“One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.”- Henry Miller
This past winter break I embarked on an adventure that I’m never going to forget. I flew across the globe to the Middle East and Asia, two continents that I never thought I’d get to set foot on, and it was all thanks to FIU. The College of Business offers two options for International Business focused study abroads: Dubai and India in Winter Break or Paris and Berlin in Spring Break. I was initially set on going on to the Paris and Berlin option but my parents pushed me to travel somewhere father, somewhere they never had the chance to go. It didn’t feel real until I was strapped on the plane headed to Dubai.
I went to Dubai expecting to be shocked by the skyscrapers and the artificial islands, and even though this was impressive, I was mostly taken aback by how beautiful the Islamic culture really is. The Study Abroad office makes it a point to submerge students in the culture of the countries they’re traveling and plans activities and visits to provide an above-average experience.
For my trip, we visited the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding located in the Bastakiya Neighborhood, one of the oldest heritage sites in the city. We were greeted by Emiratis and seated in a circle on a carpet in the floor. The center’s motto “Open Doors, Open Minds” really opened to floor for us to have a genuine, honest conversation and ask questions to erase all of the preconceptions we had and really understand Islam. We spoke with two Emirates, a woman and a man, as we were served the traditional cuisine and as we were welcomed into another world. One of my favorite things that I realized during the visit is the way Emiratis embrace guests in their home.
I learned that as a Muslim, guests, expected or unexpected, are welcomed to knock on my door and stay in my house for three nights. It is my duty as the host to be inviting, and offer plenty of food and drink to the guest so they do not have to ask for it. This was reflective of how the people of Dubai strive to make the tourists experience the best one possible.
In India, my favorite experience visiting the Taj Mahal. The surrounding city of Agra was very crowded and dirty, reminding me of my birth-place, Caracas, Venezuela. Shops were stacked one on top of the other and cars sped through the road aimlessly without minding pedestrians.
We took a horse-drawn carriage and an over-crowded community bus to get to the entrance of the Taj. When I finally caught sight of it, it was like staring at a picture straight out of a textbook.
When I pictured visiting the Taj Mahal,I always imagined it being over crowded with caucasian tourists, carrying their Cannon and Nikon cameras around. Although it was crowded, I was shocked to find that our group consisted of basically the only caucasian people there. The place was filled with people from all over India. I had never had an experience like it. When I went to the Colosseum in Rome I heard every language being spoken but Italian, when I went to Costa Rica I encountered people from every nationality but Costa Rican in our resort. It was so astonishing to me to find that the majority of tourists that visit the Taj annually are Indians themselves. The astonishing white marble mausoleum is something they hold very close to their hearts.
By: Sabine Streit, Marketing Committee
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