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| FROWN LINES: I promise I won't go this far. Although someone tried to sell me on laser hair removal the other day, which looked pretty fab. |
Worrying is something I have always been
rather good at. Well, I’m being modest. I’m awesome at it. I could worry for
Australia.
So, I have embraced a few new things to
worry about now that I live in Dubai. Isn’t it wonderful the opportunities that
travel brings?
I have even graduated to the state where I have permanent little worry lines etched onto my forehead, between my eyebrows, like a cartoon character. Now I look worried even when I'm not worried. Great.
Here’s a few of my new concerns, off the top of my head. There
are more, but I don’t want to worry my family and friends back home…
1. The water contains terrible chemicals. The
water is desalinated so it contains no useful trace elements. All the local
bottled water is bereft of minerals, but you can’t drink the tap water. If I
buy (expensive) imported mineral water with actual minerals in it, I’m
contributing to global warming (food miles, unnecessary packaging, etc. Also, no one here bothers to recycle. The tip outside of town is the size of several football fields. I reckon half of it would be water bottles.). If I
don’t, my children will not get the necessary minerals. Also, there is no way
for them to get extra fluoride because, unlike Australia, they don’t put
fluoride in either the tap or bottled water. Hence, their teeth will fall out.
Solution: there is none.
2. The food mostly comes from overseas. That
means that fresh fruit and vegetables are not really fresh and have probably
been sitting in a truck, ship or plane for far too long and no longer have any
vitamins and minerals. This is bad for me and my family (see water section
above). It is also bad for the environment (food miles etc as above). It is
also all highly packaged. Ditto all of the above for eggs, grains, etc. And I
have no proof that local animals were raised or slaughtered humanely, or that
live imports of cattle and sheep are handled properly. And I can’t grow much in
my garden because the trees that shade my house also prevent vegetables growing
on the ground. And it would be costly in terms of water.
Solution: there is none.
3. People drive like maniacs, and if I drive
to keep up with them I might hit an Emirati or a pedestrian, in which case the
accident is automatically my fault. If someone dies, I could get deported, go
to jail, or have to pay blood money (yes, you read that right. Blood money). If
I drive too slowly, I will cause an accident, someone will hit me and we could
all die. There is little to no public transport. And nothing in my life is
within walking distance.
Solution: there is none.
4. Labour is incredibly cheap. People come
from all over the world to work as shop assistants, builders, street sweepers,
gardeners, nannies and cleaners. If I hire a gardener and a cleaner, which we
can afford because they ask only a pittance, I am supporting an inequitable and
sometimes corrupt system. If I don’t, I am preventing someone from making a
living and sending money home to their family in the Philippines or Pakistan.
And I am also a hypocrite, because I am supporting the system anyway every time
I do the groceries, drive through a security gate, get a massage or need a home
handyman.
Solution: there is none.
This is just a selection of new conundrums
I face in Dubai. Any tips or advice? And what are the conundrums you face in yours?
