Land of Pearls and Oil: First Impressions

Well, I’ve been in the UAE for a little over a week now and I am loving it more and more each day. It’s definitely different from what I am used to, but it’s beautiful and the people are friendly and welcoming.

The plane ride was definitely interesting. I got on my first flight a little scared, but thankfully I was sitting next to a man who was a flight attendant on another airline. He started talking to me immediately and when I told him this was my first time flying he wasted no time in showing me everything and making sure I was feeling comfortable throughout the entire trip. I will admit, I did have a bit of a freak out during my layover in Istanbul. I couldn't get wifi, so I had no way of informing my family that I had landed, but after walking around for a little while, I calmed down and figured it all out.

I arrived in Dubai at around 3am, and waited in a long line to get my passport stamped. While waiting to get through passport control I quickly noticed that out of the about three or four hundred people waiting I was one of very few Westerners. A huge majority of those waiting with me were young Indian and Pakistani men. I knew from past research that a large number of Indians and Pakistanis work in the Gulf, but I was still surprised by overwhelming majority of young men in the line.

By the time I arrived at the American University of Sharjah I was exhausted. It was still dark, and I had been travelling for close to 24 hours by that point. Yet I was excited to get my first impressions of the place where I would be staying for the next five months. The campus is beautiful, and University City is a huge space that has been set aside for learning. Even after a week of being here, I am still surprised by how long it takes to get from the gates of University to those of AUS.

After a well-deserved rest, it was time to start my orientation week with the other exchange students. I was nervous to meet so many new people. I didn't want my shy, quiet nature to get in the way. All the other exchange students are just as excited to be here as I am, and the International Exchange Office is extremely helpful. They have made the technical processes much easier, made me feel welcome, and eased any fears that I had.

The library at AUS

Orientation week was long, which helped me get over the jet lag pretty quickly. It involved things that weren’t so fun, like getting the visa process sorted out, paying bills, getting blood drawn, and getting a UAE phone number. Getting the phone seemed like the worst of it all. It took three of us about two hours to get our phones, going back and forth between stores, and going through a bunch of steps just to get the phones in one store. The process highlighted that we were no longer in an individualistic society. It was a good test in patience. I am extremely grateful that we had an AUS student with us. Not only would we have been lost on what to do, but we may have given up after the first couple confusing moments.

The week included fun trips as well. We went to the Arabian Wildlife Center where I touched my first camel, spent a day in Sharjah, and a day in Dubai. Going out into the cities and driving around, I always noticed the number of construction sites, as well as how new everything looks. It is clear that the economic growth of the UAE in the last few decades has changed the country dramatically. The number of mosques is fantastic. While I don’t think there are more mosques here than there are churches in the US (at least in the parts where I am from) the mosques are much more prominent structures because of the minarets, so the large number of them stick out.

During our day out in Dubai, we started off at the Sheikh Mohammad Center for Cultural Understanding, where we had a traditional Emirati breakfast and were able to speak with an Emirati man and woman, after which we quickly visited a nearby mosque with them. They were both willing to answer any questions we had about their culture. The Emirati man was wonderful at breaking the ice, making fun of many of the misconceptions about Emirati culture, especially those stereotypes dealing with women.

Classes have begun, but I’ll save that experience for the next blog entry. For now, the biggest task seems to be trying to remember what day it is. It is going to take a while to get used to the Friday-Saturday weekends.