Go ahead, talk to the neighbours in Dubai. It could get you banana bread

Unless you want to let the isolation of Dubai hit you in the face like a hot wind, chat up your next door folks, and become friends over a coffee

There is hardly any place between work, travel, and the net for a friendly neighbour to fit in. Do you know your neighbour? It was half past four on a Thursday afternoon and I could hear chaos outside my door. A baby was wailing at the top of her lungs and her mother was trying in vain to comfort her. I opened my door out of curiosity and saw my neighbour, heavily pregnant, struggling to reach the keys that had fallen on the floor and running after the 1-year-old. I reached out immediately and helped her unlock the door. That's how I met my next door neighbour, a Swedish lady with a 1-year-old daughter, now new mother to twin sons.
Dubai has been kind to me in the six months that I have been here. The initial apprehension of relocating to the city, leaving family and friends behind, have let up. The early months can be overwhelming. You don't know anybody in the city and you desperately try to connect with 'friends of friends' or 'relatives of relatives' who are around. Soon, you get busy clocking in nine-to-ten hours at work and weekends turn precious, too precious to be wasted on getting to know new people. It is not surprising then, that a majority of people don't know the name of the people sharing a common wall with them. Luckily, I managed to make friends in my neighourhood without chasing anyone down.
So, coming back to this new mom. In my mind, she is a superwoman as I see her effortlessly toggle between her three children. She can feed one new-born, while typing away furiously on her laptop, and also make baby food for the elder one. And soon enough, it will be time to nurse the other twin!
I visit her in the evenings and she usually has the energy to bake me a banana bread amid this chaos. So, while I relish my banana bread, let's talk about my second neighbour.
He lives on the 14th floor, below me, and I am pretty sure he doesn't like me much. We met in the lift the other day and exchanged hellos but beyond that there was no conversation. One overcast Friday morning, he knocked on my door with a long face. "Why do you keep moving your furniture?" he demanded. I went on to explain my fetish about this one-armed antique chair that I move near the window for my coffee in the evenings and back to the living room to read my book under the lamp shade. Clearly unamused, he looked straight at me and said, "Maybe it's time you bought another chair," and walked away. I haven't seen him since, but I do move my chair with caution now. If at all. I also keep hoping he never takes the same lift as mine. Ever.
The lady on the far corner of my floor is interesting. We happened to meet in the gym when she corrected my squats and said, "You aren't going low enough!" It caught me off guard as I could see all the eyes in the gym on me. Before I could melt in embarrassment, she broke the ice and joined me to complete the set.
I later found out she's one of those Instagram influencers who keeps inspiring followers with their #MorningMotivation posts and makes big bucks in return. Now, we often run on the beach together - she running miles ahead and me struggling to catch up. Trust me, we all need a next-door neighbour to fall back on. They can be the much-needed fix to your madness as you plunge through week after week of your auto-mode life. So, go ahead - say a hello, catch up for coffee and ditch the small talk.
Anita searches for new apps when she's not listening to music or reading
anita@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE