Dubai Day Three/Back In The U.S.

Right now I'm in LaGwaaaaaadiah airport waiting for my flight back to Ithaca, where I'm entering a major crunch week to get everything done before Slope Day next week.

I don't really have pictures from Dubai Day Three--it was a lazy day, for the most part. My mom and I went to the beach outside the hotel in the morning. It was a beautiful beach, white sand and clear blue water. Of course, I never really get to enjoy the beach--I can't tan because I have to wear really high SPF sunscreen just so that I don't end up looking like a tomato. After that, a trip to the spa and a little more shopping to buy gifts for everyone back home. We went out to dinner last night with some of my dad's business associates--it was great but the dinner was outside by the sea, and as a result my legs are so mosquito-bitten right now that if you hear about an outbreak of malaria or West Nile virus in upstate New York next week, you'll know what happened.

Early this morning (which was last night U.S. time) we went to the Dubai airport (which itself is like a mall with security, they don't miss a retail opportunity there) for the 13-hour flight back here. Long flights are pretty much the only time I have to see movies, so I am pleased to say that I finally get the context behind "I drink your milkshake!"

On the whole, Dubai was amazing as a vacation spot. It had beautiful beaches, AMAZING shopping, and great nightlife. But because the city in its current form has only been around for 30 or so years, it doesn't really have a culture of its own. It's all very globalized. Adding to that is the fact that the vast majority of the people who live there are not actually Arabic. Dubai basically imported its entire workforce, so most of the people you see there are from places like India and the Philippines.

Of course, it's also important to remember that for all of their economic achievements, they are by no means a democracy. For the first day there, I couldn't figure out why our Internet connection was so slow. But when I tried to access a political site and was blocked, I figured it out...the Internet there is firewalled, like in China.

I'm very glad I went, I needed a true spring break. But now it's back to reality.