Thanks for visiting my new site. It's very simple, there are just two main sections: one for my clippings, which you can check out here; the other is this, my personal blog.

This is the first post on stuff I come across at work and generally just by living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It’s an interesting place, this. Much more to it than meets the eye. Certainly more than any grand national narrative, glossy brochure, hard-hitting documentary or personal blog could ever capture.

Rem Koolhaas put it well when he described Dubai like this:

“The brainchild of a local minority that generously invited manpower and expertise from everywhere to assemble an artificial community, to test, explore and put into practice the relationship between Islam and modernity. Where a Western perspective could only register unguided frivolity, Dubai from an Iranian perspective, would represent freedom; from an Indian, opportunity; to an Arab, the hope that Arab modernity can work.”

I’d like this blog to capture snippets of this unique environment; the opportunity, the alienation and the contradictions that make THIS EXPAT LIFE tick. Many such snippets will come from my research and interviews, which typically evolve around the arts, media and culture in the UAE. Others are likely to feature aspects of local history, sustainability, architecture and, sometimes, visual journalism and infographics.

Finally, a request for you, the reader: if you find any of what I write here interesting, inspiring, incorrect or irritating, I would like to know! You are herewith encouraged to leave a comment or contact me by email on reinisch . lisa ( at ) gmail.com.