Who am I??

Ya know how the saying goes (in my case anyway), you can take me out of Minnesota, but you can't take the Minnesota out of me?

I walked outside this afternoon and thought to myself, "wow, its cold out."

Well, turns out it was a brisk 89 degrees.

Apparently you can take the Minnesota out of me. I'm concerned.

Aaaaand scene

Gentle Readers,

I have had ample time to settle back down from Sri Lanka now. In short, I had the most amazing experience of my life. The photos in the post below pretty much sum up the day to day of the trip.

The weather saw us well for most of the journey, a good healthy mix of rain and sunshine. The rain was a welcome sight as I hadn't seen any since I last left the states.

I saw a cloud on saturday and got a little excited.

The first part of the vacation was spent in the mountains in a town called Kandy. It is apparently a cultural hotbed though it was a bit too busy for our liking so we left after one day. As tourists we were perpetually hounded by touts and street dealers. We were looking for something a little more low-key. The next morning we made our way to Adams peak. The cliomb was one of the harder I've done. Once at the summit, however, there wasn't one thing that could concern us at that moment, a sort of clarity hard to find.

We later made out way to the beaches where we spent the rest of our vacation. I've never really had a proper beach vacation before, but I'll say that this one will be hard to beat. Scuba diving was quite fun as well, visibility was poor as was the coral, but I saw thousands and thousands of the most colorful fish I've ever seen. Diving was another one of those moments, like adam's peak where I had absolutely nothing on my mind expect what was in front of me. hmmm I miss skiing.

What else... Max and I are currently trying to sort out our plans for National Holiday. Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Russia are all on the drawring board. We'll see what happens.

This weekend was quite the adventure as well. Saad, Max, and I went to a two day concert in Dubai featuring Joss Stone, Ziggy Marley, Kanye West and Mika. During Joss Stone's performace, the three of us were playing snake on my phone to see who could get top score None of us realized she was playing as no one had cheered, no introduction was made, and the music was less than spectacular. We all assumed someone of her stature would have a more commanding performace and presence. As you can tell, she made quite an impression on us.

Sri Lanka I

I've got the photos up to give you a day by day account of what I did. Commentary of what we did are just blow the photos. Click on the first one, then use the thumbnails on the right to click to the next photo.

I'll write more about the experience once I recover. I'm exhausted...

As you'll see from the photos, it took some serious self discipline to get myself on the plane back to school.

Copy and paste the link below into your nav bar to see em.

http://www.dropshots.com/newestexpat#albums/Sri%20Lanka

Cheers,
Thomas

Checking Pulse

I am alive and well.

I'll post soon when I don't have to pay for internet.

ciao

No Reservations

Two pairs of pants check
Two shirts check
Clean underwear check
sandals check
Swim suit check
First aid kit check
Malaria pills check
Immunization certs. check
Passport check
Camera equipment check
200 bucks cash check (No pun intended)
Will's travel teddy check

I'll be falling off the face of the planet for a while. I should be back by the end of the month if at all. hahaha you think I'm kidding.

Weekend Update

*Click photos to enlarge

Gentle Readers,

Perhaps you care, perhaps you don't, but the following is an account of my weekend. I'm trying to give you a balance of an account of my experience as well as a cultural and regional observation, I hope I'm doing alright.

Thursday evening was Andres' birthday so we went out for diner and drinks. Dinner was at a steakhouse in Emirates mall so naturally I ordered the Salmon. I'll spare you the picture in which we are all adorned in birthday hats. After dinner, we proceeded to Buddha Bar. There are five additional locations in Amman, Beirut, Cairo, New York, and Paris; Its hard to explain, but they produce a series of "Chill" music in house and currently have more than eight compilations. I encourage you look it up. Needless to say, its quite an experience.

Some of my good friends and me at Buddha Bar: F -Kunall, myself, Bahore, Camelia, Andres, and Aisha b- Kelly, Riaz, and Yasmeen.

