Deutschland!

Hello all,

Been VERY busy the last couple of days, and have been in the air for 8 hours in the last 24 (ugh). Anyway, Frankfurt is awesome, I really love Germany as a country! Got checked in the hotel today (they let me check in 4 hours early, big bonus points!), and I spent much of the afternoon walking around Frankfurt. Saw some signs that Dweezil Zappa is playing a tribute to his dad, man I hope that comes to the U.S. it would be awesome! Had Currywurst for dinner, it's one of my 2 favorite foods here (the other being a Doner Kabob sandwich)

Took a short nap, and went to dinner at an Irish Pub and watched soccer with the other 100 people there (or Football as pretty much everyone else in the world calls it).

Gonna sleep in a little, have breakfast, then take the train back to the airport. Then it's off to the homeland...I am ready to be home to say the least!

Euros, Dollars, Dirhams, and Pounds....

It's my last day in Abu Dhabi. I leave tomorrow to head back to Cairo until Tuesday, where I will be visiting a local swim club and giving suggestions on a business model. This is becoming increasingly important in the Middle East, and they simply don't have the experience or know-how to set up things like this. As some of you know, I started my own business last year (www.globalswim.com) where I do consulting work with swim teams on how to best run an efficient program. I was taken to dinner 2 evenings ago by the president of the UAE Federation, and he asked me if I was willing to contract some consulting in the next year, so economy down and all, it may be a good year for me and my business!

Let me tell you about cell phones over here. They are relatively new to people here, and EVERYONE has one! They obviously aren't to the point where the phones are annoying yet, but when they ring, they WILL NOT answer it until their ring tone has completed the song (maybe 30 seconds long, and voices of Eminem, Fitty Cent, and Akon fill the air (usually at the loudest volume possible!).

VERY windy here today, and you can see the sandstorms in the distance, and a cloud of sand immerses downtown Abu Dhabi on the horizon...

My next report will come from Cairo, then from Frankfurt, Germany (I wish I had more time to stay here, as I really like Germany a lot!)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ron

Abu Dhabi Facts

I have spent countless hours talking to the people here, and have learned a ton of information since my stay here! Here is some of what I learned:

1) Abu Dhabi has only been a country for 38 years!

2) There are NO taxes here (hard to believe, I know, but true!)

3) Abu Dhabi is an island

4) People from about 30 different countries live here

5) It has gotten as hot as 118 degrees here in the summer...ugh!

6) 95% of the population practice Islam

7) Abu Dhabi is the site of offshore boating events, martial arts events, and the 2010 World Swimming Championships

8) In Formula Indy street racing, usually a course is set up to meet the needs of a large city (ex: Long Beach). Here: they created a course FIRST, then built a huge city around it to meet the course's needs! INSANE!!!

9) The internets screens and blocks a large percentage of information as to protect religious values and beliefs ( AOL Instant Messenger program wont work here)

10) UAE houses the largest aquarium in the world

One more day of the clinic, woo hoo! I am definately ready to head back soon, I can only stand so much heat and hospitality! BTW, asked to have my laundry done this morning, a few hours later it came back, every article of clothing was washed (and had the best smell ever!), perfectly folded, and my shirts and pants pressed and starched...I couldnt believe how nice it was!!!

Had a wonderful dinner last night at a huge outdoor courtyard under palm trees with singing troubadors and a nice ocean breeze, I could EASILY get spoiled here! But alas, I must admit I can only put up with seeing billions of dollars in wealth for only so long, reality calls!

Will report again soon, goodnite all!

Ron

The ideal resident for the UAE

Hello all, sorry for the delay in posting, been very busy and up very late (3am) the last couple of days...

DEFINATELY enjoying Abu Dhabi more than Cairo. It reminds me of California in many ways, I can see why many Americans take jobs here: the city is very similar to the US, and they get paid LOTS of money for a few years, then leave! The coach directors here have been very gracious in showing me the city, treating me to wonderful meals, and educating me on the history here...Last night we went out for pizza, and it was actually quite good. On the pizza? I can honestly say that I have never had a seafood pizza with cheese, shrimp, calimari, and caviar on it. It sounded disgusting at first, but was quite good! Of course I had my orange Fanta with it, lol. We then went out for coffee till around 12:30, at a coffee shop. Everyone knows each other here, it's a very social country!!

The clinic is going ok, I am not very happy with the time I have to cover lots of information. The Muslem people pray 5 times a day here, and specific times during the day. While teaching the clinic last night, my translator instructed me that we need to take a 10 min break for prayer, which I was fine with. What I WASN'T fine with is that everyone showed up 1 hour later! The non-Muslems were getting a bit irate at the whole ordeal, and were getting mad at me (to which I obviously had no control!). When I asked another coach what was going on, he said that basically praying only takes 5 min, but that everyone likes to socialize afterwards. So while I am waiting and twiddling my thumbs, they are outside the mosque chatting, having coffee and a smoke, and enjoying life! I definately don't yet understand why they do some of the things they do...

Tonight more clinic, then we are going to a professional soccer match which is held at the Sports Club where I am staying. Soccer (their football) is as big as our college football, and there will be 30,000 people here tonight. As I have never been to a pro soccer match, I'm looking forward to it. Afterwards, the UAE National Team coach (an American) is goint to take me out on the town. Should be interesting!

