Roman numerals. Got to love them, since this is the first of many retellings of adventures I have had here.
My first foray into adventuring in Abu Dhabi ended up not getting me to my intended destination. But that's ok, I will get to Khalifa Park at some point (hopefully during Eid).
I don't actually fully know what Khalifa Park is because I never got there, so anything I say about it is second-hand. But apparently it has a train, and open space, and grass, and is a way to escape the NYUAD bubble and just be and think and breathe. I am not going to lie- it is hard sometimes being here. You are far away from home, trying to understand yourself and others, do well in academics, think about the future, all while trying to maintain a balance. It is a lot of pressure, and everyone goes through rough days. One day I just needed to get out of Sama, and go somewhere where I could be by myself and not see anyone I know. A sophomore had told me about Khalifa and how to get there, and I set off. Well, the thing is, there are official and unofficial bus stops in Abu Dhabi. The official ones actually have the buses coming (around) when they say. The unofficial ones, which have a sign and some buses that do stop there, might not actually get all of the buses the signs say. And say, perchance, that the bus you need only comes every hour. It might result in you standing at an unofficial bus stop for an hour and a half, seeing the bus number you need go on all the streets but the one you are on. And then you might decide to try this adventure another day. But it still got me out of Sama and space to think. So it was worth it.
Another adventure was finding the naan place. I knew where it was because I had seen it on our out-to-lunch with an RA. (Random side-note- the RA's here are amazing). It just took me a while to find it- I ended up wandering all around the area behind Sama, finding everything but the naan place. Eventually I found it (I had seen it leaving the Golden Spoon restaurant, not on the way there like I thought). I then proceeded to get things to make pizza with it (I miss cooking). And it was awesome. But now whenever I go again to try to get naan they are always closed. So it is an adventure every time.
There is a list in one of the rooms of "existential crisis purchases". I would like to preface this story by saying that this is on the list, but I don't think it should be. I have wanted a ukelele for a while, and they didn't have ukulele's. They had half-size children's guitars and normal guitars. I have a guitar at home, and debated bringing it, but didn't. But now I have a guitar here :) And apparently it is a sign of an existential crisis. But the real adventure was not purchasing a guitar, it was finding the music store. I googled Abu Dhabi music stores, and found one called AKM Music. I had a general location (there are no street addresses here, which is an adventure in itself when you want to find/go somewhere), and was trying to find someone to go with me. I (thought) I had failed at that attempt because everyone was working. But then on my way out I ran into Luka and Connor who weren't doing anything. And I convinced them that this would be a lot more fun than going back to their rooms and surfing the internet thinking they should be working or doing something. We took a taxi to Crowne Plaza, which is the hotel that the store is behind (there are main streets that taxis go on, and then you can walk back into other streets and areas from there). Now, because of that city set-up, "behind Crowne Plaza", and 'look for a yellow sign' isn't that much to work from. We wandered the wrong way, back again, and then eventually found the store. And found out it didn't open for another half hour. Again, because none of us had anything better to do (actually we did, because there is always something that needs to be done, but we were productively procrastinating), we decided to wait for it to open. There was another al-Safa nearby, so we walked to that, bought a jug of apple juice, and sat on the curb talking for a half hour. It was one of those moments where you really appreciate the journey.
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival is kind of a big deal. And they have outdoor screenings, which I thought was really cool. I went to go see The Temple, a story about India, and revelation, and faith, and exploitation, and religion. It was such a good movie- one that makes me want to take a film class, even though I cringe whenever I think of editing a film. But the atmosphere made a good movie even better. I was sitting outside, next to part of the Arabian Gulf, across from me the lit-up Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, a cool breeze, and then comes the best part. I looked up, and saw 3 stars peeking through the haze. It was the first time I saw stars since I got here.
So many adventures, and this is only the start. Next up: Oman
<3
My first foray into adventuring in Abu Dhabi ended up not getting me to my intended destination. But that's ok, I will get to Khalifa Park at some point (hopefully during Eid).
I don't actually fully know what Khalifa Park is because I never got there, so anything I say about it is second-hand. But apparently it has a train, and open space, and grass, and is a way to escape the NYUAD bubble and just be and think and breathe. I am not going to lie- it is hard sometimes being here. You are far away from home, trying to understand yourself and others, do well in academics, think about the future, all while trying to maintain a balance. It is a lot of pressure, and everyone goes through rough days. One day I just needed to get out of Sama, and go somewhere where I could be by myself and not see anyone I know. A sophomore had told me about Khalifa and how to get there, and I set off. Well, the thing is, there are official and unofficial bus stops in Abu Dhabi. The official ones actually have the buses coming (around) when they say. The unofficial ones, which have a sign and some buses that do stop there, might not actually get all of the buses the signs say. And say, perchance, that the bus you need only comes every hour. It might result in you standing at an unofficial bus stop for an hour and a half, seeing the bus number you need go on all the streets but the one you are on. And then you might decide to try this adventure another day. But it still got me out of Sama and space to think. So it was worth it.
Another adventure was finding the naan place. I knew where it was because I had seen it on our out-to-lunch with an RA. (Random side-note- the RA's here are amazing). It just took me a while to find it- I ended up wandering all around the area behind Sama, finding everything but the naan place. Eventually I found it (I had seen it leaving the Golden Spoon restaurant, not on the way there like I thought). I then proceeded to get things to make pizza with it (I miss cooking). And it was awesome. But now whenever I go again to try to get naan they are always closed. So it is an adventure every time.
There is a list in one of the rooms of "existential crisis purchases". I would like to preface this story by saying that this is on the list, but I don't think it should be. I have wanted a ukelele for a while, and they didn't have ukulele's. They had half-size children's guitars and normal guitars. I have a guitar at home, and debated bringing it, but didn't. But now I have a guitar here :) And apparently it is a sign of an existential crisis. But the real adventure was not purchasing a guitar, it was finding the music store. I googled Abu Dhabi music stores, and found one called AKM Music. I had a general location (there are no street addresses here, which is an adventure in itself when you want to find/go somewhere), and was trying to find someone to go with me. I (thought) I had failed at that attempt because everyone was working. But then on my way out I ran into Luka and Connor who weren't doing anything. And I convinced them that this would be a lot more fun than going back to their rooms and surfing the internet thinking they should be working or doing something. We took a taxi to Crowne Plaza, which is the hotel that the store is behind (there are main streets that taxis go on, and then you can walk back into other streets and areas from there). Now, because of that city set-up, "behind Crowne Plaza", and 'look for a yellow sign' isn't that much to work from. We wandered the wrong way, back again, and then eventually found the store. And found out it didn't open for another half hour. Again, because none of us had anything better to do (actually we did, because there is always something that needs to be done, but we were productively procrastinating), we decided to wait for it to open. There was another al-Safa nearby, so we walked to that, bought a jug of apple juice, and sat on the curb talking for a half hour. It was one of those moments where you really appreciate the journey.
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival is kind of a big deal. And they have outdoor screenings, which I thought was really cool. I went to go see The Temple, a story about India, and revelation, and faith, and exploitation, and religion. It was such a good movie- one that makes me want to take a film class, even though I cringe whenever I think of editing a film. But the atmosphere made a good movie even better. I was sitting outside, next to part of the Arabian Gulf, across from me the lit-up Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, a cool breeze, and then comes the best part. I looked up, and saw 3 stars peeking through the haze. It was the first time I saw stars since I got here.
So many adventures, and this is only the start. Next up: Oman
<3
