Episode 77
How To Live and Work in Dubai | LAYC77
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a significant expatriate population, with
recent estimates suggesting that expatriates made up over 80% of the country's
total population. Expats are individuals from various countries who come to the
UAE for work, business, and other purposes.
My daughter, Amanda Sheldon, first earned the “Expat” title in 2010 when she accepted a job in Kuwait, and helped to launch a popular North American brand in the Middle East.
Except two short return stays in Canada, Amanda continues to enjoy living and working overseas and lives full time in the United Arab Emirates.
I am on my way to Dubai in a few days to spend time with her and my grand dogs and thought this was the prefect time to share this wisdom for the first time on our podcast channel.
Have you ever daydreamed about living and working in another country?
Would you like to travel more and longer but money is a barrier?
Does your job tie you down and prevent you from seeing the world because you only have two weeks paid vacation?
Expat employment may be your ticket to travel the world!
Enjoy this interview (Part One of Three) candid conversations between Mother and Daughter, both #EncoreExplorers and get many of your questions answered!
BONUS:
Get a free copy of Expat Tips By Amanda Sheldon here.
About the Host:
Isabel Alexander
Your Next Business Strategist and Transformation Catalyst
Isabel Alexander's journey from modest beginnings to global recognition epitomizes entrepreneurial resilience and innovation. With over five decades of experience spanning diverse industries, she has become a driving force in shaping economic landscapes worldwide. Noteworthy accomplishments include founding a multimillion-dollar global chemical wholesale business and earning accolades such as Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women.
As a mentor and advocate, Isabel empowers women entrepreneurs through initiatives like the Lift As You Climb Movement and podcasts, guiding them from startup to maturity. Serving as Chief Encore Officer of The Encore Catalyst, she dedicates herself to coaching and educating emerging entrepreneurs. Her involvement in organizations like RenegadesReinventing.com and Femme on Fire underscores her commitment to leadership and business development.
Additionally, Isabel's advisory roles with government bodies and trade associations, such as Chair of the Canadian Association of Importers & Exporters, highlight her influence in shaping trade policies and fostering international relations.
Driven by her mantra, "Lift As You Climb," Isabel embodies the ethos of mutual growth and empowerment. With dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, she values her extensive family and embraces global connections through travel and professional engagements. Isabel Alexander's narrative serves as a beacon of inspiration, illustrating how visionary leadership and strategic advising can drive global entrepreneurship and economic independence forward.
Founder:
The Encore Catalyst Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/TheEncoreCatalyst )
and
Chief Encore Officer, The Encore Catalyst (www.theencorecatalyst.com) – an accelerator for feminine wisdom, influence, and impact.
also
Author & Speaker ‘Who Am I Now? – Feminine Wisdom Unmasked Uncensored’ https://whoaminowbook.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelannalexander/
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Transcript
Hello, everyone.
Speaker:My name is Isabel Banerjee, and today I have the distinct pleasure
Speaker:of interviewing a very special guest.
Speaker:She's a rather well known internationally, but today we
Speaker:have her here on Zoom with us.
Speaker:Let me introduce to you my daughter, Amanda Sheldon.
Speaker:Not already, so great to finally get to be on the program.
Speaker:And it's so wonderful to see your face, even though I really wish we were
Speaker:sitting in the same room or at least in the same country, but as our listeners
Speaker:will find out very soon, we are much closer now than we were a few weeks ago.
Speaker:So, I'm Isabel Banerjee, and I am the author of Who Am I Now?
Speaker:Seminine Wisdom, Unmasked, and Uncensored.
Speaker:And today, I'm excited to be able to share with you some of my daughter's
Speaker:experiences about who she is today, who she has been, and where she has been.
Speaker:So welcome, Amanda.
Speaker:Hi!
Speaker:Well, everyone out there in TV land, Amanda just moved back from the United
Speaker:Arab Emirates, the UAE, Dubai, to now re domiciled in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Speaker:So Amanda, you have just finished your two weeks, your 14 days of quarantine upon re
Speaker:entry to the country, and it is 10 years since you have been a Canadian resident.