Take Two:
Max, Myself, Camellia, Bahore, and Andres

Friday brought a much needed day/night off. Max and I hunkered down in the apartment and watched six or seven movies? There was a really good one with Robin Williams. It took place in Alaska, he had a wife with tourette's, and killed his brother for the insurance money, very nice dark comedy (what more could you want in a movie?), right up my alley. It was like a watered down version of Fargo, I think it was called The Big White.

Today, Saturday, a few of us went to the beach. Now that the weather has calmed down, every day is amazing. Theres no need to ever check a weather report as it will without a doubt be 90-95 and sunny. The water has also cooled considerably. Just three weeks ago the water was near 102 degrees, now its a perfect 85 degrees.

Camellia and me at Mamzar Beach.
Salt water does wonders for hair.

Some of the UAE's trademark island making in progress just offshore.
Volvox Regina say what?

Note to self: Never wear the CCCP soccer jersey in public again.


Class tomorrow, Eid break in t minus FIVE DAYS. STOKED. Post Eid vacation entry should be a good one.


Ciao.

Remeber Remember August 30??

It just doesn't have the same ring to it as the fifth of November... V would be disappointed.

The following is a story that has seen a little press over here and it came up in two lectures today so I thought I'd shed some light on it.

As some of you may know, six nuclear warheads were flown from Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana on the 30th of August. In main stream media, the event has passed over as a mishap, lapse in security. First, many officers in the chain of command are involved with removing from storage and activation of nuclear warheads and special conditions must be met for transit as the air transport of unprotected nuclear warheads has been banned since 1968 (see "Palomares Incident" and "B-52 Crash at Thule Air Base"). The event has been deemed, by the pentagon, as an error in routine transfer. Previous to 1991 this would have been a plausible explanation. During the cold war, bombers, as a matter or protocol, were continuously armed with nuclear weapons. With the end of the Cold War, then president, George H. W. Bush ordered all nuclear weapons be reomoved from aircraft and stored in secure facilities nearby so as to prevent an incident like that of August, 30th. The pentagon counters that the warheads were bound for decommissioning, yet W-80 warheads, like the six transported on the 30th, are decommissioned at Kirkland AFB in New Mexico, not Louisiana (here, warheads are separated from their delivery mechanisms and are sent by train to the Department of Energy's Pantex decommissioning facility across the border in Texas).

It is interesting to note the following: Barksdale AFB in Louisiana is openly known to be the staging grounds for the majority of the Air Force's operations bound for Iraq. It has also been made public that the pentagon has conceived a 3 day blitz offense that identifies 1200 targets for destruction in Iran. Media here speculates that the warheads, small in their payload (W-80s have an adjustable yield of between 5 and 150 kilotons. To put this into perspective, the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had a yield of 13 and 20 kilotons respectively and the US's largest tested warhead [Castle Bravo, 1954] had a yield of 15,000 kilotons), were meant to be adjusted to a small yield and dropped on a strategic position in Iran, after which media would conclude there was a mishap at one of Iran's nuclear facilities (The speculated target is Natanz, a plant 200 miles south of Tehran allegedly used for uranium enrichment) giving a pretext for the 3 day air blitz plan. Wow, that was quite a sentence...

This brings the argument back to how it happened, and why it wasn't followed through with. Media say that in order to covertly execute such a maneuver, orders must come directly from the executive office. Barring you the details, in the event of what is called a "National Special Security Event," the secret service is allowed to circumvent the normal chain of command and deliver executive orders to anyone they see fit. This explains how it happened in the first place. However, since May of 2006, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, namely General Pace have convinced administration officials not use to the weapons at all, much less through the conventional chain of command. Like I said previously, with the declaration of a Special Security Event, the traditional chain of command can be skipped. General Pace's apprehensions are shared my many top military brass and to many, the exposure of the incident is seen as what's known as a Push Back; an organized disobedience of orders by military officials.

Interesting timing considering the troop surge as well.

Anyway, I'm not sure how much of the story I buy, but it is, however, extremely thought provoking and something to gravely consider.

