Wishing you all the best

Our presentations are complete!   We had a great farewell "local" dinner in Dubai. Now it is time to say goodbye.  From all of us...

 Team 1: Giulia, Yadov, Cheryl, and Robert

Team 2:  Ryutaro, Sunil, Rosa, Angela, and Yves

Team 3:  Seongsoo, Deb, Thomas, Asuka, and Karthik

Wishing you all the best!

#ibmcsc  #uae #dot

Souqs, souqs and more souqs

It has been fun to explore the souqs located in Sharjah and Dubai.  I have to admit, I was not prepared for the sensory overload from these visits.  From Hollywood's representations of these markets, I expected to find vendors displaying their wares in the streets.  I did not expect to find rows of shops squeezed together, overflowing with merchandise.  I also did not realize that souks specialize in product categories.  For instance, there are souqs for

 nuts,

 spices,

                                                                                   fish,

                  

                       fruit,

      

                                                         pets,

                                                                  and  livestock.

I think you get the point by now.  Shopping malls are organized much like souqs.  Services, such as tailors and cell phones, are grouped together on a floor, women's fashion on another, with electronics in a separate area.  Giulia has noticed that stores along streets are organized along the same concept.  For instance, in Sharjah there is a place known as cell phone roundabout.  IBM is located in Internet City.  Global Knowledge is part of Knowledge City, etc.

Here ends our shopping excursions for the day.  I hope you enjoyed it.   

#ibmcsc  #uae

                                                                                     

                                                                                

                                                            

The Sounds of Nightfall

I explore the hotel and hotel grounds just slightly before dusk.

There is much laughter and squeals of delight coming from the pool area.  A hotel employee scolds a boy from climbing up a ladder marked “keep off.”

Walking down a long jetty, I get faint whisps of petunias that line part of the walkway.  The sun fades quickly. 

 I hear the beginning of the Maghrib prayer coming from the Mosque behind me on my right.  The male voice is penetrating and of high pitch.

 I am adjacent to the dry dock ship repair structure -- sharp, brusque commands circulate over the loudspeaker.

The flag at the end of the jetty flaps loudly in the breeze.  It competes quite well with the other sounds carrying in the air.   I hear a low-sounding voice behind me.  

 

It is the evening prayer coming from the mosque closer to the hotel. I walk back toward the hotel.  As I get closer to the hotel, street noise adds to the cacophony of sounds.  The prayer ends.  Sounds from cars honking, trucks with loud engines, accelerating buses, and sirens fill the air.

#ibmcsc  #uae