Today is our second day at Zayed University. The environment at the university has been very welcoming; students have greeted us and will make sure that the guests have the best experience in their community. The day began with a leadership conference lead by Simmons Professors--Prof. Moore and Prof. Gupta and attended by Simmons students as well as Zayed University students. We shared our insights and knowledge of American leaders and the UAE leaders. Through our discussions, I was surprised of the many similarities within the two countries; as well as my own culture--as a Chinese Indonesian. A topic that was continuously mentioned by the Zayed and Simmons students was leaders of the two countries, in particular Sheikh Mohammed and the American President. As an outsider to the UAE and USA, I had the luxury to observe and compare both cultures. It fascinates me how the leader of UAE is born to his position and how much the people—both older and young generations—of UAE appreciate and want to give back to their country because of what their leaders have provided for them. On the other hand, the American Presidents are elected and yet the people sometimes act against him and does not have any sense of responsibility to their government. Above all, I am most impressed with their hospitality, in which is something that Simmons College lack as a community.
Jovita Tjandra
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