Mountains and the Gulf of Oman

On Wednesday (October 10, 2012), Shaikha, Linda and I spent the day visiting two other Al Rowdah campuses.  The lovely Ramuz was our driver again, taking great care of us.

Our first stop was Sharjah, a city just north of Dubai. About an hour or hour and a half north from Abu Dhabi.  Fortunately, we were against traffic, otherwise the time can be much longer. (Much the same principle as our rush hour traffic at home in Calfornia.)  The map shows Sharjah as being on the waterfront, but in reality it's on the inland side of the highway.  Sharjah hosts both male and female students. Males have their classes and hang-out areas upstairs, females on the first floor. Another site that has even more potential for growth, if we can get the staff in.  For some positions, it is critical to hire people whose native language is Arabic, with first priority to have someone who is Emirati. Remember, we are talking about getting the skills and experience increased so that the in the longer term the UAE is not dependent upon non-UAE help.  Culturally, in the UAE separation of genders is important. Certainly less distracting for the fist-time college students :-)

At both sites this day, I was once again so impressed with the energy and commitment of the staff. (Here, the word "staff" encompasses everyone, including teachers.)

Our second site was Fujairah, which is northwest of Abu Dhabi. Fujairah (pronounced foo-jare-uh ... with a soft "j" sound) sits on the Gulf of Oman. (maps, people, maps!)

Before Fujairah, we stopped in Sharjah for a bit to eat mid-afternoon, because we had a ways to go by car, and Fujairah classes are being held in the late afternoons and evenings because that is when we have space at this site. (Four higher education entities sharing buildings.)  Shaikha chose a lovely cafe, with a delicious range of options, from chef and ceasar salads, to club and cheese sandwiches, to fish entrees.

Driving to Fujairah, you encounter a mountain range that is quite huge.  Rows of mountain tops; in shadow they are hued in purple, and in sunlight a range of grays and browns. Not a lot of vegetation, but striking nonetheless. Reminded me a bit of the mountains up highway 395 in California, and a wide expanse of them.

We arrived in Fujairah a little early, so we drove to the edge to see the Gulf of Oman. Beautiful clear skies, big cargo ships in the distance, dark blue water.  Absolutely lovely.  Apparently it is growing as a tourist destination, and during the good-weather months of November through April it can be hard to get a hotel room, and I could see why.

The ride back (again, I'll start taking my camera with me!), we returned through those same mountains. Except now the sun was beginning to set.  As we came out of the mountain region and back down into the sea-level and sand, there were still some significant single mountains scattered around. The sun looked gigantic, and such an amazing color of deep orange. I am sure it's from the sand that must be moving through the air at all times; whatever the cause, we all took a moment to appreciate the beauty as the sun set behind a singular mountain.

Once the sun was down, I peppered Shaikha with more questions about the country and the culture.  I learned more about the five prayers a day, the timing of those, and how you manage five prayer times a day when travelling.  One way I noticed is the use of a "lay-by", or rest area, which might have gas, fast food, and either a designated prayer room if not a smaller mosque.  I learned that the sign for "Endurance Village" is a sign post for endurance races with horses; there are competitions around the Gulf Region and Middle East, and riders and their horses go for hours and hours. I will have to learn even more about this, as I am guessing this goes back into the Beduoin (spelling? ... another thing to check) history of the nation.

I am beginning to learn of many different events that occur here, like the Abu Dhabi  international film festival, the Formula 1 race, camel racing, and the Dubai Global Village exhibition, all coming up in the next month or so.

Tonight (Friday, October 12th) I am joining Tom and Danielle at an Expat Oktoberfest party. I haven't met but a couple of people yet from outside of work, so another kind of new adventure.

SIDE NOTE ... if there are things I am not talking about in these posts that you want to know or learn about, or if you want me to write more about some things, let me know!