Many Emiratis must be mystified by some of the activities their expatriate acquaintances say they have a hankering to do in their home countries at this time of year.
I have friends from Canada whose eyes go all misty as they recall ploughing snow from their driveways; from England who talk with genuine fondness about walking in drizzle; and from Australia who talk wistfully of the need to check for snakes on the track leading to the beach.
And me? I wish I were shovelling a toxic mix of mud, sand and sewage in New Zealand.
It's all part of the new normal in Christchurch since a hitherto unsuspected fault line near the city let loose with a 7.1-magnitude quake in September last year.
Many people heard of that one and nearly everyone heard of the 6.3 the following February - the epicentre for which was much shallower and closer to the city and thus far more deadly, killing 181 people. But after that, the forward march of the news cycle and the much deadlier quake and tsunami in Japan meant Christ-church faded from view.
Unlike Japan, though, Christ-church kept getting hammered by earthquakes. At the time I write this, Christchurch and the surrounding area have withstood 9,428 earthquakes, including a 6.4 in June and then a 6.0 on Friday and countless at the 5.0 level and above in between those times. (By comparison, Japan had about 1,300 aftershocks.)
These Christchurch quakes barely make the news but every time there's a decent jolt, there's a new burst of liquefaction where mud geysers appear spontaneously and spew out a mix of mud, sand and, frequently, sewage from broken pipes. It leaves behind a toxic mix up to 50cm deep.
That might seem like an odd thing to wish to witness, but what I'm really missing when I'm in Abu Dhabi is the ability to contribute to the extraordinary community reaction in which everyday people have banded together to help those affected.
University students formed a Student Volunteer Army, which mobilised thousands to dig out the homes of those affected by liquefaction. The agricultural sector followed suit, with the so-called Farmy Army also organising to lend a hand.
When I was tucking into a late turkey dinner on Christmas Day, I was wishing I was in a pair of gum boots, shovelling the toxic mix unleashed by Friday's quake from a stranger's home. Instead, I had to make do with admiring from afar the efforts of others who remind everyone in Christchurch and around the world that no matter what mother nature throws our way, the people here will always "kia kaha", a Maori phrase that means "stand strong".
jhenzell@thenational.ae
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Naga
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