Day Three:
Two Myths (since I forgot one)
Few People Speak English:
FALSE.
Essentially everyone can speak English. In fact, they have several courses in their own language in which, apparently (I heard, so I don't know how true it is), that a lot of students actually fail classes in their language more than English.
There is street food:
FALSE. At least not where I was. Yes, I was incredibly bummed. For those who have never enjoyed a street vendor's food, I'm sorry.
Day three! We were finally beginning to get into the run of things. It was only Tuesday but goodness gracious, the week was coming along well. And Day three held such promise for us. We were headed to the capital of the UAE: Abu Dhabi!
Not only were we headed to watch the government in action, but we would also have the opportunity to tour a mosque. All of our Dubai buddies brought us shelias and abayas in order to attend the lovely religious place. (Because that's the only way we can enter a mosque, to be fully modest and covered).
We all piled into large, comfortable busses. With all the excitement going on lately, my buddy couldn't personally make it. But another lovely lady's international buddy wasn't making it so I still have a covering to use to go inside.
It took four buses to fill everyone up. And off we went!
Except two busses never got there.
I never got there.
Traffic issues, drivers, and finally the biggest crash I have been in before and hopefully the last!
So yeah. That sort of took us all off by guard. I was on the second bus, the one that bumped into the one before. A few of the girls on my bus saw what was about to happen and called out. I peaked up to see the collision but had no time to brace myself before banging my face on the seat before me.
My glasses went flying into the seat beside me. Girls fell out of their seats. Mass confusion spread around as we were stopped whilst on the freeway. And then we saw blood. Tissues, bandaids, scarves- anything we didn't need at the moment went to helping the girls around there.
Glass was everywhere and after a few minutes, we started collecting our things and staggering off the bus. We were by a gas station stop and girls were running over there for ice. It was incredible to see how everyone came together, pulled together and started helping out.
Dubai's culture may still be traditional, but they do it well. Women are considered very special, and the police acted accordingly. They arrived quickly and started assessing the situation, taking care of everything. An ambulance arrived and we split into two parties: those injured and headed for help, and those uninjured.
About forty women were taken to the nearby hospitals. Most pictures weren't taken because that isn't considered polite, especially since most women were taking off their abayas and such. The rest of us headed inside to take a seat out of the heat. We took cups of ice, and tried to calm down.
We were there for about an hour or two, trying to decide what would happen, to see about getting a ride and seeing what we would do for the day. At first, we were very hopeful about still reaching Abu Dhabi.
But all of a sudden, it was too late and we would be heading back. Another bus came around to pick us up. One Mcflurry and a tense bus trip back to the hotel (with everyone wearing their seat belts this time around), and we were all lightly achy, tired, and bored.
I gathered up with us SUU girls- all of us were fine, and we didn't want to waste our time in Dubai. We finally decided on the Global Village, which we had considered doing Sunday but hadn't had time. We parted ways to shower and clean up and then met downstairs.
We had a great idea, but a bad key to the plan: don't take the hotel's car. Just don't. It was about double the price for any taxi- and yes, that includes a taxi van. It also took a long time to arrive, and limited our time there which is a HUGE bummer.
The bus crash was horrendous. They arrested two men and it was an accident for both of them. There were fractures and broken bones. But it did give us time to go to the Global Village and that sort of made my trip.
It was a global shopping spot, essentially, and it was awesome.
If you've been to Epcot in Disney World, then you'll know about Around the World. The Global Village is sort of like that- it's a segregated area by country. And it's not an American creation so the countries aren't just Mexico and European nations. No, it included more countries like Lebanan and Syria and so on! Gah, so awesome.
We only had like two hours and that's the saddest thing ever.
We dived in. We walked past all the cute little food stands and such and started shopping! And what's better, in a place like this: YOU CAN BARGAIN. As long as there are no set prices/price marks, then say what you will and work for your money.
I talked guys down at UAE for scarves half their price. We went to India and bought discounted jewelry- and because we already bought so much, they gave us freebies. They tried so hard to make us buy more- almost as bad as when I was in China, but they won't touch you so that was nice. But it was so fun! They were so friendly and that was awesome! :D And in Syria I bought some really fun "gypsy" pants that yes are too big but yes way comfy. And I don't remember where, but I bought chocolate covered dates. I never liked dates but holy cow they were good.
I could have stayed there all day long, shopping everywhere and bargaining and having a blast. Yes, there was an America spot. It had Carls' Jr.
