"Full Special Please"

There are lots of reasons why I love living in the UAE but I am slightly ashamed to admit to one of them: I get much more "help" here than I did in the UK.

"Help"? I hear you ask, “what do you mean?”  Well, I feel shameful saying it- I suspect partly because I know I have developed “ex-pat brat” syndrome - but basically, I don’t need to do any of the menial tasks which, frankly, have never given me any joy (or I have never been very good at!): cleaning, ironing, packing my shopping, unpacking my shopping, washing my car and even putting petrol in my car.

If the car needs petrol, I pull into the petrol station and utter the phrase “full special please” then, a lovely little man in blue will come and fill up my car and clean my windscreens. No cash? No problem! The card machine is brought to my car window, interrupting my listening to the radio only briefly.

It's only been 2 years, but and I don’t think I can even remember how to switch on the hoover or iron and I have trouble finding cleaning products in the house- this is all thanks to my lovely maid, Sheryl, who comes once a week.

At the supermarket checkout, I am free to vacantly stare at the wall or read my magazine while a lovely person packs my shopping into bags by category. A man then whisks the trolley in the direction of my car and unpacks my shopping into the car. If you have kids, he'll probably put them in the car for you too! Another man then directs me out of my parking spot in my newly cleaned and valeted car (yes, I don’t do that either!).

I must admit I find these things wonderful after struggling to pack my shopping fast enough in Asda, people in the queue “tutting” behind me. It's not that these things are so terrible to do yourself, just so much nicer if someone does them for you.

In the UAE, there is an oversupply of unskilled labour which is the main reason why so much help is affordable. It shows that there is a job for everyone; almost like “inventing jobs” (David Cameron, take note!). Crucially, it provides people with few skills the ability to earn money and, it makes their life, and mine, well, that little bit better.