Getting Here

After approximately 40 hours of travel, I arrived in Dubai. The airport here is the largest building in the world in terms of floor space and I feel like I walked its entire length on my way to baggage claim. The stress of being awake and travelling for nearly two days didn't ease on my way through customs. At that point, I was resigned to whatever could possibly happen. It wasn't that I'd encountered any significant obstacles thus far, I was simply exhausted from jet lag. To my delight, the customs agent glanced at my passport, pounded it with a stamp and sent me on my way to baggage claim.

There, I silently prayed for my bag to come. If it did, I could get a cab, go to campus and be finished travelling. It didn't come... and didn't come... and didn't come. Maybe it was because of my skewed sense of time having traveled through twelve time zones but my wait seemed to last an eternity. I began to think how long I would have to wait in the line of people who'd also lost their bags. I looked around for where that line was. Yep. There, across the hall, stood dozens of people. They looked tired, like me. I turned back to the carousel and trained my eyes on the black curtains under which bag after bag issued forth, each one not mine. I knelt down, legs and joints on the verge of collapse.

A big green duffel bag crawled out from beneath the black flaps. No mistaking it was mine, I was the only one whose luggage lacked wheels. I made my way to the taxi line, hopped in one, introduced myself to the driver and we took off for campus. On the way, I tried to make small-talk. No such luck. My driver's English was horrible. I told him my Arabic was rough and told him where I was from. "Ana min Washington", I said. He looked at me in the mirror.
"Huh?"
I repeated the phrase, adding "wa antee?" to the end, as a prompt for him to reciprocate.
"Huh?"
With a different pronunciation, I tried again.
"Wa antee?"
He chuckled in a way people laugh when they don't understand what was just said but assume laughter is an appropriate response. I sat back in seat and looked out the window.

Sheikh Zayed Road is the main north-south route in Dubai. We drove this route on the way to campus. It runs from Abu Dhabi in the south to Ras al-Khaimah in the north creating a division between east and west Dubai on its way. The American University in Dubai is located towards the road's southern entrance into Dubai near Dubai's Internet and Media cities. As I have told the people back home that have asked what Dubai is like, I've told them about travelling along Sheikh Zayed Road. For those who have seen 'Inception', the skyscrapers here are like those in the movie, specifically the non-descript and endlessly stretching ones from the deepest level of DiCaprio's dreams. I'm not a professional when it comes to architecture, but there is a noticeable difference between the buildings here and the buildings in America, and it isn't as obvious as a certain style. Adobe is instantly distinguishable from Shinto style and has its differences that can be easily described. Here, its not so easy. The best I can do is compare color. Buildings in America are white, black, grey and only sometimes incorporate other tones. That's why the US Bank building in Portland isn't called the US Bank building but instead, 'the Pink Building'. Here, there are greens, blues, pinks, reds, and purples - and lots of gold. The style isn't bold European and it isn't pragmatic American. It attracts your attention but doesn't hold it for long, maybe because there are so any other interesting things to look at.

After this spectacle, I arrived on campus, 90 minutes before check-in becomes available. Security made some walkie-talkie calls and soon led me to my room. I met my RA who provided me with a check-in sheet. I began to unpack and within a half hour was finished. I didn't bring much and took inventory of what I needed. I'd need a trip to the mall.