The night I first met people from Uzbekistan in the UAE was the beginning a great friendship. Daniya, an Uzbek working for Etihad, spoke Russian, and so did Mikhail, who had a home in Houston, Texas. Their common language was the seed from which their connection grew.
Over the next three and a half years, I learnt how valuable being able to speak Russian is in the UAE, a land where English and Arabic are king.
Mikhail introduced me to a Ukrainian piano player pursing a doctorate and her dancer sister. Through him I also met musicians from Belarus and Uzbekistan, his fellow oil company workers who travelled to Kazakhstan and an assortment of office workers and embassy folks. All spoke the Russian of their home countries. All had been charmed by Mikhail, a man I came to refer to as a Russian-speaking Gatsby.
Many a night, I would listen but not understand as the conversation among Mikhail, a bevy of Eastern Europeans and me drifted into their first language. I knew da, nyet and lyubof (love). That was it. It was stark reminder of how I and too many other English speakers are foreign-language deficient.
The hardest I have laughed in years came one night when Mikhail and I listened to a British actress whose parents lived here, detailing the dozens of times she failed her driver's licence test. She, too, had a Russian connection, a job as a nanny for a family outside of Moscow and another teaching acting lessons.
In Houston, Mikhail, who emigrated to the US from Moscow when he was 17, had fallen in love with a Chinese-American model. Her presence added to the enlightening ethnic mix that is Abu Dhabi.
Their wedding, during our second year here, was right out of an F Scott Fitzgerald novel. The vows were taken on a pier in Cancun, Mexico, with the couple's friends making up the wedding party. Mikhail's parents came from the Czech Republic; hers from the US states of Delaware and New Jersey. The groom, of course, wore white.
When it was my turn to toast the newlyweds, I looked around the table and stated the obvious: I had never met a man who surrounded himself with so many beautiful people, in looks and spirit.
A few months ago, Russians and Uzbeks, Ukrainians and Americans, Irish and Germans, Britons and Italians all showed up for Mikhail's farewell gathering. He was being promoted to a new job in Houston. His Abu Dhabi time was up. His adopted home country was calling.
Mikhail would often say that if we had met in US, we probably never would have become such great friends. We travel in different professional circles and most of the Russian-speaking people I knew before I moved here were academics or journalists - certainly not models or classical musicians.
It's strange that in coming here, the land of inshallah and fisehatak, that nazdarovye ("to your health") became a part of my regular vocabulary.
That, too, probably would not have happened in America.
rpretorius@thenational.ae
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Kandahar%20
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MATCH INFO
Brescia 1 (Skrinia og, 76)
Inter Milan 2 (Martinez 33, Lukaku 63)
Four%20scenarios%20for%20Ukraine%20war
%3Cp%3E1.%20Protracted%20but%20less%20intense%20war%20(60%25%20likelihood)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20Negotiated%20end%20to%20the%20conflict%20(30%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E3.%20Russia%20seizes%20more%20territory%20(20%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.%20Ukraine%20pushes%20Russia%20back%20(10%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EForecast%20by%20Economist%20Intelligence%20Unit%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
The%20specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)