TravelStream™ news feed for member elventryst on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/elventryst en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:47:02 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1194727380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1194727380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1194727380/tpod.html Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:47:02 -0500 Dubai: My temporary home in the Emirates

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Al Fay, Oman

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]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1194207300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1194207300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1194207300/tpod.html Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:35:52 -0500 Dubai: My temporary home in the Emirates

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Amman, Jordan

Today's adventures in modeling took me to a new country. I arose early and caught the plane to Amman, Jordan, which is a three-hour flight east of here. When I got off the plane, the fashion editor of U Magazine, Leen, was there to greet me and to give me a lift to the U office.
I was in town to shoot a 10-page fashion/editorial spread. Apparently, the best agency in the Middle East is my agency, Bareface, in Dubai, so they get all of their models from Dubai and fly them in. I was quite happy to get the booking as it was an opportunity to see someplace new. As it worked out, I was only in Jordan for about 8 hours, and all of my time in Jordan was spent shooting on a rooftop in Amman. I can hear it now: a random tourist/friend will ask "Oh, you were in Jordan? That's great! What did you do?" to which I will reply, "Well, you know, hung around on a rooftop." They'll be a bit confused by all this-- I mean, of all the beautiful places to go to in Jordan (Petra, the Dead Sea, the River Jordan were John the Baptist baptized Jesus), why was I just there on a rooftop. (Although, come to think of it, even when I was in Athens, I spent a lot of time on the rooftop there. The hotel Orion was a popular place to hang out, and it afforded a great view of the Acropolis. And, here in Dubai, I usually go once a day to my rooftop so that I can take a dip in the pool. Perhaps rooftops do have something to offer after all).
I saw a bit of Amman, the capital city of Jordan, but that was it. But, I did get to work with amazing people-- their hospitality is legend-- and I left there with an invitation for a more lengthy visit. So, we'll see. Maybe I'll get to see all of those places after all.
And, for those flying into Dubai, a note: expect to wait a LONG time in the immigration line at the airport. It took me nearly two hours to get through, and then to add insult to injury, I had to pay an extra 25 AED to catch a cab at the airport. Make sure you take advantage of that duty free though-- it'll be your last chance to buy cheap alcohol for a while. Ahh, welcome back to Dubai...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1195060980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1195060980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1195060980/tpod.html Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:15:23 -0500 Dubai: My temporary home in the Emirates

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

It really is my own fault. I am the loser sitting at home on a night when all of my girlfriends in Dubai are going out. The only problem is that they're going to Boudoir (that awful club where I got groped the other night) and I don't really feel like going through THAT again. My clubbing experiences in this city has taught me that the only music anyone knows here is house/trance/hip-hop. Ugh. Even when my American roommate (who, albeit, has been out of the country for three years) asked me what kind of music I like, and I replied, "Indie," he thought, with all seriousness that I had said Hindi. In fact, he had never heard of the term Indie music, which is a bit silly when Indie music (at least in the US) isn't even Indie anymore. I mean, at this point it should be called pop, judging from the number of kids listening to it these days.

But, I digress. This feels, in some ways, like someone's idea of hell. Due to the nature of my profession, I have massive amounts of free time. Aside from the trip to Jordan on Sunday, and a 4-hour job on Monday, I haven't had a thing to do all week. I am sure most people fantasize about this sort of thing, but when it's the norm week after week, you don't appreciate it so much. (Whining aside, I wouldn't trade this in for a so-called 9-to-5 job for anything). The part where hell comes in, though, isn't from the massive amounts of free time, but from the lack of resources of do anything with it. I am living out my suitcase, which means things that I normally could turn to to pass the time (my violin, my knitting, pulling out my art supplies, etc.) aren't with me. If I wanted to do something with the resources I have on hand, I would have to be creative with the few clothes, toiletries, and shoes I have on hand. I'm not feeling very inspired.

