After driving for about 15 minutes in the white van with Ismail, he said that we were going to meet a woman named Amina. She is the "big dog" of the club and is the head manager (as I found out later), I was expecting..well I didn't really know what to expect, just not what she turned out to be. We pull over and this white mercedes comes by us honking, yep that was Amina. She gets out of the car and is wearing all black, with the traditional robe on and her head dress ( to be more politically correct, I will try and use the word "Keffiyeh", which is their Arabic term for it). Her face was showing, thank goodness, I don't think I could've handled a mask on the first night I get to UAE. She had dark sunglasses on and a big smile..and she might be about 60 years old. Probably one of the nicest women I have met in a long time, except she really couldn't speak english, so I got in the car and we sat in silence, until the phone rang. It was a 25 year old girl named Hya, who I later found out is the direct manager for my team within the club and she speaks english very well. So, Amina handed the phone over to me and the girl said, "Hi Alex, I am Hya. Amina is going to see her friend whose uncle passed away, so it will take about ten minutes and then she will take you to your hotel." I nodded and said, "okay sounds good.." I got off the phone, and in my head was thinking probably every thing one human can possibly think about at once. We kept on driving and then all of a sudden 2 white cars (a toyota and a very nice BMW) flew by us and honked; we started following them. I am assuming a.) these are her friends who we are following to this get together and b.) EVERY car in the UAE is white. This caravan took about 20 min longer than expected, I think we got very lost, but of course Amina couldn't really tell me that, all she did was chuckle. We pull into this HUGE house, I may even go as far as saying palace, every white car is pulling in. We pull over and the two friends get out of their car..I later find out one of them is Hya, the girl I spoke to on the phone and another girl named Fatma, who is on my team. All three women go into this palace, while the white American girl (me) hangs out in the car feeling all sorts of emotions: awkward, anxious, worried, interested, wide-eyed. You get the point. I just am watching all these Arabic people walk in and out of this place; men are in white, women are in black. I am starting to think it is a big time person who passed away, but then again, maybe not, maybe this is just how they do it here when someone dies. Anyway..Amina finally comes back and we get in the car, after about another 30 minutes of driving ( I think she got a little lost, even with my bad sense of direction I could sense that we were driving in circles), we arrived at the hotel called "Sharjah Airport Hotel".
Sidenote: I am already being surprised on this trip for several reasons.
1. I thought that I was going to playing in Dubai..turns out I am going to be playing the tournament in another "emirate" or state called Sharjah, about 10 minutes away from Dubai.
2. I thought Cory said I was going to be put up in a 5 star hotel..this was probably a 1 star.
3. Did I mention all cars are white, well except for about 2 black ones I saw? Oh yeah, and they also put a black screen on their windshield that goes from the top down until the driver's eye height. (we will get to that later)
4. Every single woman wears a Keffiyeh..I knew I was going to an Arab country, but I thought UAE had some "non-Arabic" people, according to some of my sources. This is actually a pleasant surprise, as I want to be completely immersed in the culture (and be the signature white, blue eyed girl).
We get into the hotel, and Amina seems surprised ( I think she was lost again, because she acted like this was the wrong hotel) but she ends up getting me a room and drops me off and tells me to sleep, to have breakfast and then someone will call me tomorrow. Okay?!?!?!
Next morning (Wednesday) I wake up at about 12 because of my severe case of jet lag and tossing & turning all night. I finally get a chance to see my view..or lack there of. I look out of my window and see a pool..well an empty, dirty pool. And all of a sudden my only hope is shattered..what am I going to do all day until they call? I decide to shower, hoping this would make me feel better, only to find out there is no hot water. So far, this so called adventure is really pleasant. I order room service, because Amina said to order whatever I wanted, so I ordered some food hoping it would make me feel better. It did for sure. But in my head I am still thinking, wow this is going to be such a long trip, if this is where I am going to stay..in the middle of nowhere it seemed, in a quiet hotel, with a dirty, empty pool and cold water. This is not how I envisioned the UAE.
My phone rings. It's Amina, she says "Hi Alex. Come to lobby and bring bag, we go to different hotel." HALLELUJAH!!! I don't think I have packed a bag so fast in my life! I was down there in 2.5 minutes. I met Amina in the lobby and another woman (forgot her name already) who is my coach. I get in the car with Amina and she says, "wrong hotel..this one will be much better." Turns out, it WAS the wrong hotel! I was so excited..I think my trip was going to take a turn for the better. It had to.
Sidenote: I am already being surprised on this trip for several reasons.
1. I thought that I was going to playing in Dubai..turns out I am going to be playing the tournament in another "emirate" or state called Sharjah, about 10 minutes away from Dubai.
2. I thought Cory said I was going to be put up in a 5 star hotel..this was probably a 1 star.
3. Did I mention all cars are white, well except for about 2 black ones I saw? Oh yeah, and they also put a black screen on their windshield that goes from the top down until the driver's eye height. (we will get to that later)
4. Every single woman wears a Keffiyeh..I knew I was going to an Arab country, but I thought UAE had some "non-Arabic" people, according to some of my sources. This is actually a pleasant surprise, as I want to be completely immersed in the culture (and be the signature white, blue eyed girl).
We get into the hotel, and Amina seems surprised ( I think she was lost again, because she acted like this was the wrong hotel) but she ends up getting me a room and drops me off and tells me to sleep, to have breakfast and then someone will call me tomorrow. Okay?!?!?!
Next morning (Wednesday) I wake up at about 12 because of my severe case of jet lag and tossing & turning all night. I finally get a chance to see my view..or lack there of. I look out of my window and see a pool..well an empty, dirty pool. And all of a sudden my only hope is shattered..what am I going to do all day until they call? I decide to shower, hoping this would make me feel better, only to find out there is no hot water. So far, this so called adventure is really pleasant. I order room service, because Amina said to order whatever I wanted, so I ordered some food hoping it would make me feel better. It did for sure. But in my head I am still thinking, wow this is going to be such a long trip, if this is where I am going to stay..in the middle of nowhere it seemed, in a quiet hotel, with a dirty, empty pool and cold water. This is not how I envisioned the UAE.
My phone rings. It's Amina, she says "Hi Alex. Come to lobby and bring bag, we go to different hotel." HALLELUJAH!!! I don't think I have packed a bag so fast in my life! I was down there in 2.5 minutes. I met Amina in the lobby and another woman (forgot her name already) who is my coach. I get in the car with Amina and she says, "wrong hotel..this one will be much better." Turns out, it WAS the wrong hotel! I was so excited..I think my trip was going to take a turn for the better. It had to.
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