Meeting President Bill Clinton in Dubai

Near the end of last semester, I had the distinct honor of meeting President Bill Clinton. He was in Dubai giving the keynote address at the Middle East North Africa Diabetes Leadership Forum. President Clinton usually meets all of the William Jefferson Clinton Scholars at the American University in Dubai to congratulate them, so this was our chance. It was a very exciting opportunity to meet such a distinguished American leader and icon. I thought I'd share some pictures from the event.

And not only did we get to meet Bill Clinton, but also the third-tallent man in the world and the tallest in the UAE!

You can read the American University of Dubai's news release about our meeting here: http://www.aud.edu/About_AUD/NewsEvents/2010/event_2010_141.asp

Egypt

The past few days and weeks have seen the Arab world erupt in protests against autocratic government. First in Tunisia, where people rose up against their government and ousted a bad leader because of poor living conditions and inadequate protections of freedoms. Then in Cairo, where thousands, mainly young people, have taken to the streets in protest of a leader who has led too long with too little to show for it. The sentiment behind the protests in Tunisia and Egypt have spread now to Yemen and Jordan, and solidarity protests have been held throughout the world.

The protests in Egypt have put the U.S. government between a rock and a hard place. It's easy to see the irony in the American government's predicament. President Mubarak has been an important U.S. ally in the Middle East, and Egypt is the largest recipient of American foreign aid behind Israel. But President Mubarak is also a dictator who hides behind a transparent guise of democracy. His 30 years in power recently have been marked with obviously fraudulent elections and a citizenry completely dissatisfied with his rule. The American government now--more openly and uncomfortably than ever--has to negotiate its position between promoting principles of democracy and protecting its interests in the Middle East. Surprisingly--and luckily for the U.S. government--the most powerful political force in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, is not the driving force behind the recent protests. But if the Mubarak regime were toppled, it is likely that the Muslim Brotherhood could fill the resulting power vacuum. This would not bode well for U.S. interests in the region given the anti-American alignment of the Brotherhood.

I am glad that the Obama Administration has chosen not to come out in strong support of the Mubarak regime in face of the popular uprising. I can only imagine the intense conversations between President Obama and his advisers concerning how to respond to the chaos. I hope that Obama will fully support the popular will of the Egyptian people in this time, recognizing that the U.S. has talked the talk, but now needs to walk the walk of being a beacon of democracy. This moment is undoubtedly an important one for Egypt, the Arab world, and America...it will be interesting to watch how these events continue to unfold.

Americans in Los Anegeles stand in solidarity with Egyptian protesters
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/29/americans-protest-egypt-photos_n_815894.html#s232544&title=Washington_DC

UAE Pride

At the beginning of this month I had the opportunity to experience a United Arab Emirates National Day, which commemorates the day that the seven emirates decided to come together to form one country. This was just 39 years ago, and the pride this event invokes is fresh and strong.

National Day made me think about how one of the coolest things about Dubai is the way that things simply.. get done. In the U.S. it seems that if anything big is going to happen, it will only do so in a long and drawn-out process. Road construction lasts decades (I'm looking at you, Kellogg), building construction is a similar story, and even small events take months and months to plan. In Dubai, things get built. Quickly. In honor of UAE National Day, AUD had a huge celebration, and the entire campus was transformed for the occasion. Traditional boats were scattered around campus, displays commemorating the event were put up, and a Sheikh's speedboat was brought for students to admire. On the main lawn there was erected a stage, booths, strings of lights, and more. At AUD the celebration started with a skydiving demonstration on the football field, followed by a show of traditional dance and singing. It was interesting to see this display of pride for a country in which just ten percent of the population actually considers itself "Emirati."

National Day celebration at AUD

Traditional Emirati dancers

Sheikh's speedboat

Releasing red, white, and green balloons (colors of UAE flag)

Skydiving demonstration above AUD campus

Camel rides on campus

A giant mural of Shekh Mohammad and Sheikh Khalifa on the facade of a building in honor of UAE National Day

A car decorated for National Day

Desert Days

I had hoped that I wouldn't go for a month between blog posts, but what can I do now? I've been keeping incredibly busy and every time I think about posting it's like there's too much floating around in my head to synthesize into a coherent post. Many people have been asking to see more pictures, so I'll spare a few words and give some visuals of what I've been up to here in Dubai.

Last week was the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, so we had several days off from school. The week was filled for me with some more new experiences, the most fun of which was going to the desert. You might think, what can be so fun about a bunch of sand and scorching sun? But I can tell you that it's a lot of fun.. I went on a couple trips with different groups of people.