Speaker:resident, excuse me, and I'd love to start our conversation and I, I hope that we'll,
Speaker:we'll, um, agree to stay together and we'll do a series of conversations because
Speaker:there's so much to talk about as a woman who has been a citizen of the world and
Speaker:built a career, uh, working, uh, far, far away from her mom who missed out on her.
Speaker:Just to set the scene, uh, 2010.
Speaker:I had just gotten married.
Speaker:You came down to the United States, uh, to marry me off yet again.
Speaker:Yet again, everybody listening.
Speaker:She said this is the last time.
Speaker:And from there, you and I left to join, uh, 22.
Speaker:I think other women on a cruise, Ken Als Cruise in 2 80 10.
Speaker:And from, immediately from debar uh, departure, disembarkation is the
Speaker:term in the cruise industry, you got on a plane and you flew to Kuwait.
Speaker:Correct.
Speaker:Now, would you please explain why?
Speaker:Well, you didn't ship me off there.
Speaker:That's for sure.
Speaker:It was voluntary.
Speaker:Um, yeah, so I would say right around May 2009, I had the opportunity with
Speaker:the company I worked with, um, To meet somebody from Kuwait who was
Speaker:going to carry the franchise of the company that I was employed with.
Speaker:So I met them in Toronto, just had a casual chat and said, you know, if you
Speaker:need some help, would love to go and do it, having no clue about the Middle
Speaker:East and specifically about Kuwait.
Speaker:Um, fast forward six months later, I went on a sightseeing
Speaker:trip with myself and some other colleagues, uh, and got the position.
Speaker:And so in the span of seven months went from what I thought was going to
Speaker:be a lifetime of working in Toronto to coming to see you and then boarding
Speaker:a plane to go across to Kuwait.
Speaker:So, was this just a temporary contract originally, or?
Speaker:It was supposed to be a two year, um, opportunity, so we were gonna, as a group,
Speaker:there were six of us that were chosen as brand ambassadors to go and launch
Speaker:this, uh, home furnishing brand overseas.
Speaker:Um, work with this company to kind of instill the values and the business
Speaker:practices of the brand itself, but, um, getting into Kuwait and meeting
Speaker:the people that I met, I really fell in love with the culture, with the
Speaker:area, um, and the two years passed by so quickly that when the term came up
Speaker:to decide, do we, you know, fly back or do I stay, I asked to stay, which is,
Speaker:When I came, uh, I guess I would say a full time employee with that company.
Speaker:Um, and it really sort of set the scene for what I accomplished over the 10 years.
Speaker:If it's, did you surprise yourself when you heard yourself
Speaker:saying, I'd like to stay?
Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:Um, I have always joked that if you had asked me.
Speaker:You know, at the beginning of 2009, could I ever see myself a year later
Speaker:living in the Middle East, working in a foreign country where I knew nothing
Speaker:about the culture or the language?
Speaker:I would have said no.
Speaker:Um, the furthest I had ever gone was on a vacation to Scotland.
Speaker:And otherwise it was, you know, Mexico was our, our family vacations.
Speaker:I hope I don't forget those runaway horses in Cartagena.
Speaker:Great.
Speaker:So we did a South America trip.
Speaker:That's a whole other story.
Speaker:You know, whole or That's like a whole episode.
Speaker:Um.
Speaker:But at the same time, um, I'm a very ambitious woman and I could see this was
Speaker:going to be the launchpad for my career.
Speaker:Um, and I also am not a risk taker and I like to surprise myself sometimes.
Speaker:So I just went for it without asking too many questions.
Speaker:So I'm going to guess that 99% of the population would have said Oh, hell no.
Speaker:One percenter.
Speaker:You decided to step off into an entire, not even a new continent,
Speaker:a new culture, new everything.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:When
Speaker:you first arrived, do you recall what your first kind of feeling was when
Speaker:you touched down in that airport?
Speaker:Well, um.
Speaker:Uh, and I will preface it by saying Kuwait's a very Americanized place.
Speaker:So, you know, my first, um, brand that I saw was a Starbucks at the airport.
Speaker:Um, but everything else felt foreign.
Speaker:So, you know, from cultural dress to the way, you know, you ask for
Speaker:a taxi, you know, to all of those things, there is definitely something
Speaker:different than living in North America.
