Last week when Jordan was having his “when in Rome” experience, he was just starting to become totally acclimated to Emirati culture. This week, Jordan spent some time with a native family and got a little taste of the TLC he’s missed being away from family.
After a weeklong bout with midterms, Jordan and a couple of friends joined a fellow student for one of his regular weekend visits home in Abu Dhabi. On Thursday, after all classes were done and tests were taken, the group headed out, leaving Sharjah on a 30 dirham (around $8) and 2-hour bus ride to Abu Dhabi.
Jordan’s host, who is Jordanian, and his family, eagerly welcomed them into their home. Again, Jordan loved the responses to his name being Jordan, especially when his friend’s father said, “Oh wow, you’re my home country!” His friend’s mother spoke little English, but was a sweet lady who went out of her way to make sure the visitors felt at home. He had two younger brothers, 16 and 10, who were nice enough to offer their room to the guys for the two days.
The father, who is a chief executive producer for Sky News Arabia, was happy to share his vast worldly knowledge with the young men. They also learned about the impressive span of influence that Sky News has in Europe as well as in the Middle East. Hearing about what goes into the daily struggle of providing quality programming for a television station around the clock was thrilling.
An aerial view of Ferrari World.
Jordan and his friend, Nate, taking in their new Ferrari racecar at Ferrari world.
On Friday, they made their way to Ferrari World, the Worlds largest indoor theme park. The extravagant setup had an architecture resembling the sleek and attractive design of a Ferrari. It also featured the World’s fastest rollercoaster, the Formula Rossa, which was extremely fast but not as frightening as Jordan expected it to be. There was also a rollercoaster with the world’s largest loop that actually turned out to be terrifying. Amusement rides aside; it was cool for Jordan to learn about one of the most sought after cars. Added to Jordan’s life goal now, is one day purchasing a Ferrari.
That evening, they were elated to find that the hostess, his friend’s mom had made a traditional Jordanian dish called Mansaf. They all stood around the table and ate rice, boiled yogurt, and fall-off-the-bone cooked lamb while listening to “Dad” tell stories about Jordanian history and life lessons he was willing to share. The dinner was amazing and they were taught how to use the yogurt to smash the rice and meat into little balls to eat—delicious!
The Jordanian dish, Mansaf. We dug in with our hands right after this picture.
On the last day, the guys journeyed to the most famous waterpark in the Emirates: Yas Island. After all of the weeks of living in UAE’s desert heat, getting wet on the water rides was wonderful. But the best part about the water park was the set up with the rides and mascots created in a traditional Arab theme; the main one being a fairytale of an Arab princess whose tears made one large pearl shoot up from the middle of the desert so that her region could have water. So, in the middle of the park there was one large white dome, appearing as if it was shooting up from the ground, with several slides intertwining underneath it.
Yas Island Water Park. The pearl is at the top and all of the rides.
Jordan reports that getting the reprieve from studying and test taking by going to Abu Dhabi was great, but getting to spend time with a wonderful family for the weekend, and eating homemade food, was priceless! Check back next week to see what adventures Jordan will be sharing next!
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