On the day of Eid, some girlfriends and I (all Americans) decided to go on a "Desert Safari" guided tour. This is one of the things all the tourbooks tell you to go on, so I was expecting something very touristy and gimmicky. While it was pretty touristy, the entire trip was a blast. It started out with "dune bashing," which means riding over the sand dunes in a 4x4, which can get scary and bumpy. Then that was followed by going to a camp with camel rides, henna painting, dressing up in traditional dress, a huge buffet dinner, and a show of traditional dancing. We did a little photo shoot in the desert with the new camera I got for my birthday (thanks, Grandmas!) and the photos turned out beautifully. The traditional dance show was also awesome--I got to see some great belly dancing, Sufi "whirling dervishes," and more.

The Desert

"Dune bashing" (and our driver on the phone)

Getting a henna tattoo

Finished henna tattoos

Falcon handler

Me & the falcon

Me & sand

The camp where we ate and watched the performances

Me, Aziza, & Julia

Aziza, Julia, Alyssa, & me

Dinner

Traditional instrumental music

Bellydancer

Sufi dancer

Sufi "whirling dervishes" with light-up skirts

My friend Julia got to try out the spinning dance

Another bellydancer

Trying on traditional dress (the abaya)

For the second trip I felt like less of a tourist. I went with four other friends outside of Dubai, near Fujairah, which is another Emirate with a bit more nature. We arrived at night and set up a tent at a campsite near the mountains and the beach. We built a fire and grilled chicken and beef kebabs for dinner. In the morning the guys and I climbed a nearby mountain. One thing I've missed about being in Oregon is the nature and the hiking, which I used to do fairly often. At Lewis & Clark we have Tryon Creek State Park within walking distance from campus, which is a beautiful place to take a walk or run. So I really enjoyed hiking on these mountains, sweating a bit, and getting some elevation. The only thing missing was something GREEN, but that's alright.

Some buildings

A little produce market by the side of the road

Mountains

A house

Another house

Mosque

View from our campsite

Another view from the campsite

We climbed those mountains

Campers - Anwar, me, Osama, & Nour

Anwar, Osama & Nour

The hiking group ahead of us

Hiking on the rocks

I guess this is what they call a watering hole

View of Dubai skyline on the way back in

New Experiences

Over the past couple weeks I have had some amazing first-time experiences that I won't ever forget! The top three:

1. The Polo Match
A few days ago a friend and I were invited to watch a practice polo match. I didn't even know what polo involved before going. I asked if it was similar to water polo, which I have seen once before on a visit to San Diego, and I was laughed at. Basically, polo involves horses, sticks, a small ball, and a goal. That's about all you need to know, since actually paying attention to what's happening in the game isn't really that exciting.



2. The Beach Party
Last weekend some friends and I decided to check out a big party at Nasimi Beach, which is near the Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeirah, the manmade island near campus. It was a total blast. There were thousands of people everywhere, great music, lots of food & drink, and fireworks!



3. The Desert Safari
I recently went on my first-ever trip to the real desert and I still have the bruises to prove it. For this trip we drove out to Sharjah, a neighboring Emirate of Dubai about 45 minutes from AUD. The highlights of the desert trip including "dune bashing," or driving crazily around in jeep over hills in the sand. Fairly scary/dangerous, like a ride at Disneyworld but without the security of knowing that your vehicle won't spin out of control or flip (this is where the bruises came from). We also rented motorbikes/4-wheelers to ride over the dunes. I didn't do much of this due to the lack of helmets and reckless men driving, but fun to watch. We also built a fire and sat around talking and eating/drinking. We had a big group going, and most of the people I hadn't met before. One guy's dad owns a pastry shop and bought a big box of mini pizzas. One of my new favorite things is zaatar, which is a mixture of strong herbs like Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Savory, and Sesame seeds. It's often put on pizzas or in other pastries and is absolutely delicious.

Excess

One of my favorite books is Eat, Pray, Love. Perhaps coincidentally, but probably not, it is about a woman who loves to travel. I recently saw the movie made with Julia Roberts as the lead (not as great as the book) and it reminded me that in the book, the narrator has a word for every place she visits. It made me think a little bit about what Dubai's word is. I didn't have to think very hard, because it's obvious: Dubai's word is, undoubtedly: excess.

Dubai is a place of superlatives. The tallest tower, the most man-made islands, the most luxurious hotels, even just recently the longest line of sandwiches. People don't come to Dubai just to live, they come to thrive. They don't come just for a vacation, they come for a taste of pure luxury. When you look around, everything you see literally sparkles with excess.

Dubai's man-made islands are one case in point. Dubai is home to many islands that were entirely constructed by humans. The World Islands comprise a cluster of several islands designed to look like a map of the world. There are two islands (Palm Jumeirah & Palm Jebel Ali) that are shaped like date palms, with the leaves extending out into the ocean and crammed high-end condos. The crown jewel of Palm Jumeirah, which is just a few minutes' drive from campus, is the Atlantis Hotel at the very end of the island. It is a spectacular underwater-themed hotel complete with its own aquarium with the props to make it look like a fallen city. Inside are several restaurants, bars, a huge nightclub and, of course, some very expensive hotel rooms.