Dilbert?

Gentle Readers,

I have discovered that there is little more satisfying than removing a nasty paper jam from a really fancy printer or copier.

Today was my first day on the job at the university's library. I'll be spending half of my time doing IT stuff to day I set-up a ghost network and relayed and uploaded a program to the 135 computers in the building simultaneously. How I figured it out without causing every single one of them to crash, I don't know. The other half of my job is reshelving books. If any of y'all are reading are from AUS and you need to find books anytime this semester, you're screwed. I don't know the first thing about the dewey decimal system...

Barzar tonight. Excitement.

Ski Fast, Safety Last

Gentle Readers,

*Click photos to enlarge

I made the visit to Ski Dubai this evening with three of my good friends; Camellia and Afsoon from Iran, and Andres from Puerto Rico. The place was quite interesting. The snow was of quality that rivaled Afton Alps, though that doesn't say much (sorry, Afton). Ski, boot, and clothing rental is included in the price for a two hour session on the slopes. They've done a really good job with the whole alpine motif, its quite nice.

I enjoyed my experience but couldn't help notice it was a microcosm of Westerners, many who you could tell resided in the Emirates. It was evident that many of us were there for the same reason. We wanted to take part in something that once brought us great enjoyment, but in the present we were only reminded of what once was, and left us wanting more though the fact we were in the desert seemed to be in everyones mind. Its difficult to explain, I hope that makes sense. This is just an observation I made.

After skiing, we continued the alpine experience and went to a bar named Apres for martinis. It overlooks the slope and has the whole alpine thing goin' on as well. Very nice.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and my company and its definitely an experience for the record books. After all, how many people can say they've skied in the desert?

Apres is among the windows on the wall at the base of the slope

I couldn't help but notice that little yellow sign. Provocative on so many levels.

Camellia and Myself

Culinary Endeavors

Gentle Readers,

Thanks to a minor disaster while making myself dinner this evening (chicken penne pasta), my notebook smells like blood, several pages of said notebook are now adhered to my countertops, and i cannot find my garlic...

Money Buys the Best

The "system" in the UAE is in place only to control those who cannot afford to beat it. For example, "parking on the roundabout is strictly prohibited" and authorities let it be known at every corner. However, each roundabout is perpetually filled with parked cars though you're not likely to find a car parked there that isn't a mint condition luxury vehicle.

When it comes to crime here, the unofficial policy seems to state that anyone can call this country home no questions asked so long as you don't infringe upon the prosperity of, or disturb the peace in place in the country. The turning of this blind eye has allowed the likes of Dawood Ibrahim and Victor Bout to call this place home for many years. The mere presence of this sort of affluent and colorful resident fosters organized crime. The two predominant groups in the UAE are the Russian and Indian Mafias; the Russians who dominate the illegal drug trade not only here but throughout the Gulf, and the Indians with their prostitution rings. There are maybe one or two arrests within each group every month; enough to satisfy authorities but not nearly enough to interrupt the crime syndicates.

Keeping this business hush-hush are authorities who fear, and rightfully so as they have developed a highly successful system, both the loss of income from parallel black markets, and the tarnished international reputation that comes with admitting there is a major problem with organized crime. An example of both sides at work is a somewhat recent murder that took place in the Burj Al Arab, the worlds most famous hotel. An illegal diamond transaction went bad leaving a Russian "businessman" dead, the event was scarcely heard of anywhere. If things like this were to become widely publicized, international pressure would be exerted on the UAE government to control organized crime, and the world's most famous hotel would suffer from a blemished reputation.

I've come to the realization that this is a country with an amazing PR team. The international perception of Dubai consists of the immaculate hotels, some fake islands, and a luxurious mall with a ski slope. I'll be the first to admit, its easy to get caught up in the act, but interspersed between these icons of luxury is the country no one hears about.

Ramadan Mubarak

Gentle Readers,

A few of you have been pestering me to update. The problem is, theres not much to report from the home front. Not much of significance at least.

