Here's to New Friends!

Day one of Insight Dubai was AWESOME simply because I was introduced to my Emirati buddy, Muna, and about 90 other women from around the world. Almost every country between Argentina and Venezuela (alphabetically speaking) was represented at orientation and welcoming addresses. After the welcoming speeches made by Sheikh Nahyna, Minister of Education (and a big contributor to the conference), Dr. Howard Reed, director of Dubai Women's College, and Haya al-Mutlaq, our lead contact and coordinator of this conference, we were split into small groups.

I was put into team BLUE (I can now say blue in 4 different languages: blue, azul, azrak and nila!!). Muna and I, along with six other pairs, were assigned to Beenish (Beans for short)as our facilitator for the rest of the trip. Let me tell you, Beans is the reason why I don't need my cup o' Joe every morning. The girl can talk someone's ear off, literally -- but in a good kind of way. Beans was a participant in Insight Dubai 2009 and loved it so much that she applied and returned as facilitator this year. She is trying her best to make this trip to Dubai a memorable one for us.

After small group, Muna gave me a tour of the Dubai Women's College. Reaction in two words: HOLY COW!!! The campus is huge and the facilities are SO new. I only hope Kelley's new renovations to the Business School can be as modern as what I saw on this campus.

The tour was followed by two movies: Unveiling Dubai, which was a documentary about a German man's perspective on Dubai on his first visit, and the second Mr. and Mrs. Right, was a comical short film about Arab men and women's thoughts on marriage. As the first was factual, most could relate to the second film, aligning their hopes, fantasies and fears of marriage with those of the Arabs interviewed.

The day concluded with a delicious barbeque and cultural quiz in the courtyard. I returned to my room, thereafter, (still without my luggage) and crashed on the couch.

Word of the Day: Kuhbiz. It means Bread!

OBAMA @ the Dulles Airport!

As promised, a picture with Barack and Michelle Obama :)

And here's a shout out to the "greatest" cousins a girl could ask for: NAUSHAD, ASIF & SHEHZAD!!! Because like Obama, these 3 are ROCKSTARS!

Much love.

Some 15 Hours Later…We’re in Dubai!

Cara and I arrived safely in Dubai on Saturday, April 03, 2010, from Dulles Airport in Washington. One quick tad-bit about our layover in Dulles – we ran into Barack and Michelle Obama (picture coming soon). NO BIG DEAL. It was a great start to our trip.

The flight to Dubai was a relaxing one. Props to Kelley for getting us seats in the economy class that provided us with personal TVs to watch movies and listen to music (we were worried for a few seconds, as we passed First and Business class when we didn’t see personal TVs). As luck would have it I was sitting between Cara and Hannah, a senior at Smith College in Massachusetts. Seated directly behind us was Raquel, a bubbly junior also studying at Smith College. Both girls were on their way to Dubai to attend the conference as well. Yay to new friendships within the first 5 hours of our travels!

United Airlines got me ready for my week’s Middle Eastern experience by providing me a Chicken Curry dinner followed by a presentation of Aladdin (oh how long it’s been since I last watched that movie!), but also reminded me of America’s influence in the world by repeatedly playing Jason DeRulo’s Watcha Say and Ke$ha’s TiK ToK, on its playlist of 20 songs.

Some 8 hours later, I awoke to the captain announcing that we were about 15 minutes away from landing and to observe beautiful Dubai from the skies. It finally hit me: I was going to be in Dubai for the next week. WOW. I was once again energized and excited for the adventures that lied ahead of me.

Unfortunately, I faced a few roadblocks before actually reaching our hotel. The first: I totally made an idiot out of myself while saying “Ahlen wa selen” to the man that was checking my passport at customs. “That’s how you correctly say hello in Arabic, right?” I naively asked. “No, that’s incorrect,” he responded, “its as-salaam-wa-alakum.” (Well DUH). Later that night I found out I had said you’re welcome to the man. So here’s a BIG THANK YOU to the friend that suggested saying “Ahlen wa selen” to Emirates once I arrived in Dubai. =P. Roadblock number two: United Airlines left my luggage behind in Washington. Yep, of all the people in the world that would have their luggage left behind…I would be the one without business professional clothes the day before a conference. I guess I should’ve listened to my mother when she told me to pack an extra set of clothes in my carry-on backpack. Oops.

Thank god for girls with generous hearts. The 5 other girls that were present with me when I almost broke down in tears offered, without hesitation, to lend me their clothes for the first day. It was then that I knew that this would be a memorable experience.

So the six of us found our taxi driver waiting outside and headed to our hotel. The ride there was so mind boggling – I was sitting with young women from all over the world, who spoke at least three languages, lived in and traveled to multiple countries, and had great international plans for the future. I was astonished and learned SO much in that short half hour ride. Aside from being a business student from Kelley, having a family history that made me a cultural mutt and just having traveled to Ghana, the only thing I could brag about was being able to communicate with the taxi driver who spoke Urdu, my second tongue.

Once we finally arrived to the hotel and were assigned our rooms, the girls and I were awestruck at our living arrangements: apartment style hotel rooms, fully furnished with a living room, kitchen, washer and dryer, 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. SCORE!!! Thank you Kelley, once again.

Throughout my college experience I’ve never had a roommate and to be told I would be living with 4 other girls for a week was….a change. I was excited. I met my other roommates soon after, a great representation of the East: one from Jordan, another from Syria, the third from Pakistan and the last from India. I was a minority in a room full of women my age, the only westerner. Was I worried? A bit. I didn’t know what went through their heads as I introduced myself, “Hi, my name is Salima and I’m from America studying at Indiana University.”

My worries were soon abated when my roommates and I went to dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. Our cultural and religious differences were the center of probably the most interesting conversation I’ve had in months. As Zenya from Syria helped us get through the various courses of our meal, we slowly got to know each other a little better. I thought to myself, if I had learned so much during one meal…I would be a wealth of knowledge after 8 days. I can’t wait to see what comes my way next.

It is now 1:45 am here in Dubai. Three roommates are asleep and the fourth is still at services with her distant family that lives here. The long nap from the plane ride will probably keep me up for a few hours. I guess I should study for accounting…I have to take a midterm in a few days with a professor at the Women’s College (ridiculous, I know).

Here’s a shout out to mom, dad, Zahra and dada! I miss you guys!

Keep reading folks!

Word of the Day: HABIBI. It means “My beloved.” ;)

T-Minus 6 Hours!!!

Hello Readers -

So I must admit, this is the first time I'm blogging...and it's probably the most interesting thing ever: having the world read what's going on in my head.

Well at the moment, there are about a thousand and one things that are running through my head. Have I packed everything? Where's my passport? Plane tickets? Where can I find the nearest vacuum to pick up this mess on the floor I am currently sitting on?

Why am I freaking out so much, you ask. Well, in about 6 hours I will be on board a plane en route to Washington, DC from where I will switch over to a flight to Dubai, UAE. DUBAI!?!?! Yes, Dubai. Indiana University's Kelley School of Business chose me, and senior Cara Feighery, to make an 8 day trip to attend the Insight's Dubai Leadership Conference.

For more information, feel free to browse: http://dwc.hct.ac.ae/insight-dubai/home.html

This is the first time the Kelley School of Business, in conjunction with CIBER (Center for International Business Education and Research) is sending students to this conference, in efforts to provide international exposure and increase global awareness and leadership skills by discussing critical world issues.

I'm super excited to be in a new country and meet women, of my age, from all around the world. I hope that you will follow me on my journey over the course of the next 8 days, experiencing Dubai through my eyes, and those of Cara's.

But for now, I must return to packing.