Don't you hate it when you get to somewhere fun and exciting, a place you have never been and the camera that you brought with you does not work? The only proof that I have that I was in Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai are stamps in my passport and a few pictures I took with my phone. you will have to just believe me when I tell you that Kuwait and Bahrain were amazing. Dubai, was equally as amazing, I speak mainly of the architecture and number of buildings that have gone up since my visit a year ago. The pictures you see below is the view that I had from my hotel room in the downtown area of Dubai. The building that you see with the tall spire is the tallest building, right now, in the world. It is not yet complete but very impressive to say the least.
March 2, 2008
Kuwait City, Kuwait
I was impressed by the size of this city as well as the new construction that is taking place. As we drove from the airport to the hotel I noticed a lot of new construction as well as older, war torn buildings, that while inhabited, look like they have seen better days. I was impressed by the overall friendliness of the people I met and the interactions we had. In these highly Muslim populated countries it is hard to know what the reaction will be from the men and women. One man may shake my hand while others will nearly throw their hands up in the air and say, " I do not shake the hands of women". Some women wear head coverings and normal clothing while others wear the all black with head and face coverings. I asked about the differences and was told that for some it is their level of commitment to their religion. For others it is out of respect for family tradition. The program was a huge success. I would guess there were about 500 people in the audience and they were highly engaged and asking questions, which, as I have mentioned before leads SRC in different directions than perhaps was originally planned.
March 3, 2008
Bahrain
I don't have much to say about Bahrain because we arrive quite late and left immediately following the program. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton, which is also where the event was held. SRC and I were housed in a Villa...beautiful, huge, luxurious. Too bad I was only able to enjoy it for 8 hours and even with that amount of time I spent a few hours sleeping. I was quite impressed with what I saw from the windows and the short drive to the airport. The Ritz is situated right on the coast so the view from the back doors of the Villa were spectacular...palm trees, beautiful private pool all leading out to the ocean. I would like to return if only to see more of Bahrain. The event was for one client and I would say it was successful. The audience was smaller than the program the day before but equally as interesting and with many questions from the audience.
March 4, 2008
Dubai
Public Program
First of all, the hotel Jumeirah Resort Hotel was incredible. It is situated along the coast line and is one in a line of about 4 resorts. My room was incredible and I was able to enjoy it for two nights. The gym facilities were the best I think I have seen in my travels. I also had the option of running the length of the four resorts on an outdoor trail that connected all four. It was so fun to run along this path and see the vacationers and catch a glimpse of their lives whether it was a father kicking a soccer ball with his son and daughter, or a couple enjoying a dinner by the ocean. I also witnessed families enjoying the pools as well as conventions taking place at some of the resorts. The event was great: a public event hosted by IIR. This crowd was also engaged and full of questions. I love the questions and the direction they take SRC with his responses. It can also be a test for me and my knowledge of the slides. SRC may call for a slide that we don't use very often and it takes me a few seconds (or minutes) longer to pull it up.
March 5, 2008
Dubai
We ended up with a free day on the 5th. The event that had been planned had to cancel because of company restructuring. It was great to be able to sleep in and relax a little bit. I actually slept until about 7:00 a.m. which in my travels is sleeping in. I got up, went running and to the gym, had a good breakfast and prepared to move to the last hotel of the trip. It was better for us to move to the hotel where the event was being held because of traffic. The evening of the 5th we actually had dinner with the FranklinCovey Middle East group. They are a fantastic group of people and it was so wonderful to meet with them in a more casual setting. When I am traveling and especially during events I am all business. I have my game face on and my focus is on logistics, SRC, the slides, and making sure everything is in order. Many people who meet me for the first time in this setting find me very serious. So, it was great for this group to see me more relaxed and not so serious. SRC was a great host and complemented this group on being a "Transition Team", possessing the skill to influence all of Dubai and many of the Middle Eastern countries.
March 6, 2008
Dubai
The final event! Yahoo! The event was good but probably a little more difficult than the other events. I didn't think the audience was engaged in the presentation...they seemed distracted by other things. SRC felt differently. He felt that there was just so much information given that is different enough from how this group functions and thinks in their profession that it was overwhelming. That makes sense to me. Overall I would say it was a success. SRC amazes me! He adapts to such diverse groups and such varied questions. Plus he is able to keep his energy at a high level event after event after event. By the end of the day we were ready to go home.