The weekend quickly came and went. It being the first weekend of Ramadan, the campus was more dead than usual, as everyone returned home to be with their families. Ed, his neighbor Zaid, a guitarist named Seth and I sat in the courtyard of Ed's building Thursday night smoking Cuban cigars, eating Chinese food and jammin' with the guitar and a harmonica. It was quite the relaxing night I'd been needing.

All of the nightclubs and many of the bars across the country are closed for the next thirty days in recognition of the holy month, however, all hotel venues are still open. Last night, Ed, Saad, and I paid a visit to the Kempinski, our new stomping grounds until the Outside Inn re-opens. I must say, quite the nice place; quiet, on the beach, and shitty American bar food (though food nor beverage are served before 7pm). It reminded me of the glory days of luxe travel in the 60's. Think, One Mint Julep by Ray Charles playing in the background; if you don't know it, look it up. I'm looking forward to the coming month:

http://www.kempinski-ajman.com/shared/nps/vtours/beach_night.mov

http://www.kempinski-ajman.com/shared/nps/vtours/poolbar_night.mov

http://www.kempinski-ajman.com/shared/nps/vtours/sabellas_outside.mov

*To view links: highlight and copy paste to address bar

On campus, Life is a little difficult as it is illegal to be seen eating in public during daylight hours. On the bright side, it'll be a easy month on the food bill.

My first 10 day break is rapidly approaching. With Eid break just three and a half weeks away and no solidified plans (I refuse to buy a plane ticket 'til I get my passport back from UAE immigration), I am really working on my comfort level with the phrase fly by the seat of your pants. Currently, I'm planning on soaking up some rays on the beaches of Sri Lanka. It'd be nice to hit up a diving excursion too. Right now, it looks like I can get by for the 10 days on just 450 dollars including airfare. Thats my kind of vacation.

Raisin Bran

will be the death of me...

Went to the grocery store yesterday in preparation For Ramadan. If we eat in public we will be confronted by law enforcement.

I made out like a bandit for 50 bucks:

Raisin Bran - 1 box
Smacks - 1 box
Tuna (Dolphin free of course) - 4 cans
Lindt Chocolate - 2 bars
Spaghetti Sauce - 2 jars
Grapes - 1 kilo
Green Beans - 1 kilo
Garlic - 3 Cloves
Chunky Peanut Butter - 1 jar
strawberry preserves - 1 jar
Milk - 1 Gal
Yogurt - 6 pcs
Laughing Cow Cheese - 24 pcs
Butter - 1 lb
Mayonnaise - 1 jar
FISH STICKS - 1 box
Olive Oil - 1 jar
Spaghetti - 2 bags
Bowtie Noodles - 2 bags
Gourmet Ramen - 6 pcs
Toilet paper - 3 rolls
Paper Towels - 2 rolls
Chicken breasts - 3 kilos
Bread - 1 loaf
Halloumi Cheese -1 roll
Spicesssssss

After a month or so without any fiber though, the three bowls of raisin bran this morning proved fatal.

I'm at a loss as to why my room smells like burnt peppers and cookies.

A professor asked Kelly and I to house sit for him 'til the end of the month. Score.

The SCUBA club doesn't appear to really exist and the Radio club wants me to host a radio program. They later admitted they don't broadcast online or over airwaves so I'm confused as to what they really do.

When In Rome...

*Click Photos to Enlarge

...Do as the Romans Do. When in Ghayathi, do as the Ghayathis do.

This weekend I had the privilege of going home with a Bedouin friend I've met here at university. For those of you that don't know, Bedouins are Arabia's traditional nomad families living. On our way down, my friend Ali, informed me that I was probably the first westerner to visit his village in three or four years and that he was probably the only person in the village that spoke English.

