It's Thursday and it's sunny and hot here-as it is every day. I managed to sleep last night and when I woke up, forced myself to go back to sleep. I woke finally at 11:30 am and after eating, headed for the pool to relax and read.
A little about food. I am booked into the Club floor which gives me privileges to the club room where there is food available 24/7. So, I haven't had to find food in restaurants yet. If you are a drinker there is unlimited alcohol. All the food here is sufficient for me and this makes paying extra for the Club floor well worth it.
Cheese Bar
Found a new fruit. Looks inviting!? Have to try it!
It ends up being a Lichee! I guess I have never seen it unpeeled!
Lots of Choices
Night options are served in mini portions. Staff is super friendly.
This gal is from Mexico.
See the white chocolate fountain in the background?
I spent the afternoon at the pool, under the umbrella, reading.
Very relaxing except for the noisy jet skis going back and forth along the canal.
Oh and, the helicopters giving tours overhead!
When I realized my Fitbit was only going to be 1000 steps for today, I got into the pool and jogged since walking in this heat was not going to happen!
The culture here is very interesting. I asked our guide yesterday about male/female relationships and government payments to the citizens of Abu Dhabi. Here's a little of what she (from Peru) said. Firstly, men and women do not normally have friends of the opposite sex unless they are a relative (explains a little why cousins want to marry each other). I observed young Emirate people out at the coffee shop where men and women don't sit together and they don't interact.
If you want to get married here's how it goes: the guys mother approaches the gals mother to see if they are amenable to the idea of their children getting married. If yes, the two betroths go on a date(s) or meet--with a chaperone of course. If this goes well then the families begin to meet to work out what dowery the grooms family will pay to the bride (not the bride's family). If this is all worked out, the bride and groom meet to draw up a contract. This could include what would happen in a divorce or any other kind of prenuptial thing. Mostly what the women want is that the guy agrees not to take second (or third...) wife. The guide told a story of one fellow who refused to sign the contract to have just one wife. As he went around to find someone else to marry, his reputation preceded him and no one would agree to marry him since they all wanted monogamous marriages too. Evidently he ended up going back to the first gal and signed the contract to not have more than one wife.
Now, many of the men are being educated outside the UAE and are fed up with the hassle: paying the dowery, etc. They are beginning to marry westerners. That leaves many UAE women without husbands and turning 30 without being married is a very big problem for women here. So the government is now paying for weddings that happen between 2 Emirates. And, if the woman is over 30 years old, the government pays even more to that couple! There are rules that include paying this money back if they get divorced.
Well, thats it for today. Stay tuned, tomorrow will bring a desert safari report!
Looks good from the distance
So cute: a face only a mother could love!
VERY interesting!
ReplyDelete