Speaker:Um, so I remember getting settled into my temporary accommodation because
Speaker:the company was putting us up in this.
Speaker:You know, building in the middle of nowhere.
Speaker:Um, and being fine until the next morning when I looked out the window
Speaker:and I was looking at sand, I was looking at people's laundry hanging from their
Speaker:window, um, and the call to prayer, like that woke me up at four in the morning.
Speaker:So it definitely was that moment where Dorothy says she's not in Kansas anymore.
Speaker:I had that, you know, right off the plate.
Speaker:Uh, I can't even imagine it would have been very much like being on another
Speaker:planet, especially since I know you, as you were always a city girl, pay your
Speaker:heart through and through when I used to drag you off to grandparents for a month.
Speaker:You were like, no, no, and here you were, uh, initial, you were billeted in a, kind
Speaker:of in an outline area of the city, right?
Speaker:Correct.
Speaker:Uh, however, what I guess made it bearable, um, was I knew from my
Speaker:company at any time that I didn't want to be there, I could go home.
Speaker:So there was that safety net.
Speaker:There were six of us, as I said, brand ambassadors who
Speaker:we were all in it together.
Speaker:So you have that camaraderie of being able to say.
Speaker:Hey, you're going through this sign, and so am I, so that support system was
Speaker:there, um, but also I think I wanted to prove something to myself, I could do
Speaker:it, and so I, you know, got dressed, they picked me up, I went into the office the
Speaker:first day, and from there it just got easier because every expat goes through
Speaker:that same culture shock, and so all of my colleagues in my office were there to
Speaker:help me and give me suggestions and, you know, tell me where to live so I wasn't
Speaker:living in the middle of the desert.
Speaker:Uh, it was very helpful.
Speaker:Mary Katzner Very good.
Speaker:So, Deidre, um, as an expat, did, did you have some initial
Speaker:training or indoctrination so you could sort of distinguish what
Speaker:was expected culturally of you?
Speaker:Deidre McClure Everything that they sort of preemptively told us, I
Speaker:would say turned out to be false.
Speaker:Um, because my notions of living in Kuwait were, you know, women can't drive and
Speaker:women should be covered and, you know, don't look at a man, don't shake hands.
Speaker:All of that was out the window within the first week where, again, interacting
Speaker:with locals, you could see that actually, no, all of those things were outdated.
Speaker:There is a conservative dress that you, you follow.
Speaker:There is subtle nuances in terms of hospitality and who you speak to first.
Speaker:But I didn't feel that I was, um, going to misstep in any way.
Speaker:I actually probably was more, uh, worried because most of the
Speaker:working population there are.
Speaker:other expats from other nations.
Speaker:And so it wasn't just Arabic that I was navigating.
Speaker:It was Tagalog, Hindi, Urdu, all these multicultural individuals who work
Speaker:there that also didn't speak English.
Speaker:So I had to learn many languages, not just one.
Speaker:Phenomenal.
Speaker:Um, so I think, you know, I've been to visit you, lived in Kuwait, to the on,
Speaker:and again, uh, when you've been living in Dubai, which is another segment.
Speaker:And so I do understand what you're talking about, about the more expected
Speaker:or westernized environment, but I think the majority of people, at least
Speaker:the people I've encountered for the most part, you know, they're thinking
Speaker:it's all camels and burkas and dates, you know, so that is a misconception.
Speaker:Yes, there are Tamlefs, there are dates, there are Abayas, I, I never
Speaker:saw Burka, um, you know, women are fully covered, but you know,
Speaker:there's different names for things.
Speaker:Um, but that's not what the expat lifestyle is.
Speaker:So there is a parallel, um, community that happens there.
Speaker:So respectful of each other's practices and, and, and lifestyles.
Speaker:But, um, more of a supportive live and let live, uh, culture, would you say?
Speaker:Yes, I think, um, especially in Kuwait, um, the expats outnumber
Speaker:the local population three to one.
Speaker:So you don't, you don't necessarily feel there's an overpowering sense of.
Speaker:The Arab or Muslim culture, but there's a respect for it in everything.
