Bang.

Every night at sunset a cannon goes off to mark sunset, of the end of the day’s fast. Likewise my last full day in Dubai went off with a bang. I think it’s fitting that I didn’t wake up in the same place I’m going to sleep tonight. This constant travel seems to be a theme of this summer as a whole. Looking back on Orientation, Family Vacation, and my countless travels here, I have surely experienced a lot. 

Today was “Tour Abu Dhabi Day.” We started the day off early and headed to Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque; one of the biggest mosques in the world and home to the largest dome in any mosque anywhere. Needless to say it was beautiful. A huge courtyard of beautiful white marbell leads the way to an amazing entrance. Two large prayer rooms (one for men and women respectevly) frame a gigantic central space. The inerrior is home to one of the biggest chandeleres in the world and the biggest carped in the world. The space is incredible. It was great to see. What stool out to me was the wall that faces Mecca (it has a special name but I forget). This one was a bit special; as was every aspect of this holy place. It displayed every one of the 99 names for Ala. These include creator, the one, the light, truth…thing of that nature. For some reason it just spoke to me. 

We then grabbed lunch and headed to the Palace Hotel, on the way taking pictures of the brillient downtown Abu Dhabi. (I lost track of when we were on a man made island, and when we were on land) We were stopped at the gate though; we were not allowed in because we had shorts on. It’s amazing how much religion and religious respect governs this country. Its almost nice; there are just no questions. Quite the opposite of separation of church and state. 

After a drive home we relaxed and I began packing; always a bitter sweet ritual of travel. We had Chinese dinner in the Hotel and had sheesha outside. I cannot verbally discribe the view. Comfortable chairs. Foliage in the foreground with palms and other native (or not) foliage. In the background, the tallest building in the world; a landmark that has somehow become a routine sight. This monster was always my sort of “home base” during my time here. It was also the center piece of the amazing view from my “bedroom.” Somehow this has become routine, but tonight simply marveling at it’s wonder was relaxing. (It’s big, I don’t know how else to say) 

I’m about to go to bed for the last time in Dubai (at least on this visit). This has truly been an unforgettable experiance. I can’t thank my Uncle Mark enough for the opportunity. It has been absolutely amazing. I’ll time travel again tomorrow (still am amazing though to me) and soon be home in St. Louis. It’s amazing how quickly sceneries can change like that; in a bang. 

It’s nice to relax; and I have had time for that here which is good. I’m ready to be back in the States again. I’m ready to jump right in; start everything off with a bang. 

Road Trip.

I want to go on more road trips. They are the best. Music, travel, snacks, driving, so many good things all in one. I want to go on more road trips in college. That’s on the to do list for sure. Today Mark and I headed to Abu Dhabi for my last weekend. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE. On our way we stopped and wend quad biking. It was a BLAST. the worst was getting stuck int he sand (only happened three times). Seriously awesome. Tonight we are staying on YAS Island tonight. It’s near Ferrari World and the Grand Prix Track. We had Japanese for dinner and are off to bed. It was a whirlwind of a day and its still crazy to think I’ll be home the day after tomorrow. It’s interesting to see the point where you stop looking forward and start looking back. I like looking forward; dreaming; hoping; planning. This has been an amazing opportunity and I cannot wait to fully reflect and look back on everything that has happened; to see how I’ve changed. 

VIP.

I had a meeting today with Cooper Lighting. Again it was great to see into the professional world or design. I hope that when I find a place I want to work, I totally fall in love with it; I didn’t fall in love with Cooper. 

I started reading about Peter today. It talks a lot about how he wasn’t perfect and yet he was still chosen and became a great leader. I had always heard that Peter meant “rock” but James Martin, SJ suggests it means “rocky.” This makes sense and is comforting. 

Tonight we had an amazing tour of the Burj al Arab; the only 7 star hotel in the world. An architectural wonder, it’s design is inspired by the sails of a boat. It is amazing. Your can’t get inside without a room key or reservations at one of the 3 really expensive restaurants inside. So Mark “pulled some strings.” We got an amazing tour from Anna; one of the receptionists from Romania, if I remember right. Every room is 2 stories, and insane. I got some really good pictures and we really did get a VIP tour. It was great. 

Dinner was fish. At eh place we went to you pick out your fish (raw) from this ice bed, then it is cooked and served. It was sooooo good. 

It amazing to think that my time here is winding down. I’ve already began to think about packing. I hope to make the most out of my last few days. I’ll return home Sunday. 

Community.

Today was my last day at RIVA. I was put to work calling prospective firms to provide an architect of record for the smaller project. As I said my farewells, I got received a lot of love. I know that if i ever need anything, I now have people to go to in Dubai. It was the end to a great month of learning and great experience. 

I came home and relaxed for a bit. Time has flown by since we got back from Egypt, its funny how time works like that. It can understand why the Egyptians used to worship the sun. Time and light are closely related for us. Even here during Ramadan, a huge cannon goes off every day at sunset to mark the end of the day’s fast. This has been a bit of a tangent, I realize, but time is weird. 

