"Best Program/Group Ever" ... reflections before leaving Cairo

I'm leaving for the Cairo airport in about 18 hours from now.  The students made it safely home to Boston (I know that for sure), and my hope is that they made it safely to their final destinations - Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, Western Mass., New Jersey, Alaska (yes, one from Alaska!), and wherever else they had to go.  Before I leave the country, and get back to the craziness of NU summer activities - freshmen orientation starts Tuesday; tinkering with budgets for this program and for the year ahead; etc. - I want to reflect quickly on this program.

First, this group is easily the "best group ever"!  Yes, I do tell all groups that they are the best, and in this case it is easy to say categorically that they are the best group I have ever brought to Cairo.  One completely personal reason is that my daughter was here for the entire length of time, and her sister joined us half-way through the program for a brief period of time, so as a father, this group was above and beyond all others!  Second, this group was the largest group I have ever brought here, so by shear "weight" (and height, given all the very tall students we had here!), i.e., by "volume", this group was the "best".  Third, my goal of getting students from "non-traditional programs" (i.e., beyond the Arts & Sciences) to Egypt was achieved - 11 Engineering students and their amazing professor (Dr. Mo Taslim), at least one business student, one from criminal justice, plus many other disciplines beyond political science, history, middle east studies, and international affairs joined us (psychology, linguistics, music). Fourth, the "dialogues" were great successes, even more than ever.  The Egypt Dialogue was a huge success, thanks to Fulbright Commission and the wonderful Egyptian students they brought plus of course our own students' commitment "to dialogue"; plus the Arab Dialogue in Abu Dhabi was a truly amazing experience, thanks to the Arab Women's Organization and H.H. Sheikha Fatma.  Fifth, Cynthia was her typically amazing self - organized, patient, supportive, and knowledgeable about Egypt and our students and their needs.   And finally, this group was so amazing.  They were "troopers" as I've said all along -- including when we were semi-stranded in the middle of the Sahara desert enroute to Siwa!  99% of the group got along, went along, and grabbed all the gusto that Egypt and the program offered them.  

All in all, the intellectual diversity of this group, the family connection :-) , and the overall "chemistry mix" of personalities, makes me one very proud professor.

Yalla ("let's go") ... let's start planning 2009 and see if that yet-to-be-determined group can attempt to rival this year's!

Last night in Cairo ...

Our 3:30 am flight to Cairo from Dubai went well.  As we waited for the Egypt Air counter to open, our students found free wireless!  So, the picture tells it all - everyone pulled out their laptops and "checked out" of the group chat, and "checked in" to their emails ...

We arrived to Cairo just around 6 am; Abduh met us at the airport; and we got back to Zamalek to check into our hotels (Flamenco for the 6 men; Marriott for the women).  It's 11:30 pm here; Abduh and the bus will arrive at 1:30 (2 hours from now) to pick up the women, then we're off to Flamenco to get the guys and then back to the airport!  Ugh, yes, we are all quite sick of traveling ... but it was very nice to come back to Cairo after Abu Dhabi and Dubai (back to our "reality", and to say a fond farewell to our host city for the past 6 weeks).

I know the students can't wait to be home tomorrow.  And I know you who love them can't wait, too!  Enjoy them and enjoy their stories ... and let them find their own time and way to share their experiences with you.  It might take them a day or an hour or a week, but share them they will.  I look forward to reading all their "reflections" on their/our collective and individual experiences. 

Women's Union of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi

Today, we were treated to a wonderful visit to the General Women's Union of UAE, led by the visionary "Mother of the Emirates", Her Highness Sheikha Fatma Bint Mubarak ... yes, the woman most responsible for our visit to her country.  H. H. Sheikha Fatma is the widow of the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed.  Both of these people are much beloved here in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE.  Sheikha Fatma (who also is the "First Mother", as in the "Queen Mother" or the Mother of the the President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan (son of the founding president Sheikh Zayed).

Got it?  "All in the royal family" ... and this is one Royal Family that has tremendous support and much love of their subjects.

HH Sheikha Fatma founded the General Women's Union in 1973-74, just 2 years or so after the founding of the state of the UAE in December 1971.  The work of the Women's Union cuts across a number of fields - computer training, family assistance, legal aid for women and families, protection of Emirati heritage, etc. etc.

Our students - men and women alike - donned traditional outfits of Emirati men and women.  And they became quite "animated" (or, "camped it up" for those of you who might know what I'm trying to say).  After our tour, the women were treated to henna on their arms, hands, and/or legs while we men just sat and watched -- and enjoyed the warm hospitality of Mrs. Nora al-Suwaidi, the general director of the Women's Union.  We "hung out" in a traditional (?) tent, albeit one with closed doors and air conditioning!   Still, it was "traditional" in that we rested comfortably on rugs and cushions, enjoying a non-stop flow of drinks, Emirati food and dates.

Our time in Abu Dhabi is fast coming to a close ... we leave for Dubai at 7 pm tonight (the departure time has already changed 3 times ... but it is finally fixed at 7), and plan to visit the Burj al-Arab (the 7-star hotel) and perhaps the Mall of the Emirates, with its famous indoor ski slopes!  Then the 7-star airport!, until our 3 am departure for Cairo ... and then, less than a day there before the group returns to Boston Friday afternoon.  If I don't get a chance to "post" again until after that, I'll make a final posting about our entire program/trip/travels as soon as possible.  

