With nearly one week of Dubai under our collective belts, the melting pot of the Middle East has provided entertainment, breathtaking visuals and most importantly, a platform to study and interact with Arab media.

Dabbling both in roundtable discussions with prominent media professionals and encountering the culture of Dubai by visiting the local souks (marketplaces) and malls that would make Southcenter look like a Foss dorm room, students have a colorful variety of experiences and opinions of the city so far.

For the initial blog, each student will provide a brief summary accompanied with a snapshot of their impresssion of Dubai so far. The great aspect of an exercise like this is that the introductory blog can be used as a springboard to more complex and concrete issues. As it looks now, each blog will incorporate different aspects of Dubai culture, media, etc. and each student will be able to comment on what they've learned and experienced in each aspect. This way of expression will provide a unique look into the many different angles and frames that each student will see this fascinating city through and in turn will give you, our most cherished readers, a candid and honest critique of our three week venture.

Even though we are the students that are experiencing Dubai firsthand, that doesn't mean that you can't be involved. Any suggestions, questions or general thoughts on our trip would be greatly appreciated. If there is an aspect of Dubai or Arab culture that you would enjoy hearing about, feel free to leave a comment and we'll try to integrate that into our visit. This is not in any means a one-way street and we greatly appreciate your support and feedback during this time.

For now, we're off to spend a little free time hitting the beaches and some are even going to get a taste of winter and strap on the skis at the Mall of the Emirates for a few hours of snow and skiing.

Nate Hulings

p.s. Look for each students initial reaction and more images to come up early tomorrow morning.