The Camels are Here!

In our show we will have 6 live camels.  And naturally, they will each have an understudy.  Which means we need to care for, train, and rehearse 12 camels.  Easiest way to do that is for them to live onsite.  That way there is no excuse for them being late to rehearsal.  :)

So, the camels arrived yesterday.  We built a large compound for them, even trucking in specific sand from Al Ain (just across the UAE...only 1.5 hours away).  The camels need a very specific dry, red sand, because any other kind of sand sticks to their feet.  We also brought in big water troughs, food bins, and trailers for their handlers.  They live next to our rehearsal area, and are definitely the most popular cast group.

I got to visit them yesterday afternoon, shortly after their arrival.  They were a little agitated...which is understandable.  Everyone's a little agitated on moving day!  Here are some photos of our beloved camels.

You can see on this guy that he has a kind of nose ring.  It is a loop of rope thru his nostril.  A length of rope is tied to it, and that is how the guide directs the camel - by yanking on his nose.  It is very unkind, and my colleague Abdulla (in the white kandora in the photos) was disgusted.  He says that is not the UAE way.  It is the Omani or Saudi way to control camels.  In the UAE, they do not use that method - they only use the rope harness over his head/neck, like for horses.  Abdulla also told me these were not terribly high-quality camels...these are from a tourist agency.  But that is good for us, as they are used to people, noises, came flashes, etc.  And they were pretty docile when I met them.  The guy above let me scratch his neck and head for quite a while.  (And don't worry, I thoroughly washed my hands afterward!)

Photos!

Am going to try to finally post some photos...I'm at a new hotel (so I can be at the same hotel as the rest of the senior members of the team, and all of the designers...plus it is MUCH nicer...and I have a kitchenette!), and hopefully it has better internet...let's try.

Below are photos of an old, historic fort/castle/royal residence here in Abu Dhabi.  It started as a watch-tower, then the castle and residence grew around it.  It is called Qasr Al Hosn.  I love the juxtaposition of the old and the new in these photos...especially considering the "old" is not really that old...only 100 years or so!  It represents the transition of a nomadic peoples to a sedentary one...who were smart, banded together, and invested in their own country's riches (oil).  I won't go into all the facts, you can look them up in you like.  But I hope you enjoy the photos!

Ok, so this is one way that the bedouins/traveling people found fresh water...they dug into the sand, where fresh water could be found, and actually bubbled up to the surface.  For 2 days it was potable (called "sweet water" as opposed to "salt water), then the next two days they used it to make coffee, then the next 2 days they used it to wash clothes, then the 7th day it was only good for animals, and they would have to dig a new hole to find a new source of fresh water.  can you imagine??

if you look at the top of the old castle/lookout tower, you can see little structures that look like beaks..these were used to pour boiling oil or water onto enemies that tried to breach the walls.  yikes!

this is out exec producer (in the shirt and pants) walking with one of the representatives of the CPC (Crown Prince's Court, for whom we are working) in traditional dress - Kandora. 

these simple structures are leftover from the Qasr Al Hosn festival, which is a yearly event that takes place every year inside the walls of the castle...it is kind of like the Arabic version of a Renaissance fair...replicating life as it was before the joining together of all of the Emirates.  So they reconstruct old houses, souks, mosques, built in the traditional way, and there are "historical interpreters" dressed in the old way and acting out old traditions.  We will feature a lot of these traditions in our show, as it is the celebration of the 44th anniversary of the uniting of the emirates.

again, structures from the festival...but i just love the old vs new in this photo.  and again the "old" is not that old...less than 100 years.

these are some of my posse...folks working on this production.  they are from all over the world - it is truly amazing.  australia, azerbaijan, south africa, UK, america, mexico, spain, italy, new zealand.  very, very cool to work with such an international team again.

this is an irrigation system used to spread water from an oasis, or a pooled water source thru to a residence area.  truth be told, i don't know much about it, except that it also created a little micro-climate amongst the plants, and aided in the growing of even more plants.  

i'm sure my arabic scholar friend andrea will correct a lot of the above..hopefully i got most right!  i do know that qasr means "castle".  and i do know it's still very surreal that i wake up every morning in abu dhabi.  and it is very hot (90's during the day...dips down to the mid-80's at night).  and that i am really enjoying myself so far.  :)

Trying to go out

We are going out to dinner tonight.  We are leaving the hotel complex, and actually going out into Abu Dhabi.  We have been working loooooong, hard days, trying to do pre-production, production, hiring, organizational development, budgeting, and designing all at the same time.  Enough!  We are going out.  I picked a sushi place at a hotel (everything is at hotel here), and we are going to eat something other than boring hotel food.  :)  Though there is a pub here at the hotel complex called Cooper's that we hang out at a lot.  The bummer is, you could be anywhere.  Chicago.  New York.  London.  Anywhere.  Not that sushi at a restaurant in the Millennium chain hotel is exactly "local flavor," at least it is out in the city.

