Girls Night Out

“In case u don’t know me im very tall, dark black face, but beutiful, very fat with 2golden teth in front.” This was the text I received as I was about to meet my Emirati coworker’s wife who wanted to show me “women’s things in Abu Dhabi.” When I entered the lobby, a petit, thin Arab women in traditional black dress and headscarf approached me. I could tell from the start this woman had a quick sense of humor.

We walked to her plum-colored Mercedes and she gave me a gift: a compact mirror with a shiny pink and pearl inlay pattern. We commenced our journey doing a drive-by of the Iranian market at Meena port, where one can buy large potted plants and giant shiny buckets; past the Corniche, where hundreds walk by the sea every evening; past the newly opened public beach, some of the Sheikh’s palaces, and to the massive new Abu Dhabi landmark, the white marble Sheikh Zayed “Grand” mosque.

Four times during the tour we stopped for about 20 minutes. We entered the Ladies’ Club, a large fitness center, pool, grounds, and kids’ area where a world of uncovered women socialized, exercised, and enjoyed time with their children. At one point she had to drop by her house and ushered me into a living room with eight couches and shut the door. After 2 minutes of silence the door burst open and 8 kids entered the room. They introduced themselves as cousins, daughters and sons. The next stop was a Japanese dollar store on top of the gold souk (an entire mall dedicated to jewelry) where I could purchase any type of home item from a spatula to potting soil. Then we swung by Marina Mall where we browsed in a hardware/furniture store and a perfume store. I made the mistake of complimenting a perfume she was spraying and later that night was the recipient of a $100 bottle of Chanel Chance.

After about 4 hours of touring it was 9.30 pm and I was planning to wind down and go back to sleep. She said “I want to take you to dinner.” So we went to her favorite Lebanese restaurant and ordered a feast: pineapple juice, lemon juice with mint, tomato/cucumber salad, grilled chicken, hummus, and flat bread stuffed with meat. After we ate about 1/8th of the meal we were both stuffed. She said “please take this home to your husband” and then proceeded to order another grilled chicken, tabouli, and falafel to go with the immense amount of food.

Topics of conversation included:
How she and her husband finally got custody of his Russian daughter from his first marriage
Nanny’s with too much power in families
Horrifying treatment of servants by some people
Benefits of marrying another Emirati (she married her cousin)
How she got 5 months paid vacation to care for her sick sister in London
The fact that mother’s receive $200 per month for each child they have
Her friend’s husband who took the Filipino nanny as a second wife
Her sister-in-law who allowed a second wife to come on board since he agreed to never discuss the second wife, to buy her a separate house on the other side of town, and to never bring wife #2 to any family gatherings

This evening with my new sister (she said we must have the same DNA because we both like movies and perfume) reiterated some beautiful aspects of Emirati culture: the feeling of generosity and abundance, unity of women, laughter, and kindness.