Pre-Departure Swing
Even though I’ve lived abroad for four years and been traveling on 15 hour flights since I was six, being in transit has never gotten to the point where it can be done with the ease and simplicity of stepping on and off a bus. You need your passport. Sunblock. Bug spray? Extra socks. (Damn, I don’t have extra socks.) Books to read in case you’re bored, that you probably won’t because of in-flight TV. Tylenol. A map. Money. Credit cards. And print everything that ever had your name on it, in case they ask at security. Well, at least I have learned over the years to pack as little clothing as possible, to do without hair dryers and four pairs of shoes. Man, I hope there is an iron in Dubai.
One our classmates is already there- in Dubai, I mean. He’s quite early! I’m currently in Oceanside, California, waiting for my flight this evening to Istanbul, Turkey. I’ll spend a few days being Pure Tourist and visiting friends who live in the western quarter of Istanbul. Whoever said a true traveler appreciates the journey, not the destination, was trying to pull one over on somebody. I’m going to love stepping off the plane, leaving my bags at the hostel and visiting the Grand Bazaar on a Friday night.
Turkey is a distraction, though, a way to get used to the time zone before class (and the 10 page paper that must be handed in at its conclusion) begins. After a few days, I take a very late flight to Dubai, arrive at 5am, and then I wait for two other students to arrive around 7am. Hopefully we can meet up and coordinate leaving for the Emirates Academy together. I don’t usually wait for other people before heading off to explore, but I have to admit that I’m nervous about Dubai that I’m usually not with other destinations, even new ones.
My friends tease when they hear I am nervous about this trip. I have probably spent more cumulative time in airports than at the gym. But in Dubai, if I put on the wrong shirt, technically I am inviting trouble. If I hug a male friend in public, the police could come and question us. Although we women have been told to avoid short-sleeve shirts if possible, and wear shorts or skirts below the knee, I won’t really know until we arrive how strict and conservative our clothing is supposed to be until I see other people walking around. Does the fear or worry of crossing boundaries make people repressed, I wonder; make them more tense and stressed when dealing with strangers, or the unexpected? Or does it give some kind of psychological support, because the world is structured and you know all the rules?
My paper for the class won’t be on psychology or sociology (that’s another classmate, I think!). I’m actually in the urban planning field, so what makes me so thrilled about this trip is to see Masdar. A totally sustainable city without cars? I’ve heard they are relaxing the concept of “no cars” to “very few cars”, but I think it’s still going to be like walking into a futuristic theme park that just happens to have the world’s largest hydrogen power plant. I wonder if that will be the future of energy production?
There are flaws to Dubai’s efforts, too; the city has no fresh water and I’m fairly sure most places are air conditioned, so it will be a curious juxtaposition of practice and philosophy. But even if only three of the thirty things we see become standards of city design…we will still be some of the first people to know the future!
It’s time to get breakfast and brave the traffic to LAX. Wish me luck!