Category: A Semester in Abu Dhabi

I take a 7:20 a.m. bus from the back turn circle at PI to Al Wahda Bus Station in Abu Dhabi. From here, my plan is to take the 700 route to Al Ain for 10 AED. I have a few minutes to kill, so I go inside the bus station, buy a felafel sandwich for 4 AED (~$1.08), and find which gate my bus would depart from. While waiting, a fellow, about 35, comes up to me and says, “Al Ain?”

12,000 people in the Middle East! This is crazy! These were the first words spoken by French DJ...

While it is certainly true that my skiing options this season took a significant hit with the decision to come to Abu Dhabi, it is not true that snow skiing is impossible in the Emirates! In Dubai, there is an indoor ski slope that is essentially a giant refrigerator turned into a ski slope. This place is called Ski Dubai, and it is located in a giant mall called Mall of the Emirates.

It has been a little tiring, but fun fitting in all of our outings and adventures between classes,...

Ian and I did a pretty cool thing this afternoon: We played golf on a sand golf course called Al Ghazal. Sand golf is similar to the golf on grass that we’re familiar with, except that the course has been modified for arid climates. The putting surface is referred to as a brown instead of a green, and it is very important to sweep up your footprints to keep the browns in good shape.

First, let me start with the basketball update that I promised. As you can see, there is a glory picture, which means that we came away with the championship in the tournament!

It’s been close to two weeks since coming to Abu Dhabi and it still never ceases to amaze. We are finally past the period of being the new students on campus and are starting to get back into a routine.

For several years now, I have been purchasing the same make, cut, style and size of jeans. And now for several months, my dry-cleaned jeans will stay on the hangar and in the plastic; it’s far too warm to wear them.

Greetings from the United Arab Emirates. My flight arrived Thursday evening, and a taxi took me to the PI, only about 20 minutes from the airport. By the next morning, the three CSM students had arrived, and set off for the day.