Running introduces me to a new kind of shopping

I started a side job last week at a running store called Big Peach Running Co. Its a great place to work because it inspires me to run harder, introduces me to other runners and best of all- teaches me all about the best running gear.

http://www.bigpeachrunningco.com/

Some people love shopping but its never been something I really cared too much about. However, running gear is like a whole new kind of shopping. Trying on a new pair of running shoes every hour, testing the socks, support tops (aka bras) and clothes is not only interesting but honestly makes a huge difference in comfort and performance.


So, I don't get paid for pushing products or receive commissions on sales but I thought it would be fun to highlight some of my favorite new products as over time, I try on the entire store!!

My product highlight today is Aspire Swiftwick Sock. Its AMAZING! They are compression socks that prevent blisters and have moisture wicking. They are made with 200 needle construction (which I guess is like thread count on sheets) and that's the best I have ever seen in socks. They don't bunch up, slip down or create lines like my brother used to say as a kid about the thick seamed cotton socks (aka they are seamless). We sell them for about $13 but I think its a great sock to add to the rotation and use for longer runs.



Well, that's my product highlight for today! And, if you are laughing at the randomness of this blog- I understand but its the little things that help you stick to your running goals. New songs on your ipod, new shoes, a future race, cookies at the end of the run and friends to share the pain and rewards.

Next day I work I will be in the support tops section. Stay tuned...

Labor camps in the City of Gold

There is no doubt that Dubai’s skyline is spectacular or that the palm islands are magical but one has to wonder...in a region short on human capital, how did they possibly manage to construct this modern empire?

Well, just like in many historical booms, Dubai recruits labor from impoverished countries such as India and Pakistan. About 90-95% of the UAE is comprised of immigrants but only a select few have high paying professional service positions. On the contrary, an estimated half million immigrant workers (and that number is probably low) do manual labor for an average of $140- $415 a month.

So, where are these labor workers? Why do we only see huge villas, fancy cars and luxury living?

According to numerous in-country sources (and now confirmed by my human rights research), the immigrant construction workers are brought to the UAE on work visas contracted through private labor recruitment agencies. Despite UAE law, most workers pay the agencies thousands in recruitment fees and are never reimbursed the money they are promised. Then the indebted workers are passed along to the construction companies, where the owners have significant power over their well-being. The UAE government has purposefully created loose labor laws to attract foreign companies and further their strategy to divest in oil and invest in global services. However, this national-owner-worker relationship is not symbiotic.

The workers live in labor camps outside the city and are bused in every day to work long hours in the extreme desert heat and then return only to sleep. After hearing this explanation, I suddenly became aware of all the white school buses transporting slender dirt-covered men usually with their heads bobbing as they attempted recoup some sleep and strength.

I didn’t want to be rude and stare at the men but I couldn’t help wondering …where are you going and what is it like? Another study abroad group confirmed my suspicions when they told me about their experience driving past the labor camps outside of Dubai. In route, they were told that they were not allowed to take pictures of the living facilities and that tourists are not allowed on the premises. So, without digging for further information, I feel pretty confident saying that the City of Gold does not deserve any gold stars for their labor conditions. And public health authorities would agree, considering they found that 40 percent of emirate's 1,093 labor camps violated minimum health and fire safety standards.

Now, I know I am not reporting anything novel- the US exploits poor Americans, Americans exploit Mexicans, Mexicans exploit indigenous Mexicans and the basic pattern of taking advantage of the vulnerable is unfortunately universal. I have had enough econ, marketing and strategy classes to understand the driving forces behinds squeezed labor compensation but I guess I had still hoped that in a country filled with so much wealth that they are building indoor ski hills and cities within malls, that labor conditions would be above par.

The UAE prides itself on having the world’s biggest malls, tallest buildings, greatest ocean front properties but what about the best green building standards, labor laws or health benefits?

I know the counter arguments- at least the UAE is providing jobs for otherwise unemployed foreigners or that at least the conditions are better than in the countries where workers originate. But really, is that the best metric? Imagine the slogan- we provide better than the slums of India or we do as little as possible to get the most profit.