Lobby sculpture at Atlantis Hotel

This past weekend I had the opportunity to experience this excess first-hand. One of my friends here invited me to meet with another friend of a friend. We were to spend an evening at a five-star hotel.. with the owner of the hotel. The night began with drinks in a ritzy bar/lounge. After a drink or two, we moved upstairs to an upscale Japanese restaurant. This was some of the best food I've ever tasted, and it just kept coming and coming, course after course. Salad, tempura, tons of sushi, and the hands-down best cod I've ever had in my entire life. Afterward, more drinks in another bar of the hotel. Of course, no checks were brought, no credit cards yielded.. we were, in fact, guests of the owner.

This is all very different (and fairly shocking) to me. Where I'm from, people work hard for their money and don't earn enough to live like this for more than a night or two's vacation from reality, if at all. In Dubai, someone might spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars for just a night of fun. I talked about this with one of the friends I've made here, telling him that it seems like people throw money around in Dubai like it's just paper. His response was, "In Dubai, many people don't really earn their money, it just falls on them."

>>> And by the way, Mom & Dad, I'm doing my best not to be excessive myself......... :)

Abu Dhabi

Now that classes have been going on for about two weeks, I think I've settled into my work/play balance. I am absolutely loving my classes and the chance I'm getting here to focus on one field of study. AUD offers a Certificate in Middle East Studies, an 18-credit (6 class) program focused on Middle East history, culture, language and religion, and I'll receive the certificate at the end of this semester. All of my classes focus on various aspects of the Middle East. The five classes I'm taking are:

• Islamic Contributions to World Civilizations
• Introduction to Middle East History
• Special Topics in Middle East Studies: Iraq
• Conflict in the Middle East
• Islamic Art & Architecture

The classes overlap and inform each other, and it's great to know that when I'm studying for one class, I'm also studying for the others as well. With the exception of my intensive Arabic class at Georgetown the summer before last, I haven't had the chance to study one special topic in depth without having to worry about anything else. I'm loving it, and I feel like this is how school should be!

This past weekend a few friends and I decided to take a short road trip to Abu Dhabi, Dubai's neighboring emirate and the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The original intention of the trip was for to attend a concert by the DJ Tiesto, but unfortunately on the way there Blackberrys were blowing up with the news that the concert had been canceled due to "technical difficulties." But of course it's Abu Dhabi, and if you've seen 'Sex and the City 2' you know that there is plenty to do in Abu Dhabi. My friends and I decided to go to a nightclub instead, which was packed with others who were missing out on the Tiesto concert.

I haven't really been to any nightclubs in the US, but I know that clubbing in Dubai (and Abu Dhabi) is a bit different because you have the added element that everyone is from a different place. Nightclubs and bars here are generally attached to hotels so that they are allowed to serve alcohol, and because of that the crowds there are mixtures of tourists, locals, residents, visitors, etc. If there's a certain nationality you're especially attracted to, you'll probably find it in a Dubai club. In addition to the standard "what's your name?" you also get "where are you from?" when you're in a nightclub. I met one guy in the club who asked me this second question, and upon my saying that I was American, he pulled open his shirt to reveal a tattoo on his chest that said "Saddam" with a picture of a lion. I was stunned. After verifying that the man was Iraqi and the tattoo was indeed a tribute to Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator, I asked him when he got the tattoo. His only response was "before he died." I was surprised that he let me take a picture:

Saddam Hussein tattoo

As a sidenote to this story, you might worry about me and wonder if I ever feel unsafe or threatened in Dubai. The answer is a very strong no--I haven't felt threatened by another person at any point during my trip here. Dubai is a remarkably safe city, and there is a strong police presence that makes me feel very secure here. It helps that there are special sections of the public buses and metro reserved especially for women. The only times I've felt like I was at risk is when I'm riding in cars on the Dubai highways--the Middle East in general is known for its crazy drivers and Dubai, while certainly far safer than other places like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, is no exception.

After spending the night in Abu Dhabi, my friends and I then had a huge lunch at a comfy Arabian cafe, complete with hummous, pita, and (my new love) Moroccan tea. Afterward we visited Emirates Palace, a luxury "7-star" hotel in Abu Dhabi. Its most expensive suite will set you back $11,500 for one night. The palace was beautiful inside and out. This is the only place in the world with an ATM that gives you gold pieces instead of cash--a symbol of the luxury and wealth of this oil-rich emirate.

Courtyard at Emirates Palace (tiny me in the center!)