Two nations divided

It's often said that Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language. (If you feel like wasting some time, you might try to find out who coined the phrase - opinions seem divided between Shaw, Wilde and Churchill, which probably means it was someone completely different. (Shades of Monty Python coming on..))

Heaven knows, it can be difficult trying to express yourself when you think the person you're speaking to has the same language, only to realise that they have a totally different understanding of what's being discussed. Of course another aspect of that is the value of one's word. It always used to be said in the City of London that one's word was one's bond - so there was no need for a contract, as the promise was sufficient. (Whether there's still any value in that these days is another question.)

Trying to get things done in Dubai is an education. With such a diverse range of nationalities here, English, in various guises, is the lingua franca. Many other languages are spoken here, but as so often around the world, the common means of communication falls back to English - or variations thereof. All that can make those of us whose first languauge is English a bit lazy, as we know we can get along without learning other people's tongues. I always think it's worth remembering that if I have difficulty understanding someone speaking to me in English, they're still doing far better than me, since I can't begin to speak their langauges.

That said, there seems to be culture here of promising what they think you want to hear, rather than the truth. "This product/service will definitely be here at 1100 am tomorrow", said day after day after day begins to get a bit wearing. "This kit is on a 4 weeks delivery cycle", and it still hasn't arrived after 9 weeks. The list is long and growing - I'm here on a fixed timeline, with rising costs, and working on the basis of promises made days weeks and months ago, and each day there seems to be a further delay. Obviously anything can be subject to unplanned circumstances, but an upfront statement of the issues, and constant communication of progress would ease things, whereas the repeated promises of definite progress, repeatedly broken without warning until too late begins to sap confidence and question why I'm here. Of course, the more time one spends here, the more one starts to realise that that is how things work in Dubai, and so one starts to work round it. Even so, I have to question why it should be so - surely there's scope for someone to deliver a more responsive service. Watch this space ...

Anyway, rant mode over for the moment - back with more or something later.