Anyways, I guess Dubai labor issues are not new to those who follow global human rights closely and this goes to support my theory that traveling is not just about sampling foreign food or capturing great pictures (although I do like both) but rather it is about broadening your awareness so that the education continues even after the adventure.

So as the exploited workers continue to build and polish the city of gold, I hope investors, travelers and company owners begin by acknowledging the existence of poverty even in Dubai. Companies need to accept their responsibility and do more than just undercut their competitor but also protect their workers. And as consumers, we need to keep them honest.

Strive for a gold star in human rights and see the ROI!

Human Rights Watch a report released today.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/17/hrw-artists-threaten-boyc_n_837249.html

http://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2011/united-arab-emirates

Women hold up half the sky

I am taking a break from my UEA posts to write my take on Nicolas Kristof's presentation today at the University. I had tickets to see him speak about a month back but he had to reschedule because he was trapped reporting in Egypt. Thankfully, he fit us into his busy schedule and shared some amazing messages.

Nicholas D. Kristof, columnist for The Times since 2001, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who writes op-ed columns that appear twice a week. He is the co-author of Half the Sky (his wife also authored it- cool, right?!)
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/KRISTOF-BIO.html




Kristof told some moving stories about strong women he met through his travels and left us with some great take away messages. I love it when you are listening to a speaker and you just can't soak up enough of what they are saying. I felt like he was speaking my philosophy on life but from a much wiser, experienced and organized place.


His approach to global poverty focuses on funding girls education because educated women are more likely to join the economy and therefore, earn money that will be reinvested in the well being of the family.


His book and his presentation discus sex trafficking of girls around the world, gender violence and maternal mortality. His passion for women's rights is truly inspiring and goes to show that you don't have to be from a marginalized population to fight for their rights. He might just be the greatest male feminist and women's rights activist I have ever met.


His lecture was too brilliant for me to rehash it in a short blog but the message I do think is worth repeating, and maybe butchering, is this question he asked the audience (in my own words) :


Do yo ever ask yourself why should I care? What really can I do anyway? Do you then comfort yourself by saying that you are just too busy and have too many own personal needs to care about whats going on in Cambodia or in Africa?


For those of you who have traveled abroad or have stepped outside of your comfort zone to see how the majority of the world lives- probably don't ask these questions. Once you have seen a malnourished baby, a child being sex traded, or a mother shunned due to her treatable fistula, you don't need to ask the question "why should I care"- you just jump to the "how can I help"?


What I believe Kristof was saying is that there are hundreds of causes and millions of people that need our help. You don't have create a cause or dedicate your life to a movement but make a contribution! Have a cause that's not just revolving around yourself!


So, my daily intention and my message for today is find a cause. Even if you are only half-heartedly interested in the cause at the start, the journey of giving will transform you and steal your heart. So, whether its a small donation to Japan, volunteering at your child's school, working with underprivileged youth or traveling to Cambodia to end sex trafficking- just choose one and then it will choose you.

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/

From beach to desert

Today was by far my favorite day. Rene and I decided to take advantage of our free time and go to the beach!! We took a cab to Jeremiah Park Beach because it is a public beach that allows swim suites and has a cheap entrance fee (5 Dirham with a 3.6 exchange rate). Pictures are not allowed so below is a google image of the beach but just trust me when I say it was perfect! We had a view of the Burj al Kalifa and the Burj al Arab, the smell of salt water, and the sound of the prayer call faintly in the background. We read a little, drank Diet Coke and took a cold Arabian Gulf dip.

Arabian Gulf and Burj Al Arab- 7 star hotel

In the afternoon we went on our desert safari trip. We were picked up in a white SUV along with two British women- Margret and Jill. They were a great addition to our girls crew and they sure screamed like teenagers as we all got thrown around during our roller coaster sand dune drive. I hope I am still out seeing the world at 75 years old!



The night included a HUGE buffet, open wine/beer bar, henna painting, belly dancing, shisha and star gazing.

Speedo Abaya

To all my marathon, Trailmix, Ironman, Urban Tour, LifeTime friends,

I found this article while reading the morning newspaper. Can you imagine running a race in that dark tight outfit in the hot climate of the UAE? I feel like a tri should be an exception to wearing a speedo abaya. I just couldn't believe it- I think that deserves some unique recognition.

