In a Strange Land

A few weeks ago, I received an email invitation for a unique professional development opportunity - a school counselor "fly in" program at the recently established New York University campus in Abu Dhabi. Having never been to that part of the world before, I jumped on board for the free trip.

It was a just a three hour flight from Delhi and after getting settled at the hotel, I got on-line to check in with Jonah. He asked, "does it feel like you're in the Middle East?" to which I replied, "YES".

However a bit later, after an outing to a nearby mall, I wrote again to say, "actually, it feels like they built a replica of the Middle East on a stretch of desert outside Tampa. Maybe I'm at Epcot Center?"

Then there was the awkward moment after he wrote back to say that my message popped up on the Smartboard during his Environmental Science class...

But I digress.

Prior to the trip, a colleague who worked in Dubai a few years ago passed along an article titled "The dark side of Dubai". So I was already on the lookout for evidence that something in Abu Dhabi was also a bit off. Then a I read what Human Rights Watch had to say about the mistreatment of migrant workers (many of whom are from India) in the U.A.E. Hmmmm.... I really could not grasp it all -- a modern city under construction, still defining what it will become with endless piles of money to fund whatever that may be. The Louvre will have a branch museum here. Guggenheim too. As capital city of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi also strives to be the cultural center of the region. And maybe it will be. We shall see.

Most tourists are drawn to historic sites -- the markets, ancient ruins, restaurants and street food stalls frequented by locals, and centuries old places of worship. We did visit a souk but it was more upscale mall with beautiful woodwork and a variety of cartoon characters wandering around than traditional open-air Arab market.

Later we toured the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates. It was completed in 2007 and has central air conditioning which, strange as it seemed, was greatly appreciated by the women in our group who were required to cover up in traditional abaya and hijab.

Inside, the world's largest carpet, made by hand in Iran:

....and what has just been surpassed as the largest chandelier inside a mosque (imported from Germany):

The Corniche, a five mile long boardwalk along the Persian Gulf, complete with Seattle's Best Coffee, Cinnabon, and Cold Stone Creamery:

My favorite photo of the trip, a mother riding on go-kart bike along the Corniche:

In all, the opportunity to visit NYU Abu Dhabi and network with school counselors from across Europe and Asia was truly valuable. I still have much to learn about this part of the world and although I'm fairly certain that I won't be back anytime soon, I look forward to following this city's progress toward becoming a world-class cultural destination on the edge of the sand.