The moment we arrived at his house I was thrust into the deep traditions of Bedouin life. The dos and don'ts are infinite though I did my best to learn. Today, most families live in small town and keep what are called Izbahs, a swath of land in the desert on which they raise camels, horses, sheep, goats, and falcons. Oil money by way of government subsidies has made it possible for most every citizen to build a house and afford a luxury automobile. It is important to remember though, that the vast majority of the people within this country's borders are not Emirati citizens and naturalization is next to impossible. The first night brought drifting (dune buggying with luxury suv's) and traditional music in the middle of the desert with Ali's friends.

The next day, I awoke to several children, who soon became my fanclub, peering through the broken window to catch a glimpse of the "Ameriqi." who had come into town. After breakfast we made a tour of the village and met Ali's friends. The day also brought my first case of TD. Most likely brought upon by the endless tea I was obligated to drink as a guest in everyone's house. However delicious, I will be mindful to bring toilet paper next time...

We headed for the desert that evening to an Izbah for food and company of maybe a few dozen of Ali's relatives. The night was filled with horseback riding, drifting, football, milking camels , and food. We ate in the open air of the desert, still warm long after sunset. Dinner was followed by Tradition bedouin song and dance all produced by the people I had joined. It was close to dawn before we made our way back to town for rest.

The weekend was a cultural experience no vacation, university, or museum could reproduce and I am grateful Ali gave me the opportunity.

You know your Dad's an engineer when you think to take pictures of transmission lines for him...

Emirati Desert

First night in the Desert. Ali and I at center. They were eager to let me play the drum, but only for a few seconds each time before they remembered how much I sucked at it.

Trying my best to fit in. I was informed I'd be wearing fully traditional dress next time.

Road to the Izbah

At the Izbah:

Football at Izbah

Ali and some of his family


Horses at the Izbah. Not quite as tame as those in Hills...

Drifting int the desert. When you get stuck, the only thing you can do is let the air out of your tires to gain traction and hope it works.

Ahmed and Kalifa. Ali's Nephew and little brother who insisted on shadowing me everywhere I went.

Al Arabia

Gentle Readers,

The week has quickly come and gone. After just a few sessions of Arabic we've now got the whole alphabet down which apparently takes GW professors upwards of seven weeks to accomplish. This coupled with the slang and conversational stuff I'm picking up here and there, its coming along well. I sat in the shower just now for twenty minutes trying to sound out my shampoo bottle. TMI??

The week saw a third world medical clinic, an evening at the Outside Inn with Ed, and a luxe night in Dubai with a friend one my professor introduced me to. We went out for sushi and happy hour at a bar at the Medina Jumeirah, the celebrity laced neighborhood under the Burj Al Arab . My professor described my new acquaintance as "well Connected" in the Dubai socialite's scene. I'll leave it at that.

I broke down tonight. I gave in. I did it. I ate at KFC. And it was delicious.

Vanity Fair

...not just a magazine.

Gentle Readers,

A few things I've learned about License plates and phone numbers: They're status symbols here. License plates are almost as important as the flashy car they adorn. the closer the letter to A, the better, the more distinct a number sequence the better, the fewer numbers the better. Just to put it into perspective; the license plate B 123 just sold for 36 000 000 dirhams or 10 million dollars. Phone numbers are the same. They can be purchased if you have the money, or acquired if you have the clout. A number such as 5444444 is worth upwards of 75 000 dollars.

It occurred to me that the lavish lifestyle so normal here would be the status quo in the US as well if there were no taxes. Here, there are no taxes whatsoever, land is free, and families receive housing subsidies. You connect the dots.

This evening was quite the experience. Many of us foreign students had to go the municipal clinic this afternoon for a medical exam. It included a blood test and x-ray and despite the first world reputation, the clinic didn't exactly live up to the reputation of the country... 20 of us were shoved into a small waiting room by a screaming Pakistani doctor who didn't speak English and told to prepare for the x-ray. A good bonding experience is a polite way of putting it I guess. The blood test was something for the record books as well. The 'nurse' who had presumably been sitting there for hours went after my forearm as if she were digging around inside it with a garden hose. Who knows how clean the garden hose was too...

