Hello all,
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This week was fairly routine, quite busy. Two presentations, one for chem lab
and one for Engineering Ethics, especially made this week a lot of work. But I did it!
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| Walking down the stairs to class... |
In my Time class, we watched a black-and-white Japanese film
and discussed our reliance on technology and how it affects our perception of
time (and how much time we all waste on our phones). In Chemistry, we’re doing
reaction rate calculations, and we had a really interesting discussion about
what factors are necessary to constitute life, and how we would detect life elsewhere in the universe. We're also starting a project on crystals that will go for the rest of the semester, so we're doing preliminary research for it. In Physics, we’re learning electrostatics and circuit calculations.
In Engineering Ethics, we take turns doing group presentations on different case studies where engineers made unethical decisions and caused bad things to happen. My group presented this week on the Denver runway concrete case in the mid-90s.
In swim class on Wednesday, we did a bunch of butterfly drills. My
shoulders died a little. But it's a good workout and I like the coach. Vocal ensemble is good. We started an Italian madrigal with some gorgeous harmonies.
This weekend, I went to a Christian conference in Dubai with
the Fellowship of U.A.E. Christian Students along with some NYUAD friends from the
Bible Study group. It was really nice to connect with students from other universities around the
U.A.E.
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| My discussion group at the conference |
It definitely had an evangelical protestant majority, so as a Mormon I was a little bit out of my element, but everyone was very nice and
welcoming, and it provided a lot of opportunities to talk about different interpretations
of the Bible and share my beliefs. I really enjoyed the music and the small
group discussions (even if the shy part of me wants to go hide in a corner instead of introducing myself to a bunch of strangers). We discussed the book of Mark in the Bible, prayed together, and listened to sermons going through certain passages. I still haven’t met any other Mormon students attending
universities in the U.A.E., so it’s
nice to find a college student Christian community even if it's a little different than what I'm used to. That being said, the Mormon congregation in Abu Dhabi is great, especially the single adult class, it's just nice sometimes to talk to people closer to my age who have more of the same shared experiences + bonding with my classmates.
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| My roommate for the conference <3 |
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| New friends |
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| The hotel where the conference was held was so pretty! |
I feel like the conference gave me some of the reassurance and perspective I needed to go into another week with more determination to put God first, and it helped me get perspective on some Bible passages I hadn't thought about before, so that's good.
Another fun thing about living in the U.A.E... this happens all the time when listening to music when I'm not on the VPN. More than usual lately.
Another highlight of the week was on Thursday night, getting sushi and just talking a bit with a few friends. Sometimes chill evenings are the best. I also still study in my floor lounge pillow fort a lot. I think for a few days this week I was living there more than in my dorm, haha.
Anyway, I should probably get some sleep tonight and prep for another busy week ahead, so I'll end here. Looking forward to more adventures in the next few weeks, so stay tuned! Happy Valentine's Day this week!
Goodnight from Saadiyat Island,
Alison.
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