I am not sure if it's because of my personality, or because of my being a woman, but I am not so crazy about the idea of doing stuff on my own, especially in an unfamiliar (and Middle Eastern) town. I keep wishing my best friends, Corrie and Laura, were here with me, because I know the three of us would do a million things together. Dubai is actually a great locale because it is a jumping off place for many different areas. I would love to travel to India, to Jordan, to Kuwait, to Egypt-- all places that are easily accessible to me here in Dubai. But, instead, I wait here. And, I think of all my wonderful friends in New York. Two months (the duration of my stay) just isn't enough time to connect deeply with anyone. How frustrating to be here, but to be here on my own.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1192876920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1192876920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1192876920/tpod.html Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:43:29 -0500 Dubai: My temporary home in the Emirates

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Thursday I boarded a plane at Newark International Airport bound for Dubai. It was about a 19 hour flight, stopping once in Geneva, Switzerland (Wow! From the vantage point of my window seat, I could see the mountains, verdant fields, and meandering river of Geneva. It was such a beautifully pastoral setting that I've made a mental note to return at some future date.)

After another short stop-over in Doha, Qatar, I landed in Dubai, safe and sound, and feeling pretty good in spite of my long flight. I stocked up on three bottles of wine at the duty-free shop at the airport (once out of the airport, the only place you can buy alcohol is in the bars or hotels at an extremely inflated price. I doubt the wine will last for two months, but it will be a welcome comfort after some long tiresome photoshoot.)

I'm living in a brand new apartment. As of two weeks ago, it didn't even have gas or electricity, and even now, we're missing key items such as a table to eat off of, and curtains to cut the glare of the bright desert sun. We don't have an internet connection, which means I must use the connection in an overpriced cafe downstairs.

I currently have two roommates: Kerry, an American from Georgia, and Dana, a girl from the Czech republic. When I arrived late last night, Kerry was kind enough to fill me in on all of the ins and outs of Dubai. He has been here off and on for some time, and quite likes it here. Dana, who I met today, took me to the local Mall of the Emirates so that I could stock up on food. She seems very nice, and as she is to be here for the next five weeks, I imagine we will become quite close.

Tomorrow I go to the agency to meet my new bookers...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1196194200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1196194200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1196194200/tpod.html Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:28:18 -0400 Dubai: My temporary home in the Emirates

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Fridays are a holy day in the Middle East, the one day when businesses are shut, and the religious go to Mosque. I had been curious when church services would be, since in the west, Sunday is the Sabbath, but here Sunday is the first day of the work week, with Friday and Saturday being the weekend. (Talk about confusing! As if jetlag wasn't enough to deal with, this change of weekend really wreaks havoc on my psyche. For instance, tomorrow I am working all day, but I really resent it since in my mind it is a Sunday, my day of rest.)

After an awful night of clubbing on Thursday night-- 120 AED ($33 USD) to gain entrance to a multi-tiered club called Trilogy, where drinks were exorbitantly priced, and dark men swarmed like vultures looking for prey-- I astounded all of my roommates by waking up early and going to church.

My friend, Tony, in New York connected me with some people here in Dubai who belong to an evangelical church. An Indian couple, Lincy and Manoj, picked me up at my apartment and took me to the church, United Christian Church of Dubai (www.uccdubai.com). It is a multicultural congregation, and the sanctuary where services are held reflects this with flags from every nation hanging from the rafters. One woman told me that it is how she imagines heaven to be, with so many people of every skin color and every language praising God.

The pastor is an American from Washington, D.C. named John Folmar. In D.C. he was a protoge of Dr. Mark Dever of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, who, coincidentally, writes some the devotions that I read as part of my study. John has a loud, commanding voice and speaks with assurance.

The church is situated on land that was generously donated by the Sheikh of Dubai. It is part of a comglomorate of churches all built on the land, so at any given point there are several types of services going on, including Catholic services, Arabic services, and services in many different languages. The particular building that we meet in has at least 9 different types of Christian services going on there. It is truly a one stop shop for believers of any faith.

After church, the congregation moved outside to a small pool, where we witnessed and affirmed 14 baptisms. Everyone baptized was an adult, and as we stood under the hot Arabian sun, they testified how they came to have saving faith in the Lord. They spoke in accents ranging from American, to Australian, to Indian, and African, and various Asian accents. It was truly a baptism of all nations, and was humbling and blessed to see.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1193942400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1193942400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1193942400/tpod.html Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:08:34 -0400 Dubai: My temporary home in the Emirates

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

It's the beginning of a new month and I've been here for almost two weeks. I seem to have a lower tolerance for annoying things in foreign countries. This week found me cursing out some Lebanese men and being groped at a night club, both of which have caused me to argue with my roommates.