Speaker:So the way it's businesses and companies operate, um, definitely
Speaker:it's not just Kuwaitis who are Arab, but there's Egyptians and there
Speaker:are Indian and Pakistani national.
Speaker:So that was the one thing I learned was like, you know, Muslim comes in all forms.
Speaker:It's not just one, one nationality.
Speaker:So when you left Canada, it didn't have any, uh.
Speaker:Any under understanding or knowledge of the nuances of different
Speaker:countries, cultures, religions?
Speaker:No.
Speaker:You were immersed.
Speaker:Yes, and I, I actually.
Speaker:In hindsight, I wish I had done a little bit more research, um, but I
Speaker:think I wanted just to get there and experience it and not perhaps allow media
Speaker:to tell me what I should be expecting because, as I said, the things I learned
Speaker:actually turned out to be the opposite.
Speaker:So, you know, I, I could shake a man's hand.
Speaker:I, I couldn't speak to, you know, male staff as, as a person in power.
Speaker:And, and there are, there are moments, obviously, again, that cultural
Speaker:biases come out of something true, but, but it definitely, the Western
Speaker:media really focus more on like the Kuwait war and how oil ruled
Speaker:everything where that's not the case.
Speaker:Yeah, that, that's unfortunate, uh, that the media attention is focused on the
Speaker:more, uh, negative and more clandestine or controversial, uh, aspects of a
Speaker:relationship as, as opposed to what did the day to day people, uh, do and how
Speaker:do they interact and, uh, I mean, I, I share with everybody that I'm, you know,
Speaker:as a mother, I was worried, even though I knew you to be an extremely competent
Speaker:individual and you were 30 years old at the time, couldn't help but worry that, Oh
Speaker:my gosh, it's so foreign and it's so far.
Speaker:And, uh, you know, what is really the, the treatment of women because
Speaker:in Western society, we're only.
Speaker:You know, the filter is, is, is harder than, uh, covering.
Speaker:I, I will share it.
Speaker:So, you know, um, in my first two years, again, I, my social circle
Speaker:was only people I worked with and primarily European expats or North
Speaker:American expats, um, but it was really.
Speaker:After I made that decision to stay on, where I opened
Speaker:myself up to meet other people.
Speaker:And so, you know, most of my close friends are Arab there, but not necessarily
Speaker:local where they're from Syria or Lebanon and their families settled.
Speaker:in, in the region and, and built a life there.
Speaker:Some kids have only known that.
Speaker:Um, and they gave me really a strong perspective on, on family
Speaker:and what that Arab culture is, is family and hospitality.
Speaker:So, you know, I, I loved being able to go to people's houses for
Speaker:celebrations and go to weddings, you know, and just see how, how culture
Speaker:unfolds some differently, but in how much reverence they have for people.
Speaker:But you say that you're Relationship with the word immigrant and what it means has
Speaker:changed since you went to the, to the UAE?
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:I mean, and my whole time in the middle East, I was the immigrant.
Speaker:Um, yet I had, you know, unfortunately the way it works, there's a
Speaker:hierarchy to that immigration.
Speaker:Um.
Speaker:And I had that opportunity to see the world from an outsider coming in, um,
Speaker:and how much pride as, as immigrants, working immigrants, we had for the
Speaker:countries that support us, um, which is what I can see happening here when
Speaker:I, you know, seeing Toronto news or North American news, people who move.
Speaker:Into a New Country to Start Their Life, really invest everything they have to
Speaker:make that life better, but it also then invests in the country they work with.
Speaker:Um, and they have that pride and sense of, of ownership to
Speaker:do something better with it.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:So beautiful to make a reminder because it's, you know, now that I'm a citizen in
Speaker:the United States, um, There's always such a conflict over the topic of immigration
Speaker:and who has the right to be here and, and who really loves the country.
Speaker:So, looking at it from the other side, uh, Someone who has made the effort to come to
Speaker:the country and what is their commitment?
Speaker:I, I want to correct something.
Speaker:I think I, I misstated something when I said, uh, when you moved to
Speaker:the UAE, let's say, am I correct?
Speaker:Kuwait is not part of the UAE, United Arab Emirates?
Speaker:No.
Speaker:So it's like, it is part of the Gulf region.
