orientation

This is going to be a long one, so hope you don't get bored.

Our first day of orientation began in an auditorium in the hotel. We were given a presentation about Abu Dhabi and the new education reform. The basic reason behind the reform is to have the country in a place so that they are no longer dependent on gas and oil. They are aware that it is not a renewable resource and that they need to be prepared for the time when it is no longer available. The Crown Prince and his cabinet of advisors came up with the 2030 plan and one of the main parts of the plan is to educate their young so that they will be globally competative. At this point very few of their graduates continue on to universities. The speaker was the head of the Abu Dhabi Education Council, Dr. Mugheer Al Khaili. One statement that he made stood out in my mind. "Teachers are the force behind the success of the children." Abu Dhabi is pouring money into the education system. 300 schools are going to be brought up to date technologically in one year. Hundreds of teachers are being brought in to teach English, math and science to the students in the schools. They want their children to become problem solvers.

There are 1 million people in AD right now and by 2030, there will be 3 million. To prepare for this they are moving into other areas of production such as technology, chemicals, medicines, tourism and other things. Right now they are the 3rd largest producer of the semiconductor, a chip that runs the electrical part of the engine. If you look around the city there are many skyscrapers that are in the contruction phase and they are all really interesting shapes. I would think any architects would find this place amazing. We were shown the future plans for AD including a metro system, shaded walkways, green areas. All plans for contruction include energy efficient cooling systems. They are very conscious of keeping the country environmentally safe. I was so impressed by all the plans.

After the presentation about the future of AD we had a presentation about Ramadan. It's a lot like our Christmas in that they celebrate and put up Ramadan Kareem signs and colored lights.
Other than that, not so much. Ramadan means dryness or heat. It starts with a new moon and continues until the end of the moons cycle, about a month. It is based on the phase of the moon so each year it's 10 days earlier. During Ramadan, Muslims fast, meaning no food, liquid, smoking or intimacy from sunup to sundown. They also refrain from inappropriate behaviors, both seeing or doing.

In the Islam faith there are five pillars of belief. One of them is fasting during Ramadan. the others are, 1st Pillar- Declaration of Faith, 2nd Pillar- five daily prayers, 3rd Pillar- Donation 2.5% of you savings to the poor annually, 4th Pillar- Fasting, 5th Pillar-Pillgramage to Mecca in your lifetime if physically and financially able.

The reason they fast is to help them relate to the poor and hungry, in addition it's healthy because it lowers blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, and improves endurance, strength, and self discipline. I can attest to the fact that it lowers blood sugar. Sometimes we are out and can't eat or drink and we get so hungry. I get really dizzy, and others have mentioned that too. We can always eat in private, but if we're out doing something we can't. It's really hard. I honestly don't know how they do it. Women who are menstruating, pregnant or breast feeding are exempt as well as the unhealthy adults, children under 12, and adults who are traveling.

After Ramadan they celebrate for three days, feast, see relatives and give gifts as well as pray.

I thought that it was interesting to learn about Ramadan and to see the future plans for AD.

Hope you all learned a little something.