of working in partnership. It all culminated in a match between the UAE national team and Manchester City, though due to injury and international commitments it was a reserve team who came over from Eastlands and were beaten 1-0 by the local side (politics or just Man City losing - I don't know!) As a Man City supporter all my life I'm used to the disappointment!
We went to a lovely reception in the garden of the British Embassy where we met one of John's former colleagues from the University who was representing the President who is apparently still recovering from heart surgery. We also met lots of interesting people from both Manchester and Abu Dhabi on a balmy November evening in the garden. The British Ambassador remembered me from when we met in March and seemed quite impressed with the job offer from Emirates Advanced Investment, though the time its taking for them to sort themselves out I'll have worked my 6 month contract with the College in full! I'm getting quite good at eating standing up and the food was very impressive, including mini fish and chips in paper! There was some excitement when a large part of one of the tress in the garden came crashing down but luckily no-one was hurt and I think it was natural rather than terrorist activity.
The real highlight was being introduced to Mark Hughes and having my photo taken with him.
The next day we went to a second reception at Pearls & Caviar at the Shangri La where J was deputising for the CEO of Masdar City, Dr Sultan. I have a feeling that this was really aimed at connecting with the local Emirati population but that somehow they didn't have the right connections for that. Most of the people there were the Manchester delegation, us and a few people from Etihad Airways, including the CEO. This was great as Etihad are celebrating winning 'World's Best Airline' which they seem to celebrating by hiking their prices for business class to some purpose. The Manchester flight is clearly a real money spinner for them as they only fly 330's and so have very little business class available and as it acts as a hub for the rest of the world from Manchester flies at 80% capacity. Hopefully they will start to fly bigger planes before too long. However, for our return home at Christmas I have booked BA via Heathrow which worked out at just under half of the cost of the Etihad flight to Manchester. I did mention all of this to the CEO of Etihad and Manchester but at the end of the day they are in the business of making money not keeping me happy!
On this occasion I felt for the Manchester delegation as the leader of the Council Richard Leese gave a fabulous speech and we got given a whole host of goodies exhorting us to 'Visit Manchester' but it did feel like preaching to the converted and we clearly weren't the intended audience for this event! I was offered a 'Manchester cocktail' on arrival which seemed to comprise lemon juice, cranberry and strawberry. I have to say that in my experience that's not what they tend to drink on a Saturday night on Deansgate. At 8pm they obviously decided that no Emiratis were likely to show up and broke out the beers, but by this time John and I were starving and beat a hasty retreat to the Chinese restaurant at the Shangri La, whcih we've not been to before. The food was amazing though the service was pretty slow!
The highlight of this particular event was meeting Mike Summerbee - a childhood hero along with Frannie Lee and Colin Bell. He invited us to the Director's box at Eastlands next time we're in Manchester which I know Daddy would have loved. Perhaps next time they play out here I may even meet Colin Bell in person and be able to tell him how I grew up with the constant remonstration ringing in my ears 'Jennifer, Colin Bell wouldn't have behaved like that!'
We went to a lovely reception in the garden of the British Embassy where we met one of John's former colleagues from the University who was representing the President who is apparently still recovering from heart surgery. We also met lots of interesting people from both Manchester and Abu Dhabi on a balmy November evening in the garden. The British Ambassador remembered me from when we met in March and seemed quite impressed with the job offer from Emirates Advanced Investment, though the time its taking for them to sort themselves out I'll have worked my 6 month contract with the College in full! I'm getting quite good at eating standing up and the food was very impressive, including mini fish and chips in paper! There was some excitement when a large part of one of the tress in the garden came crashing down but luckily no-one was hurt and I think it was natural rather than terrorist activity.
The real highlight was being introduced to Mark Hughes and having my photo taken with him.
