Dodging Traffic, Riding Camels.

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all have had a productive and enjoyable week! I know last week I promised to blog twice these last seven days, but due to the fact that I had three days of class instead of the normal two, I didn’t really have enough material to do more than one blog.

Anyway, as I said, this week was predominately comprised of class for me. As a result of the fact that these are summer hours, the days that I have class I’m busy from 11 in the morning straight until 7 at night, which doesn’t exactly leave a whole lot of time to explore and do other fun things. So, I’ll spare you all the horribly monotonous details about my classes here and skip right to the stuff that you all read this blog for- the adventures and the food (oh come on, don’t even act like you’re interested in my classes).  

I had class this week Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday- so to be honest the only days that were even remotely interesting were Tuesday and Friday (Saturday will be included in next week’s post). On Tuesday, after doing homework for the better part of the afternoon, we went to the Dubai Marina for dinner and to walk around. Close to the beach, the Dubai Marina is a connecting series of waterways and man-made canals that wind between the high rising luxury residential buildings, and along the water are a number of restaurants and beautiful fountains. Littering the water are a myriad of expensive yachts that look like they’re straight out of a Bond film. Even though they vary in size, I’m reasonably confident in saying that even the smallest one would handily outweigh my four-year college tuition. We ate lunch that night at a Lebanese place on the water. A friend and I shared hummus with spiced meat, vine leaves (a mixture of rice and meat wrapped in the leaves), and a cheese and meat flatbread. To further compound the beautiful fact that we were on the water while eating, they had a number of soccer games on in the background, which made me quite happy!

Later that night, a few of us went back to the Marina for some ice cream and to sit at the fountains. The fountains were beautifully lit by lights underneath, and tall palm trees surrounded the water like sentinels on a nights watch (special shout out to you Game of Thrones people). Upon sitting down on the steps, I knew it would be difficult to tear myself away from the place. The water was timed so that it made certain melodies, and a number of children were playing in the spouting water, eliciting impromptu cries of joyous laughter. To the right a man was playing his guitar and singing a beautiful ballad in Arabic. At one point, I closed my eyes and was simply content to listen to the water, laughter, and music. The only thing that woke me from my reverie was the realization that the metro was about to close.

After discovering that the metro had indeed closed for the night, my friends and I were left with a choice- take a cab back to AUD, or walk. Since we were only one metro station down from AUD, we decided to walk it. Twenty minutes later, we realized that we didn’t recognize any of the buildings. A gnawing feeling of dread started to sink in, and we were forced to admit that we walked the wrong way. This brought us almost two metro stops away. I, being male, of course refused to ask for directions and was determined to walk back to AUD without the defeat that would invariably come with getting a cab. My companions, rolling their eyes at my superficial machismo, had no choice but to follow in my leaden footsteps. After getting back to where we initially set off, we saw that we would need to cross a few highways…on foot. No problem, I thought, I do this all the time at OSU. I’m a bona fide jaywalking expert. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same for one of my companions, but for the sake of their pride, I’ll just leave at this- crossing the first highway was a near death experience for one of us. After an expletive laden rant from the driver, we hurried on. We were forced to traverse vast amounts of sand filled areas, long grassed groves of shrubbery, and neatly manicured lawns beneath overpasses. Finally, our destination was in sight. However, it required us to walk along the biggest highway in Dubai- Sheikh Zayed Road. This is a twelve-lane leviathan that has thousands of cars zipping past at rate that sometimes makes the Autobahn look like a kiddie go-kart track. Walking single file along a two-foot pedestrian lane, with Ferrari’s shaking my innards as they went by, we finally reached AUD. Will I ask for directions next time, or take a cab? Not a chance.

After classes Wednesday and Thursday, Friday saw my inner Indiana Jones come out in full force- in other words, we went on a desert safari. Our driver was this really cool older guy that was quieter than a mouse but drove like it was the Monaco Grand Prix. After an hour drive on the highway, we reached the ocean of sand. The driver, upon letting air out of the tires, looked back and with a slight smirk told us all to buckle up. Being the crazed maniac I am, I grinned knowingly back at the driver, eager to see what was in store. What happened next was some combination of action film car chase meets off roading meets “hey, let’s try to flip this sucker and end up in the hospital”. Fearlessly driving full speed up sand dunes, our driver was not afraid to go air borne and make us fly out of our seats. We were drifting like it was a video game, and the kid in me loved it. After we crested one particularly large dune, he looked back and asked, “Everyone ok? Good. Get ready…”. That run gave us all of a few backside bruises, but it was fantastic.

