RICKY DLS 英会話 blog

These are my trick-or-treat goodies: Brazilian pralines, a salty chocolate bar, melty kisses (yeah they’re out!) and Weider’s protein bars (available again, thank goodness). The salty chocolate is amazing, at first it’s sweet, then it leaves a salty aftertaste. Try it! HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY and I hope your trick-or-treating was as bountiful as mine!

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That’s what I call a fun night out: sipping cocktails at the Skyview Bar on the 27th floor of the Burj-al-Arab Tower, 200 meters above sea level. We had a nice, comfortable table, but without a view! What’s worth mentioning is their unusual variety of exotic drinks. My first choice was a “Mega Mexican” and I was really excited to see it was made with Don Julio Reposado tequila which I hadn’t had in many years!! Fresh strawberries, strawberry cream liquor and black pepper gave the cocktail a unique touch. My second selection was a “Mumbaitini”. As the name suggests, it was mixed with Bombay Sapphire gin, liquorice, coriander, cloves and lemon. Finally I had a “Guava City” with Don Julio Reposado (addictive!), coriander, fresh guavas and FRESH CHILIS elaborated into an exquisite mousse. Mouthwatering! The cocktail was decorated with a big red chili and I ate that one too of course!! What’s worth mentioning is that in the sumptous restroom a lady perfumed me with Al Hamra, a heavy Oriental fragrance.

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That’s what I call perfect timing: In the purple craze of this fall British scientists have developed a purple tomato by genetically modifying, yep, an ordinary red tomato. The purpose is not getting vegetables ready for the runway but creating a super-weapon against cancer! The magic tomato contains antioxidants that protect against cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Two genes taken from the snapdragon flower are responsible for the dark color. Fab food or fad food? Who knows. What I do know is that I was going to buy a pair of purple boots this morning, but of course the store didn’t carry my size … aahhh … in moments like these I wish I had Cinderella feet.

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Dubai cab drivers are chronically late. On the other hand, if you as a passenger/customer show up late be prepared for irritated looks and cabbies snapping at you! We soon realized that in Dubai if we needed a taxi at let’s say 7, we had to request it for 6:30 in order to get to our appointment on time. Trying to adjust to the culture and blend in, so to speak, we didn’t really worry too much about being on time. Were we wrong! The first time we were late for a requested cab we got a fierce look and the driver said without batting an eye “I have been waiting for you and I don’t get paid for waiting.” On a different occasion halfway to our destination the cab driver suddenly went “It’s three and my shift is over. I think I can’t drive you all the way there.” We convinced him to at least drop us off near our target location.

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This is the hyperactive, hypercurious, hypercute addition to my family: ZAFIRO. He’s been with us for several weeks now and has adjusted well to his new surroundings i.e. Luisa, Atomo and - me! Being a Siamese, he’s fierce and forceful, and being a former stray cat these characteristics are intensified. For the first two days he was scratching, biting, hissing and giving off dangerous dark sounds that were in disproportion to his little body! I needed thick gloves to pick him up and fetch him from one of his many hideouts. On day three he started to play with me, and most importantly, with Atomo!

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When I come home from work at night Atomo is always the first one to greet me at the front door, rubbing himself against my legs and meowing passionately. Last Thursday I unlocked the door and to my surprise I realized that Atomo was not waiting there as usual. Within a few seconds he came slinking from the living room, yawning and with sleepy eyes. I thought it was strange that for the first time in almost two years he hadn’t been there at the door to be the first one to say hello to me … The next morning he had a cough, and when I came back from work at night he was coughing and sneezing. I took him to the vet this morning and fortunately he didn’t have a fever or anything serious. He has the cat flu which Zafiro passed on to him! As for medication, he got a shot and antibiotics in powder form. As far as Zafiro is concerned - I’ll tell you more about him soon!

