Emirate ID Authority

I went out to the Emirate ID Authority today to apply for my national ID card.  The whole process was quick and painless.  I've lived in both Brunei and Korea, where everyone was fingerprinted as part of the issuance of ID cards, so it was nothing really special.  However, here they scanned all eight fingers, both thumbs, my palms, and the sides of both hands.  The only thing they didn't scan was my retina, and it looked like they had a connecton for a retinal scanner but it was nowhere to be seen.

Life in the UAE

I teach at a co-ed university that is really remarkable.  Most universities in the UAE are single-sex.  When I walk across campus at lunch, I sometimes forget where I am.  The students wear a wide variety of outfits.  Many of the guys, especially now that it is getting hotter, wander around in shorts, sandals, and T-shirts.  Small groups of male and female students sit and chat comfortably.  Students in traditional dress mix easily with those in casual western dress.

So...today, when I was sitting in the cafeteria having lunch, I thought nothing of it when two young female students sat at the table beside me.  One of the girls was wearing a zip-up sweat shirt.  She unzipped it and took it off because the cafeteria was a little warm.  She was wearing a sleeveless tanktop which was NOT revealing or shocking.  In less than a minute, the female "security" guard came over and told her to put the sweat shirt back on - and she did.

I've often wondered what the female "security" guards did.  Now I know.

I'm not sure what the actual law is now in Sharjah, which is a more conservative emirate than Dubai.  At one time, it was illegal for women anywhere in Sharjah to wear sleeveless tops or skirts that were above the knee.  I had heard that the law was quietly dropped at the urging of the federal government which is based in Abu Dhabi.

The Last Lecture

I read this book in two sittings.  It was nothing new, but it was a pleasant, easy read.  It is simply an autobiographical story told by a thoughtful, interesting young (middle-aged man) who was dying of cancer.  His attitude towards living fully to the end was quite remarkable.  I do recommend it.

All a twitter

This is the latest update on my pigeons. The little critters are growing pretty quickly. They still don't have real feathers, but they are getting there.

This post seems apropos. We just got an email today telling us that AUS is on Twitter at AUSharjah and on YouTube at wwwausedu. My first reaction was a scornful "hmff" but its fairly well done. Clap. Clap.

Twitter seems like such an odd concept (waste of time), but I'm thinking that my friends might really want to find out what I had for dinner, if my workout was good, or if I'm wearing my brown loafers or my brown dress-shoes (Koff! Koff!). I wonder if I can catch Ashton Kutcher. He only has a million fans. I think I need a gimmick.

Twitter - HA! It's like blogging for the incredibly lazy.

Sharjah wild life

And this ladies and gentlemen is as wild as it gets on campus. Mom hatched two little chicks. I was pretty sure that there were three, but I can only see two now. The mother pigeon was regurgitating something for the chicks. I'll bet that was tasty. I guess she partially digests her catch and then gives it to the babies when it is mush.

At home in the classroom

This is one of my classrooms. The window has a little area that has been the home of a pigeon for the last couple of weeks. I'm assuming that we will soon see some little baby pigeons.

Dubai Dragon Boat Festival

Last weekend at Festival City on Dubai Creek, they held the 1st Annual Dubai Dragon Boat Festival. The venue has potential; however, the whole thing was a little tepid. There were several thousand people, but, if you took away the paddlers, there weren't very many people there. It's too bad, but maybe it will catch on and next year's will be better.