My roommate met a guy at a bar last week who she thought seemed nice, and since our chief form of entertainment consists of sitting in our shared room watching movies on our laptops (about the only thing this computer is good for since I don't have any internet here), we thought it might be a good idea to let him take us out.

Monday night found Dana (the Czech), Holly (the Scot) and me out with this guy, X, and his two friends. We went to dinner first, and then ended up having wine at a bar that one of the guy's father owns. I knew immediately when I saw X and his friends that they weren't the sort of guys I hang out with. They remind me of the frat boys from back home: cool jeans with a button-up dress shirt, and perfectly coiffed hair slicked back into a Ken doll style permanently fixed into place with copious amounts of hair gel. Any guy who thinks that this look equals cool is most certainly not the guy for me. It almost always screams out desperate, and usually these guys are just on the prowl for an easy woman.

It didn't much matter to me, though, as I was along to be part of the girl herd. (Yes, we women travel in mass. In general, when I hang out with strange men, I always bring along one, if not two of my girlfriends. This sort of hearkens back to the days when it was inappropriate for a woman to be alone with a man without a chaperone and I wonder if this ancient custom is still hardwired in us somehow). I was fairly content to sit back, enjoy my wine, and observe. Unfortunately, X, decided to derive his amusement for the evening by picking on me. He made fun of everything I did, starting with asking me to repeat words in French and then making fun of my accent. (Hello-- I will have a non-native accent since I don't speak French with a native tongue, or at all for that matter! I'd love to see a Frenchman make fun of his Lebanese French accent). From there, he went from American bashing (the oh-so-original pastime of the masses these days), to making fun of how I walked, how I held my glass of wine, and on down the line until I finally was afraid to move or speak at all lest it encourage some new jest. I finally asked him to stop, saying that I wasn't happy, but he turned that into another joke, and I finally lashed out like a a tiger emerging from my cage with my claws out and ready to strike. I certainly lost my temper, and gave him a piece of my mind, causing something of a scene. Afterwards, my roommates accused me of being a bad American. (This "bad" American thing drives me crazy. It it akin to saying that a angry or upset woman must be PMSing. Since women obviously have emotions all month long, it doesn't necessarily follow that they have PMS. Similarily, just because I happen to be American doesn't mean that every time I act in a way that is different from the way the locals act that I am being a bad or typical American). I don't know. I think I was just being an angry female.

Last night we went to a club called Boudoir to celebrate Halloween. I had every intention to stay home, but my roommates dragged me out. I wasn't crazy about the place at all. It was filled with people I can only describe as the "Bridge and Tunnel" crowd, and the music was some horrible R&B. To make matters worse, within minutes of arriving there, in the company of Dana, and two guys (my other roommate, Kerry, and his friend Sascha), I felt a unidentified hand snaking up my skirt. I shot around as fast as a bullet, and hit the nearest male in view as hard as I could . I am not sure if my target was correct, nor did he seem too pleased by my blow, but I reacted with a fierce indignation that welled up inside of me. To make matters worse, my companions were completely nonplussed, with the guys just laughing about it and telling me to relax. I was, understandably I think, a bit shaken by the experience. I mean, I consider such a brazen move to be nothing short of sexual assault, and were I in my own country, I would have pursued the matter further with the authorities.

It is at this point that I make several side notes. One is that women visiting the "oh, we're so modern" city of Dubai should be aware of the Philistine attitudes of many of the male inhabitants in regards to women. I've learned my lesson and shall not frequent these tacky nightclubs, and in the event I do, shall make every attempt to be frumpy, and concealed. This might seem obvious to the person abroad (who might think everyone here is wearing a burka), but the outfits of all of the other girls in the club would lead one to believe that you can get away with any stage of undress that you desire. Not so, dear friend. My advice to you as well as to myself, is to allow those other girls to act as decoys, drawing the molesters away from you, while you dress sensitively and conservatively (by comparison) in jeans and a t-shirt.

I don't really remember what my other points were, except to note my severe disappointment in the male race. I know no guy can stand male bashing, but my question is where are the guys that will fight for a girl's honor. I'm not saying that the guys I was with should have started a fight, but I do think they should have been a bit more concerned about me, as well as the event that had just transpired. It seems to me that today's guys are just emasculated men, former shadows of themselves. These shadows possess as much glory of their former selves (or, rather what they were intended to be by their Creator) as, say, a vampire: a being that is still looks and acts very much like a living being, but in fact, inside is totally depraved. I am sure that the same arguments can be made against women, and it is true that women today don't reflect their Creator's glory either.

