Daughter wants to attend American University of Sharjah

[Planogirl]

sknutes, thank you for your post. I found what you said fascinating.

 

[Briarmom]

Good for her. She sounds like she loves an adventure and knows what she wants. I lived in Egypt for the better part of a year and was fine. Was it America or Europe? Oh hell no, but it was an experience.

 

[DawnCt1]

Tinker&Belle, thanks for the link. That is the sort of thing that is reassuring.

Dawn -- what was the length, purpose and location of your husband's visit? It seems that those who visit short-term for business are most likely to not get the "warm and fuzzies" about an area. It is interesting that he felt like men were both afraid and disdainful of women.

He lectured in Dubai on two occasions and consulted in their hospital so they were short term visits in the UAE. He has found that attitude in Kuwait as well where he was deployed there and worked closely with the military and civilian population prior to the run up to the Iraqi war.
These countries are ruled by the cult of personality as well as with their cultural beliefs. Initially they used a civilian hospital in Kuwait with one wing reserved for Americans. Any women with any medical condition specific to women had to have their xray and lab requisitions filled out in a "generic" manner. For instance, if a diagnosis of pelvic inflamatory disease, endometriosis, etc was on the lab slip,etc, the specimen would be discarded or simply disappear.

 

[sknutes]

Of course, after boasting about AUS and the UAE, where I am very happy living, I have to admit, it does have one of the highest traffic accident and death rates in the world.

Crime, terrorism, those you don't really have to worry about too much. It's the traffic that'll kill you. We see them every day, once I counted 4 major accidents on a 20 km stretch!!

Driving in the UAE, you have "crazy drivers", going super fast (200+km/hr). When you are in the left lane and you don't pull over for fast cars, even when they are still 100 meters away, they flash their lights. Within seconds, they are right behind you, crossing the line on the shoulder of the road, trying to pass between you and the median. Or, they weave in and out of traffic, running over the right shoulder trying to pass people.

And on exit ramps, instead of staying in the one lane, they go off the road (if no big curb) and mob around the entrance to the other road.

And don't get me started about driving during Ramadan in late afternoon. Just stay off the roads!! Low blood sugar and exhaustion from the late nights. . . need I say more.

I don't put a nationality to them, because I see crazy drivers of many different ones! Including some of my friends. You learn some bad habits driving here!!

Oops, I hope that doesn't scare you off from sending your daughter. Just get her a big car that has a good safety record!! Or better yet, let her use our AUS bus system and taxis!!

 

[Crankyshank]

sknutes, your posts make me want to go there. Visiting Dubai is on my must do list. I'm used to traffic and crazy drivers, so that wouldn't scare me at all.

 

[sknutes]

Oh, and to the person that said your daughter might get in trouble if she pushed female rights, I say "pah!!" Speak your mind, girl!! Especially at AUS.

The UAE does have issues with this, I admit. It is not equal. But, it is improving quickly!!

I am female. Every year, when graduation roles around, I shake the hand of the Sharjah Sheikh, just like every other professor. I have male & female students in my classes. I deal with both male & female colleagues on and off campus.

Actually, my classes tend to be 75% female. There are more females than males in my discipline in the UAE!! And, of course, the girls are better students :} OK, maybe I'm biased on that one.

It is strange, because in the US, I was in situations where I was the only female. I had to deal with the "good ole boy" network in the southeastern US. I would go to conferences and there would be one or two other women and only one or two non-caucasion. It was intimidating!!

Here, most of the people I deal with in the government and industry are just happy to have someone who knows what they are doing and are willing to work hard. Whether I'm female or male is less important. Well, OK, getting them to let me take my own water samples was hard. But they gave in. And when I made them let my female student do her own sampling, they let her, too. I think that was less male/female issues than "the laborers should do the physical work not you" issues.

 

[Briarmom]

And don't get me started about driving during Ramadan in late afternoon. Just stay off the roads!! Low blood sugar and exhaustion from the late nights. . . need I say more.

I was just getting over the nightmares about this.

ETA: The OP's daughter is going from Jan-May. She will not get to experience this hell, er, joy.

 

[Collegemom1]

Hi FredS! Did your daughter end up going to UAE for study abroad? My daughter is considering exact same plan, same time frame,for next Jan, at same university! I'm wondering what your daughter's experience was like?

 

[Collegemom1]

Hello sknutes! I read your posts from last year about UAE-- my daughter is applying to attend your university for Jan-May 2010. Are you available for some questions?

 

[Caradana]

I absolutely adore the UAE. I've found it one of the most stunningly beautiful and culturally intriguing places I've ever visited. The architecture alone is jaw-dropping. Your daughter has a rare and fabulous opportunity. She should take it!

 

[Collegemom1]

Thanks for that information...did you generally feel safe there--? Also, did you have much unwanted (or negative) attention as a blonde American? (My daughter was told that she might want to dye her hair since she is very blonde? Is that an overreaction, or good idea?)

