4 Things to Do On A Rainy Day in the UAE

Let's face it! it's not everyday that I can type in a headline like this considering the generally warm weather of the UAE. So, if the weather's gone off course, surely you can too. Here are 4 things you can do as you wait for the sun to come out. Enjoy!

1. If you've got 10 minutes to spare:
Watch 'A Heated Interview' video. It's a short fast-paced comedy by Muneer al Busaidi (about 10 minutes) following a young, dreamy and idealistic Arab in the UAE trying to get a job in a recession against tough competition. It's brilliant trust me!

According to the website's press release Al Busaidi finds that “It is now more important than ever to paint Arabs in a positive light and I believe that humor is the perfect vehicle to spread this around the world. There are many ideas and concepts floating around that divide us, and I feel it’s important to find those things that connect us, one of those being is comedy.”

“A Heated Interview” was released January 15th AHeatedInterview.com. Keeping in line with Al Busaidi’s dream of connecting the world through comedy, the film has been translated into over 10 languages so the subtitles can allow the entire world to enjoy it too.

2. If you've got the kids this afternoon:
Brighton College Abu Dhabi is holding an exhibition featuring pieces by pupils aged 5 to 7. The works have drawn inspiration from British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy and Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. Canapés and beverages will be served. Free entry.

3. If you're having lunch at your desk:
Read 'The Rainy Day', a poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

4. If you're planning to take the day off:
Download 'The Hidden Light of Objects' by Mai Al-Nakib. A brilliant collection of short stories by one of today's most powerful and exciting literary voices. Mai Al-Nakib was born in Kuwait in 1970. She holds a PhD in English literature from Brown University in the US and teaches postcolonial studies and comparative literature in Kuwait University. This is her first collection of short stories.
Mai Al-Nakib is a speaker at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2015

"The old world and the new. The strife in the Gulf, once peaceful and reflective. East and West, Arabic and English, the poetry of the heart, the eye of the hawk; all these elements produce the lustrous pearls of Mai Al-Nakib's short stories" - Hanan al-Shaykh, author of 'Beirut Blues'

"Through a richly nuanced and generous lens, Al-Nakib's gracefully intertwined stories celebrate the living desire that connects us to home wherever in the world that might be as well as to the past and to each other' - A. Manette Ansay, author or 'Vinegar Hill'