Thursday, October 27, 2005

Nostalgia, expat-style-Oct. 27, 2005

Nostalgia’s a tricky thing. Everyone longs for their younger years or old flames or their non-freckled, non-wrinkled, or otherwise tainted-with-age skin. But an expat has a particular kind of nostalgia. It’s kind of a warped, edging on delusional, nostalgia. It very often reverses memories and you may find yourself reminiscing about rednecks in bar fights or grumpy gas station cashiers.

When you leave your “home country” behind you conjure up lots of good reasons to be gladly rid of it. Such as, say, dumb-ass presidents for example, or bad economies or dismal weather. Whatever the case may be, in addition to “looking forward to a new adventure in a new land,” it helps to add on a list of ills against your own.

And being an expat in the land of expats (the Gulf), comparing cultures and countries is an everyday sport. Often the comparisons and ribbing get so heated that you sometimes hear yourself defending the very things you once shunned.

It’s interesting to hear about what other expats are missing about their home countries. More than one Canadian I know is currently wistful about changing seasons. Lots of photos of brilliant autumn leaves are cropping up on blogs and in magazines here.

And less poetic perhaps, but no less powerful – winter clothes. Many expats here have become particularly melancholy over the memory of snuggly sweaters and mittens worn while watching a football match. Or the quintessentially cool black leather jacket, worn anywhere and everywhere. And boots. Boots, with wool skirts or trousers or denim. So sexy and yet so practical.

Last night at the mall I watched my friend go gooey-eyed in Kenneth Cole at his reflection in a pea coat. And in a cardigan. And in a leather bomber.

Oddly, Dubai’s myriad mega-malls are filled to the brim with such winter collections when the temperature is still in the 90sF. This is most likely because the shops are global brands (Zara, Marks & Spencer, Saks, and the like) and the stock is the exact same as the stores in Munich, Amsterdam and New York – where it’s (sigh) chilly. And for the expat community – many of whom come from places where its 30 to 40 degrees cooler than here – it’s torture.

So what is an expat to do? Well, Dubai has answered the call of expats in need of a winter wonderland. Ski Dubai opens for business next week. It's located conveniently at the mall, where you can buy a jacket, gloves and hat, and use them right there on the man-made slopes. Not only are there five slopes, but Ski Dubai has chalet-style cafes and restaurants where hot-chocolate sippers can rub their arms where goosebumps (remember!) have appeared. There’s pine trees, their branches cleverly weighted down with snow. Oh, and an ice-skating rink where if you close your eyes for millisecond you can pretend you’re at Rockefeller Center during the holidays. But don’t shut them for too long. Chances are you’ll get knocked over by an expat from Kuwait who just put on skates for the first time in his life.

This too, one day, we’ll be nostalgic for.

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