The Cultural Mall Experience

For those of you who know me well, you know the mall is not exactly my favorite place to be. I like to go shopping from time to time but when I do, I prefer a mall like the outdoor Maple Grove mall. So, by the 4th mall visit in the UEA, I was getting a little impatient. Now, keep in mind, the UAE malls are TOTALLY different than the US malls. They have aquariums, ski hills, ice skating rinks etc (kinda like the Mall of America but bigger) and many of the local Emerati people go there for leisure. So, usually I would find myself people watching and ice cream sampling rather than shopping. Our group took a little break in the food court (for ice cream!) and while sitting there we saw a large group of young Muslim girls sitting next to us laughing and having fun. I said to Dr. Ali that I would love to get a picture of them but I feel way to uncomfortable asking. He encouraged me to do so and said that the worst thing that could happen is that they say no.

However, I was still too shy to do so but our confident and friendly Ms. Lisa Wells walked right over there and said “May we take a picture with you girls?” It went silent and then one girl sniped back “No”. They all looked at each other and started to talk in Arabic. They went back an forth and it appeared to be a hot debate. One of the girls politely asked us why we wanted the picture. Lisa responded that is was just to have as a keepsake. She smiled back at us and said “Okay”.

We all lined up and a handful of them joined us. We took two pictures and then they asked us to take one with their camera. They asked us where we were from but didn’t look too impressed when we said the US but when Yoko said she was from Japan, they all got REALLY excited. One girl literally jumped up and down and covered her mouth as if to hide her excitement. They asked for Yoko’s email and then were summoned by their group leader to hop back on the bus. Apparently they were visiting from Abu Dhabi and had to travel home.




So, as it turns out- I won't return home with any Dolce & Gabbana shoes but I did get a pretty cool picture and a great story! Nice work Wells!

What every travel blog must include...

Toilets!

Every travel blog must include and entry on the toilet situation and probably our pre-trip meetings should consider providing a tutorial on how to properly use a bidet. I was able to manage the toilets in Honduras so I am not sure why I struggled so much with the bidet. The problem was this- its hot outside and we did lots of walking so the idea of rinsing with the kitchen-like hose sounded refreshing. So without processing, I sprayed the hose only to realize the majority of my bottom half was now wet!

I looked around and only saw TP in the stall so I decided I would try to dry off a tad with the TP. Bad idea! I had to reuse the bidet to wipe off all the TP and then I was wet again. After a few minutes of pondering, I reached for the toilet seat covers that are made from slightly more durable paper and used that to dry off.

I know...I know...stupid American moment but really, what do the people use to dry off?? I can’t imagine air drying. Maybe they carry around a hand towel to dry off. Complete mystery to me and not exactly a topic I felt like breaching in public. So- I saved it for you all- what is the proper way to use a bidet?

**Picture courtesy of Lisa Wells!

مسجد الشيخ زايد

After our morning visit to the Chamber of Commerce and lunch at the mall, we went to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It is the largest Mosque in the UAE and 8^th largest in the world – it is grand enough to hold 40,000 worshipers!

The mosque is made of white Bianco marble from Italy and the Iranian carpet is the largest carpet in the world. The German gold-plated Swarovski chandelier is also the largest in the world. See the continuing trend of world records even in the Mosque?

The details were most impressive to me. The stained glass, marble flowers on the floor and the intricate wall designs were mesmerizing. The sun was setting and the prayer call was playing. Most of the crowd had dispersed allowing my stroll through the mosque to be one of my most peaceful moments.

I did feel a little strange being dressed in a full abaya and somewhat like an impostor considering I am so unfamiliar with Islam. However, I wasn’t there to pray but to learn about the religion, see the mosque and better understand the Arab world. I found it a privilege to be able to enter the mosque considering most mosques are closed to non-Muslims.

