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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Dubai Trend Rule #1


at a cafe,


it is cool to "see and be seen."



I used to only see this scene with only guys --but now there are some gals who are starting to sit at cafes like this as well.

and yes, you do see 2, 3, or 4 guys squeezing in on one side of their table so they are all facing out just like that!!

23 comments:

  1. I never understood this. Whenever An old friend or friends want to get together its always lets go to (some cafe)

    I dont like crowds, nor do I want the whole world knowing my business. Also, cafes are expensive, I never understood why people would sit at a cramped table, in a crowded place, and drink a 30 dirham coffee when we can all get together in the majlis at my house, with a huge TV, tea, coffee, and any munchies you want.

    I guess it is the "cool" thing, just like so much in our lives these days, the cultural art of sitting in a majlis is slowly being lost.

    And I wish the girls they stared at were worth the annoyance and 30 dirhams for a crappy cup of coffee. They arent.

    Many therapists are needed for people who do this.

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  2. Aww did you draw that? This is soo cute!

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  3. SubhanaAllah, this i never understood and never will !

    Are you doing these images yourself? or ? Cause they are neat!! mashaAllah

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  4. as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah,

    yes I drew it :) thanks!!

    ha ha ha ha the other drawing on the ashes, ashes, we all fall down post I had to take a pic of the drawing, upload and color it because the scanner wasn't working.

    last night I took a pic of this drawing of mine, uploaded it and colored it in---but the scanner was working--I was just too lazy to walk to the other room where it is LOL

    LOL A Blessing in Tragedy about them needing therapy!!

    its just ridiculous how guys sit to face out so they get attention and so they can stare at all the women walking by. and they look ridiculous too.

    I suppose for the girls sitting like this, they are doing it to be looked at by the passing guys.

    The first time I saw 4 guys squeezing into one side of the table like this I told my husband
    "I must take a picture and show my family!!!" since they would think its hilarious to see--
    and he was like, "NO, they'll know your taking a picture of them!!"

    he'd be ok if I could stand far away and use my big zoomer camera, but I don't carry it around with me everywhere I go LOL so I never get the shot!!

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  5. Assalam alaikum

    The good thing is that there are a lot of people who see these things and they understand it's not good. All the people who comment on this post know it. My husband and his friends they know it too. Impossible for them go on the weekend evening to Dubai malls or Global village without their families, and even with their families because of all the fitnah going on there. Many Emirati men hate it: boys going to the malls to look at and flirt with the girls and all those young "free" girls with sexy shoes, make up, tiny abayas etc.

    It's frustrating though how many young people embrace that lifestyle :-S

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  6. Twizzle, I've never seen this.. I think that I get soooooooooooooo shy when passing by the cafe's, cause I see so many white thobes (from my Peripheral vision) and I turn the other cheek. They sure do need therapy! honestly. The drawings are really cute.. ;)) Made me laugh out loud!!!!

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  7. Alice, you know just how to word your words. :) I know my husband hates seeing young boys walking in the malls. He honesty gets so ticked. The only reason he goes to the malls, is cause I wanna go. He's very traditional. Where are the parents? God only knows, my 15 almost 16 yr old daughter would NEVER and I mean, NEVER go to a mall alone with her friends. This will apply to our boys, too.

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  8. Assalam alaikum

    Texan in UAE, you wrote you've never seen young men sit like that because you don't look- that's exactly what I wanted to write too! When I see with my peripheral vision some people in white I automatically don't look their way (out of personal shyness and out of respect for their wives- don't think they would like me checking out their men) Sometimes dh tells me something like: Did you see that guy I made salam to? He's my cousin. And I say: what guy? I don't look at guys. lol

    Last time we went to one of Dubai malls dh told me he really hates going to the malls. I did not comment on that (was careful not to encourage his hate for shopping malls :) because I looooooooove going to the malls (when the malls are NOT crowded like on Friday evenings at the end of the month when everybody gets salary). Women love shopping and especially housewives need these goings out from time to time to feel HAPPY!

