Three big bright blue water towers stand on the hill behind our house,

our villa – P28 officially

or Wishing Well Cottage, as my mum prefers –

they are completely out of place with the landscape, the harsh garish blue

against the light brown sand, the light brown houses, and the light brown people

just as we are out of place, our blue eyes so obviously foreign

but the water towers stand tall and proud;

they are not ashamed to be here, they have every right

so who cares if they don’t fit in,

they are our protectors, our allies, watching over us in this strange town

where we do not fit in either, but we don’t care

and we stand tall and proud, with our blue eyes against the bland light brown

and we are accepted, we become part of the community

just as the water towers did, and I begin to forget I am different

as I blend with the other children: from India, Thailand, Pakistan, Poland, Egypt, Syria

we are all different, so no one stands out

we start to forget our home countries and their customs

we live in a bubble, separate from the rest of the world

in a gated oil town, with five thousand residents

most of whom are engineers, or doctors, or teachers, and everyone works for ADNOC:

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

and everything is perfect here; the perfect society

like we are an experiment to see how different races and religions live together

in an artificial, confined environment

well, it works, we are a success

amongst the fake green grass, under the unobstructed sun

where the houses are grouped together by letters, depending on the style and size

and there is no attempt to be inventive with flowery names or designs,

it does what it says on the tin: like the Emirates General Market, and the Central Park,

and the ADNOC Recreation Centre – shortened to the Rec amongst the locals –

this no-nonsense approach to town planning adds to the charm of the place we call home

and this is home now; we have bought mismatched cushions and plastic flowers to decorate

alongside the existing furnishings:

floral pink and brown curtains, blue and gold patterned sofa, red Persian rugs –

none of which match and seem hideous on their own but somehow, together, it all works

like us as a society;

this is the longest place I’ve ever lived, and probably will ever live,

so it’s the only home I’ll ever truly have

and this town will change the way I see the world, the way I interact with people;

this small-town experiment has made me who I am,

I will carry it with me forever,

and I will never forget it.