The one good thing that came of this experience is now I know that I have what it takes to slap a man. I never imagined that I had that within me, and have always been envious of girls who do, if only because it indicates a certain spirit and liveliness within. I am certainly not advocating the physical abuse of men, but I am pleased to know that if the occasion ever arise when I need to be able to defend myself, or my honor for that matter, that I am springloaded with a mechanism that will lash out and put these jerks in their place. Now, I only need to work on that knee to the groin mechanism...

One last note for my parents: Despite everything, I feel quite safe here and then UAE is reported to have a quite low crime late. At any rate, it can't be any worse than NYC, right?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1193078160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1193078160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/uae-2007/1193078160/tpod.html Sat, 03 Nov 2007 14:40:29 -0400 Dubai: My temporary home in the Emirates

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

I had an unexpected surprise this afternoon: a familiar face from the past. When I arrived home from The Mall of the Emirates (my third visit in as many days), I was informed by my roommate that we had a guy named Mike coming in for a few days. Oddly enough, I immediately thought of a guy named Michael who I knew four years ago in Athens. I hadn't thought about him for a long time, but it popped in my head today. Well, guess who walked in around 5:00pm today: my old acquaintance, Michael.

I'm holding up fairly well in the new city, surprisingly not depressed or homesick at all. I am, however, bored. The neighborhood I am living in is called Al Barsha, and seems to be entirely comprised of buildings under construction. In fact, the whole city appears to be that way, although Barsha is by far the worst! It is quite strange: most of the buildings here are not quite completed. It's as if over night someone decided to build a town. It's going up slowly, with the city's most famous landmarks still under heavy construction.

Our chief form of entertainment so far consists of walking the three blocks to The Mall of the Emirates and poking around inside. It claims to be the largest mall in the world, although I think The Mall of America has it beat. There is a huge Carrefour inside (Walmart's biggest competitor), which manages to take care of most of my shopping needs. In addiition, they have the indoor ski slope (entertaining to watch for about two seconds) and a movie theater showing outdated American movies.

I've also made friends with a Scottish girl, who I love to chat with if only to hear her accent (actually she is quite charming in her own right, accent notwithstanding). One thing I learned tonight is that the word British applies to all residents of the United Kingdom. This may seem obvious, but I know that as an American I refer to people from England as being Brits. While this is techinically true, it is more correct to call them English, as the Scottish girl refers to herself a Brit as well.

Tomorrow, Michael has assured Holly (the Scot) and me that he can take us out with a friend of his. I'm looking forward to doing something besides hanging out at the mall. It is also a nice diversion to have some new blood to talk to in Michael and Holly. I'm worried that spending too much time with the other roommates might cause problems down the road, lest we become over familiar with each other and begin to get on one another's nerves.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/adventure_india/1174838460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/adventure_india/1174838460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/adventure_india/1174838460/tpod.html Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:19:54 -0400 Holy Cow! One girl's take on the madness and mayhem of India

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Pune, India

I'm finally getting a taste of what it means to be a "working" model, and quite frankly, I don't much care for it.

Yesterday, I was booked for a "two-hour" shoot in Bombay. The only reason I agreed to it, since I had been ill the previous couple of days, was that it was for such a short time period, and because I am in desperate need of the money. Well, seven hours into the shoot, they finally decided to begin on my makeup and hair. Hitherto, I had been sitting in a chair alternating between reading my biopic of Genghis Khan (very informative and interesting), and angrily writing in my journal. Sigh. So much for it only lasting two hours. What is particularly disturbing about India, though, is that the rates here are really low, and for whatever reason, even though the client stretched it into an all day affair, they won't pay me any more money for the job. In New York, I would have been making overtime for those hours, and Nancy, my booker there, would have been on the phone telling the client off for treating me that way. Not so in New York.

Tonight, Sky and I drove to Pune. Well, Jignesh drove, and we rode along with him on the five hour road trip that took us south of Bombay. We were accompanied by another van in which rode Rose, another model; Pavella, photographer; and some other people. We were going on location for a shoot!