Afterwards, Ed and I decided to ditch the university bus and do some exploring. Leave it to the cab and coach drivers to tell you what life is really like behind the glamour in the UAE... We ended up at the Outside Inn, the hang-out I previously told you about. Fosters, Peanuts, company of a good friend, and a chili dog later, I had forgotten where I was. Glorious.

Time to watch some Frontline. Again, Thank you L.B.S.

Weekend Update.

If only Tina Fey was helping me write...

Gentle Readers,

The second weekend has come and gone much more enjoyably than its predecessor. Thursday night brought wreckless drivers, an immaculate shopping mall, and sheesha. Also known as hookah to those of you in DC, and those really tall pipe things to those unfimiliar with the whole concept. Its enriched tobacco laced with sweeteners so its like a swisher weest from a pipe. 8 of us piled in to an SUV for the evening when I was immediately made aware that it was extremely rude to wear a seatbelt as is means you don't trust the drivers abilities. However, the reason the university collects our blood type is because so many students die in car crashes (Official statement). I think I'll be wearing my seatbelt from here on out regardless. I'm 'A' positive by the way.

Last night I accompanied Kelly and two of her friends to the Outside Inn, a tavern on the beach north of campus. The sign on the door kindly stated that those not wearing "casual western attire" were not welcome. Racism in kind words I guess... The place, located on the beach of the Persian gulf, was full of western nationals (Among us were French, Germans, Russians, Australians, etc...), was very cozy, and very cheap. The sort of place you'd see in a movie like Syriana. I can definitely see myself frequenting the joint in the coming months. Later in the evening, I met up with a friend from class and we went to yet another immaculate mall (They're everywhere). We met a friend of his, an American born Saudi from Arizona, very good people. We decided to see the movie Rogue Assassin. Terrible movie. Terrible. I returned at 2:30 (curfew is at 1am) and with the help of my new friend from class swooned my building supervisor into being ok with my being late on the weekends for the rest of the semester (something about letting me experience the full Emirati culture, most of the negotiation took place in Arabic. I was clueless). Officially sanctioned late nights. yesssssss.

Observation

I recently discovered that Dr. Laura Schlessinger has a blog on here.

A.) Sickening
B.) Am I no better than her?

I'm a Stellar Bowler

Tomorrow marks the end of the first week of classes. Am I a better person on the eve of this momentous occasion? Well, I'm a tired person, at least.

I am registered in the following:

Beginning Arabic - The professor rivals Kasaxler if you know what I mean. She's very well put together. I now know the first five letters of the alphabet or the "allefbeh," the word for door, mother, father, and every curse word imaginable (taught to me be my Palestinian friends and various cabbies, not Prof. Ismail)

World History 1500-present - I'll just preface by saying I did an amazing job at choosing to take this GRC course abroad. I like the prof a lot though, she be a good one.

Modern France and Algeria - Analyzes the conflict between the two nations particularly from 1930 on.

Global Political Economy - The course will examine just that. It is however what's called a Soliya course. Soliya apparently is a format of course in which we will be video-conferencing with students all over the globe (at 8 different universities) for one, two hour session each week. We will be in groups of eight, one from each university, together discussing history, current events, and politics under the direction of a moderating professor from one of the universities. I however as an American studying abroad here am a little confused. Am I to represent AUS or the USA?

Arab Political Economy - I am most excited about this course. The Professor seems very stimulating, pushing me the levels of critical thinking not demanded of me before. My sole task for the semester: one 25-page research paper on any subject I like pertaining to Arab political economy. I am to use only the British archive we have in our library here. I think I have settled upon arms trade within the middle east as sanctioned and forbidden by the British from 1870 to present day and can't wait to get started on the project. He has challenged me to the project allowing me to forgo many of the other smaller assignments he has assigned the rest of the class. I'm sure many of you share my enthusiasm... Go arms trade!

