Man-made islands, traditional souq’s & sunday classes

By:

Sowda Ahmed

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Marhaba!

I’ve been in the UAE for a little over a week now! It’s crazy how time flies. It seems like it was just yesterday when I was saying goodbye to my friends and family in Minneapolis. Well, it’s been a very eventful week. The exchange office(we call it IXO) planned a very jam packed orientation week. Thanks to them, I definitely recovered from my jet lag fairly quickly. We’ve explored Dubai and Sharjah very thoroughly. A quick logistical point- the American University of Sharjah(AUS), which is the university I am studying at, is located within University City in the emirate of Sharjah. Most people recognize Dubai because it’s become pretty well-known within the past few years but I am NOT living there. However, both emirates are quite different from each other. I will share the differences in a separate blog posts in the coming weeks.

I’ve had the chance to buy a few abayah’s from the traditional souq’s. Bargaining has been a bit tough with the language barrier but I think I’ve improved from the first time that I tried. The souq’s are incredibly beautiful both in Sharjah and Dubai. The really cool thing is that you can get traditional sweets and candies from people just walking around for pretty cheap!

Through out the week, we also went to Dubai mall (the largest mall in the world), Palm Jumeriah (the man-made islands shaped as a palm tree), Dubai Marina, and lots of museums and heritage centers. We learned a lot about Emirati culture and cultural norms in the UAE. One of the most surprising things I learned was that the population in the UAE is only about 17% Emirati’s. Over 80% of the residents are expatriates. This reflects the makeup of the student body at AUS as well. In a country where there is such a mixture of cultures and backgrounds- I’m excited to meet people from all over the world!

That basically sums up orientation week. I begin classes tomorrow (on a Sunday), which is when the week starts here. Friday and Saturday are the weekends. This is going to be a hard adjustment, but we’ll see how it goes! Hopefully I won’t wake up early on Friday to go to classes even though it’s going to be the weekend J

Sowda Ahmed

<i>*Minnesota Scholarship</i> Marhaba! My name is Sowda Ahmed and I am a 2nd year student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities majoring in Genetics, Cell Biology and Development with a minor in Management. I am very involved with student groups like the University Honors Student Association, the Somali Student Association, and Be the Match on Campus. Currently, I work in a research lab studying congenital Cytomegalovirus. In the future, I am interested in going to medical school but also continuing research in health disparities. I would like to give back to my community by being advocates for those who are neglected by the healthcare system. I am a first generation college student and the first person in my family who has even dreamed of studying abroad in a different country. Spring of 2016, I will be traveling to the United Arab Emirates to study at the American University of Sharjah. During my trip, I plan on volunteering at an orphanage, learning more about the healthcare system in the UAE and the research that professors are doing at the University.