There hasn't been much to write about over the last couple of days. Most of my work is done, I am now waiting for the customer to come in and do some testing. I probably could be sitting at the hotel, but I'm hanging out at the warehouse where the internet access is free. Getting a taxi to pick me up out here is such a PITA.
Yesterday I got to go back to the hotel around 6pm. The rest of the guys got home around 10pm. I took advantage of my evening off to go shopping. I have had a minor cold this week (it's clearing up already) so I needed to find some sore throat drops.
(Side note) I had an ant problem in my room earlier. I wasn't sure if I had imported them from the warehouse, or if they started at the hotel. But when I phoned the front desk and asked them to send up housekeeping with a can of Raid, the guy (not many women workers here) came in and walked directly to the desk area, even though I had not said anything about where the ants were. So I think they get this a lot.
Anyway, I had brought some Vicks drops with me, but I found them covered in ants, so I had to toss them, so I went to the mall to look for a replacement.
While there, I decided to pick up some more packets of this Caramel Chai Latte stuff I have been drinking. It's made by Lipton, but I've never seen it at home, and you can never have enough tea... They were having a promotion if you buy the tea (which I was there for anyway) you get a scratch card. I won a free cell phone card! I have been given a phone for use here, and this card is for the same company. When I leave, I'll pass the phone onto someone else on the project team. Hey, not a new car, but it's nice to win something.
About the lack of women workers... The vast majority of labour here is provided by transients from India and Pakistan. They make signifigantly more here than at home, and the UAE is pretty easy to get into if you are willing to work. But, the money is not good enough to bring your family over. The cost of accomodations is astronomical. The average wages for the workers is about $500-1000 a month. But a decent apartment is several thousand. So they share apartments with 5 or 6 other men, or live in labour camps and send the extra money home. It's not exactly a good situation for families or couples. And there aren't too many women willing to leave their homes and live like that. So all the housekeeping staff at the hotel are men.
No plans for the weekend. I discovered this morning that there is a camel race track nearby that runs races on Thursdays and Fridays, so we may go tomorrow. AT laughed at me for suggesting it, PL thinks it's an awesome idea, and one of the other guys is indifferent. We'll see how early we get up in the morning.
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