The opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi presents a great opportunity to appreciate the beauty and culture of the world across many ages. However, one need not visit a museum to experience snapshots of past cultural epochs. If you live in a nation as densely packed with expatriates as the UAE, then you may frequently find yourself conversing with living exhibits or expat fossils who perfectly embody the zeitgeist of the time and place they expatriated from.
This psychological fossilisation is a function of departure date and duration. In other words, expatriate fossilisation becomes more likely with each passing year away from one’s homeland. A similar phenomenon can be observed among convicts who, upon release, can sometimes represent perfectly preserved snapshots of the era just before their incarceration.
I once worked in a small shop situated close to a large prison in the UK. Occasionally, newly released prisoners or parolees would frequent the shop. A customer's ex-convict status wasn't always instantly apparent; however, you could usually spot them by their outdated product requests for packets of Opal Fruits (now called Starburst) or chocolate bars called Marathon (now called Snickers).
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The situation is similar with expat fossils. I once attended a dinner party with a British colleague who'd been ex (out of) patria (homeland) for more than 25 years – a lifer, in prison terms. Like some kind of psychological palaeontologist, I set about carbon dating his cultural composition. I classified the specimen as having departed the UK sometime around 1985, during the mid-Thatcher years. He had left just before political correctness went "mad". This factor was reflected in his after-dinner banter, which he peppered with comments that might, by contemporary global standards, be considered sexist and racist. Seeing him interact with the other diners, most of whom were recently arrived expats, was like watching someone attempt to force a floppy disk into an iPad. His was a mind that time forgot.
It's not only attitudes that get frozen; some long-term expats are also perfectly preserved snapshots of past fashion, living reminders of how we used to dress. I had one elegant, debonair friend who left the UK during the rise of the new romantics when pop groups such as Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and Ultravox were riding high in the charts and massively influencing what the more fashion conscious youth wore. True to the attire that was popular when he left the UK, my friend continued to sport a skinny tie and an eccentric hairdo, paying homage to new romanticism with a wardrobe that time forgot.
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The occasional visit, back to the birth country, will provide a reminder that things have moved on without us. But for some expats, this is not enough, and they remain frozen, a freeze frame of Karachi in 1984, Damascus in 1997 or Manchester in 2006. These are the walking exhibits, found in every corner of the UAE.
Some expats who return home after decades overseas might find that they are now cultural aliens in their homelands. Sitting at the petrol station in a British town, waiting for someone to come and pump the gas, momentarily forgetting that “self-service” is the way that things are done in the UK. Fossilised, repatriated expats face challenges of time and place. However, re-acclimatisation will eventually happen; patience is all that is typically required.
We should appreciate our expat fossils while we still can. Alas, our world is shrinking and globalisation's homogenising influence will make expat fossilisation a thing of the past. However, until then, continue to enjoy the living exhibits, the walking time capsules, wherever they are.
Dr Justin Thomas is an associate professor at Zayed University
match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
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Brief scoreline:
Wolves 3
Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2
Arsenal 1
Papastathopoulos 80'
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdam%20Wingard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBrian%20Tyree%20Henry%2C%20Rebecca%20Hall%2C%20Dan%20Stevens%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicola%20Coughlan%2C%20Luke%20Newton%2C%20Jonathan%20Bailey%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Barbie
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
