Catching Up

Ok, so because I've been procrastinating, as usual, I'm stealing several blog entries covering the first few days of our stay from my roommate, Olan. They are virtually unedited (the flattering stuff about me is original, I promise). My written blog entries start on the 24th.... enjoy!

We Have Toilet Paper (Title as suggested by Kara)

Marhabban!

19/05/2006

After spending more than enough time sitting on 747s and traveling more than half way across the world, we finally made it to Dubai International Airport. As Kara and I made our way through the gate towards Customs, we could not believe that we were actually here in the UAE. Huge ads and signs in Arabic with English translations and the familiar sounds of the Arabic language surrounded us. In short: probably the most amazing experience ever!

But first appearances are sometimes deceiving…

Once we had collected our baggage, we made our way to the Greeter's Area where we attempted to find our contact to drive us to the AUS campus. We passed a long row of chauffeurs with signs but none of them had our names on them. We were eventually pushed through sliding glass doors by the flow of pedestrian traffic and were met with a gust of hot, humid air. We're talking over a hundred and humid at 11pm!!!

As we stood in the heat, our contact was nowhere to be found. We felt out of place and alone as many Arab men and women pushed past us, clearly wondering what we were doing just standing there. Kara and I realized that the possibility of us being stranded in an Arab country with no way to contact the person we were supposed to meet was very high so we whipped out Kara's phone and called one of our program supervisors at AU. The phone connection was very sketchy but we were able to express the vital information: WE ARE STRANDED AT THE AIRPORT; PLEASE CONTACT SOMEONE FOR US!

A few minutes later a man hurried up to us who turned out to be our driver. He was very apologetic and explained that he thought our flight landed at 11:30pm (we landed at 10:30pm). In what became a theme for our first few days, AU (Washington) was responsible.

The drive to campus was draw dropping even though it was dark out. You could literally see the air because it was so thick and humid. Interestingly enough, the UAE has adopted the Western style of driving with the exception of a speed limit; one main highway spans from Sharjah to Abu Dhabi. There are many roundabouts here, and it reminds me of the way DC is structured with all of its traffic circles. We sped through the desert and away from downtown Sharjah and Dubai. After approximately 20 minutes, we saw lights spring up from the desert as University City came into view.

University City is well…a city of universities. The entire city is gated and is home to the American University of Sharjah, Sharjah University (gender segregated), The Police Academy, a medical school, and an IT school. Each university has its own entrance gate(s) and is to either side of the one main stretch of road at the city's center. The avenue is lined with palm trees and elegant street lamps and the center median is covered with beautiful flowers and well managed grass, everything modeled after the Champs-Elysees in Paris. AUS sits at the end of this avenue and words cannot express how majestic it looks. Hopefully I'll get some pics up soon...

We arrived on campus at midnight and were dropped off at the women's dorms (Kara and I room together in A Block). We were met by three lovely Arab women who brought us to our room. These rooms are awesome and include a kitchen area, a full furnished bathroom, two beds, two huge closets and two very large desks. However, we realized that we needed more than we thought to bring with us. It was almost like taking inventory before apartment shopping. First of all, we needed water, food, pots and pans, dishes, utensils, toilet paper, and various other items. Of course, AU didn't mention to us that we would lack even toilet paper when we arrived, or that we would have no microwave.

Luckily, one of the dorm guards managed to come up with a single roll of toilet paper for us. She noticed our frustration and told us that it was better to come to Sharjah blind, as we had, because we would learn the culture faster. ::sigh::

By this time, we were ridiculously angry at AU for not preparing us at all for the situation that met us at the dorms. We went to sleep hungry and Dirham-less and severely culture-shocked.

20/05/2006

This morning was our first morning trying to survive in an Arab country as clueless foreign students. We checked to see if we could receive dorm keys but they were not ready yet. Our next stop was Public Relations for AUS IDs and then the bank to exchange money.

The main building is large and confusing on the inside. Apparently the PR office was on the mezzanine level but Kara and I spent a good half hour to 45 minutes trying to find its location. After we were told that the floors of the building were divided on either side, we successfully found the office. However, we were turned away and told to go to the registrar for our IDs.