We stopped twice on the dunes for some pictures, and then continued to the camp that would serve as our last stop. It was set up compound style, with different buildings that served as different stations- food, drinks, shisha, henna, rugs, etc. Outside were a bunch of camels that could be ridden and a little four-wheeler track. Unable to resist the allure of the camels, I can happily say that I got to ride one. We bonded quite well, steed and rider. Pity that I couldn’t take him back to the States; though I bet he prefers the desert anyways. After a delicious buffet style meal full of traditional and not so traditional food (somehow spaghetti made the list?!), we were treated to belly dancing and another dance that I can only describe as a man that spun at a rapid pace continually for a long period of time. By this point, we were all exhausted and grateful to return to AUD. After having about a pound of sand on me in various places, it was nice to shower off!

I guess it turns out I did have enough for two posts after all, but that’s hindsight. I hope you all enjoy reading about my various adventures! One more thing- I want to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day weekend, and give a special and heartfelt thanks to our veterans and troops, wherever they might be stationed. Thank you for your sacrifice!

Many thanks,

Andrew

A Whirlwind Week

Hey all!

I know it’s been a week since I’ve last posted, but this past week has flown by in a whirlwind of travel and new experiences (and class, of course). My last post this past Sunday saw me preparing for a busy week, and the start of the new summer semester. To give you all a roadmap for this post in a concerted effort to keep this a readable length and organized, I’ll first go through what I did and where I went each day. Then, to finish, I’ll give a little splurge about the food I’ve devoured while here (spoiler alert: it’s amazing). As usual, I’ll tack on some pictures throughout and at the end J

On Sunday we traveled to the biggest mall in the world, the Dubai mall.  Situated right next to the Burj Khalifa, the mall is a vast, multi layered labyrinth of high-end designer stores and pretty much whatever store you could ever think of- there’s even an aquarium and an ice rink! After walking there, we went outside to take in the massive Burj Khalifa that stretches halfway to heaven. Feeling dwarfed, I was amazed that humans can build something that can be that big, it was almost incomprehensible.

Monday saw the first day of classes come and go, and for the most part I can say that I enjoy most of my studies here. Due to the fact that we have to cram everything into six to seven weeks, classes are over two hours in length, which can drag on as you can probably imagine. To be specific, I’m taking Politics and Economics in the Gulf region, a global media course, and Middle Eastern Cultures and Societies. I especially like the first and the last, for it is always interesting to learn about the place that you are actually living in. We had our Clinton Scholars orientation lunch and learned some good background knowledge about Dubai and the region in general.

Since myself and a number of the other Clinton Scholars don’t have class on Tuesdays, we went to the beach in the morning at the Jumeirah Beach Residence. There really isn’t a bad day to go to the beach here- every day is hot, sunny, cloudless, and perfect for beach activities. The water is crystal clear here, and is so warm it’s like bath water. Actually, it’s really not all that refreshing, but it is nice not to worry about how cold it might get! The sand is ivory colored and contains small, fine grains that make it quite soft. All in all, the beach was lovely. After resting in the afternoon (we went to the beach pretty early in the morning to escape the heat), I spent the rest of the evening doing homework and going to get food.

Again, Wednesday was a day chock full of long classes, and in the evening we went to the mall and grabbed some food.

Thursday myself and the other Clinton Scholars got to meet the U.S. Consular General to Dubai, Robert Waller. We had a great conversation with him on topics like the Middle East and careers in the State Department, which was followed by numerous pictures together. He was very nice and well spoken for, the ideal diplomat! At night we went to a place called Madinah Jumeira, which is a resort/ attraction. Right by the Burj Al-Arab, this complex has a luxury hotel, with a number shops and other touristy things. All of these buildings are connected and surround a long canal. Studded with palm trees and lanterns, it was magnificent at night. Afterwards, we went to a really good Lebanese place for some food and shisha (I didn’t partake in the latter, but it smelled good!).