We are living at the edge of town...near the international airport, and also, luckily enough, near the Grand Mosque, which is a gorgeous, grand, classy building.  We drive by it every day and every night on the way to and from the stadium.  It is painted in blue light at night - a sight to behold.  One day I would like to take a taxi there, get out to take some photos, and then drive back home to continue working.  That's about as much time as we have for sightseeing at this point.  We look at the travel brochures in the lobby and dream about a bedouin camp experience in the desert, or even riding camels, or heck, renting and driving a car on the F1 racetrack in town. (Don't worry mom, I won't do that!).  We could also go on the roller coaster at Ferrari World...it's the fastest in the world.

But for now, we will settle for sushi, and maybe a drive-by of the Grand Mosque.

Gotta go meet my team.  Love to you all.
x

One week in

ok, so i've been slammed.  i've wanted to write so much, but our workload is so high right now that i can pretty much only work and sleep.  it's a great experience, for sure, and i'm learning so much.  but i don't have time to write!  and the internet is a challenge...sometimes it is terrific, other times it is not.  welcome to the UAE.

gosh, where to begin?

well, i met with Her Royal Highness, the daughter of the Crown Prince of the UAE, probably the most powerful woman here.  And she is about 30 years old, soft spoken, and wears a nicely tailored black burka...but had fancy pink chunky high-heeled shoes on underneath...you can always tell youth, wealth, status by the accessories in a country where most of the women cover themselves in burka's.  look for the shoes, the bracelets, the watches - OH the WATCHES!  every arab man has an incredibly  huge, expensive, glitzy watch.  well, every arab man we work with, who are all members of the CPC (Crown Prince's Court).  it's actually pretty cool that men and women here are a mixture of traditional and modern...most wear the traditional dress (burka for women and kandoora for men), but many do not.  and many women wear short skirts, tank tops, high heels.  it's all accepted (within reason...not sure Brittany Spears would go over well here, for example).

one of my favorite discoveries here is arabic coffee, served the traditional way, with saffron and cardamom.  It is served in tiny, beautiful, delicate porcelain cups.  you get a couple of sips per cup, then a re-fill.  and it is always served with dates.  the intent is to sit around, chatting with your colleagues, constantly pouring and drinking coffee all day.  getting business done, gossiping, whatever.  and traditionally you would have been in the middle of the hot desert, around a small fire (to keep the coffee hot), protected from the wind and sand by a thatched-wall made of palm fronds.  luckily this is not how we do it today.  we sit in the marble lobby of the beautiful five-star hotel, chatting with the international hotel staff.  or, sipping from one the cutest, tiniest little to-go cups on a tray in the lobby of the hospital next to the stadium as we brace ourselves against the wave of heat walking back to the stadium from our lunch break.  (we take lunch at the hospital cafeteria...with all of the doctors, nurses and admin staff.  it's kind of hilarious...but it is the closest and best place around. and they do self-serve arabic coffee in the lobby, with to-go cups!)  this is my favorite thing so far.

that and the "Keep Calm we Still Have Oil" poster in an art shop here in the city.  absolutely hilarious.  I love the Emirati.  great senses of humor, great intelligence, great generosity, lovely people.  very high class, at least the one's we've met.  and they were smart...Sheikh Zayed, who founded the country - brought the different family groups together to form one nation 44 years ago, was a savvy business man.  according to our clients here, the only way he would agree to a business deal is if he (or the Emirati making the deal) owned 51% of the company.  and because they had oil, and everyone wanted a piece, international companies agreed.  and the wealth poured in.  and the city of Abu Dhabi (like all cities here) grew up over the course or 50 years from a dusty, primitive, nearly impermanent trading post to one of the most modern and financially robust cities in the world.  seriously, look up an image of Abu Dhabi from 1966.  it looks like it should be 1766.  it is unbelievable how quickly industry and buildings sprang up here.

anyway, i am going to take myself to bed now.  another meeting with Her Highness tomorrow to get her blessing on the show and final creative approval.  thank goodness i brought my blazer!  it's formal attire for meeting with her and her court.

lots of love to everyone and i hope you are all enjoying a lovely autumn wherever you are.  it is still 95 every day here.  yikes.

