Rain, Sort Of

Last night, 20 January, it sprinkled. I suppose that's not that big a deal, but it's the first rain, even a timid, unsure one, since I arrived in Abu Dhabi on 1 September. It's truly silly how happy I was to see it. It's no wonder the students will sometimes go outside and play in the rain. The UAE is one of the driest places on earth, and they champion, for the most part quite rightly, their efforts at water conservation and increasing efforts at ecological conservation. As most Emiratis, with a pained expression, can tell you, the UAE is the only country in the world that that is ahead of the US in regards to their per capita carbon footprint. They are starting to work on carbon neutral buildings and cities. That said, they also have several lush golf courses, including the Abu Dhabi course where Tiger Woods will be playing next week, which seem like a really bad idea considering that we are in the desert. I tweaked my students about it last week, and they responded that the golf courses will designed and built for westerners so it's not their fault, which is probably a good point. However, if you're turning yourself into a vacation destination then I guess you're stuck with providing what the vacationers want.