Then we had to leave too soon.
We caught a taxi van and headed off to the mall.
Huge malls by the way. I think there was a ferrari shop in the one I went buy- so many nice brands seriously. I don't know if I could have really afforded anything. But we were there on time in the spot to: Burj Khalifa.
Seen Mission Impossible: Ghost Patrol? Because there's a spot where YES, that building Tom Cruise runs on is YES in Dubai (but they did inaccurately portray much of the city in the film), and YES it's the tallest building in the place.
And we went up in there! It was awesome. THe elevator was amazing too: you could only tell you were going up by how often your ears popped!
And no, we didn't get to go straight up: you buy tickets for a particular time and if you miss that, you miss it. People are expected to stay up there for maybe half an hour- and only that long because there's a gift shop up there. Supremely overpriced, by the way.
Anyways we still had about an hour so we grabbed some food: shwarma! It wasn't too bad, except mine had beans in it and we all know how I am about beans: only jelly beans. Still, it was pretty good and the food court was really nice. I was with Elisa and she got a very popular drink there. I forgot what it's called, but it's just ice, water, real mint leaves, and lemons (powder, some form of lemonade).
It's very refreshing, and you should all try it. No measurements are necessary and summer is right around the corner! I'm not a fan of lemons in any form, unfortunately, so I'll be sticking with chilled dairy products and milkshakes.
Anyways, we finally got to head up! Super long line. Serious security- we had to leave our bag behind because there was food in it. But it's apparently free so we were fairly all right about that. So we waited in line for a very long time, kind of like a Disney ride.
And then we were there!
Dubai looked so tiny. Seriously. Tiny little town. It was ridiculous. And awesome. And beautiful. There is glass obviously so no one is allowed to fall or jump. I sort of thought it would have more space, but it does make sense why there isn't that much floor space... All the same, it was very fun and I took some pictures that didn't come out well but I tried my best.
I browsed the shop and went to find some friends. One of them had been injured in the busses that day and she asked for a wheelchair. I joined them after a short while and got to cut the line to go down, so that was pretty fun. And they were a blast to hang out with, of course! Then like in Disney, you are sent right into the gift shop.
In which I obviously had to buy things: personalized key rings for my brothers and a super cool sand art piece for Katie. It was so awesome! We didn't hang out too long though because we wanted to be on the first buses back home, so we headed back out. It was already growing dark out and it had been such a long day!
We had to wait a while and we couldn't seem to find our bus with the group of us girls around. But eventually it came around! And we all dozed off on the bus ride back. In which again we wore our seatbelts, of course.
And that was Tuesday: definitely the biggest rollar coaster I have ever been on. But it was worth it.
Two Myths (since I forgot one)
Few People Speak English:
FALSE.
Essentially everyone can speak English. In fact, they have several courses in their own language in which, apparently (I heard, so I don't know how true it is), that a lot of students actually fail classes in their language more than English.
There is street food:
FALSE. At least not where I was. Yes, I was incredibly bummed. For those who have never enjoyed a street vendor's food, I'm sorry.
Day three! We were finally beginning to get into the run of things. It was only Tuesday but goodness gracious, the week was coming along well. And Day three held such promise for us. We were headed to the capital of the UAE: Abu Dhabi!
Not only were we headed to watch the government in action, but we would also have the opportunity to tour a mosque. All of our Dubai buddies brought us shelias and abayas in order to attend the lovely religious place. (Because that's the only way we can enter a mosque, to be fully modest and covered).
We all piled into large, comfortable busses. With all the excitement going on lately, my buddy couldn't personally make it. But another lovely lady's international buddy wasn't making it so I still have a covering to use to go inside.
It took four buses to fill everyone up. And off we went!
Except two busses never got there.
I never got there.
Traffic issues, drivers, and finally the biggest crash I have been in before and hopefully the last!
See the chair right behind the benches in open air? Yeah that's where I was.
So yeah. That sort of took us all off by guard. I was on the second bus, the one that bumped into the one before. A few of the girls on my bus saw what was about to happen and called out. I peaked up to see the collision but had no time to brace myself before banging my face on the seat before me.
My glasses went flying into the seat beside me. Girls fell out of their seats. Mass confusion spread around as we were stopped whilst on the freeway. And then we saw blood. Tissues, bandaids, scarves- anything we didn't need at the moment went to helping the girls around there.
