A Scenic tour of Abu Dhabi....Meet the Team!

Remember the old Garfield cartoons when the Dog or the cute kitten character annoeyed Garfield? Without fail Gairfield would box up the adorable creature and mark the box Abu Dhabi. I was a big Gairfield fan when I was younger. I think there is some irony in that.

My trip thus far has mostly been taking in all the information I can and trying to understand the new world I live in. Some things are too far out for me to comprehend yet. Abu Dhabi is a place filled with contrasts. Things that you wouldn't put together align themselves naturally here. The 120 degree heat outside paired with the ice cold offices and hotels. Nightclubs with happy hours until 4am next to prayer rooms. Women wearing abayas (See pictures) with full veils covering every inch of their bodies shopping for short shorts. TV shows are editted for anything physically initmate ( from a peck on the cheek on) but never a moment of bloodly violence is missed. Young Emirati women respecting culture with traditional dress while flashing their Gucci spiked heels and Louis Vutton purses worth tens of thousands of dollars. An entire city being built with no street signs or addresses. Labor camps on the out skirts of Palaces.

The contrasts extend to my day to day life as well. I live in a goregous multiple star hotel whose name I'm not going to disclose at the moment.  I can tell you the name of my new home sounds something like "Bubble Bar". 

 

So in the Bubble bar hotel you receive a cool cloth when I walk in the door.  The lobby is scented with fresh jasmine. A glass elevator overlooking the Grand Mosque takes you to your floor. All the lastest ammidties are provided. But try making a phone call in one shot.

 Speaking of the day to day, I should take a moment to introduce some of the charaters in my story.

Mohammed – The upbeat Marketing manager from Texas who knows how to break tension with a good pun.

Erica – Material logistics associate and my new partner in crime from Alabama.
Katrina – Chief buyer in the Procurement department and my former colleague from my company alma mater.
Abdul – The Emirati HR manager who always surprises me with smiles and handshakes.
George – Head of customer service and my new boss.
Lisa – Procurement manager with extensive international experience and a work ethic and attitude to back it up.

 Next up: A Glipse into the day to day life of an NV Employee, Pictures World Cup Mania equiped with Sheesha and Tents, new project as turnaround consultant.

On more parting thought...
 

Not my picture but I saw this today. You can't make this stuff up.