Dubai and other revelations ? The World Is Watching

Some of you may remember, or know (as I keep going on about it) that I went to Dubai last year. I meant to write about it at the time, and then I felt a bit sheepish about it; I worried what people would think of me ? for I knew that my overall impression was positive, and that largely, people don?t really like the idea of it being remotely positive. People actively wanted me to have a bad time there. Even if they hadn?t been there themselves. This is due in part to bad press, but also actually due to a very generic, all-encompassing western view that everything we know and grew up with is ? well ? ?All There Is?. The One Way to do things. Anything that might not fit into that view is terrifying and Very Bad Indeed.

So, Dubai. I?ll be brief: I loved it. I met loads of people ? people who have travelled or come from all kinds of places, who were doing different things. (Talking to them made me realise I have not done enough with my life.) I felt very safe most of the time I was there. I liked the sun shining (mostly). I liked the amazing, incredible architecture which is literally everywhere. Nearly every building is remarkable in its own way. It?s very American. It feels American on the surface. But its roots are Arabian, and I like that. I love eating out and going to bars, and Dubai is not short of restaurants or drinking establishments ? I think only once I was a bit disappointed with food. The rest was gorgeous. There are some world-class views to be had there. Some amazing experiences, sights, and idiosyncratic/surreal things ? like going skiing in a shopping mall in the middle of the desert. Or seeing a tiger hanging out of a car window. It mainly lacks culture in appearance, but it is there, bubbling just underneath the surface if you dare to scratch it. Then there?s the record-breaking Dubai Fountain, the immensity of which took my breath away? In short, it is not like any other city I have ever visited, and I don?t think it is like any other place on earth. Really.

Of course, there are negative aspects too, but I?m not going to dwell on that here. Google it or something.

Four months down the line, I?ve realised that it was a big learning experience for me. I?ve always been of the impression that ? sorry, gap year haters! ? going abroad really widens your horizons, and every new experience helps to shape you as a person. I could easily list a few off the top of my head:

1) Romania, 2 days after my 17th birthday, taught me that I could dive into the dark on my own, and still survive.
2) My first university taught me that sometimes, things don?t work out, and that it?s okay to fail sometimes.
3) My first job made me realise that I genuinely love working. Far, far more than studying.
4) Australia in 2010 taught me that I can be happy, that I can be fulfilled, and that I can be the life of the party if I truly want to.
5) Dubai taught me that I need to look at the bigger picture, that open-mindedness works both ways, and that it?s not possible to see things as they are until you, ummm, see them as they are.

It is this bigger picture part that has finally, finally started to make sense ? that experience has suddenly collided with previous experience and now I feel a bit more sure of myself and where my life is going.

It?ll take a while to explain because it?s been a long time coming: When I was at University, we did a unit called Global Current Affairs, which I didn?t really like at the time, but got good grades on. That summer of the second year, I went to work experience at an FT magazine about Africa (TIA), which was exclusively about news in business, entrepreneurialism, trade and finance on the African continent. I really, really enjoyed it. It was niche, it was about something that was, to me, far more exciting than UK news, and I was able to put into practice a lot of what I learned in GCA. I don?t think I ever felt like I was really learning much from my degree, so it was nice to finally have something I could point to and say ?THIS helped me?.

Anyway ? every journalist worth their salt knows they need to have some kind of direction, some kind of passion or area they want to go into. I had previously said something along the lines of ?I dunno really ? whatever drops out, I?ll take?. But that?s not the most convincing answer to the question ?What do you want to do with your life?? So I realised that finance and business journalism is probably where I wanted to go ? I?d been nudged in that direction unintentionally, and really enjoyed it. It pays well. Finance and business will always be around, so it?s a relatively stable job. That sort of thing.

But I wouldn?t really be that happy doing that here. To me, it?s boring. I want to know about what?s going on in a bigger way ? like Dubai ? going there really opened my eyes to the possibilities the Middle East has, just like TIA did with Africa. They opened my eyes to the idea that maybe, just maybe, there is more to life than the western world. I want to know why Russia and China are blocking UN resolutions on Iran. I want to know how much of Africa belongs to China, and what they?re doing with that land. I want to know who else has been investing in Africa, where Brazil comes into the picture. I?m not really interested in small details anymore. Perhaps I?m being remiss, but I feel a bit like London, the UK even, isn?t big enough a stomping ground for me anymore.

I?ve finally decided I want to do international journalism, or at least business/finance ? elsewhere and not here. It?s a bit of a weird one because it?s taken me a few years to really realise this is what I want to do. I?ve always wanted to travel loads, and since I can remember, I?ve never seen myself settling down. I like the idea of minimalism and scaling down, and making-do and being on the road. I like the idea of waking up to a different place and different experience every day. I feel like I?m doing something positive then, and I feel more connected and purposeful. I can?t sit around and feel sorry for myself when I?m busy.

Things are changing in my life and in my little corner of the internet. It?s a necessary move, and you?ll all understand in a short while. I?m not sure if I?ll keep this blog, even. But I feel reinvigorated, and a lot better than I have been in the recent past. I feel a bit like things are finally happening, even if its just mainly me figuring myself out ? and this can only be a good thing.

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Source: http://halftheworldiswatching.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/dubai-other-revelations/

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