Published: November 05, 2009 12:25 pm      

MCDONALD: Abu Dhabi with Bobby

Saint Augustine said, “the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”

I have been fortunate over the years to travel to many countries around the world from Europe to Latin America and to the Middle East. Recently, I spoke with a friend with whom I have not spoken in some time and was reminded of one of my more interesting trips.

I had called my old friend, Bob, on a business matter and he reminded me of a business trip we had taken to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates some 13 years before. He was glad to hear from me and told me that every time he hears the words Abu Dhabi or Dubai he thinks about our trip.

Bob was in the management of crises business and I was selling access to electronic information databases. He called me about working with him on a project for the Emirate government in Abu Dhabi. We arranged a date to meet together and discuss the project — a crisis warning databank — specifications and the timing of a trip to Abu Dhabi.

We timed a date around a trip that I had planned to make to Cairo, Egypt, and to Dubai. Bob would fly in to Abu Dhabi, an hour or so across the desert from Dubai.

On the appointed date, I rented a car in Dubai and drove to Abu Dhabi. Driving along a highway through the desert can lull you into a near trance state if you are not careful.

Apparently, I was not all that careful because at about an hour into the drive, I was jarred awake by the mother of all speed bumps placed strategically midway between the two cities to jolt drivers awake.

I checked into the hotel in Abu Dhabi and drove to the airport to meet Bob’s Swissair flight from Zurich. At the arrivals area, I met our Palestinian intermediary who was to host us at dinner that evening. Unfortunately, Bob’s flight was delayed and would not arrive until late in the evening.

In the Middle East, business is done by developing a relationship before terms and deals are ever discussed. Bob and I were there for a week and were hosted by the government Ministry of Information representatives. We were taken to the ministry offices to meet our contacts for introductions and then taken to various events throughout the week.

We were driven by a racetrack where camels were raced. At the time, children as young as 4 rode camels in races. In 2002, the United Arab Emirates banned the use of jockeys less than 15 years of age from racing. In 2004, the UAE set up a rehabilitation center for these children. These young jockeys were sold by poor parents into virtual slavery.

We also were taken to see a typical Bedouin camp. Bedouins are Arab nomadic tribes and most of the ethnic Arabs in the Emirates are of Bedouin heritage. By mid-week, our hosts scheduled a second meeting to discuss the project and their specifications and we listened to their concerns and asked questions.

Doing business in a foreign culture is always a challenge. We reminded ourselves that the establishment of a relationship was important and in the Middle East, every meeting included tea. Also in the Middle East, don’t cross your leg and display the bottom of your shoe as this displays contempt in Arab culture.

With our Palestinian intermediary interpreting for us, we listened and asked questions in preparation for making our presentation the following day, which we did.

During our final presentation to the ministry officials, Bob made a gaffe and suffered both my kicking his shin and our intermediary doing the same to stop him. It was an innocent statement and luckily our hosts found the humor.

Our final interaction after making our presentation was a farewell dinner with a few younger and lower-level officials from the ministry. They took us to a restaurant where belly dancers performed and the hookah pipe was offered with flavored tobacco.

Somewhere in my files, which I still cannot locate, is a picture of Abu Dhabi and me dancing with the belly-dancer. It’s probably just as well that the photo remain hidden.

Tim McDonald is an educator, author and voice-over artist and can be reached at timothy.mcdonald@agsfaculty.indwes.edu