Glass was everywhere and after a few minutes, we started collecting our things and staggering off the bus. We were by a gas station stop and girls were running over there for ice. It was incredible to see how everyone came together, pulled together and started helping out.
Dubai's culture may still be traditional, but they do it well. Women are considered very special, and the police acted accordingly. They arrived quickly and started assessing the situation, taking care of everything. An ambulance arrived and we split into two parties: those injured and headed for help, and those uninjured.
About forty women were taken to the nearby hospitals. Most pictures weren't taken because that isn't considered polite, especially since most women were taking off their abayas and such. The rest of us headed inside to take a seat out of the heat. We took cups of ice, and tried to calm down.
We were there for about an hour or two, trying to decide what would happen, to see about getting a ride and seeing what we would do for the day. At first, we were very hopeful about still reaching Abu Dhabi.
But all of a sudden, it was too late and we would be heading back. Another bus came around to pick us up. One Mcflurry and a tense bus trip back to the hotel (with everyone wearing their seat belts this time around), and we were all lightly achy, tired, and bored.
I gathered up with us SUU girls- all of us were fine, and we didn't want to waste our time in Dubai. We finally decided on the Global Village, which we had considered doing Sunday but hadn't had time. We parted ways to shower and clean up and then met downstairs.
It was a global shopping spot, essentially, and it was awesome.
If you've been to Epcot in Disney World, then you'll know about Around the World. The Global Village is sort of like that- it's a segregated area by country. And it's not an American creation so the countries aren't just Mexico and European nations. No, it included more countries like Lebanan and Syria and so on! Gah, so awesome.We only had like two hours and that's the saddest thing ever.
I could have stayed there all day long, shopping everywhere and bargaining and having a blast. Yes, there was an America spot. It had Carls' Jr.
Then we had to leave too soon.
We caught a taxi van and headed off to the mall.
Huge malls by the way. I think there was a ferrari shop in the one I went buy- so many nice brands seriously. I don't know if I could have really afforded anything. But we were there on time in the spot to: Burj Khalifa.
Seen Mission Impossible: Ghost Patrol? Because there's a spot where YES, that building Tom Cruise runs on is YES in Dubai (but they did inaccurately portray much of the city in the film), and YES it's the tallest building in the place.
And we went up in there! It was awesome. THe elevator was amazing too: you could only tell you were going up by how often your ears popped!
And no, we didn't get to go straight up: you buy tickets for a particular time and if you miss that, you miss it. People are expected to stay up there for maybe half an hour- and only that long because there's a gift shop up there. Supremely overpriced, by the way.
Anyways we still had about an hour so we grabbed some food: shwarma! It wasn't too bad, except mine had beans in it and we all know how I am about beans: only jelly beans. Still, it was pretty good and the food court was really nice. I was with Elisa and she got a very popular drink there. I forgot what it's called, but it's just ice, water, real mint leaves, and lemons (powder, some form of lemonade).
It's very refreshing, and you should all try it. No measurements are necessary and summer is right around the corner! I'm not a fan of lemons in any form, unfortunately, so I'll be sticking with chilled dairy products and milkshakes.
Anyways, we finally got to head up! Super long line. Serious security- we had to leave our bag behind because there was food in it. But it's apparently free so we were fairly all right about that. So we waited in line for a very long time, kind of like a Disney ride.
And then we were there!
Dubai looked so tiny. Seriously. Tiny little town. It was ridiculous. And awesome. And beautiful. There is glass obviously so no one is allowed to fall or jump. I sort of thought it would have more space, but it does make sense why there isn't that much floor space... All the same, it was very fun and I took some pictures that didn't come out well but I tried my best.
I browsed the shop and went to find some friends. One of them had been injured in the busses that day and she asked for a wheelchair. I joined them after a short while and got to cut the line to go down, so that was pretty fun. And they were a blast to hang out with, of course! Then like in Disney, you are sent right into the gift shop.
In which I obviously had to buy things: personalized key rings for my brothers and a super cool sand art piece for Katie. It was so awesome! We didn't hang out too long though because we wanted to be on the first buses back home, so we headed back out. It was already growing dark out and it had been such a long day!
We had to wait a while and we couldn't seem to find our bus with the group of us girls around. But eventually it came around! And we all dozed off on the bus ride back. In which again we wore our seatbelts, of course.
And that was Tuesday: definitely the biggest rollar coaster I have ever been on. But it was worth it.
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