Just returned from Uganda. I’m breaking this trip into smaller chunks in hope that it will help me process it all in an organized fashion. ‘Processing’ is a necessity no matter how many times I’ve travelled. The world is big. We are small. Cultures are different. Poverty is real. I’ve found that every trip uniquely weaves these things together into a different canvas each go around and figuring out how this all plays itself out in the life I currently live is very important. I do my best to journal while traveling so as to not miss out on ‘aha’ moments in real time and to help me remember exact interactions, events or feelings. Still, so much of the processing comes when you re-integrate into daily life. It isn’t abnormal for internal wars to be waged at this time. Things that seemed so important before a trip, now don’t even make it on the priority list. Relationships with those who didn’t go often seemed strained while you work through the highs and lows of 2 weeks of absence and often complete internal transformation. Needless to say, ‘processing’ is essential to a healthy transition.
So, I’m going chronologically, starting with our departure.
Heading from LA into a 16.5 hour flight brings the full range of emotions from sheer excitement about the journey ahead to the dread of being stuck in the belly of a flying bird sucking processed air for almost a day. The relational company made it worth it, though, and we were all able to get a good 6 hours sleep, which gave us enough energy for a night on the town when landing in Dubai.
No time to get your head on straight when you have less than 13 hours in a booming metropolis like Dubai. You could call it a night and crash at the hotel, but that is a totally boring way to experience this city. We scheduled an Uber ride and hit the Dubai mall at 9:30pm, having no clue what we were about to get ourselves into, except that fact that we wanted to see the world’s tallest building.
Dubai is all about the wow factor. They are overachievers in every aspect of the word. Everything is shiny and glistening and huge, adorned with elegance and luxury and smelling of incense and expensive perfume. It is seductive and sexy and lures people with it’s promises of Arab mysteries while at the same time dazzles them with light shows and glowing everything. People are rendered as sheer forms of art. The symmetry of their faces, the strong features, perfectly manicured beards that trace the lines of squared jaws, dark eyes holding the mysteries of something so foreign and enticing I find myself staring intently at every male figure that passes in his thawb and keffiyeh.
And there are lots of them. Lots of everyone. People crowded onto the plaza of the mall, a sea of humanity from every aspect of the globe moving in and out of one another. Families with young children and people of every age mingling and moving tirelessly until close to 1am when we called it quits. All amused by the gushing fountains and skyscrapers and all taking selfies with the backdrop of the Burj Khalifa in all it’s colorful nighttime glory. It is a sight to see, no doubt, and an experience that landed my companions with the thought, “How is this my life right now?”
Ironically, it’s opulence stands in the starkest contrast to the culture and landscape of the African region we were about to step into. Knowing that full well, we finished up our Arab experience with a traditional desert called kunafeh and headed back to the hotel for a few hours of attempted rest before the next leg of the journey.
Until we meet again, Dubai. Expo2020 you are in my very near future.
