Friday, September 09, 2016

Vignettes

As I buy kingfish at the fish stall in Al Jubail Fish Souq, a voice to my right enquire of me: "What fish is that? How is it cooked?" I see a lady in a black frock, with a broad face, broad lips and nose. To my untrained eye, she is another Chinese or Japanese wanting to buy salmon for sushi. I explain that it is premium fish in India and how we cook it with spices. She looked interested but not impressed, especially by the price. Too expensive, she says, and asks the seller the price of salmon. The price once again daunts her. I ask her where she is from and what fish they eat.  She tells me that they eat only small fish in Mongolia.
Mongolia of all places! Who would have thought I'd have the privilege of meeting a Mongol?
Last seen, she was at a counter selling big fish heads.

***

I have an hour to kill at the driving institute before the next bus to Sharjah departs. Most women at the ladies waiting area have their heads buried in the phones and I chat with a friend on whatsapp. She asks if I have anyone to talk to. I tell her that sometimes I strike up conversation with the person on the next chair. Most of my new friendships have been made at the institute - sharing the agony of a failed parking test, easing the nervousness before a road test or cribbing about the tutors and the money going down the drain (often enough to buy a second hand car).
I decide to talk with a real person instead of a virtual one and turn to the young woman in a colorful headscarf seated behind. She has just cleared her road assessment in the first attempt and is planning to appear for the road test in the coming week. She is an architecture graduate from Jordan but is yet to find a job. We share our experiences in job hunting and the low salaries offered. She lives with her parents in another emirate. She has a licence from her home country but Jordan is not among the list of countries whose licence is accepted here and so she has to take a fresh one. She looks fresh and confident, and I am sure she will clear the road test in the first attempt. I wish her all the best, and return to my phone just as I get a crick in my neck.

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