Where in the World Is Sharjah?

This should help

Now, let's put it into a larger context...

You found me!

Now for some random thoughts...
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I’m amazed at the ease with which I’ve adapted to my new surroundings and to this more traditional society. I haven’t heard my cell phone ring in ten days now, although the AUS student's mobiles (as they're referred to here), haven’t stopped ringing, I haven’t watched television, with the exception of a pizza night with the guys for the American Idol finale last week, and I no longer do a double take when a woman who is completely veiled walks by. Instead, if I look, it’s usually to see what kind of abayya she’s wearing, and what I think of it.

I have yet to meet any native Emiraties. All of the Arabs here come from somewhere else. The AUS students in our class are Moroccan, Yemeni, Jordanian, and Palestinian. Our professor is Lebanese (although born in Sierra Leone), our driver when we go out on excursions is an Iraqi, and our Arabic professor is Palestinian. Oddly enough, they don’t live here year round, but return to their home countries (and their families) during the late summer months and when vacation allows.

Everyone else who works here, as I’ve said, comes mostly from poorer nations and is sending money back home. They, like me, do not have Arabic as their first language, and speak a basatardized version which consists of a lot of mumbling, making understanding it even more difficult.

Our options for take-out last night: Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, and an Arabic restaurant. No, I’m not kidding.