We arrived after midnight, and set up in a coffee shop that was closed for the night. Pavella had arranged to get clothes from a designer who is showing his collection this week in India Fashion Week. The clothes haven't been shown yet, and so we got the first look. It was a long night for Rose and I as we each wore about five garments. Sky, who didn't have anything to wear save his own wardrobe since the collection was exclusively women's wear, slept in a corner. I was envious of his sleeping, but we did wake him up for a final shot of the evening.

By 6am, we had wrapped everything up. In fact, we had to wrap everything up, as Sky and I had to be back in Bombay by 9am for a television commercial that we would be filming that day. It is true that there is no rest for the weary.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/adventure_india/1173596340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/adventure_india/1173596340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/adventure_india/1173596340/tpod.html Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:01:03 -0400 Holy Cow! One girl's take on the madness and mayhem of India

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Alibauh, India

Today was my first excursion outside of Bombay. Yay, finally a day outside of this stifling, busy city!

Sky and I woke up early to ride into town and meet Asa, our doctor friend. We had decided to spend this Sunday at her farmhouse in Alibauh. We picked up some snacks at the supermarket, then jumped on the train to Colaba, which is in south Bombay. Once there, we had an hour boat ride (which afforded us a great view of the harbour, complete with the monumental Gateway of India and the equally impressive Taj Mahal Hotel) to Mandwa. From there, it is a half hour by rickshaw to Alibauh.

Asa's house, which was designed and built by her, is a large open house, secluded, yet light, and airy. What a wonderfully relaxing time it was! We ate our lunch, and then laid out on mats to take an afternoon siesta.

As the late afternoon sun dipped low in the sky, we decided to take a trip to the beach in order to catch the sunset. There are not many people here, and we only found a father with his three children building sandcastles on the beach. How freeing it is to get away from the crowds of 18 million strong Bombay.

The close of the day, as well as the open spaces, gave birth to an improptu photoshoot, with Asa playing photographer, and Sky and I jumping around wildly so that our profiles would be silhouetted against the sun. We were quite giddy with the results-- it appears that we had learned how to fly.

We had to hurry to catch the last boat back, and then a long, crowded train ride home to Andheri West, so that it was about midnight when we returned home. It was a full day, but also deeply rewarding-- having spent it in the company of dear friends.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/adventure_india/1173164100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/adventure_india/1173164100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elventryst/adventure_india/1173164100/tpod.html Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:58:39 -0400 Holy Cow! One girl's take on the madness and mayhem of India

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Bombay, India

Today happens to be International Women's Day. I believe it was started in the seventies in order to bring attention to women's issues. I, however, had never heard of it until I came to India. It seems that in the US, perhaps we women don't need so much attention (I disagree), so no mention of it is made there. Here, though, I received countless text messgaes from my Indian friends wishing me a happy day. It is nice to be celebrated.

At Holi on Sunday, Sky and I made the acquaintance of some people working in the medical sector here. Some of the people worked for an organization called Doctors Without Borders, while another was an Indian doctor, Asa, who has started a charity here in Bombay. As it turned out, today she held a rather special event for the Ojus Medical Center: a presentation of awards to women who have been working in the slums here. These women come from the slums themselves, yet devote their spare time to educating the others about HIV, teaching skills which can be later used to make money, and doing other such work. They are the unsung heroes here, and Asa wanted to have a special day to honor them and thank them for their work.

Much to my delight, she asked Sky and myself if we would be willing to help out at the ceremony. Because Bombay is home to Bollywood, which is such a huge industry, anyone connected in any way to that sector is looked up to and admired. As models here, and particulary because we are foreign, Asa felt that the women would feel special having us present them with their certificates of appreciation.

So, we headed to the now defunct Tulip Star Hotel, where an awning has been set up and joined the other distinguished guests (they being much more honorable than ourselves-- Doctors and other dignateries). It was such a special day, with presentations, and a play dealing with the relevant issues of rape, bride burning, and AIDS. Finally, it came our turn to present the certificates.

It was so wonderful, this interaction with these women from Bombay. They live in slums, yet each one was impeccably dressed. They were happy to recognized and beamed with pleasure. Afterwards, they shyly came up to us and wanted to shake our hands. How nice it is to get away from the daily grind of castings and do something meaningful and important.

As the day closed, Asa took Sky and I down to the nearby beach to stroll in the sand. I had my first coconut water-- sipped through a straw from the round sphere of the coconut. We ate roasted peanuts and roasted corn. And, yes, we even saw a monkey dance. (Poor guy, on a leash!)
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