Dubai- Day 7 & 8

Julie,

Well the last two day have been really good and quite the way to end the Term 2 Residency.

Friday was all morning in class and most of the afternoon. We also had a speaker and we finished about 4:30pm. After we got out of class we had about 30 minutes to get dressed and ready to go to the desert. When we got down to the lobby in the hotel there were about 12-15 SUVs waiting for us to take us out. It was really cool and was about a 45 minute drive to get out of the city. Once out of the city and into the desert we had to park and get out so they could let the air out of the tires till they had really low air pressure.

Sunset skyline on the way to the desert

Look as far back as you can on this picture, notice how many cranes there are?

And all of them are idle, it is crazy.

Line up of our SUVs as they are letting the air pressure out.

After we got back in it was about another 10 minute drive to the place where we had dinner. Our driver was AWESOME. His name was Tariq and he was from Bangladesh. As soon as we hit sand he definitely wanted to make it entertaining for us. The whole time he would rev the engine, drive up on the side of hills, and fish tail all over the place. It was an interesting driving sensation, kind of like driving in snow, but thicker I guess.

When we got to our place we got out and the had tiki torches leading into the camp and camels parked outside. The set up for the camp was really nice. They had tents and carts covered with food and they had a bar. There was more food than you could ever imagine. There was like 5 different kinds of meat, potatoes, the whole works.

At dinner, we sat on pillows on the ground that were all covering the sand with giant carpets. It was fun to sit and chat with other Duke students. After dinner though I got pretty bored and I was ready to go. They brought out a belly dancer, people were drinking, and they were smoking huka. It wasn't as fun as I think it could have been since a lot of the class didn't come. They had gone to a similar one right before the residency started so they didn't want to do it again. Once the belly dancer came out, we sat and watched for a while and then I wandered around and then thankfully it was time to go back. Overall it was a really good experience, I'm glad we went out.

Our Dinner set up. It was really good food.

Dinner in the desert camp

Saturday was our last day of classes. We luckily got to start an hour later than usual so we were able to sleep in a little more. Class passed by without anything extraordinary. By the last class after lunch, it was obvious that everyone had checked out mentally and we were just grinding along minute by minute, dying for it to end. Thankfully it came. One really funny thing that happened near the last of the class was when one of the students, Wasim, went out in the foyer to get some more coffee. This won't sound as funny as it was, but I guess he had offered to get coffee for a couple other guys and so when he was out there he was trying to balance three cups of coffee on his folder. As a sidenote the wait staff around here is unreal. They are all over the place. As an example, there is a person who stands outside our classroom and her sole job is to hold the door open when we come out and to open the door for us when we go in. Crazy huh? Back to the story, one of the staff members told Wasim they would take care of it and bring in the coffee. So imagine this scene. We are on our last hour of a week of classes, everyone is zoning out or falling asleep and just staring at the projector screen. Then in walks Wasim. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal cause people get up and go to the bathroom all the time, but Wasim sits on the far side of the classroom and right behind Wasim is a waiter with a tray and three cups of coffee. It was so funny to watch the whole class turn their eyes to Wasim and watch him dumbstruck as he walked to his seat. Even funnier was when he sat down he ushered the waiter over and pointed to the three spots for the guys who wanted to coffee. The professor even stopped his class and we waited, watched, and laughed while the waiter delivered each cup of coffee. It probably wasn't that funny of an incident, but after a long week of classes it was hilarious!

Sunset behind the Burj Al Arab

When our last class ended, we headed up to our rooms, changed clothes, and headed to the beach. It was nice to get out a relax and watch the sunset. We then went and swam in the pool for a while and then came back to the hotel. This is going to be weird ending to the residency. Last time we finished classes, had the last night party, and the next morning packed up and headed for the airport. This time we have the last night party, and now I have ALL of tomorrow to wait until my flight leaves. Hopefully we will have a good time and be able to see some sights, but I sure will be ready to get on that plane and head back to you guys!

Well its been a good residency and I think with all that is going on with the holidays and work and school that everything is going to go REALLY fast.

Thanks for all your love and support. I would never be able to do anything like this without you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you!

Love,

Brock