Apart from class, the student center seems to be the hopping place on campus. It is the nucleus of socialization for sure. Choice activities include but are not limited to; billiards, bowling, making fun of each other's countries in jest, bowling, and more billiards. I shared with some very animated Afghans, Pakistanis, and Bangels the furor of Minnesotan winters. They were baffled and impressed. I was challenged to a game of bowling by a random Palestinian from Saudi this evening conviced he could beat me. 123 trumps 68, buddy. Poor soul...

Hopefully we're off to Dubai's club scene tomorrow night in search of a good time. Will report back if I make it out alive.

One more tic

Saw someone carrying this around campus today too. I think I'm going to splurge and get one this weekend at the mall, apparently they're only 350 Dirhams.

Proud of this one:

*Click Photos to Enlarge

I know I told you I wasn't going to post again 'til later in the week, but I had to share this one with you. Took it on the way home from dinner with the American contingent (All 6 of us).

Desert Versailles - I Finally Have a Campus Worth Taking Pictures Of

*Click Photos to Enlarge

First day of classes today. I'll elaborate more near the end of the week after I get a chance to feel them out. I thought I'd be lazy today and skip writing. I've taking some photos of campus this evening for your enjoyment.

Note: Is it sad, that in this desert locale, the AUS campus has more green than GW's will ever have?

Yes.


The is the rear gate (to give you an idea of the scale of the front gate) and archway. Campus is heavily guarded by city/state police and no one is granted entrance to the compound unless they are affiliated with the university. If you look close, you can see guards posted at both the gate, and the archway further back.


This is a view of the Library. In relation to the photo above, I merely turned around and stood in the middle of the drive. The dirt circles will soon house more palm trees.

The library on the left, engineering school on the right, Mosque behind that, and Student Centre in the back with arches lined in white.


Again, Library on the left, School of Engineering on the right. The Main Building can be seen in the background. This houses mainly administrative offices including the post office, academic advisers, faculty senate chambers, and an auditorium.

Main Building on the left, Mosque in the center, and Student Centre behind that.


Cure for bad white balance = greyscale. This is the staircase in our library. The interior of the buildings are just as lavish as the exterior. luscious.


Looking west from the third floor of the Library.

Looking north from the third floor of the Library. Again, the rear gate. I think this photo more than any of the others gives you an idea of the massive scale of this campus. My building is back and to the left.


Mosque on the right, Student Centre on the left.


Looking back at the Main Building with the School of Engineering and Student Centre on the Left and the School of Arts and Sciences on the Right.

I guess you could call this our quad. I'm going to go ahead and say it trumps your quad. This was taken from the steps of the Main Building.



Interior of the Main Building. The extreme temperature difference between indoors and outdoors makes it impossible to quickly switch from one to another with a camera. Lenses fog up instantaneously. I had to get this one in quick because there was a security guard coming. You can barely make him out in the doorway across the rotunda.

I enjoy the Allah like effect of the flood lamp...



On that note, I've got some major swass that needs to be taken care of.

I Can't Sleep

It sucks.

I've been averaging maybe four hours of sleep per night and thats being a little generous. I think its a combination of cleaning people 24/7 (they seriously never stop), loud water pipes, lots of birds, wicked uncomfortable bed, jet-lag, and new environment. One of my softer t-shirts is now acting as a pillow case and I turned the "comforter" they gave me into a mattress pad so I no longer have much of a blanket, well see which I can fare better without. I'm kicking myself for not having swiped all the blankets I could find on the way off my united flight like I was planning. I hope this passes...

A day in Sharjah

*Click photos to enlarge

Good day,

Enjoy the photos from today.

Unfortunately, this will be the second time I've written this entry as I already wrote one earlier but it seems to have been discarded.

The day did not begin so well. I rose around 700 and tried to fall back to sleep but couldn't. Rather, I sat in bed staring at the wall wishing I could again fall asleep and thinking about all that was wrong with my situation. I ate a few bowls of cereal, a cross between frosted flakes and honey bunches of oats. Around 1130 I took a power nap 'til about two. The excursion to sharjah did much to boost my morale.

