Abu Dhabi

I have a lot to say about The Arab Emirates and a whole lot else to say about what we did there, where we went and who we met. For now however I will leave it at the country itself--at least my glimpse of it which made me appreciate Cairo more than ever.

The people we met on the other hand. About 30 Arab students from I believe 14 out of the 22 Arab countries were mostly incredibly. Walking in the first day, exhausted from traveling and sick from Koshari in Cairo, fish on the plane? we were met by a room filled with students in traditional dress. I was intimidated, surprised, while Egyptians may be different, they dress the same.

Turned out a lot of them had planned it.

"I told them it would scare the Americans," Maher, a Palestinian peer, told me.

There’s a lot that goes between that first night and what I will write soon.

For now suffice it to say somewhere between long conference hours brainstorming and writing, arguing and explaining tours and bus rides, meals, mall and spa trips, we all became pretty tight.