The next day we went to a second reception at Pearls & Caviar at the Shangri La where J was deputising for the CEO of Masdar City, Dr Sultan. I have a feeling that this was really aimed at connecting with the local Emirati population but that somehow they didn't have the right connections for that. Most of the people there were the Manchester delegation, us and a few people from Etihad Airways, including the CEO. This was great as Etihad are celebrating winning 'World's Best Airline' which they seem to celebrating by hiking their prices for business class to some purpose. The Manchester flight is clearly a real money spinner for them as they only fly 330's and so have very little business class available and as it acts as a hub for the rest of the world from Manchester flies at 80% capacity. Hopefully they will start to fly bigger planes before too long. However, for our return home at Christmas I have booked BA via Heathrow which worked out at just under half of the cost of the Etihad flight to Manchester. I did mention all of this to the CEO of Etihad and Manchester but at the end of the day they are in the business of making money not keeping me happy!
On this occasion I felt for the Manchester delegation as the leader of the Council Richard Leese gave a fabulous speech and we got given a whole host of goodies exhorting us to 'Visit Manchester' but it did feel like preaching to the converted and we clearly weren't the intended audience for this event! I was offered a 'Manchester cocktail' on arrival which seemed to comprise lemon juice, cranberry and strawberry. I have to say that in my experience that's not what they tend to drink on a Saturday night on Deansgate. At 8pm they obviously decided that no Emiratis were likely to show up and broke out the beers, but by this time John and I were starving and beat a hasty retreat to the Chinese restaurant at the Shangri La, whcih we've not been to before. The food was amazing though the service was pretty slow!
The highlight of this particular event was meeting Mike Summerbee - a childhood hero along with Frannie Lee and Colin Bell. He invited us to the Director's box at Eastlands next time we're in Manchester which I know Daddy would have loved. Perhaps next time they play out here I may even meet Colin Bell in person and be able to tell him how I grew up with the constant remonstration ringing in my ears 'Jennifer, Colin Bell wouldn't have behaved like that!'
Monday 9 November 2009
A weekend stroll on the Corniche
Here we are going for a walk on the sea front a few minutes walk from our apartment. You can see our building behind me (the one on the left of the new tower with the metal globes on the roof). We are really lucky to live in such an amazing place and now that is cooler we can enjoy the corniche. I run along this walkway and through the parks which go all along the corniche end of the island several times a week which is lovely though a little hot, even first thing in the morning, but then I am used to running in Manchester where it is rarely more than about 10 degrees so anything over 25 is likely to feel pretty warm!
A busy time
Well the last few days have been particularly hectic - mainly for John though I've managed to keep myself busy too.
John spent Saturday working with the team on the presentation to the Board of Trustees at the Emirates Palace and not getting home till after 10pm. I believe all their hard work was worth while and it seemed to go well though the meeting itself was pretty chaotic, as things tend to be round here, with members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries dropping in and dropping out most of the time. John showed me the folder with the business plan and all the slides and handouts and it all looks amazing with lots of exciting projects and a clear set of goals and priorities.
Today he is at the MIT conference where he was participating and doing a presentation on the Masdar Institute.
Last night I was invited to join the MIT people for dinner at the Emirates Palace which was lovely. We ate at Sayad, the fish restaurant there and the food was amazing though the service was very slow. We had a very convivial evening and it was good to be a part of it. One of the Board of Trustees is also the Chairman of Man City but I don't think J was able to give him any advice!
I spent Saturday on the beach at the Hiltonia beach club which was lovely though not nearly so much fun on your own. However, it was amazing to be sitting on the beach in beautiful sunshine on a normal weekend in November and to swim in warm sea whilst enjoying a view of the city and the corniche. I shall definitely go back and take John to enjoy it too when he has a bit more time.
Today I went on school visits with Sarah, one of the recruitment team, which was fascinating. It was a delight of Emirati organisation with non of the schools seeming to expect us despite having received letters from the education zone and calls from the college to confirm! Mikes and projectors finally got organised after Sarah had started her presentations and pupils continued to arrive long after the session was underway. I couldn't do much apart from smile and look interested and enthusiastic as the presentations were in Arabic! However, we managed to gather 26 forms from interested girls so hopefully it was a worthwhile exercise. It was great to see inside the schools and in one case we watched most of a PE lesson since the presentations were in the gym. Funny to see Emirati girls in jeans and t shirts doing exercise, as there were no men present they did not have to wear Abayas. The girls were particularly impressed by my shoes and keen to know where I got them - perhaps I should bring some back from Manchester next time!