When we first entered, the women were directed toward a room to be covered. Lisa and I struggled a bit to dress ourselves and had to ask for help from a Muslim woman! This was my first time wearing an abaya and in the context of the Mosque it felt very appropriate. I can’t say what it would be like wearing it every day in the 120 degree heat or how I would feel if I was pressured to wear it. However, I believe that the UAE has been liberated and that most of the women who are covered, choose to be rather than are forced. I am sure there are exceptions and my one week trip did not provide nearly enough insight to confidently comment on women’s freedoms. I just know that it was NOT at all like most Westerners envision the Middle East. It was calm, peaceful and the people were so gracious and kind.

8 years ago when I traveled to Cuba, I didn’t come back a communist and now, after going to the Middle East, I am not going to return Muslim. Being exposed to new religions, political beliefs and ways of living does not mean I am surrendering my own beliefs but rather it has given me a starting place for an ongoing life-long dialog about culture, people and the world outside of the United States. Yes, I am addicted to traveling but not because I dislike the US but because it has allowed me to relate to others and see differences as a good thing. And, to be honest, all of my travels make me even more grateful for our freedoms here in the U.S. After all, if I had been born in most other regions of the world, I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go to college and study abroad.

So, I end on with a few quotes from the Quran that I quite like:

"He deserves paradise who makes his companions laugh"

"A good word is like a good tree whose root is firmly fixed and whose top is in the sky."

"And mankind is naught but a single nation"

"Believers, Jews, Sabaeans or Christians - whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right - shall have nothing to fear or regret"

"O you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and prayer; surely Allah is with the patient. (The Cow 2.153)"

Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce

This morning we drove from Dubai to Abu Dhabi- about an hour and a half drive in our little tour bus. We had our morning visit with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. Their mission statement is: "We are the private sector representative working to advocate policies, connect businesses and expand member opportunities by providing world-class member services, with an aim to contribute to Abu Dhabi's sustainable economic development."

Basically, the Commerce is a central place for entrepreneurs to get everything they need to start their business. They issue trade names, licenses, permits and they offer business consulting services to their members.



What is unique about the UAE is that in order to start a business, it must be 51% Emirati owned. This means that foreign businesses need to find sponsors or set up their business within the free zones. The zones have loose labor laws, no taxes and 100% company ownership. Outside of the zones however, new businesses must follow the UAE laws requiring a certain percent of national employees and a few other restrictions. The classifieds can actually specify "looking for an Emerati male or female." The Commerce helps foreign and local owners understand these laws. The laws I found the most interesting were the following articles:



Articles 9- Work is a right of UAE nationals and priority in employment will be given to Arab nationals and then workers of other nationalities.
Article 20- It is not permitted to employ juveniles from both sexes under the age of 15 years.
Article 27Women may not be asked to work at night from 10 PM to 7 AM.
Article 32Women shall get the same wage as men if they do the same job.



Dairy Queen would have been a totally different job for me at age 15 if it had been exclusively women and I can't imagine if the US work hours ended at 10pm for women. How would our restaurants, hospitals, and care facilities operate? I assume this law must make a few exceptions or else put all night jobs in the free zones.

Noora, an kind and very intelligent Emirati woman, gave us our tour of the building and then invited us to Arabic coffee (which is actually made of leaves not beans). My favorite part of the tour is when she showed us the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen's Council & Mubdiah. The purpose of the council is to help National women start up small businesses. One woman happened to be consulting at the time and she showed us the abyas she designs. They were black with beautiful intricate embroidery along the sleeves and neckline. Some of the other businesses include perfume, make up and other items hand made on a small scale. Noora spoke very passionately about empowering women to work and I found our conversation very relaxed and similar to a discussion in the US about women's labor rights.

Noora giving us the tour. There were both men and women working but mostly men there using the services.

Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council

Ski Dubai

Ski Dubai

Wednesday afternoon we toured Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates on Sheikh Zayed Road. Frank from Australia was our tour guide and he showed us everything from how the snow is made to how they market their ski pass packages.


Ski Dubai is more like a winter wonderland trapped inside a freezer. You walk in and can circle through a maze of tunnels covered in snow and decorated with ice sculptures. There are areas to build snowmen, sled and relax while drinking a hot coco and experiencing the cold. You can pay just to enter the play area or you can get the gear and ski. They have multiple points of sales to encourage people to try new things and the whole area is visible by people in the mall to encourage them to enter. They are planning to bring in penguins and build a gondola to pass over the area in the near future.

