Sports Production Journalist -- The National, Abu Dhabi

The running thread on the 1919 World Series must have been a fun one to read.

 

And remember - it's a dry heat.

 

How fast can you drive in the left lane in Abu Dhabi?

 

Shit, I could do that job: Today, in Abu Dhabi, nothing of interest happened, carry on.

 

Interesting that I stumbled on this thread today; just chatted with my brother, who is there for work for the next year. He thinks it's pretty cool. He confirmed the stuff about the expats and said he could do as he pleases. Do a Google Earth search and just scroll around the city, and you see all kinds of western cultural influences (Johnny Rockets comes to mind). Plus, they have Ferrari World, home of reportedly the world's fastest roller coaster.

It's not in the middle of the desert. It's on the Persian -- er, Arabian -- Gulf. There's an F1 track there and from the looks of it, hosts big events all the time.

 

I applied for a job at this paper once upon a time and interacted with Paul quite a bit in doing so. He seemed like a great guy. I would love to have this job...

 

How are women treated at the paper?

 

Women will be treated well in the newsroom - my understanding is that they'll be treated the same way women are treated in a Western newsroom. Interpret that how you will.

Outside of the office ... women are going to deal with some shit. White women, in particular. If you have a one-mile walk back to your apartment, somewhere between zero and five vehicles full of men are going to slow down and whistle/cat-call/degrade you in some way. I know this sounds ridiculously insensitive, but if you're a woman envisioning this job, you need to be at least a little bit of a badass. The chance you'll be physically threatened are quite low. The chances you'll be objectified, often, are 100 percent.

It's not for everyone.

If you have a thick skin, a desire to make a bunch of money, a sense of adventure, an ability to deal with people from other cultures and a tolerance for heat, this is a great job. You need ALL of those, though.

 

Between zero and five? In a mile?

Good Lord, that's nothing. I got more than that in my three-minute walk home in Morocco on a regular basis. One the mile walk in the other place, it was much worse.

I am badass, but five catcalls or degrading comments a day doesn't even register on my "some shit"-o-meter.

If you're interested in this job, don't let the lack of a Y chromosome dissuade you. It sounds like a fabulous opportunity.