I have a desk and an office in college now as well as a laptop, but so far no network connection or phone, but I am making progress. I've started work on pulling a series of brochures together and bought a domain name www.teachuae.ae to create a more generic portal for their website. I enjoy spending time with the recruitment team who are friendly and invite me to share their lunch of flatbread with all kinds of delicious toppings. I wonder if just sitting with them as they chat away in Arabic will help me to learn the language but I doubt it somehow.
I hope that I will be able to add some value to their marketing activity as we have stiff recruitment targets to meet and very quickly. Paul, who is from the US and one of the professors, has also joined the team as we have been allowed to recruit from the private schools for the first time and he is making great headway in this area.
For the rest of this week John and I are both now involved in 'Manchester week' with two receptions to go to. I would love to get involved in helping to create links between the two cities that I call home, though I hope the Manchester people won't be too disappointed to come all this way and meet someone from Manchester!
John spent Saturday working with the team on the presentation to the Board of Trustees at the Emirates Palace and not getting home till after 10pm. I believe all their hard work was worth while and it seemed to go well though the meeting itself was pretty chaotic, as things tend to be round here, with members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries dropping in and dropping out most of the time. John showed me the folder with the business plan and all the slides and handouts and it all looks amazing with lots of exciting projects and a clear set of goals and priorities.
Today he is at the MIT conference where he was participating and doing a presentation on the Masdar Institute.
Last night I was invited to join the MIT people for dinner at the Emirates Palace which was lovely. We ate at Sayad, the fish restaurant there and the food was amazing though the service was very slow. We had a very convivial evening and it was good to be a part of it. One of the Board of Trustees is also the Chairman of Man City but I don't think J was able to give him any advice!
I spent Saturday on the beach at the Hiltonia beach club which was lovely though not nearly so much fun on your own. However, it was amazing to be sitting on the beach in beautiful sunshine on a normal weekend in November and to swim in warm sea whilst enjoying a view of the city and the corniche. I shall definitely go back and take John to enjoy it too when he has a bit more time.
Today I went on school visits with Sarah, one of the recruitment team, which was fascinating. It was a delight of Emirati organisation with non of the schools seeming to expect us despite having received letters from the education zone and calls from the college to confirm! Mikes and projectors finally got organised after Sarah had started her presentations and pupils continued to arrive long after the session was underway. I couldn't do much apart from smile and look interested and enthusiastic as the presentations were in Arabic! However, we managed to gather 26 forms from interested girls so hopefully it was a worthwhile exercise. It was great to see inside the schools and in one case we watched most of a PE lesson since the presentations were in the gym. Funny to see Emirati girls in jeans and t shirts doing exercise, as there were no men present they did not have to wear Abayas. The girls were particularly impressed by my shoes and keen to know where I got them - perhaps I should bring some back from Manchester next time!
I have a desk and an office in college now as well as a laptop, but so far no network connection or phone, but I am making progress. I've started work on pulling a series of brochures together and bought a domain name www.teachuae.ae to create a more generic portal for their website. I enjoy spending time with the recruitment team who are friendly and invite me to share their lunch of flatbread with all kinds of delicious toppings. I wonder if just sitting with them as they chat away in Arabic will help me to learn the language but I doubt it somehow.
I hope that I will be able to add some value to their marketing activity as we have stiff recruitment targets to meet and very quickly. Paul, who is from the US and one of the professors, has also joined the team as we have been allowed to recruit from the private schools for the first time and he is making great headway in this area.
For the rest of this week John and I are both now involved in 'Manchester week' with two receptions to go to. I would love to get involved in helping to create links between the two cities that I call home, though I hope the Manchester people won't be too disappointed to come all this way and meet someone from Manchester!
Training with the recruitment team at ECAE
Here we are working away with obligatory stickies and flip charts as well as the cakes which represent the perfect marketing mix and without which no training course would be complete!
Thursday 5 November 2009
An interesting week
It seems like a funny week this week - only 4 days with going to the Grand Prix on Sunday but as John has to work this weekend with prep for the Board of Trustees meeting and the MIT people over it doesn't feel that short.
