Abu Dhabi - Amazing!!

Jaws dropping, huge smiles, "wows" heard throughout the group ... just some of the reactions of our group as we arrived in Abu Dhabi about 2 hours ago.  Upon arrival, we were met just outside the EgyptAir plane by 4 Emirati women, who work for our sponsor, the Arab Women's Organization/AWO.  Our greeters then escorted us all into the VIP arrival lounge.  Our passports and baggage claim tags were collected while we were served cool juices by non-Arab wait-staff.  Half an hour later (or less), our passports were returned to us, with our Entry Visas provided and our luggage collected and placed on a truck.  We boarded vans (okay, Cynthia and I got treated to a Mercedes limo) and sped our way through the tranquil, orderly, "green" streets of Abu Dhabi to our 5-Star InterContinental hotel, a stone's throw from the Royal Palace.  

We were met in the lobby by 3 Egyptian men and women, whom I've met before in Cairo at the headquarters of AWO.  They had our rooms ready and room keys provided.  We were told that, in addition to our hotel rooms, all of our meals as well as our laundry (!) would be covered by the AWO sponsors.  And, as we had 4 hours to wait before dinner (tonight at 9 pm, with the 30 Arab students who are already here), that the AWO would arrange for room service for all our rooms ... 

I do think that nearly all of our students "get it" - i.e., they must know by now what an incredible opportunity has been provided to them ... yes, I do think one or two of the less-vocal might not yet get it (or, if they do "get it", perhaps they also appreciate it, even if they don't yet vocalize that).  But again, focusing on the near-100% of these students, their expressions, their comments to Cynthia and me, their eye-popping, jaw-dropping responses tell me that they do appreciate what has been provided to Northeastern University (students, faculty and staff).  And we have only just begun!  Tonight, we will meet the 30 Arab students (we've already met some from Yemen, Morocco, and Jordan) for an "ice-breaker" ... Tomorrow, we'll have official opening comments (oh, I just realized, I'm slated to speak so I must prepare some comments!!), then we'll break into working groups on various topics (all related to the role and status of women): education, health, nutrition, politics and government, business and economy, and one or two other general topics.  So, after the "ice" is "broken", we look forward to some engaged discussions -- American and Arab students -- on critical issues of our times.

And I do owe our readers an update about Siwa and Marsah Matruh ... pictures soon!

Pics ... from Marsah to Siwa ... did I mention the bus broke down?!

okay, very different pictures ... one is of Joyce, walking among the headstones of al-Alamein's Allied/Commonwealth cemetery; one is of the beach at Marsah Matruh (yes, this was the view we all had from our hotel rooms); one is our "group shot" in the middle of nowhere! -- our bus broke down 1 hour away from Siwa, and our incredible students were all just so wonderful, not one of them complained one bit!  And instead, we turned it into a chance for "fun in the desert" and on a deserted stretch of street, where hardly any vehicles - and no human beings, other than the bus/truck drivers - dared to venture; and the final one is our group shot in Siwa.

as for the bus break-down (with plenty of water and shade and lots of sand to explore!), we solved the lack of transportation soon enough - I phoned our hotel in Siwa and they sent us 2 vans, which took about 90 minutes to appear ... so, all in all, we only had about a 2-hour delay from our arrival in Siwa.  Again, our students were "troopers", as they have been for the past 6 weeks, rolling with the punches, enjoying life in Cairo and throughout Egypt ... and here was another example of their enjoyment, their "rolling" and of taking the occasional "lemon" of an experience and turning it into "lemonade" :-) 

After Cairo: Boston, Greece, Al-Alamein, and tomorrow is Siwa

We ended our amazing Dialogue program yesterday, Sunday June 8.  We held a good-bye feast at Abduh and Hayaam's home; held our de-briefing session there; then we went to Al-Azhar Park (one group) and Zamalek (the rest of us).

And then our NU-40 scattered to various corners of the world ... the fewest among us went home to Boston (4 students, at 5:30 a.m. today); 8 Engineering students took off for Greece (3 pm today); and the rest of us (23 students, plus Cynthia and myself) headed to Marsah Matruh and the Mediterranean Sea.  We 25 still have another journey ahead ... with our ultimate destination in Abu Dhabi and another Dialogue, this time with 30 Arab students from all over the Arab world.  

Two hours before we arrived at this beautiful beach (Matruh), we stopped at Al-Alamein, the famous WWII war site, which was a turning point for the Allied Forces in 1942.  We stopped at a museum, where some of our students decided to hop on WWII-vintage tanks, trucks, and armored-personnel carriers.  And then we stopped at the Commonwealth Forces' Cemetery.  As we left the bus to visit the cemetery, I encouraged these 18-25 year old students to take a look at the ages of the soldiers buried here.  The headstones of young men their own ages extend for acres and they are a stark reminder of the high cost of war, even the necessary wars we have fought (or, more accurately, "that have been fought for our sake").  We have not (yet) gotten into a discussion of the unnecessary wars and their various costs.

After our somber walk through the resting place for those who made the ultimate sacrifice some 65 years ago, we hopped on our bus, drove past the German and Italian cemeteries, and continued along the beautiful shore-line and the turquoise sea to our hotel, the Beau Site ... and it is a most beautiful spot.