For your viewing pleasure

As Miranda and I sauntered through Marina Mall, one of the many gaudy retail fortresses that are peppered through out the city, I kept a keen eye on all the different signs.

First of all, malls – especially ones that look like circus space ships – usually make me nauseated. The lack of directories in this particular one frustrated me even further.

But on our way to the movie theatre, I took note of the signs because they had all your typical ones...

"Restrooms"

"Food Court"

"Prayer Room"

When we got to the "Cinema," there were many options. Unlike on the islands, where anything from Tyler Perry stayed in the theater for months, all the newest flicks were already out here.

We settled on Zero Dark Thirty, the new Kathryn Bigelow flick about the U.S. build-up to catching Osama Bin Laden and raiding his safe house in Pakistan.

So imagine this: We have two white people living in a Muslim country and watching a movie about an Islamic extremist who launched a Jihad against America, and the U.S. assault to take him down. Sounds pretty safe, right?

Well, tempers inside the theatre immediately boiled over when the fuzzy flick began and viewers were asked to put on their 3D glasses. The cinema guys messed up and started Life Of Pi, which opened with the pretty scene of a luscious forest.

"This doesn't look like Pakistan," I whispered to Miranda as pissed-off Emiratis went charging for the exit to try and correct the problem.

A few weeks earlier, I also saw Sean Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden, which was the junior-varsity version of the Bigelow flick but it also featured the rapper Xzibit and he wasn't pimping any rides in this one.

During that particular movie cinema experience, I was by myself and on top of that, I was the only white person in the theater. Once again, it was an interesting environment.

Now don't get me wrong, I love America but I'm not going to be one those guys who hoots and hollers when the Navy SEALs kick some ass on the big screen (especially while in a Muslim country). At the same time, I really didn't like seeing all those college kids cheering in front of the White House like it was New Year's Eve when the Bin Laden news broke.

After the movie ended both times, I have to admit there was a slightly-heightened sense of what I was doing and how even my body language may be read by those around me.

I think it all really comes down to respect.

If you don't have it, then visiting or living anywhere in this particular part of the world is not for you. Luckily, in the UAE, there is more tolerance and a bit more acceptance of Western culture, which clearly sets it apart from the rest of the Middle East.

That, and the malls. There's an indoor ski slope in one of the Dubai malls. But that's a story for another day.