I did my second training session on Monday which went down well - especially the cakes representing the marketing mix! Glad that everyone likes cakes and there were enough for John to take to work as well. I still haven't got a desk or an internet connection at the college so when I'm not in meetings I carry on working from home which isn't ideal for a social animal like me but it gets lots done and we have plenty of clean clothes as well! I should be getting that sorted out next week as the pressure is on to bring in the students. Next week I'm hoping to accompany the team on some school visits - they present in Arabic so I shan't know what's going on but it will be interesting to see how it works. I've put together a master marketing plan so there's plenty to do.
The other organisation are taking an age to sort out security clearance - I had to fill out a very detailed from including details of who my family and friends were so maybe that's the problem! It's all very frustrating as I'd like to get sorted as to what I'm doing and be able to get on with it. Still I am trying to end the struggle and dance with life and just enjoy being here in this amazing place. I did 'ladies who lunch' at The One with Daksha which was fun and went for coffee and home made biscuits with Angela and Bettina came for coffee so I can hardly complain about being lonely.
John got his liquor licence last week so we went to Spinney's to buy wine and gin which wasn't as scarily expensive as I'd feared despite 30% tax. However, we didn't buy Nuits St Georges, Chablis or Gevrais Chambertin as we might have done in Majestic.
John is very tired and stessed with so much going on over the next few days. The MIT people arrive on Friday and they have meetings and dinners planned around the big day on Sunday when they present the business plan to the Board of Trustees which is Chaired by the Crown Prince so you can imagine it's not a little worrying. Then on Monday they are doing a conference and dinner with MIT so more stress. The week after John goes to Doha for two days for an education conference where he is a speaker so no respite then. However, he'll sail through it all brilliantly but it's still a worry.
I shall try and go to the Hilton beach club on Saturday as I look out at this amazing blue sea and warm sunshine every day but can't swim as the public beach is still being renovated. I had planned the Shangri La, including a spa treatment but they wanted the best part of £200 which seemed excessive for a day's entertainment. When J goes to Doha I'm planning another girls soiree so I'm busy making plans for food and cake to feed people.
I enjoyed the video of the work pumpkin carving challenge - there were pumpkins here but it seems hard to believe it's November when it's 30 degrees and sunny. No fireworks today though and no-one has heard of the gunpowder plot funnily enough.
Next week is Manchester week in Abu Dhabi so we have a delegation from home and Man City are playing the UAE team. John managed to wangle me an invite to a reception at the British Embassy which should be great. He is also invited to a lunch to talk about ideas for possible links - now there I do have some ideas! Bring us the Halle, the Royal Exchange and all of the other great cultural things that go on. We have some amazing things but not much in the way of ballet or theatre. I have bought tickets for Lorin Mazel conducting the Vienna Philharmonic as part of the Abu Dhabi classics season which is just great. At 500 Dirhams for two of the cheapest tickets there's clearly an appetite for culture.
Anyway fingers crossed that all goes well for J over the next couple of weeks and maybe I'll get my future a bit better organised as well - but then again this is Abu Dhabi Insha'Allah.
I did my second training session on Monday which went down well - especially the cakes representing the marketing mix! Glad that everyone likes cakes and there were enough for John to take to work as well. I still haven't got a desk or an internet connection at the college so when I'm not in meetings I carry on working from home which isn't ideal for a social animal like me but it gets lots done and we have plenty of clean clothes as well! I should be getting that sorted out next week as the pressure is on to bring in the students. Next week I'm hoping to accompany the team on some school visits - they present in Arabic so I shan't know what's going on but it will be interesting to see how it works. I've put together a master marketing plan so there's plenty to do.
The other organisation are taking an age to sort out security clearance - I had to fill out a very detailed from including details of who my family and friends were so maybe that's the problem! It's all very frustrating as I'd like to get sorted as to what I'm doing and be able to get on with it. Still I am trying to end the struggle and dance with life and just enjoy being here in this amazing place. I did 'ladies who lunch' at The One with Daksha which was fun and went for coffee and home made biscuits with Angela and Bettina came for coffee so I can hardly complain about being lonely.
John got his liquor licence last week so we went to Spinney's to buy wine and gin which wasn't as scarily expensive as I'd feared despite 30% tax. However, we didn't buy Nuits St Georges, Chablis or Gevrais Chambertin as we might have done in Majestic.