Five more days till I get home! Can't wait to eat normal food and take chances with the Swine Flu (obviously, Swine flu won't get here, as it is forbidden to eat / touch / have any contact with pigs...

Till next time!

Abu Dhabi: Boca Raton on Steroids!

Good evening everyone! Well, I just can't express to you in words my experience in Abu Dhabi. If you won the billion dollar lottery, and you didn't know what to do with your money, you would have created this city! The capital of the UAE, A.D. as I'll call it is rich. FILTHY rich. And when I say filthy, I mean because of OIL.

After a solid night sleep last night, went to work out and for a run this morning. Was nice to work out again, but struggled a little after not having done anything for 2 weeks ( I hate sliding back a few steps!). But after a great lunch (I won't rave about the food anymore, you know how good it is!), I met the directors of the clinic here, and we proceeded to drive to the school where the clinic was being held. Upon the drive downtown, we passed building after building of superior architecture skyscrapers. I was amazed at how nice these buildings were, many looked like the nice hotels on the Vegas strip. Very elegant these buildings were. Porches, Jaguars, BMW's and Hummers flanked us by all sides, as these are obviously the cars yo own here...

When we got to the clinic site, I walked in to check out the room. The clinic here is being held in a boys High school, and had a very southwestern design to it. I walked in the room, and thought I walked into the Metropolitan Opera house! It was HUGE, nice red carpeting everywhere, with roews of very nicely upholstered seats, kind of like a NICE movie theater. The front row was lined with 10 of the biggest, fattest, most comfortable looking leather Lazyboy chairs you have ever seen (like huge thrones, no lie!). I was told those were for the board members and dignitaries. There was a huge screen on the stage, and all of the computer and technical lighting equipment to put on a Broadway play!

There are about 100 people in this clinic, and the audience is a bit more educated and diverse. I saw 2 women who definitely Arabian, and introduced my self, asking them the same. One was from the UK, and the other was from Knoxville Tennessee! They both were wives of husbands who were contracted to work in the UAE, and they both worked in coaching. I have to admit it was nice hearing someone who spoke English like myself, and the southern twang was an added bonus!

After the clinic, I was taken for a nice dinner at a restaurant right on the inlet of the ocean. The horizon of the city was stunning, and the food indescribably good. Had a plate of grilled beef, chicken, and lamb with vegetables and falafel bread and french fries. Of course I had my Orange Fanta as I have so started to rely on so much! We ate and watched the billion dollar yachts cruise by (kinda like being in Boca Raton or Ft. Lauderdale). It was very relaxing to say the least!

After dinner we went to a nearby mall to check things out. Marble floors, gold trim everything, extravagant lighting: it was all there! All the brand stores as well, at prices that are quite a bit cheaper than the U.S. They even had a Starbucks! I felt at home already...

Ok, it's 1:15am here now, doesn't feel like it at all! Going to teach drills tomorrow in the school's 50 meter pool...stinks to have all this right??

Will try to post some pics tomorrow! Have a great day, night, or whatever time it is wherever you are...

Ron

PS- the best news all day? NO BUTTON in the showers. Life is indeed good.

Follow up blog (3 things just came onto my radar!)

Three things I just found out:


1) The food here is UNBELIEVABLE! Just had a small sampler plate of baked lemon fish, mushroom ravioli, sauteed potatoes, soup and salad, and some awesome dessert! Honestly, may be the best hotel food I have ever had! woo hoo!

2) A semi-decent 10 year old age-group swimmer gets paid $1000 a month to swim by the government in hopes to keep them in the sport and make them succesful...$12k a year for a 10 year old!!! The National Team swimmers get $4000 a month, and there is no attendance requirement...

3) My bathroom toilet has a spray hose (a la bidet style). A little spray for my bum...cheeky baby, YEAH!

Ron

Abu Dhabi

So after a 3 hour flight, I landed in Abu Dhabi. The airport was quite nice, and the terminal looked like a giant clamshell, very nice architecture to say the least. The first thing I noticed upon walking outside? HELLO HEAT! It was 102 degrees, 100% humidity, and a blowing breeze (which only created the effect of a furnace blowing in the winter). My interpreter and driver, Mohammed (which if I didn't mention, is as common as Chris in the States) said this was actually cool...you GOTTA be kidding me!

Drove a bit through Abu Dhabi, passed one of the palaces-it was like the Biltmore House in size, only all built in marble. Abu Dhabi sits in the middle of the Sahara desert, and was created in 1973 when all the arab leaders of the desert villages (called SHAKES, and are basically multi-billionnaire oil tycoons) got together and said "why dont we all pull our money together and start a country?" Thus was created the United Arab Emirates (or UAE), and the journey to create a country of plush greenery and the worlds nicest and largest buildings, all in the middle of the desert!

My hotel is actually in the Al Jazira Sports Club, a huge professional sports facility housing a soccer stadium, tennis courts, track, and a 50 meter pool. The club has its own pro soccer team, which has access to 2 restaurants, workout facility, lounge, rehab rooms, and TV studio. It also has a 44 room hotel for the player's and coach's guests, which is where I am staying. The room is VERY nice, much nicer obviously than that in Cairo. I am also quite happy I will be able to workout again, starting to feel kinda sluggish!

Off to watch the club team practice here, then get some dinner. I am quite tired from the flight, may turn in early tonight. The clinic here starts tomorrow...

Ron