Emma Slaymaker
University of Sharjah, UAE
I wasn't sure how I was going to make it 7,550 miles - across an ocean and through two sunsets - all the way from Tennessee to the United Arab Emirates. But I made it! After saying tearful goodbyes to my friends and family, I walked through security, and as I did the aloneness struck full force sending me into 7,550 mile tunnel vision. I had never traveled alone or been out of the country. I was terrified.
I left at 6:40 pm from Tyson McGhee Airport in a tiny plane to the Atlanta Airport, and at 10:30 pm I left from the Atlanta Airport on a 12 hour flight to the Dubai Airport. The plane to Dubai was enormous! In the front was the business class, which costs $9,000 from Atlanta to Dubai. Each passenger in business class gets their own little cubby and a cushy recliner chair with a side table and a TV. They probably get bottomless free drinks too and maybe a private toilet made of gold.
I sat in economy comfort (affordable comfort is what that means) thanks to my wonderful mother, an experienced traveler, who got my plane tickets and made sure they would be comfortable for a 12 hour flight. I wanted a window seat so I could look out at the sky whenever I wanted, but since it was a night flight the shades were closed for about 11 of the 12 hours that we were on the plane. I managed to get a great picture when we flew into Dubai, though.
The flight didn't seem like it took 12 hours. It felt long, but not as impossibly long as I thought 12 hours would feel like. I still can't get over the feeling you get when the plane takes off. It was, at least for me, a bittersweet feeling.
The plane accelerates at some ridiculous speed, and all of your insides struggle to keep up with your body as it's held in place by the seat. At this point it's impossible to turn back, and before you know it you're soaring through the air at 10,000 feet and saying a silent goodbye to all the people and places beneath you.
And then there's getting off the plane. That is also a bitter sweet feeling, but for very different reasons. On the one hand, you've finally made it! On the other, you feel more disgusting that you ever have in your life - even more disgusting than you felt when you came back home from that week-long music festival without showering. It's a strange phenomenon. Then you also have to deal with finding your luggage, getting your visa, getting your visa and passport stamped, and getting cash exchanged.
I've been here for two weeks now (I'm behind on a blog post. Please forgive me.), but it feels like so much longer. Not because I haven't been enjoying myself, but because I have been so busy! There's so much to say, but rather than write so many words about it, I'll share some pictures. They're more exciting than my words.
University of Sharjah, UAE
I wasn't sure how I was going to make it 7,550 miles - across an ocean and through two sunsets - all the way from Tennessee to the United Arab Emirates. But I made it! After saying tearful goodbyes to my friends and family, I walked through security, and as I did the aloneness struck full force sending me into 7,550 mile tunnel vision. I had never traveled alone or been out of the country. I was terrified.
I left at 6:40 pm from Tyson McGhee Airport in a tiny plane to the Atlanta Airport, and at 10:30 pm I left from the Atlanta Airport on a 12 hour flight to the Dubai Airport. The plane to Dubai was enormous! In the front was the business class, which costs $9,000 from Atlanta to Dubai. Each passenger in business class gets their own little cubby and a cushy recliner chair with a side table and a TV. They probably get bottomless free drinks too and maybe a private toilet made of gold.
I sat in economy comfort (affordable comfort is what that means) thanks to my wonderful mother, an experienced traveler, who got my plane tickets and made sure they would be comfortable for a 12 hour flight. I wanted a window seat so I could look out at the sky whenever I wanted, but since it was a night flight the shades were closed for about 11 of the 12 hours that we were on the plane. I managed to get a great picture when we flew into Dubai, though.
The flight didn't seem like it took 12 hours. It felt long, but not as impossibly long as I thought 12 hours would feel like. I still can't get over the feeling you get when the plane takes off. It was, at least for me, a bittersweet feeling.
The plane accelerates at some ridiculous speed, and all of your insides struggle to keep up with your body as it's held in place by the seat. At this point it's impossible to turn back, and before you know it you're soaring through the air at 10,000 feet and saying a silent goodbye to all the people and places beneath you.
And then there's getting off the plane. That is also a bitter sweet feeling, but for very different reasons. On the one hand, you've finally made it! On the other, you feel more disgusting that you ever have in your life - even more disgusting than you felt when you came back home from that week-long music festival without showering. It's a strange phenomenon. Then you also have to deal with finding your luggage, getting your visa, getting your visa and passport stamped, and getting cash exchanged.
I've been here for two weeks now (I'm behind on a blog post. Please forgive me.), but it feels like so much longer. Not because I haven't been enjoying myself, but because I have been so busy! There's so much to say, but rather than write so many words about it, I'll share some pictures. They're more exciting than my words.
This is a picture of me and one of the International Exchange employees at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) with the tallest building in the world behind us! It's called the Burj Khalifa. Sorry I cut the top off of it!
Here are some photos of the gorgeous campus! Yes, the entire thing is tiled. It's really slippery when it rains, which has actually happened twice since I've been here. I think that's abnormal because this is the desert... I hope it doesn't keep raining regularly because walking around campus becomes pretty hazardous.
Here are a couple of photos from our day out in Sharjah. It's a really beautiful city. I may actually like it more than Dubai. In Sharjah, or at least in downtown Sharjah, there is a lot less development than there is in Dubai. It's very clean, and there are beautiful park areas with cafes by the gulf.
*Behind the scenes* This is a group of the other exchange students taking photos of downtown Sharjah.
Before this post gets much longer I'm going to end it, but I am going to post more very soon! I have a lot of pictures from orientation week! Stay tuned, those of you who made it to the end of my first blog post. :)