John is very tired and stessed with so much going on over the next few days. The MIT people arrive on Friday and they have meetings and dinners planned around the big day on Sunday when they present the business plan to the Board of Trustees which is Chaired by the Crown Prince so you can imagine it's not a little worrying. Then on Monday they are doing a conference and dinner with MIT so more stress. The week after John goes to Doha for two days for an education conference where he is a speaker so no respite then. However, he'll sail through it all brilliantly but it's still a worry.
I shall try and go to the Hilton beach club on Saturday as I look out at this amazing blue sea and warm sunshine every day but can't swim as the public beach is still being renovated. I had planned the Shangri La, including a spa treatment but they wanted the best part of £200 which seemed excessive for a day's entertainment. When J goes to Doha I'm planning another girls soiree so I'm busy making plans for food and cake to feed people.
I enjoyed the video of the work pumpkin carving challenge - there were pumpkins here but it seems hard to believe it's November when it's 30 degrees and sunny. No fireworks today though and no-one has heard of the gunpowder plot funnily enough.
Next week is Manchester week in Abu Dhabi so we have a delegation from home and Man City are playing the UAE team. John managed to wangle me an invite to a reception at the British Embassy which should be great. He is also invited to a lunch to talk about ideas for possible links - now there I do have some ideas! Bring us the Halle, the Royal Exchange and all of the other great cultural things that go on. We have some amazing things but not much in the way of ballet or theatre. I have bought tickets for Lorin Mazel conducting the Vienna Philharmonic as part of the Abu Dhabi classics season which is just great. At 500 Dirhams for two of the cheapest tickets there's clearly an appetite for culture.
Anyway fingers crossed that all goes well for J over the next couple of weeks and maybe I'll get my future a bit better organised as well - but then again this is Abu Dhabi Insha'Allah.
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Julian and Bettina Sargent on the Julian's 60th birthday and a duck!
We enjoyed a lovely meal at Vasco's at the Hilton Beach Club to celebrate Julian's 60th birthday. Julian and John were at university together. The duck just wandered in to join the party!
Formula 1 - a triumph for Abu Dhabi
This weekend saw the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for which the city had built a race track on a previously uninhabited desert island just outside the city. We were lucky enough to be given some tickets by John's boss, Dr Sultan, a couple of days before and were able to actually go along. I had thought we'd be watching it on the big screen on the corniche so it was great to be part of it as the excitement has been mounting in the city.
The circuit is absolutely amazing with a hotel right in the middle and a marina and yacht club. In the sunshine it looked great with incredible yachts moored right up to the track and the sun shining on the water. But as night fell and the sun set it really came into its own with coloured lights on all the buildings and lights shining on the track.
We were sat with the real race goers rather than the champagne corporate hospitality set so we got the true flavour of the event. I think John could have got grand invites, but only for himself and, being the gent he is, he knew I'd want to be included.
I've never been to F1 before so it was a totally new experience, even if the outcome for this year was already decided. We got the shuttle bus from the Marina Mall which worked really well and went across the new bridge and onto the new motorway which has been built over Sadiyat Island, which will one day be a cultural hub with a Louvre, a Guggenheim as well as various other theatres, museums and galleries.
We watched G2 and Porsche's racing as well as the F1 practice sessions and qualifier. It was pretty hot but the stands were covered and the noise was incredible. On day 2 we were lucky enough to be given some BMW ear defenders which were rather more effective than the little sponge ones.
When Louis Hamilton took pole position we were hopeful for a British winner but his car broke down. Jenson Button nearly overtook Vettel in the final seconds but we were robbed of our chance to hear God Save the Queen and had to listen to Deutschland Uber Alles for the third time in the day (yes the Germans won the G2 and Porsche races as well!)
Etihad showed off their specially liveried planes with a fly past by two planes which was impressive to watch such big Airbuses performing so close to the ground.
I'm afraid though the heat of the long days meant we were too tired to stay for the evening concerts and missed Jamiroquai, Aerosmith and The Kings of Leon which everyone said were tremendous. We also missed a special Beyonce concert on the Thursday as we were invited to share his 60th birthday by Julian and his wife Bettina. Julian and John were at university together so it was a rather special treat. We had a lovely meal, sitting outside at the Hiltonia Beach Club.
