My first week in Dubai!!

Its now 11pm (friday). I am lying on my bed with my laptop. I like wireless coz it mean i can bring my lappie around and also able to surf net at the comfort of my bed. Haha

There are so many things that I can say about my past week here but I do not know where to start. Haha. I have pretty much settled into the environment. I survived my first week working here although i was basically only doing reading. I guess the weeks ahead will be more shack coz i will be going down to the workshop once i got my coveralls and safety boots. I seriously admire all the workshop guys down there. The coveralls they issued are the thick kind and i can imagine how freaking hot it must be to wear that over here in Dubai! Yday, i was there, under the hot sun for 30mins and i swear that my boxer was wet after that! Damn it man. Think i need to bring extra boxers to work for the next few weeks!! Haha.

The storage bay, workshop and office.

The amount of presentations/materials that i have to read!! Sianz...

As u all can see, the plant is pretty rundown at the moment. My dept Downhole Tools (DHT) are currently sharing this pathetic plant with Rigs Solution. The workshop is only about the size of 2 basketball courts but there are tons of machinery squeezing inside it. Everyone is like fighting for space. And that is why, the pple from Rigs Solution kinda hated us becoz they feel that we are taking up their space! Coz this plant was originally only for them. (well eug, this will be the place where u will spend your 3mths in Dubai!! Hehe!!) So i was kinda sad when i first came here and see the state of this plant. But luckily, DHT is shifting to a new premise next week and i will be able to have my own cubicle and also a better working environment.

Journey to work. There are nothing except constructions!!

There are alot of nationalities over at my company. Basically everyday for work, u are like going to some United Nation meeting or something. But that's because Dubai is full of expats. In fact, 90% of the population here are expats. The locals, called the Emiraties make up the 10%! And you won't actually find them working in private companies because they got so much more benefits by working in govt agencies. To them, work is not exactly a necessity coz the dubai govt give their citizens super good benefits. Free this free that. Haha. So you will actually find alot of indians here working as construction workers (same in spore), pakistanis working as drivers, etc.

Most of the time, i hang out with 2 groups of pple. First will be with George and his colleagues from Rigs solution. George is a lebanese who is my flatmate. He is a nice guy and he treats me quite well. (And i don't mean it in a gay way!! Haha) I went with him once to one of the colleague's apartment which is also in the same area to see them play poker. Apparently few of the lebanese guys from Rigs S share an apartment. Lebanese are known for their hospitality. They will offer you tons of things once you reach their home, like drinks, food, cigerattes (if u smoke), etc. And it is actually rude if you do not take anything. They will see you as been arrogant or something like that. So i had a beer and also some food while i was there. The way they live at the apartment reminds me of my hostel life back at NTU. A few good frens staying toge and having fun everyday. The only difference is that there are more beers and cigerattes compared to hall. Haha.

The other group of pple i hang out with are the Dubai NGs and also the American NG that is also having his rotation here. Basically they are all Lebaneses too! (including the Amer NG, Marc!!) So this tells you that there are quite alot of Lebanese over at Dubai. They good thing about being with them is the age similarity. So there are more topics to talk about. But the prob is still the language. Although everyone in Dubai knows english, they still prefer to speak Arabic. So most of the time, they will speak Arabic. So sometimes all you can do is smile while they are talking!! Haha. Like an idiot. But i don't really blame them coz this is their national language. And I decided that since I will be here for 3mths, i will learn some simple Arabic so that the time here is not wasted! But Arabic is like freaking hard to pronounce man. I cannot say Good Morning in Arabic becoz there is this word "khair" which I just can't seems to get it. Everytime i say it, they will laugh! Think its my short tongue. Haha. So now, i always use the general greeting as-salaam alaykum instead. Haha.

Dubai NG, Dany

Dubai NG, Nizar

US NG, Marc

Lunch at nearby foodcourt. The ONLY place i been for lunch so far!!

The book which I just bought! Irwan & Eug, I am gonna sell it to u all once i get back!! Haha

Well, to think i would actually be writing a blog. I used to hate doing all the stuffs like frenster, blog, facebook, etc. But now, I am actually "actively' engaging all these. I guess this is because these are perhaps the only communication tools which i have to talk to the pple back at home. So I will try to maintain my effort at keeping this blog alive!! Haha.

I shall end my entry here. Its really troublesome and slow to upload photos on the blog man. Think i will put the rest of my photos on facebook. I will talk about my trip to the (about the size of 5 taka!!) mall next time.

Night folks!!