Being caught smack in the middle of Cyclone Phet a few weeks ago would have knocked my socks off if I hadn't been stuck in a leaky hotel in Muscat. I was tagging along with a friend and her family to Oman to celebrate the blissful union of two young college sweethearts. In a nutshell, boy meets girl, boy weds girl, and everybody eats cake. Summertime love is in the air. Whether it's love of the heart, the body, the money, or pure convenience, we've found good enough reasons to form a commitment that will hopefully last a lifetime.
For many, marriage is only the beginning (or the beginning of the end). For a select few, it's the easiest decision they ever had to make. In most cases, it's everything you dream about and nothing you expect. Conventional marriages in this society come as a result of proposed arrangements. An aunt will propose to her nephew that her next-door neighbour's daughter is a good match. A friend will propose to a cousin that their colleague's sister would make a great wife.
Proposals, if thought through properly, can end up in marriage because the matchmaker knows the potential couple and has a good understanding of what each person is looking for in a spouse. A great amount of due diligence and scheming go into these proposals. And once intentions are clear, the couple are presented to each other with a cloud of knowing smiles and coy glances. If they like what they see, they give the final OK to tie the knot and make the union public.
If we are talking about a typical Emirati union, social and cultural restrictions will prevent the couple from getting to know each other personally before the actual wedding. Some couples may have the privilege of chaperoned visits and telephone conversations, but in most cases, it doesn't get any better than that. What compensates for it, though, is our web of contacts; our network is so intricate that almost everything you may want to know about your potential spouse will get dug up and shared with you over tea and Fuala.
Mentality, religious beliefs and personality? Past relationships, spending habits and addictions? You name it; somebody will know about it. There's a degree of comfort in knowing what you are getting yourself into, but in missing out on this journey, you miss out on the bonding process and compatibility test. Even if you've done your homework, you will never know intimate details, like a person's hygiene routine, their TV habits or their sleeping patterns until you live with them - the kind of things that could put a strain on any relationship if you don't simply compromise or just agree to disagree.
Many couples prepare themselves for a wedding, not a marriage. The amount of time that goes into preparing for new responsibilities and attaining a new level of maturity is nothing compared to the time spent on table settings, dress fittings and flower arrangements. Most girls, and some guys, dream of their wedding day for a long time. The day when the spotlight is on them, when people gravitate towards them, listen to them, celebrate them. And in all this selfishness, they fail to notice the person who will play the other leading role in the dream.
Couples should extend their sight beyond the glitz and glamour of the wedding day. Does it really come as a surprise that you'll need to reboot your life and start on a new operating system the second you move in together? In reality, the move catches many off guard. Couples need to arm themselves with realistic expectations, and coming from a happy home doesn't guarantee a happy marriage. From the day you are born, it takes a good 20 years to eventually understand your own parents - the same parents who gave you life, discipline and principles. It's exciting to start your life fresh and live with someone brand new, but habits need readjustment, middle grounds should be unearthed and a whole lot of growing up needs to be done.
New relationships are hard, especially ones that are under social pressure to succeed. So be smart and have realistic expectations to make it work. Don't expect the same lifestyle, don't expect the same freedoms, and don't expect marriage to become a solution to your problems. If you want to solve your problems, fetch your friends. And if you just want to feel special, throw a party, have your cake, and eat it too.
Maryam Amiri is a graduate of Zayed University
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
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.