There is no sound more frightening than that of a fighter
jet outside my hotel window in the middle-east.
I saw a lot of cool stuff, but the thing I will remember most about
today is that sound. Dan Render a Ball
State CAP graduate was giving us a presentation on Masdar City when the sound
of the first fighter jet drowned out the room.
I was expecting to hear or feel an explosion at any minute. Thank goodness that never happened. The jets passed by a couple more times before
we found out that they were just military training. I thank God that is all it was!
Dan worked on Masdar city for quite some time while it was being developed. Masdar City is a prototype for a future energy model city by achieving zero-carbon emissions. Basically the whole city is built to support a very sustainable lifestyle, and the design sets the stage for sustainable cities of the world. Because Dan worked on the project he was able to give us some great insider information. I will not bore you with it all, but I will share this: The city developed a new transportation system along with the design. Today I got to ride in a self-driven car. It is supposedly controlled by magnets and operates similar to a robot. You hop in, select a destination, and off you go! I felt like I was in a movie like The Jetsons or WALL-E. So we rode in these “pods” and explored the existing city and construction of Masdar City.
We also were able to visit a major land development company in Abu Dhabi called Aldar. We were presented with a huge development along the waterside of the city. It was so cool to have a behind-the-scenes look at one of the biggest developers in Abu Dhabi. I loved learning how business works over here. While in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I got inside looks on the jobs of a designer, a sustainability project director, and a master-planning developer.
Another fun event of the day consisted of a quick visit to Ferrari world, which is an indoor theme park. The building was more interesting to me than anything, because I am not the biggest fan of cars, but still very cool! The last stop of the day was at The Grand Mosque. We got there right at dark so we were able to see the structure lit up, which I think is so much cooler than during the day. In order to enter, all women are not allowed to expose skin, especially their head. I had to borrow a friend’s scarf to wrap my head just so I could enter. My scarves were packed under the bus. The mosque was so beautiful though that the trouble was worth it!
Tonight I get to sleep on a plane. I am so not excited! We are on our way to Singapore, so that is cool. I am just ready to be there already. Abu Dhabi and Dubai were a great experience. It really opened my eyes to classism on a broader world scale. All the money of the world is going there basically because they have oil, the one resource everyone depends on. They have clearly chosen over the years to invest that money into city development that, so far, has catered mainly to the rich. The way I see it, the world’s money is stacking up into skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where fancy buildings are being built just because they can. Yeah it is awesome! But it is such a waste!
Dan worked on Masdar city for quite some time while it was being developed. Masdar City is a prototype for a future energy model city by achieving zero-carbon emissions. Basically the whole city is built to support a very sustainable lifestyle, and the design sets the stage for sustainable cities of the world. Because Dan worked on the project he was able to give us some great insider information. I will not bore you with it all, but I will share this: The city developed a new transportation system along with the design. Today I got to ride in a self-driven car. It is supposedly controlled by magnets and operates similar to a robot. You hop in, select a destination, and off you go! I felt like I was in a movie like The Jetsons or WALL-E. So we rode in these “pods” and explored the existing city and construction of Masdar City.
We also were able to visit a major land development company in Abu Dhabi called Aldar. We were presented with a huge development along the waterside of the city. It was so cool to have a behind-the-scenes look at one of the biggest developers in Abu Dhabi. I loved learning how business works over here. While in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I got inside looks on the jobs of a designer, a sustainability project director, and a master-planning developer.
Another fun event of the day consisted of a quick visit to Ferrari world, which is an indoor theme park. The building was more interesting to me than anything, because I am not the biggest fan of cars, but still very cool! The last stop of the day was at The Grand Mosque. We got there right at dark so we were able to see the structure lit up, which I think is so much cooler than during the day. In order to enter, all women are not allowed to expose skin, especially their head. I had to borrow a friend’s scarf to wrap my head just so I could enter. My scarves were packed under the bus. The mosque was so beautiful though that the trouble was worth it!
Tonight I get to sleep on a plane. I am so not excited! We are on our way to Singapore, so that is cool. I am just ready to be there already. Abu Dhabi and Dubai were a great experience. It really opened my eyes to classism on a broader world scale. All the money of the world is going there basically because they have oil, the one resource everyone depends on. They have clearly chosen over the years to invest that money into city development that, so far, has catered mainly to the rich. The way I see it, the world’s money is stacking up into skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where fancy buildings are being built just because they can. Yeah it is awesome! But it is such a waste!
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