Ed, Kelly, and I planned to head into the city to see what it was all about so we did just that. The cab cost about 25 dhs or 7 dollars. Our trip started at the City Centre Mall where, among other things, I purchased a cell phone, , a bath towel embroidered with a camel ($4.50)and a shower curtain (to match my aquamarine bathroom tile [hideous] $1.75), very lavish. Ed and Kelly came out with a bounty of produce. From the mall we crossed a main thoroughfare through town and walked across a park to the promenade along the corniche (fancy way of saying "bay" in Arabic).

We walked maybe a mile or two north to the Gold Sooq. Along the way we stopped at a dunkin' donuts for some water and some much needed sugar intake. Bottled water here is only about 45 cents. amazing. I dare say they like their dunking donuts here more than they do on the east coast

.
The sooq was interesting, full of jewelers, Persian rug dealers, and electronics kiosks. Proved to be rather touristy but we all agreed it'd be a good place to get y'all gifts before our return. We exited the sooq at the call to prayer. we were right next to a mosque so we paused to take it all in. The next endeavour was to hail a cab which proves more difficult than one would think.

We finally flagged down a cab and headed on our way. For the first quarter mile, our driver was chanting Allah Akbar and he spoke all of 10 English words, more than my Arabic though. He kept trying to tell us something else as well. We soon established that he wanted to stop at the mosque for a minute. He pulled the cab over, ran to the mosque and left us sitting there. Quite entertaining. After he got back in, we established that he was from Pakistan through elementary conversation and we told him we were from the state. The first thing out of his mouth, "oooooh bush bad man," but seemed to love having Americans for his fare. He was a very interesting guy, very entertaining. What took 10 minutes to travel in the afternoon took an hour in the evening traffic. He got us there as quick as he could though thanks to his rather unorthodox driving skills. Quite admirable, really. All in all it was probably the most entertaining hour I've spent in a car thanks to our eccentric driver. We think we learned quite a bit of slang Arabic though we're still unsure of the meaning of "Shardah."

First Thoughts.

Good day,

Its going on day three now?? I don't really know. Its been quite interesting so far. I have made three quick conclusions: 1.) Arab men are very good at billiards. 2.) Theres a whole world of American sit-coms that Americans don't know about. 3.) Triple ply in the UAE doesn't mean the same thing it does in the US.














The guys in my dorm seem as curious about me and why I'm here as they are interested in telling me about themselves. My accommodations are quite nice. My room is massive, the hot plate leaves something to be desired, as does the grout in the restroom. I'm still trying to figure out what the dumbwaiter door in my restroom is for... Its locked.

The temperature is hotter than imaginable. I can't begin to describe how hot it is. On top of that, everyone wears jeans. Every day. I'm actually beginning to like it, as crazy at that seems. And somehow, despite the outrageous dew points and humidity, I have yet to sweat much.

I met some good people from AU today, Ed and Kelly respectively, very nice to know they're going through the same things I am. We're feeling a bit trapped on campus, its much more isolated than one is lead to believe. Its about a 5 dollar cab ride to the city of Sharjah, and maybe 20-25 dollar cab ride to the center of Dubai. We'll see how well the 1am curfew is enforced in the coming weeks. We're wanting to experience the city. The setup here is a bit of a shock as compared to gw or american. We're so used to being able to hop the next metro or just walk to any number of bars, restaurants, or clubs that it'll be a bit difficult being so removed. My dorm supervisor asked to smell my nalgene this evening on suspicion that I was carrying in liquor. It was water. sucker...

I think I'm going to join the swim team. I'll show the AUS leopards a thing or two about the sport. hahaha. There is a 50 meter pool here though it is under construction at the time. The team meets just three times a week for two hours at a time. A far cry from american collegiate swimming that my brother and friends talk about, but a way to meet people and pass idle time nonetheless.

Signing off and giving into jetlag,
Thomas

Getting ready

I now leave in 8 days, and I almost cringe at having just created a blogspot account, but I always hated receiving mass emails from people. This way, y'all can read on your own accord.