I went down to the pool and read the chapter on Dorothy Day. I really want to read more on here. Social justice, NYC, and basically shopping at good will, she seems AWESOME. A quote of her’s from her autobiography reads, “We have all experienced the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” I really like this and it makes me think of all of the amazing communities in my life. I left one today. On Sunday I’ll fly home to another. And on Tuesday I’ll drive back to yet another. I’m blessed to have so many groups I can call myself a part of. Dorothy talks about a love that doesn’t need to try, as if each side just knows. I like this idea of just being. It makes me comfortable and at home. 

Iban Batutta, the guy the Mecca movie was about, explore the world after his Hajj. He didn’t even return home for 30 years. There is a mall in Dubai named after him and designed to represent all the places he traveled. I headed there tonight for dinner and to just check it out. It’s pretty cool; very cheesy. I grabbed some sushi (I’m beginning to really like sushi and all things Asian…except the Chinese Olympic medal count) and headed in to see the new Spiderman movie at the IMAX theater. As I’ve mentioned before I love stories, and soaking them in. Spiderman was good. 

Prince.

Sometimes the most memorable things aren’t planned for. I think most of the time actually. After work today I waited before I headed down to the Dubai Creek to catch a tour boat ride around the historic river. Whenever I run into people here the first question is naturally “Where you from?” When I asked a woman boarding the boat with me she said “Why don’t you guess.” I guessed UK, and was right, though she is originally Turkish. She and her husband live in Dubai and had family visiting. Once on the boat we all took our seats. I was comfortable on my own; I’m getting used to the whole being alone thing. I would not be alone for long though. After this woman (her name escapes me) asked me to take a picture of her and her family, her nephew introduced himself to me. Prince has some sort of mental illness, but was very friendly with me. Literally the rest of the trip he was at my side. We talked about a lot; he was convinced there was a shark in the water and he continuously showed me how sharks eat fist. Later he became fascinated with my camera; I let him wear it around his neck and take some pictures for himself. He loved the fact that the flash popped up automatically. I loved my time with Prince. Finally he was a ticket counter and I gave him my “ticket;” he almost made me leave the boat (so awesome). 

I have a lot of souvenirs. I like taking something sentimental home from my trips. I started collecting shot glasses a long time ago and have kept that up, but I like gathering other things from my trips as well; t-shirts, rocks, and even some sand from Giza. Why do people do this; why do I? It’s like these things will last longer than the memories, but I don’t think they will. I think photos are a good compromise. They help you remember but don’t come with all the clutter. I’ve become more and more fond of photography. The art of it. The photo-jourmnalism of it. Everything. The one thing that’s hard for me is I get caught up in taking pictures and forget to experience the moment.  Prince made sure I lived in the moment tonight. My camera was around his neck for most of the night and even as the sun set over the Dubai Creek and I was some amazing scenes of old and new Dubai, I didn’t mind that I came away with nothing but memories (and some crazy pictures taken by Prince). 

I don’t know what it was about Prince that I connected with so much. I have always liked kids, and kids with special need seem to be even more and more rewarding to spend time with. His aunt tole me he is pretty blunt with people. If he doesn’t like you, he’ll tell you. “He likes you a lot” she told me. I couldn’t help but smile and just be with Prince. “We’re friends” he told me as the trip drew to a close. And as we docked and we all filed off each member of his family shook my hand and addressed me by name. (I think Prince told them who I was at one point, he was all over the place) 

I headed home, grabbed some dinner at the Dubai Mall and am winding down now in the company of the Olympics. I’ll probably never see Prince again. But I think I’ll remember him, even though I have now souvenirs of the occasion. I think some things just stick with you. 

Scale.

Yesterday was the first day I forgot to blog, that’s pretty good. I think I was trying to stay off my computer in the evening and just relax. Anyway it was an eventful day as always. Work went well and after I headed straight to another meeting with an architect. I met with the head landscape architect for Parsons. They do primarily urban planning, landscape architecture, and roads/traffic/bridges/public transport. They designed the Palm Jumeirah, wooah. We talked a lot again about process. The design phase that I lave been learning in school is literally the tip of the iceberg (figuratively). I was cool to hear a different perspective, a different scale, then I’m used to. We talked about scale a bit too. Scale in Dubai is crazy, and similarly in the US. Cities today are scaled to fit cars, and busses, and airplanes…not humans. He said that’s why people like visiting Europe so much; it is human scaled. The streets weren’t made for car, but for people. This just made me want to go to Spain and Italy even more! We also talked about career path. At this point I think there is a descent probability that I could explore over seas work. But this architect talked about how important it is to ground yourself at home. He suggested I work for a few years in the States to get going, get good, and have a place to go back to when I want to return home. Great advise from a great professional. 

Last night we went to the largest iMAX in the Middle East and Asia (I think the ones in the US are bigger). We saw “Journey to Mecca.” It was the story of Ibban Batutta’s Hajj to the Holy Land of Mecca. After visiting so many mosques, I’m starting to understand Islam. I want to go to Mecca, but apparently you HAVE to be Muslim. I don’t like that. It seems like a cool place and rich with tradition. I mean, I wanna touch the alter Abraham build as much as the next guy, why can’t I? If anything else the film got me excited to continue traveling, and I think I will. 

