Weekly
Weather
Tuesday 64 20% 57
Wednesday 66 30% 59
Thursday 74 70% 55
Friday 65 30% 48
Saturday 73 0% 54
Eagles Country Music Festival Rocks South Quad
Richard Weakley / The Avion Newspaper
Natalie Stovall and The Drive performed on the new South Quad Friday, Feb. 28. Brett Young opened for the band at 8 p.m warming up the crowd. Hoards of students chowed down on BBQ from the Daytona Pig Stand while rocking out to country music and playing lawn games.
Dubai: Through My Eye Where the East meets the West
Mark Fetters Guest Reporter It’s a Friday morning and I am eager to be done with classes. Not because it’s Friday, but because it is my birthday! I turn 21! Now, most people want to go out and party, or think of going to Vegas. I, on the other hand, am heading half way around the world. As soon as classes are over, my flight block is done, and work is over, I am off to the airport just across the street for a 5:50p.m. flight to Atlanta on Delta. After arriving in Atlanta, the wait is on for my next flight at 10:50p.m. I am flying on Delta 8 to Dubai, United Arab Emirates in Asia. Yes, I am going to Asia for the weekend. Yes, I will be back in time for class on Monday. No, I am not crazy. Near the end of boarding, I get my seat assignment, 32D, first row of economy comfort. Just after 11p.m. the roar of the GE90 jet engines on Delta’s 777-200LR come to life, and a minute later we are air born. First order of business is dinner. It is not the greatest meal, but
Photo Courtesy: Mark Fetters
it fills the gap. After dinner and a movie, it is time for some sleep, or at least an attempt at sleep. About half way though the flight, a light snack is served, which is a small sandwich and a banana. Just before landing, another dinner is served. After almost 15 hours in the air, we touchdown around 9p.m. local time. Clearing customs takes around an hour, and we are off to our hotel for the night. The next morning we head to The Dubai Mall, the largest in the world by total area. With nearly 60 million visitors a year, it takes the title of the most visited mall in the world. Besides shop-
ping, you could also watch a hockey game or ice skate on a full size NHL ice rink. If skating is not your thing, you could go to the aquarium and watch fish and sharks swim around. And, if you are daring enough, you can swim with them. Just outside the mall sits the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. It stands at over 2,400 feet tall, twice as tall as the Empire State Building in New York City. It is really an amazing sight to see. Afterwards, we head to the Mall of the Emirates. Even though it is not as big as The Dubai Mall, it still has one thing that makes it stand apart. It hosts an indoor ski resort.
It offers a variety of things, from tubing to a black diamond slope, or to be able to play with penguins in below freezing temperature while it could be over 100 degrees outside is amazing. Next up, we headed to the Palm Jumeirah, a manmade island that sits in the Persian Gulf and looks like a big palm tree from above. It is kind of weird walking around the island knowing it’s man-made. It makes you think just what things humans are able to build. Next, we went back to the Burj Khalfia for the water show they do every half hour, much like the one put on by the Mirage in Las Vegas. Before we
knew it, it was time to head back to the airport for class on Monday. I would have to rate Dubai as one of my favorite cites in the world, tied with London. It is truly amazing what people can do in the middle of nowhere and it shows the extent of how wealthy the UAE is. Even though it is in the Middle East, I did not fear for my safety, but there definitely was a culture shock being in the Middle East. Everyone could speak enough English for us to get by. If you have any question feel free to ask! Overall, it was a great weekend, and I am looking forward to my next weekend trip.
Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia.