Only in Abu Dhabi: Lululemon controversy gets an Arab twist

While waiting to start a pilates reformer class, a Canadian and an Arab woman are discussing the merits of Lululemon. The Arab woman says she loves Lululemon (and indeed, she is clad in it from head to toe). She mentions the recent "sheer" pants controversy. The Canadian woman gestures to her own Lululemon top, which was once a brilliant pink, but no longer, and says the quality has waxed and waned over the years.

Arab woman: I think you really have to hand-wash them.

Canadian woman: I think it's a bit much to ask, to hand-wash my workout clothes.

Arab woman: That's why I get my maids to do it. 

Only in Abu Dhabi...

... would my friend and colleague's upstairs neighbour, a single man from Jordan, present her with a little ceramic bell (bearing, helpfully, the name of his home country) and tell her to ring it whenever she needs him.

*Not the actual bell presented