Arrival

I love international terminals in airports.  The design is better – stylish, efficient, more “european”.  International terminals (in the US anyway) are almost always without question calmer than the chaos of domestic terminals..(except for the large Indian families).  You get the sense that there are travellers here…you know, the kinds that have been thru a million different customs, know that it just takes forever to pass thru immigration, they don’t question the travel system cuz they are in it so often.  They rarely scream and shout, they don't have tons of luggage (except for the large Indian families).  Food options are automatically of higher quality.  It just feels more elite.  I feel special in an international terminal.  They are kind of secretive, too....like platform 7 3/4...you gotta snoop to find them out.  When I landed in Chicago, from Minneapolis, I checked the screens for my flight to Abu Dhabi.  There it was, on time, Etihad Airlines Flight 150.  Gate....???  None listed.  It was the ONLY flight on the screen with an unlisted gate.  I checked my tickets from my original check-in in Mpls.  It said gate M4.  I looked around...no M Gates to be seen.  G, H, I J, K, even L!  But no M.  I asked a security guard...who really didn't want to help me very badly, thus giving the secrecy theory more weight.  He said M gates are in Terminal 5.  "Is that International flights?"  I ask.  "Yes."  He says.  Pause.  "Um, how do I get there?"  He tells me I gotta go outside, up some escalators, get on a train.  "First stop."  "Thank you!"  I felt like I got the keys to the kingdom.  

A word about business class.  It is the only place where they practically encourage you to make a mess.  They nearly thank you for it.  You are a god in business class.  You get packets of things…on Delta, they give Tumi bags filled with eye masks (really good ones), socks, toothbrush and paste, and a great Greek brand of lip balm that I used throughout my entire stay in Russia.  On Etihad Airlines, it is non-descript brand of bag, and the eye mask isn't as nice, but the toothpaste is Colgate as opposed to some generic white paste…and you get PAJAMAS.  SERIOUSLY.  PAJAMAS.  You get handed a plastic package of neatly folded brown-toned pajamas and slippers, and it is suggested that you change into them immediately.  "They go with the duvet!" I was told.  There is even an adult changing table/bench that folds down over the toilet in the restroom to assist with changing into said pajamas.  I admit, I didn't wear the entire outfit.  Only the shirt.  They were made for a strapping arabic man 4x my size.  But it was still pretty comfortable, and the novelty of it all was totally worth it.  I got the same Greek-brand lip balm, which I will happily use here in the desert as well.

My internet kinda blows at this hotel, so I'll have to add photos later.

So anyway, I land in this desert...and man, is it a desert!  Like, brown, tan, rugged, no green desert.  There is water, tho, and as I understand it (I haven't yet studied a map...which is probably the first thing I should have done...), Abu Dhabi is on the gulf...  We flew over the water, and from the exercise room of my hotel I counted at least 6 jet skis skimming along the surface of a river, or a canal or something outside my hotel.  I'll look it up tomorrow, I promise.  But the jet skis just fathered solidified to me that there is MONEY in this town.  I mean, of course there is.  It's the economic capital of the UAE, 80% of the residents are foreigners.  The ruling royal family is richer than God.  Somehow I'm not surprised that their recreational vehicle of choice on what looks like a flat, lifeless sea is a jet ski.

Some of my colleagues are staying in a another hotel across town (I'm told anywhere is 20 min away from any other place..it's a "small town").  So I joined my boss there for dinner tonight.  And saw for myself the 80%.  The hotel concierge who served us arabic coffee and dates upon entering the lobby is local.  The restaurant hostess is from Brazil.  Our server is from Mauritius (um...and embarassingly enough, I didn't know where it was, nor that it was pronounced "Mor-ish-is).  Another waiter is from India.  A bartender is from somewhere else.  I've travelled a lot, but never been in a place where nearly EVERYONE was from another country.  Another city, sure, but another country?  And they are trained impeccably.  It was fantastic, friendly, efficient, polite service.  Not too much, just the right amount of attention.

So now I'm back at my hotel, trying to stay up as late as possible so that I sleep as best I can.  A long day ahead tomorrow.  I'm the Artistic Producer for the 44th Annual National Day Celebration show.  It is a huge stadium show, akin to an Olympic Ceremony held on Dec 2, to mark the independence from the British Protectorate.  We are clients of a well-known and successful concert/show promotion company, who is the client of the government/royal family.  So we report to, and present to the Sheika, the daughter of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, one of the most powerful people in the UAE.  No pressure.

More soon and hopefully more pics.