All in all it was a pretty busy weekend and even more special in that John got Sunday off to see the Grand Prix so we actually had a non working Sunday which still feels right!
The circuit is absolutely amazing with a hotel right in the middle and a marina and yacht club. In the sunshine it looked great with incredible yachts moored right up to the track and the sun shining on the water. But as night fell and the sun set it really came into its own with coloured lights on all the buildings and lights shining on the track.
We were sat with the real race goers rather than the champagne corporate hospitality set so we got the true flavour of the event. I think John could have got grand invites, but only for himself and, being the gent he is, he knew I'd want to be included.
I've never been to F1 before so it was a totally new experience, even if the outcome for this year was already decided. We got the shuttle bus from the Marina Mall which worked really well and went across the new bridge and onto the new motorway which has been built over Sadiyat Island, which will one day be a cultural hub with a Louvre, a Guggenheim as well as various other theatres, museums and galleries.
We watched G2 and Porsche's racing as well as the F1 practice sessions and qualifier. It was pretty hot but the stands were covered and the noise was incredible. On day 2 we were lucky enough to be given some BMW ear defenders which were rather more effective than the little sponge ones.
When Louis Hamilton took pole position we were hopeful for a British winner but his car broke down. Jenson Button nearly overtook Vettel in the final seconds but we were robbed of our chance to hear God Save the Queen and had to listen to Deutschland Uber Alles for the third time in the day (yes the Germans won the G2 and Porsche races as well!)
Etihad showed off their specially liveried planes with a fly past by two planes which was impressive to watch such big Airbuses performing so close to the ground.
I'm afraid though the heat of the long days meant we were too tired to stay for the evening concerts and missed Jamiroquai, Aerosmith and The Kings of Leon which everyone said were tremendous. We also missed a special Beyonce concert on the Thursday as we were invited to share his 60th birthday by Julian and his wife Bettina. Julian and John were at university together so it was a rather special treat. We had a lovely meal, sitting outside at the Hiltonia Beach Club.
All in all it was a pretty busy weekend and even more special in that John got Sunday off to see the Grand Prix so we actually had a non working Sunday which still feels right!
Tuesday 27 October 2009
My first experience of training Abu Dhabi style
Yesterday I ran my first training course here in Abu Dhabi 'marketing skills for recruiters' for the recruitment and admissions team at the Emirates College for Advanced Education. This was part one and I'm doing part two next Monday.
As you can imagine I was extremely nervous - I always get nervous about training, even at work comms where I knew everyone, but this was a whole new ball game. As I was driving in I wanted to turn and run home and explore life as a lady of leisure. However, I done lots of prep as ever, with folders of notes, slides and of course, lots of flip charts and the material is, after all, pretty familiar.
With a new team and a different culture it's hard to know how people will learn and how receptive they'd be to my way of thinking. However, I was lucky enough to be able to have a coffee with my friend Liz, who actually runs a training company here and has oodles of experience into how Emiratis like to learn. She certainly put my mind more at rest as she suggested all the things which I like to do.
Well it seems to have gone down well with the team and I enjoyed it very much indeed. I would say they were a joy to work with - they really engaged with the exercises and got stuck in with the pens, flip charts and sticky stuff. Before long the walls were papered with pictures, ideas and drawings. They had some great thoughts on recruiting students and marketing the college and asked lots of questions. I got some real insight into student motivation and the likely barriers.
We had prizes and goody bags at the end and all in all I would say it was a success from both sides.
We took some photos which I hope to add onto the blog when I get copies of them.
Today I spent the day writing up the material from yesterday, setting home work exercies and drawing up the slides and flip charts for next week with renewed vigour.
I am looking forward to next week's session and feel confident enough to include the cake making exercise which I have shied away from recently in the UK on the grounds that everyone has got way to cynical for such things.
If working with Emiratis is always this much fun then I think I shall enjoy it!
