Guinea Pigs Understanding "Culture"

Deciding to take a second semester in a row abroad was not easy.  It was sad to tell all of my friends that I wouldn’t be coming back, my family was upset to go an entire 12-months without seeing me, and I knew that I was taking risks by not being in New York, the academic hub of my field- development, and the location of countless opportunities.  However, when I saw that NYU- Abu Dhabi was opening up to students from New York, I knew it was an experience I should not miss. 
 
Abu Dhabi appealed to me because I was already in the Middle East, studying at NYU- Tel Aviv, and I wanted to see the other side of the regional coin.  I learned a lot about one of the main issues: Israel / Palestine, and was interested in learning about some of the others, such as, oil and cultural sustainability.  I was also eager to come for the semester because I knew that the demographics of the student body here would make me feel at home. NYU-AD is largely international, which reminded me of my boarding school experience at the United World College.  There we had 200 students representing 85 countries.  Here in Abu Dhabi there are 300 students and 70 nations.  Furthermore, of the 300 students here, 10% are from the United World College movement and so I knew I would immediately have a group of like-minded peers.  My biggest reservation to coming was the fact that we would be the first group of study-away students on the campus.  The admissions and administration produced no façade that we seven students are a test group, the guinea pigs.
 
In some ways I’ve felt the insecurity of being trailblazers for the program.  To the faculty and staff, many questions are left unanswered, and often it seems that no one really knows what to do with us.  The students however, have welcomed us with open arms- excited to know what the “real NYU” is like and eager to integrate us in their activities and friend groups.  That said, for the first time in my life I feel like the new kid.  I’m unfamiliar with how the campus runs, who does what, where things are, and how to situate myself within it. 
 
Unlike Tel Aviv where we were all only there for one semester, understood life back on the square, and knew we would return there, here in Abu Dhabi it is an entirely different NYU.  The people, the traditions, the expectations- are all altered. . . at least for the NYU-AD students.  We study abroad guinea pigs lie somewhere in the middle, but no one knows where.  That is what we are going to figure out in the next four months.
 
It seems strange that I’ve been in Abu Dhabi for five days and the main cultural difference I’ve focused on is comparing the NYU I know in the States and the infant campus here.  In some ways that speaks to how strong of a bubble this campus is, but more importantly, it shows that culture goes beyond political borders, languages, and religion.  This semester will be a huge exchange and cultural experience for me, both learning about the Gulf region and the many problems it must address, but also understanding the interactions and similarities between the United World College, NYU- Abu Dhabi, and NYU-  New York.