Monthly Wrap Up
Trip Start
May 09, 2007
1
16
23
Trip End
Jul 03, 2007
Manama, Dubai, Bahrain
Saturday, June 9, 2007
First and foremost, what I learned in my first month....
Jean Claude Van Damme still makes movies, one is coming out not too long now here... and yes they are still horrible.
In Dubai itself, you see no camels or terrorists.
I've rubbed many lanterns, yet no genies have appeared... YET
I came here to experience the Middle East, yet I often find myself speaking to someone who is Hindi, with an Indian accent, and calls me his "friend" who he'll give all the good deals
Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi are all immaculately clean cities
Fujairah and Manama are not clean in any sense of the word
Call to prayer is the coolest thing EVER, there's nothing like riding an Abra across the creek listening to a guy singing some odd foreign thing, or walking through a ghetto with a soundtrack of the middle east being played for all to hear
It is possible to see woman covered from head to toe in black, wearing black gloves, talking on there cell phones and standing beside a woman in a short skirt and tank top
Shawarma is a genius invention and definitely needs to be brought to the States
Most people here can't discern an English accent from an American one, so I guess we really do look and sound the same to them, just as they do to us. At least 4 occasions I've been asked if I was British, even after having lengthy conversations with the people
No one has tried to kill or convert me
Pork is no where to be found
Because your white, they assume your rich, and everything costs literally double for you
Even though your in a barren desert, you still buy water for only 33cents for a regular sized bottle and 60cents if your REALLY thirsty
The fast food tastes exactly the same, menus are the same, with the exception of the McArabia (poignant don't you think?)
Sidewalks are not made of cement, only brick and stone pavers, no joke, that's ALL you find
Where ever you walk, there is often a small Indian man following you in a jumpsuit and with a broom sweeping
Security guards are everywhere, yet there is no crime, no joke people still talk about this bank robbery that happened like 6months ago
Where ever you are, you are not far from a mall
Dubai has 25% of the worlds cranes and it is evident when you are there
It is not uncommon to head to the mall in the morning and be forced to take another route home because they decided to randomly do something to the road
within 7yrs Dubai will have the largest "anything" in the world, currently they are will have the largest building in the world this coming September, but plans have already been drawn up to surpass it with another, the largest man made islands (the size of the city of Paris), the largest airport ever, the largest airport and most expensive construction project ever undertaken (Jebel Ali Airport to the tune of $82billion, $62billion more expensive then the current holder of the title, Hong Kong's Airport) largest hotel, and only 7 star hotel in the world
and finally
People love there Bidets around here
Burning Unanswered Questions
How do they keep there robes so clean?
All of the Filipinos don't like Dubai and claim the Philippines are cleaning, nicer, safer, and more prosperous, yet why are they in Dubai?
How do Bahrainis look themselves in the mirror at night after claiming there country is the "Las Vegas of the Middle East"
And finally, one more note, the title "How I Spent Mr. Clinton's Money" is in reference to the Clinton Foundation Scholarship I received to attend AUD. Clinton has long been tight with the Sheikh of Dubai and often comes here to make speeches. The Sheikh himself owns AUD (just as he owns virtually everything in Dubai) So in a gesture of good will and a way of legitimizing his relationship with essentially an autocratic leader of a country who has often been criticized for human rights violations, Clinton established a scholarship for college students in America to study at American University in Dubai. The scholarship covers both room and tuition. I was one of the lucky 2 recipients of this semesters scholarship, which allowed me to take more courses, and breath a little easier with regards to student loans.