At the registrar we were informed by a woman named Lydia that a) AUS had no idea we were even going to be students at the school till Wednesday night and b) we were not entered into the system yet. There are few a problems with this. If AUS didn't know that we would be studying there this summer, why would AU let us board planes on Thursday? Why wasn't anything taken care of before hand? Why didn't we have a contact on campus? Why weren't we registered for any classes here? The questions kept running through our heads as we left the registrar and went to the bank.

We were in dire need for groceries so we went to the mini mart on campus and purchased water, juice, and milk. Soon we found ourselves sitting in an abandoned Student Union eating a lunch that cost 5 Dirhams. I realized that if I had been alone on this trip I would probably be bawling in a corner not knowing how to go about solving any of the problems we were facing.

When were finished eating, we could not find any trash bins around. In America when you're done with a meal you throw out the trash and deposit trays on top of the bins. We stood awkwardly for a while trying to figure out how to take care of the trash. I know I would have asked someone how to go about it but there were only male students around and I wasn't sure how out of line approaching a male student would be. Eventually we saw another male walk away from his table, leaving his garbage on the table. Soon, an employee appeared with a trash can on a trolley and cleared the mess. Ohh, culture shock.

Kara and I left the Student Union with our groceries and tried to figure out what to do next. Either we would go home and try to find the other female student in our program or just go home and be upset that our plans for a productive day had yielded absolutely nothing.

We decided to visit the Physics building where our seminar professor supposedly had an office and went to find him. SUCCESS!!!

Professor Bassel Salloukh is probably the nicest man I have ever met. He knew exactly who we were as some of his students had reported to him that two female Americans were wandering campus. He greeted us with a smile and wanted to help us in anyway he could including trying to get our AUS IDs the next day.

He explained that normal procedure concerning the IDs and the other problems we had encountered were taken care of the first day of the seminar. He showed us where things were on campus and gave us our course schedule and syllabus. We also met one of his students and two other professors, one of which offered to take us to a supermarket to purchase things for our room.

Needless to say, after we found Professor Salloukh, we were much happier people and more comfortable on campus.

We met Professor Richard Gassan a little before 1pm to go to the grocery store. Richard was very nice and accommodating but it was with him that we discovered there is not really a speed limit on the highway. As we sped through the desert at speeds upwards of 150mph, we passed a series of towns in the process of being built. The houses were magnificent and luxurious and again I can't really describe the sight in words. We also saw two herds of roaming camels along the roadside as they loped about, unconcerned about the speeding cars a few feet away from them.

That night Kara went to bed really early as a result of jet lag, and I met another girl from our program named Kim Black who is a grad student at AU. She and I sat outside our complex and talked about many things ranging from study abroad in the Middle East to US Foreign Policy in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Later we went to the small fitness center in B Block and then headed to bed.

21/05/2006

This morning Kara and I received a phone call from Professor Salloukh at 10:30am asking where we were. Apparently, he expected us to be at his office to get our AUS IDs and internet in order. In what has become another theme, the Professor saying he will be somewhere at a certain time, apparently means we should all be there, and preferably ten minutes earlier than he states. As we ran to the Physics building, Kara and I met Kim's roommate, Lamees from Jordan.

At Professor Salloukh's office we met the boys in our group, Matt Bank and Mike from Portland, Oregon. After running around to the Registrar, we ate lunch as a group and I tried Kafta Hallabi for the first time. It was awesome.

And then of course, we successfully were connected to wireless and LAN so that is why I am here writing this blog entry! =)

Tonight our plans include crashing a gala event for the School of International Relations here at AUS for the graduating students and going to Sahara Center (one of the malls in Sharjah).

Tomorrow we start classes at 8am!

Interesting Facts:

-The first day of the week here is Saturday which makes our weekends Thursdays and Fridays.
-They LOVE french fries and put it with most meals. They are really into KFC as well.

Kara: What are you doing? Blogging or emailing?
Olan: Blogging
Kara: Did you tell them I am a fantastic person and gorgeous to boot?

