Xmas and everything before

Hello world!

After just my third truly non-white Christmas (although I was still dreaming of a white Christmas), I am settling back in for our three day rental car journey through as many of the Emirates as we can hit up. It has been awhile, and thus this update should be long and thorough...unfortunately the car will be ready for us momentarily, so I shall do my best given what I have to offer.

Dubai is still a great place so far as I can see. I have spent a lot of time with the people from the office, a few other AIESEC members, and many a coffee shop workers. I tend to bond well with them over discussions of Christmas, food, coffee bean quality, and their status in this crazy society. In fact I don't believe there is a coffee shop within close walking distance that I don't know at least one cashier or server's name yet. I would venture a guess that since I don't have a lot of contact with other people in a open friendly environment, I go out to coffee shops in search of good conversations. Today a cashier from The Second Cup was singing "I'm leaving on a Jetplane..." so I joined her with some background vocals and we serenaded our corner of the shop.


As for Christmas, it was a very eventful Holiday. On the eve of Old Saint Nick's visit I went out for a Catholic mass at St. Mary's St. Vincents. Hello sports fans, that is the same as the name of the High School Lebron James attended in Ohio...but something tells me this place was a little different. A little larger, a little more lively.

They have 70,000 parishoners. I don't know how many of them showed up that night, but if anyone missed it their place was taken by someone like me. I will try my best to put up a video of this affair to show you a little glimpse as to how Christmas is celebrated in the Middle East.

The Bishop was said to have been at this church since its inception over 35 years ago. He announced how proud he was to be there for his first Christmas ceremony, so he made sure to deliver a powerful message. After the wonderful renditions of religious Christmas favorites such as Silent Night, and other titles that my lack of attendance at Christ Episcopal Church in Owosso, MI have lead me to forget, the Bishop delivered his sermon powered by his forté accent italiano. He started by making it known that Jesus, born in Bethlehem, was the son of the Lord, and the son of Palestine. I seem to remember a song that goes, "...son of Israel..." from my parish back at home. While this wasn't unexpected, it was noteworthy and of keen interest to my western ears.

Even more interesting was the obvious political message intertwined in his sermon. It was unbiased, blunt, and very poignant. His message was simple...
-Go on in peace, serve your lord G-d, and don't allow terrorism to slight your love for the world. Terrorism is a growing concern and it needs to be addressed this Christmas and we need to work together to not allow terrorism in our lives.

At first I thought this message to be a little strange. In my church, at least back when I actually went, I never made note of such a statement on a current affairs issue. Perhaps that is the Protestant/Catholic difference, the East/West difference, or just a new product of changing times. Anyways, I would really like to hear your thoughts on his adding a message of anti-terrorism to his sermon. Does this happen in your parish? What denomination are you? Where are you geographically located? Am I taking this to mean too much as a possible societal difference or is this worth thinking more about?

Anyways, I will add some pictures, video clips, etc. to give you a better picture of everything sometime late this week. To all, a happy New Years and a belated Merry Christmas. Eat, Drink, Love, and be Merry.