Last night, while out for a run in the mostly Filipino neighborhood behind my building, I got harassed by a particularly obnoxious car full of Indian guys. Now usually when I'm running outside here, I turn my iPod up loud enough so that I can't hear anything - it's a tradeoff between increasing my risk of getting hit by traffic but decreasing my blood pressure to the extent that I can actually run (because I'm sure if I heard every comment that got hooted at me during your average 5-miler, my head would probably explode about 200 yards out the door).
Anyhow, all this is to say that the jeering and leering doesn't usually bother me because I refuse to let myself be aware of it; but for whatever reason, this car full of guys last night got my attention. So as they're hanging out the windows of their Nissan Sunny yelling things at me in Malayam/Tamil/[insert other incomprehensible South Indian language here], I had to first fight the urge to do what I would do in a part of the world where civil liberties exist, which would be to flip them the bird, obvi. But then - always one to think on my feet! - I quickly enacted the next best gesture I could think of which wouldn't land me in jail, which was an elaborate show of fake vomiting, complete with doubling over (as I ran), fingers down my mouth, and an array of retching/heaving noises.
Now of course as I was doing this, I realized how ridiculous I looked - but what was even more disconcerting was the realization that yes, I've actually been here long enough that I've started to instinctively adapt my obscene gestures such that I cannot be imprisoned for them lest I catch the eye of a roving undercover police officer.
So with that, loyal readers, let me say: it's time for me to get back to America (and for longer than 48 hours, to boot). For as much as I love Dubai, I've also never been quite so convinced that America is the best gosh-darn country in the world, and you know the circumstances must be pretty dire for me to start thinking that.
So after a day of partying (I mean... observing Eid) tomorrow and 3 quick flights (Zurich-DC-Nashville) on Tuesday night, I'll be back across the ponds until 29 December... and not a moment too soon.
Eid Mubarak, Merry Christmas, and see you soon!