The strategy is to not only get people to spend money at the ski resort but to also to get mall visitors to stay longer, eat dinner at their Aspen cafe and maybe even sleep at their $5000 hotel that overlooks the ski hill!

All of the gear is available to rent and they have designed a complex system to keep the renting and returning process seamless. The bottlenecks of the business are in the drying of the gear. They rent out hundreds of snow suits during the busy seasons and its hard to wash and dry them at the pace of demand. Of course, I had to ask how long the gear lasts considering they are washing and drying it every time- they said they have to buy new jackets every year and destroy the old ones since they have the Ski Dubai logo on them and therefore donating them would dilute the brand (imagine all the little kindergartners we could suit up!) He did try and reassure me however that the skis are not destroyed but rather sold after they begin to wear and tear. The Ski Dubai strategy is to offer the top quality winter fun and therefore, they ensure all the gear is new, dry, clean and fresh smelling.

I found the whole winter environment pretty spectacular but must say as a skier and Minnesotan- the snow conditions and runs probably were not the main reason to visit Ski Dubai. We didn't ski because we were short on time and didn't want to pay $90 but I could tell that the snow was a tad icy and not exactly Utah powder. However, everyone looked like they were having fun and there was even a women dressed in a ski suit abaya getting private lessons! I can't imagine a market for people wanting to experience the cold and snow in Minnesota but it was definitely a novelty for the Middle East.

http://www.skidxb.com/home/about-ski-dubai/virtual-tours.aspx

Ski Dubai Facts

22,500m2 covered with real snow all year round - (equivalent to 3 football fields)
Temperature maintained at a comfortable -1º to -2º
85 meters high (approximately 25 stories) and 80 meters wide
5 different runs of varying difficulty and length, longest run of 400 meters
Full capacity of 1500 guests
Freestyle zone
Corporate and group bookings
3,000m2 Snow Park with a snow cavern
Quad chairlift, tow lift and flying carpets
Mountain resort theme
Rental of quality equipment and clothing included in the ticket price
Qualified professional instructors
State of the art ticketing system
Changing areas with locker rental
Private kids party rooms
Exclusive retail shop - Snow Pro

Dubai Knowledge Village

Wednesday March 9th 2011

This morning we went to Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) for a meeting and tour.

Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) is the world’s only Free Zone area dedicated to Human Resource Management and learning excellence. The UAE has other free zones with the strategy of attracting world class companies to the region to further develop the economy beyond oil. The benefits of coming to the UAE and to a free zone includes tax exemption, land (most land in the UAE is for citizens only except in the free zone), central location, and diversity of human capital. Currently the country's GDP contribution from oil is less than 2% and this is because the country knew the oil supply was limited so they invested the oil profits in developing Human Resource Management, Consultancy, Training and Personal Development programs.

DKV has over 450 business partners and 43 of them are international universities. We toured the campus and it was fun to see so many international students gathered around. I think that Dubai would be a great place to study became it offers top education and a wide variety of culture. Plus all students speak perfect English making it an easy place for Americans to study.

http://www.kv.ae/

Things are getting a little blurry now and jet lag is hard to beat with only an average of 4 hours of sleep. I took a short nap after our full day of meetings and tours. We woke up around 7:30 and went to dinner and I got one of those laughing attacks caused by gitty tiredness and carefree fun- oh wait and sugar!




I am feeling a bit more collected so here is a recap of the last few days.
Yesterday we visited Ernst and Young and today we went to Dubai Knowledge Village. Ernest and Young was different than I had expected. I don’t usually identify with asset management, assurance or auditing careers but one consultant in particular, described her work with improving que times in hospitals and how they actually collected data to identify the bottlenecks in order to suggest a process improvement plan that would allow for a more seamless system. She said they did everything including data collection, patient surveys, data analysis and then implemented their suggestions. They also helped to train and advise the hospital employees through the changes and measured their results. It was definitely a career I would be interested in and it was a surprised to find such a position at E & Y. I think that it is very valuable that the company seeks to not only provide investment information and regulatory compliance assistance but they can also look at the company’s overall structure to offer an integrated advisory service to help businesses achieve their strategic goals. Their approach appears much more holistic and customized than I had imagined.




