I have come to the conclusion that babies are the most effective tool for closing cultural gaps. We experienced this when we were in Mexico for 10 weeks when Avery was a toddler, and again here in Sharjah another baby works his magic. It could be his incredibly charming smile, enchanting giggle, or just his big chubby cherub cheeks, (No, I'm not biased;))but I have a hunch that EVERYBODY around the world just loves babies. Hanging out with Ethan in Dubai is like being part of a celebrity entourage. People are snapping photos, constantly touching, and oohing/awing over baby Ethan. It really helps you to see that people are not so different here. It helps us to feel safe, even though we are so far from home.
In all honestly, I wasn't sure how to react to the women who wear the full Burka here. I assumed that since they are all covered except for their eyes that you weren't supposed to look at them. So...just to be sure, I did an experiment. I saw a woman at IKEA and I smiled at her and said "Hi." It was like I sent her an encoded message saying, "Yes, it is OK for you to touch my baby," and that is exactly what she did. She went straight for the cheeks. And it's funny...it's worked every time since. I ran into another expat "mum" from Australia who mentioned the same uncertainty. By this time, I already had it figured out...I said, "Oh don't worry about it, they will love your baby."
Thanks for checking in!
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