By far, the most eventful day was Friday. Three of us got up early and made the cross-city trek to Old Town Dubai. After a long taxi ride, we stepped out into the heat of the day, it was well into the 100’s at this point. One of the main criticisms of Dubai is that it has lost much of its ancient culture and heritage, but I can attest that this place was what many people mean when they say they “want to see the real city”. Little mom and pop shops on every corner, old mud buildings everywhere, ancient Islamic architecture was frequent, a Mosque every few streets- this was the Dubai that the history books refer to. Despite the heat of the day, it was impossible to ignore the vast beauty in my surroundings. After walking through the trade market, which was alive with the scent of oriental spices and street food, we crossed the river in a dhow (a traditional boat) and went across to check out the gold market. Despite the fact that under no circumstances I could ever buy anything there, the gold market was a brilliant array of sparkling and glittering gold and silver jewels. After admiring from afar, we went back across the river to grab some lunch at a little Indian place.

Despite the heat and the spice of the Indian food, we crossed the street and headed to the Dubai Museum, an old fort that was constructed a long time ago, and has since been converted to a museum. Exhibits were placed on the inside of the parapets and turrets. I originally thought that there wasn’t much to the place until one room led underground, which turned out to be a huge network of interlocking rooms full of information about traditional Arabic and Bedouin tribal life. Though I was bottlenecked between French and Chinese tourists, we still gained a lot of knowledge in a somewhat short amount of time. By this time, we were overheated and tired, so we decided to head back to AUD.  A short while later, we headed to grab dinner and then afterwards took the metro back to Old Town Dubai because a few people missed the first trip. I didn’t mind since it was at night and cooler, and there were some things that we didn’t see. The markets came alive at night, with shopkeepers doing their best to get you in their shop any way possible (one guy in the group got called James Bond). After walking around a bit, we discovered a small alleyway that no one noticed before. We decided to check it out, and inside was pretty much a little India. Tiny shops crammed together full of flowers, Hindu statues, and small trinkets. Upon exiting, we went and saw the Heritage Village (a preserved site that displays traditional Arabic life). At night, the river was magnificent. It was lit up with boats that had lights on them, riverside restaurants hummed with music and laughter, and men sat on the banks smoking and talking. To cap a long but eventful day, a local friend took us to this little food joint near AUD that had some of the best food I’ve ever had.

Saturday we all got up late because of the late night, and enjoyed the cooler weather outside. I didn’t expect there to be much wind here, but because of the proximity to the coast, it’s both windy and humid. After sitting outside and talking for a while, we got dinner and then went to an outside café for a while to do some work and just take in the surroundings. Today I’ve spent most of the day doing homework, and tomorrow will be full of class. This upcoming weekend we’ll be going on a desert safari, so I’ll be sure to make a post after that.

Now, the food. Oh man. Where to begin? I probably will be very sad when I go back home because I’ll miss the food so much. I’ll highlight some of my favorites. On Sunday I had great Iranian food that consisted of chicken and beef with rice and a stew that was a fiery red and had bits of okra in it. Monday night I had Manakesh with meat and cheese, which is like a Lebanese version of a quesadilla with traditionally spiced meat and cheese, which was amazing. Friday at the Indian place in Old Town I had a butter chicken paneer, which was a wrap with spicy Indian curried chicken. Thankfully I got an iced coffee to go along with it, which helped balance the heat! Also on Friday I had Mendy, which is a half of chicken roasted with spices, on top of a bed of rice with this tomato sauce and yogurt. Mixing the yogurt with the tomato sauce and rice created a downright diabolical combination, and the chicken was beyond tender. We also found this little hole in the wall joint two metro stops down from AUD named Golden Tasty, and it’s already become our favorite late night spot for street food. I’ve had Hassan Mathar, a bread pocket full of chicken, sauce, and who knows what else. I couldn’t tell you what all was in it, but it was out of this world. Last night there I had Arabic Shwarma, which is similar to Hassan Mathar but a different style. To wash it down I had fresh strawberry juice, which sent me back to my childhood when we would make smoothies after picking the berries in a patch at local farm. Not only is this place dirt cheap, everything is outstanding, and the guys that run it are over the top nice.

Well, I’ll stop for now even though I left out a number of things, but I’ll try to post more frequently so it won’t be as long! Miss you all.

Cheers,

Andrew

Dubai :: Day 2

Hey all,

I’m glad to hear so many of you are reading this blog! It gives me great joy to hear that others are interested in my experiences and want to learn about new places. My second day in Dubai was quite eventful, and my bed is looking more appealing by the minute. First though, I will attempt to describe where I went and what I did today.

