American University of Sharjah: Fall 2008: 7-9 November 2008

I spent this weekend in Abu Dhabi and had a great time. Everyone I talked to before I left assured me that there is nothing to do in Abu Dhabi, but I found quite a bit to do. We left Thursday night after class. It took about two hours to drive there, though apparently it shouldn't take that long. We first stopped by Dana's (Kendal's roomate) apartment to drop of our stuff, and then went out to dinner with Bader at a Lebanese restaurant. The food was not good and was cold. I got swarma which is thin slices of meat that have been cooking on a rotisserie-style device. They make a sandwich with the meat. It wasn't a bad sandwich, but definetly not for me. They served us some good flat bread and I took all the extra bread with me to make up for the bad meal.

Afterwards, we went to the Emirates Palace which is a huge and beautiful hotel. There was some event going on, and we saw a lot of really, really nice cars. Inside the hotel we were able to walk around. It was very overly decorated in lots of gold-appointed things. There were also a lot of exhibits inside, including one scale model of a racing complex they plan to build and a huge exhibit with several scale models showing the planned future construction fro Sadiyat Island. The theme of the island is supposed to be art and it will be home to a branch of the Lourve and Guggenheim, a performing arts center, maritime museum, and several other buildings. All the structures are designed to be very unique. I liked some, others were just strange.

After the hotel, we left to go back to Dana's apartment because we had to be there by 10:30 (Dana lives with her aunt and uncle). At the apartment we met Dana's family and played Dance Dance Revolution before going to bed.

The next day, Kendal and I got up and walked a few blocks from the apartment to the Corniche (waterfront). We paid 10 dirhams to get on the beach and then proceeded to fall asleep for the next couple of hours. The beach and water were beautiful in color and clean. We headed back to the apartment around 2:00, and Dana's cousin very kindly made us lunch. After lunch, Bader came by and picked us up, and we went to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which a huge mosque that was designed during the time of Sheikh Zayed and still under construction. Since it was Friday (day of prayer) we were not allowed to go in the mosque, but we got to walk around outside. It was beautiful and resembled a mini-Taj Mahal.

Since we couldn't go inside the mosque, there wasn't too much to do there, so we went to the Abu Dhabi Mall and saw the latest James Bond movie to kill time until the Heritage Area opened. The movie was not that good (Casino Royale was a lot better). After the movie, we sat in the lobby of the hotel attached to the mall and had some hot chocolate (its cold inside) before heading to the Heritage Area.

The Heritage Area in Abu Dhabi is a lot better than the one in Sharjah. The one in Shrajah is basically just a lot of museum. At the one in Abu Dhabi, they had a museum, as well as several animals (horse, donkey, camel, ox, goats, sheep), a weaving tent, traditional dancers, the world's tallest flag pool (supposedly), and a life-size model of a traditional home. They also had a lot of crafts on display such as leather making, boat making, and glass and iron works.

We spent a fair amount of time at the Heritage Area before heading the the Marina Mall for dinner. This mall was amazing: it rainsm, thunders, and has lightning inside. It literally rains down on the path people are walking on outside of store fronts. When the storm "comes through" it is pretty realistic. They also had several fountains and other interesting features.

After dinner, we went to an interent cafe for a little bit which was full of young boys playing video games and screaming and other people smoking. It was not a fun experience, so we didn't stay long.

On Saturday, we ended up taking a bus back to Sharjah. The bus we took would in no way meet any safety regulations. We were all crammed into this tiny bus with luggage and everything. It would stop in the middle of the highway to let people off. The bus driver had a fair amount of road rage. Still, it was cheap and it got us back to Sharjah in one piece. The rest of Saturday was spent doing homework and working on some group projects.

They are still doing a lot of construction outside my room. The jack hammers at seven in the morning were bad enough, but now they are using machines that vibrate my entire room as if I'm living in a constant earthquake zone. I cannot wait to be able to relax and not have to listen to construction all hours of the day.

Well, I have class and a presentation to go to in a few minutes, so I have to get going.

-Lindsay

One of the Rulers in Lights: