Zayed University Dubai

The most informative and interesting experience that I have had on this trip was the one on one time we spent with the ladies at Zayed University. While I have always considered myself to be opened minded to different cultures and experiences, I have to admit that women wearing the abaiya (black dress) and the sheila (black head scarf) have always been a little intimidating and foreign. During the time I spent talking with two intelligent and funny young ladies, Duaa and Maryam, I found that my fears and hesitations all but disappeared.
I learned so much more than I could possibly list here, but the most interesting were:
-the abaiya and sheila are worn for many different reasons such as modesty, cultural tradition, Islamic law (as women are required to cover themselves in the presence of men other then family memebers), as well as from family pressure
-Duaa comes from a family of 14 children (16 counting the deceased), most of whom live together in her father home. She herself wants at least 6 children of her own
-Her father has 2 wives

At first I was shocked at these differences in culture, and just by reading about this, I would have assumed that they could not possibly have anything in common with me. This could not be further from the truth.
While the ladies were covered from head to toe, underneath their abaiya's they were wearing skinny jeans and a t-shirt, carried flashy handbags and managed to walk around their huge campus in stilettos (a feat that even I couldn't manage...). Duaa speaks of her fathers second wife the same way my friends would talk about their step mothers. And while 14 children seems like a lot (I only have 1 sister) it's not different then living with all of my extended cousins (and I have to admit, it seems like fun).
We traded makeup tips, talked about annoying younger brothers and sisters, and what we wanted to do when we graduated. By the end of the day, the connection I had with them was the same as I could have made with any girl living in the US. As they walked us to the bus, promising to email us if they needed any help with their English homework, I knew I had made friends for life.
The experience helped to look past the abaiya and sheila and to look at these women as just that, women.
-J. Geula