As you can imagine I was extremely nervous - I always get nervous about training, even at work comms where I knew everyone, but this was a whole new ball game. As I was driving in I wanted to turn and run home and explore life as a lady of leisure. However, I done lots of prep as ever, with folders of notes, slides and of course, lots of flip charts and the material is, after all, pretty familiar.
With a new team and a different culture it's hard to know how people will learn and how receptive they'd be to my way of thinking. However, I was lucky enough to be able to have a coffee with my friend Liz, who actually runs a training company here and has oodles of experience into how Emiratis like to learn. She certainly put my mind more at rest as she suggested all the things which I like to do.
Well it seems to have gone down well with the team and I enjoyed it very much indeed. I would say they were a joy to work with - they really engaged with the exercises and got stuck in with the pens, flip charts and sticky stuff. Before long the walls were papered with pictures, ideas and drawings. They had some great thoughts on recruiting students and marketing the college and asked lots of questions. I got some real insight into student motivation and the likely barriers.
We had prizes and goody bags at the end and all in all I would say it was a success from both sides.
We took some photos which I hope to add onto the blog when I get copies of them.
Today I spent the day writing up the material from yesterday, setting home work exercies and drawing up the slides and flip charts for next week with renewed vigour.
I am looking forward to next week's session and feel confident enough to include the cake making exercise which I have shied away from recently in the UK on the grounds that everyone has got way to cynical for such things.
If working with Emiratis is always this much fun then I think I shall enjoy it!
On the road again
Last week I picked up our new car and what a joy it is to be able to get to places without the hassle of buses and taxis. It's a Jeep Grand Cherokee - chosen for its height and tank like quality which makes me feel safe in the slightly erratic driving conditions I find myself in round here! I'm not really planning any desert, off roading at present, though it is quite a popular past time in this neck of the woods. There was a whole supplement on off roading in The National last weekend which was more than enough to put me off with stories of someone having to walk along beside the car to watch out for rocks and precipitous inclines with just one wheel hanging onto the mountain!
Probably due to the size of the thing, coupled with a 3.7 litre engine, I am really enjoying driving around and love the freedom. Because people do daft things then no-one bats an eyelid if you make your way across four lanes of traffic in order to reach a left turn at the last minute and they let you in which would never happen in the UK. You can also do U turns at major junctions so if you take a wrong turn it's pretty easy to rectify the mistake (must make a note not to try this at home!) I've been able to bring back wicker chairs, lamps and all kinds of stuff from the Mall with ease. Though I got carried away with a massive shop at LuLu supermarket which was easy to wheel into the car but less easy to get up in the lift from the underground car park to the apartment!
I can even neatly park the monster in our narrow space between a BM cabriolet and a Range Rover with help from the parking sensors and the reversing camera. I'm now planning trips to Al Ain and places we haven't yet seen on the strength of it.
I have Coast (a Radio Two type station but without Terry Wogan) and BBC World service on the radio and it even does this neat trick of being able to start the engine from a distance without unlocking the doors so that you can the air con fired up before you get in - amazing! I can't see me needing the heated seats anytime soon though!
So watch out Abu Dhabi - I'm on the road!
Probably due to the size of the thing, coupled with a 3.7 litre engine, I am really enjoying driving around and love the freedom. Because people do daft things then no-one bats an eyelid if you make your way across four lanes of traffic in order to reach a left turn at the last minute and they let you in which would never happen in the UK. You can also do U turns at major junctions so if you take a wrong turn it's pretty easy to rectify the mistake (must make a note not to try this at home!) I've been able to bring back wicker chairs, lamps and all kinds of stuff from the Mall with ease. Though I got carried away with a massive shop at LuLu supermarket which was easy to wheel into the car but less easy to get up in the lift from the underground car park to the apartment!
I can even neatly park the monster in our narrow space between a BM cabriolet and a Range Rover with help from the parking sensors and the reversing camera. I'm now planning trips to Al Ain and places we haven't yet seen on the strength of it.
I have Coast (a Radio Two type station but without Terry Wogan) and BBC World service on the radio and it even does this neat trick of being able to start the engine from a distance without unlocking the doors so that you can the air con fired up before you get in - amazing! I can't see me needing the heated seats anytime soon though!
So watch out Abu Dhabi - I'm on the road!
Saturday 24 October 2009
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