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The air-conditioned shopping and food fun was over as soon as we stepped out into the ardent mid-summer heat. To our dismay we realized that to get a cab we had to stand in a lengthy line … There were, however, clerks helping with organizing the cab craze, shoving couples into smaller cars and groups into vans. Other than taxis there was also an impressive array of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Alfa Romeos. Seems like affluent Dubaiites are fond of Italian stuff, not only with cars but also when it comes to garments. So here we were in this long long line and everybody was either completely covered in tunicas or dressed from head to toe in Gucci or Versace, bejeweled in lots of gold and women wearing lots and lots of makeup. What a contrast to Sapporo! When it was our turn we realized to our delight that we were going to ride in one of the famous lady cabs! The cars’ tops are painted candy pink and likewise, the drivers’ uniforms are pink and they cover their faces with white veils (see pics). The mall was only a few miles away from our lodging and hence we didn’t have much time to talk to the driver even though we had a thousand questions to ask her. We enjoyed the ride so much that we asked her to pick us up the next day at 11 AM. She said she’d be off from work at that time but promised to send a coworker of hers and even gave us her phone number, just in case. Only, neither she nor her coworker showed up the next day and when we called her (the colleague) she said she hadn’t heard a word about our promised pick-up. Luckily, she came anyway and drove us to Wild Wadi water park. Again, we asked her to come for us at 6 PM and again we waited in vain. We called but no answer. When we called the other lady driver she said she was in a different part of town and wouldn’t be able to come anytime soon. So, why didn’t we just hop into a street cab? We would have, if there had been enough! Seems like the population in Dubai is exploding and taxi supply can’t keep up with the increased demand. Basically, there were people at every street corner trying to catch a cab, and even though there are plenty, they’re mostly full.

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Arab with four wives and two kids at the Mall of the Emirates
We had lunch at the Mall of the Emirates’ food court - WOW, incredible! Lebanese, Turkish, Iranian, Italian etc. in a stylish environment, all tables had tablecloths and there were hordes of waiters in well-designed uniforms. In true Arab tradition the first thing that is served are bowls of olives, green and black, in olive oil, one bowl per person. Needless to say, we devoured them. Then they brought us a huge plate of vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers and some local veggies. Interestingly, they were whole i.e. not chopped and we ourselves cut them into bite-sized pieces and poured extra virgin olive oil on them. The vegetable plate too is a Dubai tradition and is, like the olives, free of charge! We ordered MEZZE like hummus and tabbouleh with pita bread, lamb chops and beef for the main course. Out of this world and one of the most impressive food courts I’ve seen. It’s Dubai after all.

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Arabs, Indians and Westerners take a glance at Ski Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates in the Dubai desert. Today I heard that the first yukimushi snow insects have been sighted in Sapporo. They’re tiny, black with a white spot on their backs and from their first appearance snowfall is usually about two weeks away - which means it’s about time to get all your winter gear ready, boots, coat, hats, gloves, mufflers etc. Snow - that was the last thing that came to my mind in Dubai, and even though I had of course heard of the artificial ski slope in the desert I bumped into it through sheer coincidence. On my first day I was a bit jet-lagged especially since we had arrived in the Emirates in the early morning hours due to a technical problem with the aircraft and a delay of about four hours. Shopping seemed the most logical thing to do on a day where you’re not in your five senses, and what mall could be more appealing for tourists as one with a name as pretentious as the Mall of the Emirates … Our hopes were running high and we did not end up disappointed. As expected, there was lots of marble, lots of gold and - to our excitement and dismay at the same time - lots of Arabs in the company of three or four wives! At first we doubted that they all really were spouses but locals later confirmed that they were. The pattern was usually something like this: A huge guy in a white tunica and gutra (Muslim headband) walking first, behind him three or four women, all of them huge as well, covered from head to toe in black which means we could only see their eyes through a slot in their veils. And because this was the Mall of the Emirates, they all carried large shopping bags with brand names like Versace, Gucci or Dolce&Gabbana. Just - when do they ever wear these fancy clothes? They wear them under their black tunicas! In the nicely air-conditioned mall that certainly wasn’t that uncomfortable. But don’t ask me how they must feel once they leave the comfort zones of shopping centers or restaurants …

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This is me with some of my coworkers (left) and teaching at a recent DLS event. Fun!! 私が働いているDLS（ダウンタウン・ランゲージ・スクール）は、とてもフレンドリーな学校で、札幌の中心街にあります。他の５人の外国人講師たちと一緒に授業を行っています。私たちは、外国語や海外の文化を、インターナショナルでリラックスした雰囲気の中で習得していただくのをモットーとしております。学ぶ＝楽しいこと。私たちの生徒は学ぶことを楽しみ、日々確実に上達しております。DLSで学び、外国語を身に付けましょう！DLSのWebサイトはこちらです。

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