Originally, I wanted to travel abroad to Dubai to satisfy the international credit I needed to graduate, but I was able to get much more out of the program than just that.

During our study abroad program, we had the opportunity to do a meet-and-greet with different people who do business in Dubai, and I learned quite a bit about how businesses operate in Dubai compared to the U.S., which was very interesting.

During this program, I met some incredible classmates and made so many new friends.

I also gained a lot of information from a motivational speaker we listened to who spoke about how to succeed in life. I found his advice and point of view very interesting.

I learned how to communicate in predominantly non-English-speaking environments. I learned that speaking with a kind of directness was much more easily understood in Dubai. For example, I learned I was much more universally understood when I said, “No thank you” as opposed to “I’m alright."

I learned that the culture of Dubai is very goal-oriented and very friendly.

I thought that Dubai was going to be a little unsafe, so I prepared for my program by buying pickpocket-proof clothes. I was luckily very wrong; I felt extremely safe the whole time I was in Dubai, and people were super friendly.

My experience will relate to other students because I will be able to talk about my experience with the culture of Dubai and I will be able to learn about other students' experiences of other countries' cultures. Sharing with others what the culture was like in Dubai would surprise and excite people because, in my opinion, it’s safer and the people are nicer in Dubai than they are in the United States.

I personally can’t provide too much of a different perspective on my experience in Dubai except for the fact that I am part Lebanese and having a chance to experience Arabic culture in the Middle East was a very cool experience for me!

Name: Raymond Choate
Status: Senior
Major: Management
Hometown: Brighton, Michigan
Program:  Global Business in Dubai