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  9. LOOOOOOL this post was funny because I've seen it too!! I don't really sit in the cafes @ the Malls because it's like asking "hey look at me" even if you really aren't. Better to go into a private restaurant or something.

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  10. If you dont mind me asking, how large is the picture/what is it done with/what is it done on?

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  11. as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah,

    you mean the drawing right?

    ummm the original drawing I drew was done on a half sheet of notebook-size paper... then I took a photo of it and uploaded it (I do have a scanner, I was just too lazy to go to the room that had it LOL)...then I colored it in with a free program named GIMP-- but the photo was huge (3258 X 1914) so I reduced it to 25% of the photo size (815 X 479) and there you have it.

    that is what you wanted to know right? LOL

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  12. Yes. lol. If it was large and on a canvas I'd buy it, not kidding. I think it's very well done and is a mark of our times. I'd so have it hanging in my living room!

    You should do a large one on a canvas and sell it to me! (I'm serious)

    GIMP... Linux or Mac?

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  13. oh wow, thank you so much, I am very flattered.

    However, I am only experienced with drawing on regular drawing paper....I don't paint and don't know if I can get good color effects with pencils on canvas.. I suppose I could go by a real el cheapo canvas board and test it out though...

    would you insist on canvas?

    GIMP program is on my regular Windows-based PC -- you can see the info at http://www.gimp.org/ :)

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  14. i love how you have the western expats sitting in the back, totally oblivious to the ritual of seeing-and-being-seen going on up front!

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  15. You could always do it on large art paper. Like the heavy stuff, They have different sizes and weights. But seriously, if you do end up doing a piece that is an A3ish or larger size and want to sell it, I'd totally buy it! Way too cool, the social commentary going on it it. You also did another a while back, that one is just as good. Sadly my art skills are about as good as a 2 year olds... Probably worse.

    I also use the GIMP, it started as a Linux prog and using X11 Ive used it on my Mac since 2003. I didnt know they made a Windows version. Nice!

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  16. ok... I will take a look at some options and get back to you inshallah.

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  17. yes dust n roses, people who sit behind the outer row alway sit AROUND the table like normal LOL

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  18. Something just dawned on me about this post today.

    Although what you said is very very true, there is another aspect at play here.

    Today I was out with buddies, and we are all older and not the girl oogling types, however, we found ourselves on one side of a table, but we were face in the cafe, not out.

    It dawned on me that culturally, it is the norm to sit in a long row.

    Think about it, in any majlis, in any news story where ministers are meeting eachother, the chairs are always SIDE BY SIDE.

    It just poped into my head, even in our majlis downstairs, the seating is in 2 rows facing eachother, but they are all side to side.

    Even in old fashioned tents, we dont sit around the center, but around the 2 or 3 sides, all side to side.

    I am not sure why, but it just isnt done, I thought of times when I have been with my father, uncle... just family, and we will actively pick up the chars and assemble them in a row, or close to a row.

    There is a cultural factor at play here as well.

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  19. mmmmm... I just showed your reply to my husband and he just thought about it for a while and now said maybe its out of habit... though none of his friends/family do it.

    its interesting you guys just naturally did that though.
    I personally have never seen guys sitting in a row facing into the cafe...

    :)

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  20. oh, yeah, our majlis seating is side by side when I think about it too!

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  21. SEE! OUR MAJLIS IS ALL SEATING SIDE BY SIDE TOO!

    I'm not even sure why... Im tempted to go move the chairs into a semi circle and see what my brothers/cousins do when they come over for Wii...

    Social experiment!

    Just saying, some of us older guys do that and we arent checking anyone out, usually it's after a 12 hour work day and we just want a triple shot mocha!!! And trust me, you sit at work for 12 hours in the same kandoora and sufra... You look like crap, The sufra isnt crisp anymore so you look like an old Egyptian farmer, your sweaty and your face is oily, and the damn 3agal wont stay still anymore... Trust me, we know no one in their right mind is going to check us out. lol.

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  22. LOL @ looking like old farmers!! :D

    It would probably be very obvious when guys are sitting side by side in one row and having a conversation with each other, vs. a group of guys sitting in a row watching the women walking by--even if they are holding a conversation.

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