Speaker:Um, however, it's a separate country that's about an hour flight.
Speaker:between.
Speaker:So, so the UAE is, um, similar to how I describe Canada with the provinces.
Speaker:So there's seven emirates that are, um, combined under one
Speaker:leadership, uh, which is why it's called the United Arab Emirates.
Speaker:Um, okay.
Speaker:Testing your, your memory.
Speaker:Would you name all the emirates?
Speaker:I can't.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:And, and it's only because it's still fresh in my mind
Speaker:because I've seen all of them.
Speaker:Um, but do I win a prize if I do it?
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:Going to send you some camel's milk.
Speaker:Wait, you should put this out to your listeners to see if they can name all
Speaker:seven of them without looking at it.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Well, we could make that a challenge and say, yeah, they
Speaker:can respond in the comments.
Speaker:And, um, I'll have you choose a winner, you be the judge, the, uh,
Speaker:the, uh, randomly chosen winner will receive a signed copy of Who
Speaker:Am I Now, feminine, from the author.
Speaker:I don't even have that.
Speaker:So I am incorrect.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:You were out of the country and it wasn't available on Amazon there yet.
Speaker:So I must rectify that.
Speaker:Okay, well, this, um, is just, just the tip of all of the things that
Speaker:I want to ask you and, and to thank you for sharing so generously with my
Speaker:listeners, because I believe like you, and you've experienced and lived it.
Speaker:That the more that we know about each other and other cultures and,
Speaker:um, how we can relate to the female population in other areas, it gives
Speaker:us such a tremendous advantage.
Speaker:And, uh, I think it's us girls in the world that are going to
Speaker:make it a better place to live.
Speaker:So, parting questions, for one.
Speaker:What is something that you really missed from Canada when you
Speaker:touched down now in Gulf region?
Speaker:Ooh, so I miss ketchup flavored potato chips because that is not
Speaker:something in the Middle East.
Speaker:They enjoy spicy, uh, flavors instead.
Speaker:So that was the first purchase that I made and I regretted it to this day.
Speaker:All right, so.
Speaker:Cashew potato chips.
Speaker:Did you get, since you went back to Toronto?
Speaker:I have.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Uh, anything else that you remember now really missing?
Speaker:Um, well, my time in Kuwait was different because obviously there's less on the
Speaker:offer there, whereas in UAE I have, you know, I could have pork if I wanted it.
Speaker:But that is definitely your home cooking.
Speaker:I will say I missed that the most.
Speaker:Aw, nice.
Speaker:That and maybe bacon with it.
Speaker:Well, no, I could eat, I could have bacon.
Speaker:Let me say that.
Speaker:I could have it, but I often felt guilty because I knew my
Speaker:friends were not eating it.
Speaker:So I waited when I got here to have it.
Speaker:Alright, and that's respectful.
Speaker:That was very kind of you.
Speaker:What would you have brought back from Kuwait to Toronto with you if
Speaker:you had no luggage restrictions?
Speaker:Oh, that's a good one.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:Um, because I've found that in my time there, everything
Speaker:I had was more of a memory.
Speaker:So I think if I, when coming back, luggage was a restriction, I would
Speaker:have brought several of my friends with me because that's what I miss now.
Speaker:I don't know if you can hear the distances there.
Speaker:Um, I don't think they'd like being smuggled in the suitcase.
Speaker:No.
Speaker:Too heavy.
Speaker:They might have had to travel with Coco, your cat, in the special.
Speaker:Oh my goodness.
Speaker:That's a whole other segment too, traveling with pets.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:We'll hold you to that because I think, I think there's a lot of people
Speaker:would appreciate your insight and your experience on being an expat
Speaker:and a woman traveling with her cat.
Speaker:Let's wrap this segment now and come back and in the next segment, I'd like
Speaker:to talk more about the misconceptions that we have, um, from different parts
Speaker:of the world and your experience, uh, let's say with fashion and accommodation
Speaker:and travel within the region.
Speaker:Oh, and maybe outside the region, because there's a couple of
Speaker:exotic destinations we can reveal.
Speaker:So thank you.
Speaker:Stay tuned everybody for the next episode.