After a good nights sleep (I believe I’ve finally beaten jet-leg), I woke up this morning and went on the hunt for some breakfast. I ended up having a lovely omelet with olives and other vegetables in it, and some iced coffee. After that, I met up with some new friends to go to the Mall of the Emirates. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I knew that there was a reason that everyone says, “You must go to the malls when in Dubai”. I thought, okay, let’s see what we have here.

To be succinct, it did not disappoint. After hopping on the convenient and very modern metro, we arrived at the mall after only two stops. We walked through a glass bridge that took us straight to the mall, and thus entered. The Mall of the Emirates is beautiful, upscale, and pretty much has anything you could ever think of. I constantly lost my sense of direction it was so big. I made sure I took a bunch of pictures, because I knew my words would not be enough to describe the place. In it were your classic worldwide chains, from Lacoste to Coldstone Creamery. You name it, it was there.

We ate lunch inside the mall at a Lebanese restaurant, which was delicious and consisted of Lebanese hummus, tabbouleh (a salad type thing), olives, and shish taouk; which is chicken with spices in a wrap. We walked around the mall for a while and picked up some things we needed at the supermarket, which was inside the mall like any other store. After spending a few hours at the mall, it was clear we would never really get to all of it, and so we decided to head back to AUD to rest until evening.

In the evening, we went to the Jumeirah Beach Residence, or JBR. The best I can describe is an ocean front area that houses numerous residential high rises, upscale hotels, and a plethora of restaurants. We got there just in time to see the sunset, which was gorgeous. The sidewalks were beautifully cobblestoned and were lined with palm trees. After getting some hazelnut gelato, we took a nice walk on the beach. From the distance you could see the Atlantis resort, as well as a few islands of the famous palm tree.

Since we skipped dinner (no, the gelato did not count), we took a short walk to the local McDonald’s that was in a business building. I had a McArabian, which can best be described as a gyro type pita wrap with chicken, vegetables, and a tzatziki like sauce. It was easily the best thing I’ve had from McDonald’s in years. For now, I’m headed off to bed and am looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

Blessings,

Andrew

Finally Here!

Greetings from Dubai!

I landed around 8:30 a.m. local time this morning, and have since gotten to AUD and settled in. The only hiccup was actually my first flight, which was supposed to go from Lancaster to D.C., but was fogged out. I couldn’t afford to wait for the next one, so the airport called a taxi and I was driven down to Dulles. Despite the horrendous rush hour traffic, I still made it comfortably for my next flight. I flew straight from D.C. to Dubai on Emirates Airlines. Seriously, if you ever get the chance to fly Emirates, please do so. Everything is incredible- from the food to the service, I was treated like royalty! Heck, I was even given a warmed, moist washcloth to dab my face after we took off. I could go on and on about Emirates, but I’ll stop there at the sake of keeping this post at a readable length.

I got a taxi to take me to AUD, and since the airport and university are at opposite ends of the city, I got to see most of the city on my ride there. Dubai really is a place of superlatives. There were more luxury high-rise skyscrapers than I could possibly count, and about halfway through my drive I passed by the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. Writing about how tall it is really doesn’t do it justice, but trust me when I say that it looks like it reaches halfway into the sun.  Then on my right we passed the Burj Al-Arab, the famous hotel that is perched out into the ocean and that has the distinctive sailboat design. Oh, it’s also the world’s only seven star hotel. Talk about a superlative, right? The last thing that I immediately noticed was heat. It’s no joke, it’s downright smokin’, and it’s not even summer yet.

The American University of Dubai, like the rest of the city, is beautiful. It consists of tan buildings that are clustered together in a gated area, and they are quite modern on the inside while being classical on the outside. Fortunately, each building (including my dorm room) has air conditioning, something that I am currently taking advantage of. There is a large athletic field in the corner surrounded by a track, outfitted with soccer goals and even some stadium style seating. CNN’s Dubai headquarters are right across the street, and I’m a few blocks from the ocean and the famous palm tree islands. Hopefully I’ll be able to explore the latter in due time.

As for tonight, I plan on going out and purchasing a few items that I need, and then finding something to eat. After that, I’ll try to go to bed. I committed the cardinal sin of jet lag prevention this afternoon and napped, so I hope I can sleep tonight. Sleeping on the plane was impossible due to numerous toddlers and babies that were quite loud, and to not sleep on a 13 hour flight takes its toll. Tomorrow, I might be going to one of the famous malls with a group of people, but we’ll see. That’s all for now!

With love,

Andrew