Goodbye Dubai;)

Danny; Abu Dhabi, UAE

What an evening we had tonight! We played for the anniversary of 40 years of relations between the US and The UAE. There were dignitaries and ambassadors from countries all over the Middle East. We played in the grand ballroom of the Hotel and it was something I'll never forget. The music was so much fun and the audience was wonderful. They were clapping, singing along and Johnny even got a dignitary on stage to conduct the band. Even more fun than the show, was meeting the ambassadors from all the different countries and the Americans living here in the UAE.

Johnny with the US Ambassador to the UAE

This country is so wonderful and everyone who comes here to live and work is better off than where they had previously lived. Natural citizens all go to college for free, there is free health care for everyone and the technology here is remarkable. Everyone is so nice to us and we feel do welcome. I just met an Emerate in the elevator who asked me if I was American & he said he went to grad school in Oregon and he loved it there because it was so beautiful and different from the landscape here in the UAE. He was so cool and we spoke about the beauty of both countries and how I thought the desert was amazing. Everyone I've met on this journey has enriched my life in some way, sometimes just with a smile or a short conversation. I am so thankfull for all the friends I am meeting and will stay in touch with on Facebook.

Remember earlier I spoke about the Falcons and how prevalent they were in this society?

Friendship us the right word for what I've experienced here and will treasure for many years. Art and culture bring us all together and remind us what we have in common. We all create, sing, dance and celebrate life. Isn't that what life is all about?;)

Abu Dhabi

Danny; Abu Dhabi, UAE

We just drove from Fujairah to Dubai and then on to Abu Dhabi. Our hotel is in the center of the city, overlooking the Gulf. It is said that there is so much new construction in the UAE, that the national bird is the crane;) Actually, I think that the Falcon plays an important role in this culture and often on flights, you will see someone with one on their shoulder. For this reason, you can't bring a cat or dog on board, because as you might imagine, it could cause quite a distraction to the hawk;)
We have an hour of downtime before we have to set up in the ballroom, sound check and play a special concert for the Ambassador and his guests. This capital city and hotel are spectacular and again we are being spoiled by this countries hospitality.

On the drive to Abu Dhabi, we saw beautiful desert landscapes dotted with palm trees, camels, bazars mosques and interesting rock mountains.

This Gulf ball is all tee'd up;)

Sheikh Zayed Mosque

Fujairah

Danny: Fujairah, UAE

Today we drove through the desert (all of the UAE is a dessert) from Dubai to Fujairah, where we played two workshops at the Fujairah Men's College. They bussed in the women from the Fujairah Women's college for the first workshop. There is a strict segregation here between men and women at the schools. Tonight we are playing a concert at the women's college.

This student was playing Hotel California;)

The women were actually more engaging that the men, both groups were shy at first, but the women broke the ice sooner and were braver about asking questions.

College students are the same everywhere and here's another pic that illustrates my point;)

These guys were playing fuss ball and joking around in the student center. Look familiar? ;)

Here are some familiar everyday things we saw on campus, see if you can recognize the brands;)

After the two workshops, we had a wonderful lunch at the cafeteria and made so many new friends.

We got back to our wonderful hotel on the Persian Gulf, which is called, the Arabian Gulf by people over here.

Isn't this Bazzar;) I bought some beautiful gifts here at the hotel.

We had about an hour off and after I had a nice round of Gulf;) we headed off to do an interview with two bright and charming media students from the Women's college.
The school just built a radio studio with support from the US consulate.

These students did such a great job with the interview! We had a great time and all agreed that we are all bound together as humans. Building bridges based on what we all have in common is a good practice and that music is a great way to unite people.
We reminded each other how how lucky we are to be doing what we love, how blessed to travel here and meet such wonderful people and live in such a wonderful world.
Thankful for this moment, right now with you :)

We then did a sound check and got ready for the concert here are some pics from this evening;

After the concert we were given some awards by the college and it's students. We were also given an award from his Highness

What a wonderful world indeed:)

Eye of Riyadh - News (Review)

Eye of Riyadh - News
http://eyeofriyadh.com/en/3/5/portal/3754/

Hello, Dubai

Danny: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Last night we flew into Dubai from Djibouti, North Africa. We spent the morning packing, getting our gear and getting through the airport. We were sad to be leaving our new friends in Djibouti and hope that we can return to the continent some day.
Omar and the US Embassy staff took such good care of us, arranged great concerts, workshops and showed us a part of the world that we won't soon forget.

When we landed in Dubai many hours later, it was strange to see so many lights, highways, skyscrapers and infrastructure after being in a country where there were more goats than cars. Dubai reminds me a bit of Singapore, but in a dessert setting. There are Starbucks, Ikeas, Bloomingdales, you name it, the store is here. The hotels are big and ritzy. The tallest building in the world is here in Dubai. It is over 200 stories high and twice the size of the empire state building.

We ate at a great Japanese noodle house last night and it seems there are many foods from different cultures here in this city.

This morning we went to play at the American University in Sharjah. We played at the student center for a few hundred college students and we all had such a great time. This campus is amazing and the tuition for all colleges in the UAE is free for Emerates born here.

The students are like any other college students I've seen around the world and the States. We all tend to have these preconceptions about the Middle East and it's culture, but when you are playing music for s bunch of college students, you quickly realize that clapping hands, singing mouths and smiling faces are universal.

We had had a press conference and interview before our concert and we all expressed how welcome we felt. We really have been received with open arms and hearts here in UAE. We spoke about cultural exchange and how our perceptions of the Middle East were changed by this experience.

After the concert we were presented with an award of Excellence. Here we are with the director of Student life, director of Student Affairs and the Chancellor of AUS.

We were invited to the student center's cafeteria for a great meal with our hosts and students. There is even a bowling alley right in the food court.

We gave out CDs, signed autographs, posed for pictures and we even made some new fans/friends today. Isn't that what this is all about, making friends and sharing music:)

Modern Life

Tallest building in the world. Taken from a van on the road to a performance. Posted from a cell phone over a new 4g network...<