Toes.

I’m finally starting to get a Chaco tan, and I love it. I like all the symbolism that comes with feet; like that footprints poem, and the idea of living in the moment; where your feet are. My feet have been to many places. Today my feet were in the Nile River. Yesterday they were at the base of the Sphinx and literally on the Great Pyramid.

I go home in one week and I can’t stop thinking about home. I want to stop my self from hoping so much for the near future so I can appreciate my last 7 days here but it’s hard; I have a lot waiting for me back in the states; a lot of excitement.

Today we started the day with a Falukah ride. This basically a sailboat you can take on the Nile. I sailed the Nile River today, and even put my feet in! It was a blast. It got me thinking about shoes as well as feet. I think shoes are important too. After our nautical adventure we headed back to Kan Khalili for some last minute shopping before heading back to the airport to head home.

I read a bit about Pope John XXIII today. Another bro for sure! “The idea that one would be better off somewhere else is an illusion.” This is so perfect for me to life out as I live my last days here. I would not be better off at home or in Manhattan right now. I am here, and I hope to make the most of my final days. 

Soo much to see.

Another big, nonstop, day. Started with Old Cairo. We saw the original citadel and two amazing mosques. I really love religious architecture. These mosques especially were beautiful! We also saw an old church, I love seeing some saints up on the walls. We finished the day at the Cairo Museum. It’s hard to describe the amount of things that are there. It was nice to have our tour guide again today to point out all the best stuff. It’s amazing to see and think about the history and stories in all the rock in this place. Form supplementing the things we saw yesterday to learning new things about Egyptian history we seriously took in so much! 

Dinner tonight was a typical Egyptian night. We walked to an old school local restaurant. Through antique shops, and fruit stores, it was nice to see the real Cairo. The food was amazing. We started with some great appetizers and sheesha. Then the electricity went out, an apparently common occurrence. After candles were lit and much time had passed the main course came out; coos coos stuffed pigeon. It was actually pretty good!

Again so tired at the end of the day. I think going through all the pictures will really help me relive these amazing two days so far in Cairo. 

History.

I find I eat my words a lot with this whole blogging thing. Today, for instance, I had no shame being a tourist. We woke up early to hit all the major sites. From King Zosar’s step pyramid complex, to Sakkara, and even the pyramids at Giza, we literally did id all. It’s hard to explain everything that went through my head today. History is one for sure. I cannot begin to comprehend the age of all of these things I saw today. 5,000 years old, what does that even mean? Rode a camel at Giza, that was great. I really have no words for today but awe. Amazing and a once in a lifetime experience. 

As if the day wasn’t already amazing we finished with Iftar at Hassan’s mother’s house. Amazing Arabic cuisine Egyptian style. Everything was amazing. 

I’m tired and that’s good. I took about 500 pictures today and that’s good. I learned a lot of history and that’s good. As I collected some sand from the Sphinx as a souvenir it really hit me how freaking old all this is. And yet I still don’t quite understand it all.  

Significance.

I’m in Africa. I woke up today in Dubai but by early afternoon Mark, Hassan (an Egyptian co-worker of his), and I were off to Egypt for the weekend! It’s crazy how things have different meanings for different people. Significancy plays a big role. Egypt hold a lot of significance for me for so many reasons, obviously the architectural history being one. When we arrived it was easy to tell we weren’t in Kansas any more. Dubai is one end of the spectrum and while Cairo is not nearly the other end, it’s somewhere in the middle. A taxi from the airport took us to our hotel, a converted palace on the Nile. The Nile. The freaking Nile River is outside my window right now. This place has so much significance. We had a bite to eat and then took a quick nap, while Hassan went home to his family and broke his fast for Iftar. We later met up later with him and his son, to head to Kan Khalili (an old school outdoor market). We were in the heart of downtown Cairo and it was awesome! Traffic was insane because nightlife during Ramadan is where it’s at. We browsed some shops. Talked to some of Hassan’s friends (one of which he said is THE most legitimate amber vendor in all of the Middle East and north Africa). We finally sat down in the middle of all the hustle and bustle for some soda, water, and sheesha. It was great to relax amongst all of the craziness. It really is hard to describe the amount of people and the amount of activities that were happening all at one. People would come up and try to sell this or that or whatever. CRAZY. I tried some freshly squeezed mango juice and experienced some more significance; I could not help tasting how fresh this mango was as it compared those I so loved in Nicaragua. We caught another cab home (I almost got hit by a car and it’s lucky we didn’t get lost in the crowd) and needless to say I am exhausted. 

I love being busy and seeing so much. It’s hard to take time to reflect of so so much as it happens. Tomorrow is surly going to even more exciting and I cannot wait. I hate being a tourist though. I mean I love love love traveling and photography and trying foods and everything. But I realized today especially how much I do not like carrying my camera around and being even more obviously an outsider. I like the idea of just diving into a culture or country. I love living in the moment and not worrying about whether or not the picture will turn out or if I will remember it all. I guess it all comes back to balance; harmony. 

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