hockey, foreign films

... What's a girl to do when she finds herself in the middle east without any cash, no residency visa, and a frozen bank account? Hmmm... well... not having a job has provided me with new opportunities. I can sit at Starbucks for hours and reading the newspaper - oh wait, that was before the cash ran out; I can browse empty stores when everyone else is at work... I mean, if it weren't for the lack of a paycheck and the frozen bank account, I might actually love unemployment! So in trying to find the silver lining, I've researched and said yes to events I typically wouldn't be so interested in.

This past week I've been able to go to three films at the Middle East International Film Festival. I'm not always a huge fan of reading along at the cinema, however I really enjoyed myself. The first film was The Informant, a quirky price-fixing conspiracy film, based on a true story. I watched this film at the Emirates Palace, brushing shoulders with the stars. Unfortunately Matt Damon wasn't there. I also saw Northless, a Mexican film telling about the repeated attempts of Andres to illegally cross the Mexican border into the United States. They had a question and answer session after the film where we spoke with the director, producer and main actress. The most interesting film was The Gift of the Pachamama. This was filmed in Bolivia and told the story of the Andean Quechua people and their day to day struggle.

Now on to hockey. I realize i live in the desert and I'm surrounded by sand. Sand creeps into every imaginable place, and would take over the cities if left alone. I don't subscribe to any newspapers, but today received a complementary copy of The National. I found an article about hockey in the UAE and read that there was a game starting in Al Ain in 30 minutes. My friends failed me, apparently they aren't really hockey fans, BUT I jumped in the car and discovered the UAE hockey league. Today Al Ain was playing Abu Dhabi. I froze (despite my hoodie and tuque) but made some friends who shared their tea. Lucky for me there are two games a week, and admission is free.

this is a great photograph of the two cultures uniting!

the hockey players were on fire as the game began...

Now I'm off for a run, it's still free. I try to plan my runs around prayer times, streets get congested as the men make their way to the local mosque to pray... not an ideal time to run.

Moral of the Story: Always bring your coffee to the hockey game!