After E & Y yesterday, we continued our tour to Atlantis Hotel and the Mariana- two overwhelmingly extravagant sites. The hotel is on the Palm Island and has an aquarium with 65,000 fish! The marina overlooks a man-made marina with a view of twisty buildings and large yachts.

The night slowed with a great sunset view from the hotel rooftop and a nice conversation about our day’s excursions. We discussed the events from a social perspective and how despite the massive wealth in the country, there are still inequalities and construction/labor workers living in pretty difficult conditions.

Lastly we had dinner and drank shisha (thats what they say instead of smoke shisha) at a local Middle Eastern restaurant where nice company and conversation continued.

This morning we went to Dubai Knowledge Village followed by Ski Dubai in the afternoon. I will fill in the details later but here are some pictures to tell part of the story. Tomorrow is Abu Dhabi Day (yes that is fun to say out loud). We are visiting the Chamber of Commerce and IBM!!
More to come…

**Disclaimer- My blog is in Arabic so I don't have spellcheck.

Good morning and good evening. I am totally exhausted but want to finish the day with an entry so that I don't forget the days details. Plus this journal goes toward school credits :)

After 5 hours of what felt more like a nap last night, I finally just decided to get up and go for a run around 6 am Dubai time. I went up to the top floor and ran on the treadmill facing out toward the Arabian Sea. I was feeling a little jet lagged and was shocked to see how fast I was running with so little effort…and then I realized the treadmill was in KPH not MPH! After running we all had breakfast in the hotel. There was everything from hummus to waffles to exotic fruits. We fueled up and then set out for our day sites.

First we toured the sheik's palace and the Prince's palace.

We continued to heritage town where we were able to see how the peoples' homes used to look before oil and before modernization.

We visited the spice markets and gold souks

Took a trip on the old dhow boats to Old Dubai

And we finished the night by walking around the world's largest most glamorous mall. It has an ice rink, aquarium, and a magnificent water fountain that shoots off to music and a light show. We had dinner by the water while watching the show. I probably missed a ton of other things but we are running off now to a meeting so I will fill in the blanks soon.

Dubai Day 2

Good morning and good evening. I am totally exhausted but want to finish the day with an entry so that I don't forget the days details. Plus this journal goes toward school credits :)

After 5 hours of what felt more like a nap last night, I finally just decided to get up and go for a run around 6 am Dubai time. I went up to the top floor and ran on the treadmill facing out toward the Arabian Sea. I was feeling a little jet-lagged and was shocked to see how fast I was running with so little effort…and then I realized the treadmill was in KPH not MPH!
After running we all had breakfast in the hotel. There was everything from hummus to waffles to exotic fruits. We fueled up and then set out for our days sites.

Day One- March 4th or wait, March 5th



Two and half movies later and an average few hours of sleep, I wake up to sunshine peaking through the bottom of my window shade. Most people are still sleeping and the plane is dark but I can’t help but peak out at what is below.






We passed above the snow covered mountains of Turkey, the circular city of Mosul and currently, I am somewhere above Iraq. I know Baghdad is to the right and below I can see some holding tanks and maybe refineries. There is more open space than inhabited space and crater-like mountains expand as far as I can see. I only wish I could truly zoom in to see the cities, homes and people.





The plane also has a neat feature that shows what countries we are flying over and the direction of Mecca so that Muslims know the direction to pray while on the plane. I am pretty surprised to see that on a Delta plane.







Wow, I never imagined flying over Iraq and soon Kuwait and then the edge of Iran. I am already at a loss of words to describe how excited I am to be seeing a part of the world so unfamiliar to me. I hate my own stereotypes, and TV ingrained images of the Middle East and there is no better way to understand the world than to see it. I am full of gratitude and know that the next few days will be a time to remember. Well, time for a curry hot pocket and some couscous like lunch or is this dinner- I don’t know.


Day 1/2??

We landed a few hours ago and got dinner at a Lebanese Middle Eastern Fusion Restaurant. We took a few laps up and down the streets to check out the amazing buildings and cars and now its time to try and get some rest....this time change already has me confused. Tomorrow we are off to the Souks!! More to come!