First day in the city

Getting to Dubai at 11p.m. meant that I didn't see much of the city when I arrived last night. My half-hour taxi ride from the airport was dark except for the blinking lights of skyscrapers and streetlamps. It also meant that when I woke up this morning, I looked out my window and saw this, which I had no idea was there last night:

Dubai media city

The American University in Dubai is situated ("strategically," they say) right next to Dubai Media City, which is home to big-name media companies like Reuters, Associated Press, Sony, Bloomberg, BBC World, and more. The area was set up by Dubai's government as a tax-free zone in order to lure businesses there, so these companies don't have to pay typical corporate or personal taxes for their first fifty years there.

This morning I set out on a mission to buy some essentials for my dorm room--a couple pillows, a bedspread, a desk lamp, toilet paper, groceries, towels, etc--while also taking in some sights of the city. I headed first to the Mall of the Emirates, just a short taxi ride from the University. I knew that Dubaians and Dubai tourists liked to shop, but WOW. This mall was amazing. My favorite stores were a few in a part of the mall labeled "Arabian souq," which sold typical Arabian knick knacks--your pointy toed slippers, aladdin's lamps, hookah pipes of all sizes, rugs, and more.

Inside the Mall of the Emirates

I walked around the mall for a few hours just to take in everything. I decided that Dubai's fashion is so incredible that I am simply not going to participate. That is, I pledge to NOT buy any clothing that I am reasonably certain I could buy in the United States. This is to save both my sanity and my bank account. And my arms trying to lug all of my things back home.

I ended my time at the Mall of the Emirates at Carrefour, a "hypermarket" that is basically equivalent to our Wal-Mart. After buying a few things from my list, I took a taxi a few kilometers down the street to Souq Madinat Jumeirah, another shopping mall constructed in a more traditional style with mostly Arabian and Persian novelty stores. This mall was beautiful! I walked the "streets" probably five times over just taking it all in. I found my bedspread here, along with a pretty novelty lamp and a couple hand-painted bowls. I should probably wait a while before going back there again, because I was tempted to buy so many things that I know won't fit in my suitcase!

Souq Madinat Jumeirah

Today I observed the Ramadan fast.. by accident. Because it's Ramadan, restaurants are closed during the day while Muslims fast from sun up to sun down. My iftar (the meal that breaks the fast after sunset) consisted of some potato chips and a bottle of mango juice from the Unimart on campus. Tomorrow, I buy groceries.

The next few weeks are going to be interesting. Other dorm students don't begin arriving until September 14th, so my social interactions are going to be limited to the university gate guards, the ladies who clean the dorms, and anyone I meet during my day adventures. I've talked with several of the guards and housekeepers here already; they are all very nice and seem to mainly be from India. While I will probably get a little lonely, I'm glad that I have this time to get acquainted with the area on my own...hopefully I can get past all of the touristy stuff soon, talk to more people here, and learn more about Dubai!