Submitted by Ryan Kahn on the 2024 Winter CIEG program in Australia and Dubai…
Week 4
This was another incredible week here in Dubai. We went on some amazing excursions this week so I wanted to highlight a few that really stood out to me. The first one is something I was really not expecting, the Dubai desert classic golf tournament. A big group of people on my trip got tickets to watch the last day of the tournament. The course was beautiful and got to be up close and personal with some incredible golfers.
Another excursion I want to highlight is our day trip to Abu Dhabi. It’s about an hour from Dubai and we spent an entire day there. We started the day by going to Louver, the only other one outside of Paris. The building itself was magnificent and the art inside was all so stunning. Pictured is a Leonardo da Vinci original which was super cool to see. Afterwards we went to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. An absolutely beautiful mosque and the biggest one in the UAE. Overall, a really awesome day in Abu Dhabi.
All in all, I’m having a great time here in Dubai but I’m also having an unbelievable time with all of my peers on my trip. We have gotten so close over these past 4 weeks and even though we are leaving Dubai soon, these friendships will last a lifetime. (Submitted on January 26, 2024)
Week 5
I can not believe the trip has come to an end, I am writing this final blog the night before my flight back home. I can not express in words how much this trip means to me. Between the experiences that I was able to have, the people I have met, and the life long friends I have made on my program, I feel as though I am a different person and for the better. The fifth week of being here in Dubai was again just as incredible as the first 4 weeks. During the last week we took a day trip to Atlantis. Atlantis sits on the very end of the “Palm” which is the enormous man made peninsula that looks like a palm tree. This was my first time going to the palm. It was truly breathtaking. Once we arrived at Atlantis, I felt as though I was a little kid again. The waterpark was so big and had incredible views of the skyline of Dubai. My favorite slide is called the leap of faith, this is a drop slide that goes through a shark tank, an absolute thrill!
We also went back to Old Dubai this week where we did a lot of shopping for gifts to bring home to our friends and family. While wandering around the city, we came across a shop that custom makes colognes. We handpicked the scents that we liked and got to make our own personalized cologne which was really cool. In addition we went to Expo 2020 which is an area of Dubai where 192 countries each built a different sculpture or building. It was really cool to walk around and see all the different unique buildings from all over the world.
Overall, this trip has been absolutely amazing, I am sad to leave, but satisfied in a sense. I feel as though I saw everything I wanted to see and I experienced all Dubai had to offer. I will definitely return to Dubai at some point in my life and hopefully I can return with all the amazing friends I made on this trip. (Submitted on January 31, 2024)