(my roommate is hilarious)

Ma'asalama!

xoxo
Olan

It's Really a Class Act 22/05/2006

Today was the first day of classes which, alhamdu allah, started an hour later than usual. We met in a small seminar room in the Physics Building at 9:00am to go over logistical information and to run through the syllabus for the Political Economy of the Gulf States class.

We found out that in actuality, the course was designed as a grad level seminar class and the course packet proves it. However, I have an inkling that the course packet is a little less than what students normally receive for grad level course readings.

Not much happened, as our first real class is Wednesday, but we were assigned the topics to present for our 20 minute lead presentations. After our course intro, Professor Salloukh walked us over to the Chemistry Building/NAB (New Academic Building) where we would have our Arabic class. Only two students (myself included) from my program are taking Advanced Arabic. However, the professor is letting the other students audit our class. Likewise, me and Matt (the other AA trooper) are allowed to receive one-on-one or combined Arabic tutoring from the Tutorial professor who will take all the other non Advanded Arabic students under her wing.

Now, I have to describe the room in which our class is held; it is fantastic! As I mentioned a short while ago, we were in a Translation Room that has all the up to date equipment needed for intense language instruction. In the center of the room sits a main console with two computer monitors and a number of headsets attached to a device that kind of looks like a remote control. What these are, I really don't know but I am sure will find out soon enough. There are 5 booths in the room as well that are the same as the booths interpreters use in the United Nations. SO COOL!

When class let out, Matt, Mike, Lamees, Kim, and I went to lunch at Abela and tried some more Middle Eastern food; today I had chicken satay. So good...

Ah, how could I forget! Our 7th member of our program arrived yesterday. Her name is Ann/Anne (sp?) and she is a Georgetown grad student taking a year long academic leave to work for the embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. I admire her bravery to work there because of the fact that there is still bombing aimed at the city. Additionally, since suicided bombings are the new trend, she has to be cautious about that.

I don't know if it's coming up on your screens, but I've added a new link: Baghdad Burning
It is a blog written by an Iraqi woman who recently won a Pulitzer Prize for her work. Also, a book was published using her actual blog entries. Kara is worried about her because she hasn't updated since May 2nd. She apparently never lets that much time go on without posting. We hope that she is safe and that it's just the lack of internet, but these days you can never be sure.

Alright, well that is all I have for now. Tonight one of Professor Salloukh's students is taking us out to Dubai. I have no idea what is in store for us but it should be a good time!

xoxo
OLAN

First Night Out in Dubai 22/05/2006

Thehabtu illa al-mata'am mumtazeen fee Century Village.

Tonight, some AUS Int'l Studies students took us out to a fabulous restaurant in Century Village. Interestingly enough, it is connected to Irish Village and The Cellar which are full of wonderful restaurants that actually serve alcohol. Here, it is looked down upon for an Arab to drink alcohol (in public) and the drinking age is 21 like it is in the states. Luckily, they are more lenient here ;)

The restaurant (the name I wasn't able to catch) served traditional Middle Eastern food ranging from fattoush and kofta to hummus and lahm bi ajeen and much, much more! There were so many of us that we sat at a long table and it was always full of dishes and dishes of food. A few of us did order our own shishas and I had the AUS students pick a flavor for me. They selected grape which was pretty light but very tasty.

Around half way through dinner, the stereo playing music from popular Arab artists stopped and we had a live performer! He was amazing and it created such a traditional yet familiar atmosphere. (note from Kara: I love Middle Eastern music, you can't help but feel moved by it!)

Then we sat with fresh, empty plates for about 30 minutes. Matt and I got pretty anxious about desert and constantly asked each other and anyone who would listen: "Ayna hall'wah??" (Where is desert??) Eventually, the waiters came out with huge plates of watermelon and sweet cheese which turned out to be a tasty combination.

We left around 11:30pm because us women have a strict curfew of midnight on weekdays and 1:00am on weekends. We drove back with Professor Gassan who sped us to campus with 10 minutes to spare.

Kara on our meal tonight: "When in Rome, you still don't eat the raw meat"

xoxo
OLAN