Thanks for reading, and for your comments!  AND PLEASE, once you do hear from your children or "loved ones" on our Egypt Dialogue, PLEASE let me know your impressions of their impressions :-)   i.e., let me know your reaction to all they tell you and all they share with you.   Either post your own comments here, or if you want to be more private, email me at d.sullivan@neu.edu

Closing Ceremonies and a change of plan for Dubai

This picture of our closing ceremonies is a bit blurry ... but that's fitting.  We're all quite a bit "blurry eyed" - we've been working our heads and hands off for 3 days straight!  Our students have been engaged as much in a professional development workshop as a dialogue (our cross-cultural [Arab - American] discussions continue apace).  And their days have been quite full -- mostly spent doing research, preparing power-point presentations, discussing fine points of social, cultural, political and religious differences and similarities.  (And the 33 Arab participants, from 14 different Arab countries/societies have their own considerable differences as well as similarities, and they, too, have intense discussions within and across their various Arab societies.)

This morning, we visited the still-under-construction (as it has been for 12 years already) Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.  Wow!  Check out my "djspics" blog, linked above, on the left.  It is much more than just "grande".  It is an architectural work of art as well as a beautiful place of worship.  We also visited Abu Dhabi University (and met the President and the Chairman of the Board).  And, we had a tour of the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (note picture on other blog with Ms. Howaida and pictures of the Royal Family of UAE).

Tomorrow, we've changed our plans for Dubai.  Primarily, we're all just so exhausted, and it makes more sense to hang out/relax/rest up here, in Abu Dhabi in this exquisite InterContinental hotel (I am sure it's much more than a 5-Star hotel!).  On our way to the Dubai airport tomorrow night, we will still get to see the city and especially that other architectural wonder of the UAE, the Burj al-Arab 7-Star hotel!  Then, off to Dubai airport by midnight for our 3 a.m. flight back to Cairo.

Hard at work in Abu Dhabi

Our Arab and American participants in this "dialogue/workshop" are hard at work this morning, finishing up their 7 different presentations; I'm taking a quick break as they finalize their powerpoint presentations for viewing after lunch today.  Please see my "djspics" blog (link to the left of this post) for some pics of this morning's activity.

"Eid al-Ab" (Father's Day) and a Day of Dialogue

This morning, at breakfast (and before I could even recall what day of the week it was, let alone the specific date!), I was greeted with a huge hug and a kiss from Grace for Father's Day (Eid al-Ab).  What a way to start any day!

And then to work ... we opened our Dialogue of Arab and Western Youth with remarks from Dr. Waduda Badran, Director of the Arab Women's Organization, and Dr. Moataz Abdel-Fattah, Dialogue Organizer for the AWO, and myself, as Director of our Dialogue of Civilizations Program at Northeastern.  Afterwards, we divided our students among the 7 research topics - Health, Education, Media, Society, Politics, Economy/Business, Legal Issues - and they got down to work.  And did they work!!   Students and their fellow Dialoguers/Researchers from 14 Arab Countries spent the entire day, until 5:45 pm, discussing these key issues with a specific focus on women and girls and how they are connected with, involved in, and affected by these general topics (e.g., female literacy rates in both the USA and the Arab world, girls' and women's access to health care, women in politics, the image of women in the media, women's legal rights, women in business -- all of these topics looking into American and various Arab societies).  

I, on the other hand, in addition to helping Dr. Moataz keep our dialoguers organized and on-task, spent much of the morning in interviews with Arab media -- all in Arabic!   Both print media as well as television, I tested my language skills - including the fact that I speak Egyptian dialect, and we are in the Gulf, so the dialects are quite different!  But I did spend much of my time sincerely thanking Her Highness Sheikha Fatma Bint Mubarak, President of the AWO, for her indescribable generosity and hospitality in providing all means necessary to get our NU-25 to Abu Dhabi, to provide accommodations and sustenance and all the creature comforts and more than we could ever imagine!  Shukran jaziilan Your Highness Sheikha Fatma!

This evening, all of the Arab and American women had the option of going to a women-only spa.  We will deconstruct this later ... the notion of separation of women from the men, the upside and the downside (the "separation" vs. the "segregation") ... but culturally, for some Arab societies (but definitely not all!), this separation is a necessity; yet some of our Arab female dialoguers find it as quaint (or perhaps "difficult to accept") as our American female participants.  But nor did this stop both Arab and American women from going to the spa!  And I joined several of our male participants and a few Arab women who chose against the spa and took a trip to one of the malls ... think of Chestnut Hill mall and add a few "stars" to its ranking, plus a "snow mountain" in  the center of this mall.  

And now, 9:30 pm, off to dinner:  the non-stop, help-yourself, all-you-can-eat banquet of all sorts of dishes and treats from all over the globe ... I think our students will have gained a few more pounds this week, as will I (unfortunately ... but then again, it is Father's Day!)