Thanks!

 

[pogo791]

FredS, looks like you struck gold with Sknutes - what better sources of information than a female American faculty member who is actually at the AUS!

I've visited Sharjah as well as several of the other emirates, and I've also been to Saudi Arabia many times. At the risk of repeated what previous posters have said,
- the UAE in general tends to be more liberal than Saudi Arabia in many respects, ranging from dress and interaction between the sexes to women's rights.
- Sharjah may be a bit more conservative than the others - as shown by the fact that it is the only "dry" emirate, but this would be far less evident in the academic environment your daughter is considering.
- there is no getting away from the fact that the local population are Islamic, and this fact will be seen in many respects. However, there is a huge foreign population (much of the work is done by foreign workers) and so the locals are used to interacting with foreigners.
- the emirates in general are surprisingly "Western" in many respects, even if much of this "Westerness" is superficial. Your daughter will not lack for KFC or McDonalds, and by the looks of them the shopping centres could just as well be located outside of any American city (with the exception, of course, the way many of the shoppers dress).
- annoyances? as long as your daughter respects the local traditions and mores, there should not be any particular annoyances. Women can walk around without being hassled - as long as they dress accordingly.
- dangers? The UAE is a very safe area. I don't want to get into the politics or human rights issues, but terrorist attacks are just about unheard of in the emirates. There is a huge, repeat huge, difference in this respect among the countries in the Middle East. As for other types of crime, again the UAE is a very safe area, certainly much more safe than American cities! (The major, and this is indeed a major concern, has already been pointed out by Sknutes: traffic can be a horror. Sknutes is being perhaps coy about who are the bad drivers and why, but I would say that too many of the local population get their driver's license too easily, there is too little invested in the policing of traffic, the drivers are very cavalier about wrecking their rather expensive imported cars - and one further danger is the fact that quite a few drivers in Sharjah drive over to another emirate to get drunk, and then get back in their car to drive back. Not good.)
- academic standards? Sknutes can provide you with all types of information on this point, but I can certainly say that the standard of teaching, the standard of the facilities and the overall academic environment in the UAE tend to be world class. The UAE is investing heavily in this sector, and it shows.

I would say that you should give serious consideration to the university at Sharjah. It could be a great opportunity for your daughter to get completely new perspectives on life!

 

[Collegemom1]

It is amazing to see how many people have experience with this area! Thanks so much for your very informative post. I definitely think the "unknown" of all this is what has made it so stressful. Your information and details really help. I'm going to forward all this on to my daughter...who is currently "99% sure" this is the university she wants to attend for study abroad.

Thanks so much!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

It is amazing to see how many people have experience with this area! Thanks so much for your very informative post. I definitely think the "unknown" of all this is what has made it so stressful. Your information and details really help. I'm going to forward all this on to my daughter...who is currently "99% sure" this is the university she wants to attend for study abroad.

Thanks so much!

May I ask why she has to study abroad?

Currently my dd will be entering college as a freshman this yr and right now she is doing International Business which requires at least 4 weeks of studying abroad.

I enjoyed reading the stories even though the thread was old. Maybe you can see if the Fred is here by sending him a PM?

 

[Collegemom1]

Hi Myst. Machine!
Yes, my whole original plan was to private message FredS and the Amprof post-er, and after I wrote a 2 page letter to FredS, I was informed by a very rude screen (haha) that I couldn't PM until I had posted 10 times!! Sooo....I decided to write to them directly on the board, on the off chance either one still frequents it, and hoping maybe there is an email notification that someone has responded to your thread? (not sure?) Now, however, there have been so many interesting new posts...I may just get to my 10 posts anyway! ;-)

As to study abroad....that has always been part of her plan. She has been fascinated with the middle east issues/politics since before high school, and it is the area she hopes to work in. She feels it would be ridiculous to do serious work in this area, without having ever set foot in the region. And while that makes perfect sense...mom would still rather she visit Paris or Italy! haha At her particular college, nearly 90% of the students go abroad-- so they have a pretty good system down.

Good luck with the freshman year! It's a roller coaster ride for sure!

 

[Collegemom1]

Hi Pogo,
Thanks for the PM, but if you read my above post, you'll understand why I didn't write you back directly! Getting close though!! Your post was really helpful, and I sent it along to my daughter.

 

[DutchsMommy]

My sister completed INt'l Relations at a University in BC and then went on to work terms in K-L Malaysia and Bangkok Thailand. She got to really get into different cultures and also travel to surrounding areas. I think study abroad is a fabulous opportunity if you can manage it - I definately would if I could go back in time! I'm interested to see if the OP re-visits this thread and what ended up happening.

 

[Collegemom1]

Yes, it's a great soap opera! Tune in a year later to find out....haha
Geez, I'm going to feel horrible if it turned out to be a negative experience.....