There's honestly not a lot going on this week on campus. It's that quiet time of summer where the weather is too hot and humid to do much outside. I spend most of my time going to class, studying, singing, reading, etc. I have an important exam in my Statics class tomorrow, so yay for that. I've also gotten to text/video chat with a lot of my U.S. friends lately, since they are on summer break and therefore less busy than usual, which has been great. It's crazy that there are only a few weeks left until I go back to the U.S. I have mixed feelings about going back-- I feel so at home here in the U.A.E., and I don't want to leave after the memories I've made and the resources I have here, but at the same time I guess it will be good to sort of get my feet back on the ground and reconnect with family and friends for a bit after so much traveling and adjusting to new things.
The school had a community-wide Iftar meal (the sunset meal during Ramadan), and so I went to that. It was nice, and even some of the security guards and professors' families came. Ramadan has a similar community feel to Christmas time in the U.S., where people go out of their way to act friendly, donate to charity, and get together with friends and family. Also, for dessert they had luqaimat (Emirati sweet breads that are kind of like doughnut holes), and those alone made it worth going.
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| Slightly disorganized selfies with friends and food |
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| Simple foods often used to break the Ramadan fast: dates, water, and a yogurt drink (laban) |
I went to the Chinese embassy this week to apply for my visa for this fall, so that's happening. My friends are making fun of me because the visa fee for American citizens is way higher than for everyone else- one of the few times that having an American passport comes as a disadvantage, I guess, haha. We had a bit of an adventure since one of my classmates forgot to make a copy of one of the documents, so we walked to a little print shop nearby and figured it out. I'm sure the owner of the shop gets so much business, since it's strategically located close to the embassies.
At church this week, we had 6 new convert baptisms, which is really exciting. Miracles happen. God is good.
The residential assistants from the dorms brought ice cream and a bunch of candy toppings to the area outside our building- that's one way to get a bunch of people to come outside.
Anyway, I'll definitely write more next week, but I should get back to studying for tomorrow's exam. Time for the Les Miserables soundtrack: my go-to hardcore study music :)
Goodnight from Saadiyat Island,
Alison
The residential assistants from the dorms brought ice cream and a bunch of candy toppings to the area outside our building- that's one way to get a bunch of people to come outside.
Anyway, I'll definitely write more next week, but I should get back to studying for tomorrow's exam. Time for the Les Miserables soundtrack: my go-to hardcore study music :)
Goodnight from Saadiyat Island,
Alison
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