“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” goes the saying. Upon reflection of my own experiences, its hard to argue with this statement. I have a lot of friends that have been in the Toronto area their whole lives, save a few road trips to America. Despite the cultural diversity of Toronto, I didn’t truly experience the vast benefits of travel until I moved to Abu Dhabi in grade 9.
The effects of this move were more than I could have imagined. Of course, I expected the scenery, weather, and food to be different. But there were so many other little things which enriched my life experience. For instance, in Toronto, people have a certain way of talking, modeled after Jamaican slang, which one quickly becomes accustomed to. On the other hand, Abu Dhabi, being a primarily Arabic, British, and African culture, had completely different expressions. Upon moving there, I had no idea that not only would I need to learn some Arabic, but also modify my English to be understood. In the end though, it was worth it, because I was forced out of my limited perspective.
Another difference which really struck me was the gap between rich and poor. In Canada, the majority of people fall into the middle class. However, in Abu Dhabi, you’d see a Lamborghini speeding down the same block as a bus of migrant workers. Malls would be filled with stores like Gucci, while other parts of towns were bargain markets for everything from freshly caught fish to Xbox games. In Canada, often the hardest working, most intelligent individuals get the highest paying jobs. Not the case in Abu Dhabi, where what separated the rich sheikh and the poor migrant was most often the situation they were born into. This truth certainly shaped my outlook on wealth distribution.
Many people have a faulty impression that Abu Dhabi isn’t fun. From Ferrari World, an amusement part, to the YAS Island, littered with nightclubs, this simply isn’t true. In fact, I found that the warm weather was conducive to an atmosphere of going out and having fun! Interestingly, despite the wealth of the country, many activities like bowling and and pool are actually cheaper than they are in North America, and are accessible in nearly every mall. There were even public barbecue pits at the park by where I lived, where families would come on weekends with food to grill and a soccer ball to play. I remember Red Bull even hosted a 1 on 1 basketball tournament featuring the cities finest streetballers. In essence, there was never a dull moment during my stay.
The people of Abu Dhabi seemed to care less about conflicting opinions and cultural differences, and more about working together for a prosperous society through continual innovation that maintained a high living standard. This taught me that if we overlook our differences and instead focus on the mutual benefit, we can live a higher standard of life.
Abu Dhabi was a very exciting place to live. My experiences in this country, from seeing beautiful mosques to eating street meat with my British friends, definitely shaped me. I aim to use these experiences to bring a fresh perspective to Canadian culture and in doing so, better reach out to the world around me.
[cq_vc_avatarwithpopup avatartype=”image” avatarimage=”6362″ avatartitle=”Kraven says” avatarlabel=”I loved Abu Dhabi too! Many people think of it only for the fancy buildings, but the everyday culture is also one of a kind.” avatarshape=”avatar-circle” isshadow=”tinyshadow” popupshape=”roundsmall”][/cq_vc_avatarwithpopup]
