If you are looking for a rendezvous story, this is not for you. Nevertheless, it was a great night!
In the morning, the candidates (potential accepted students) went through various seminars that explained the curriculum and how the school is run. To be honest, the morning section of today's schedule was necessary but not that interesting.
But the evening portion could not have been better. First of all, we went to a nearby sand dune, which has been regarded in the past as the highlight of the weekend. And what do you do when you are in front of a sand dune? You climb it, of course. Full of sand in my bag, pockets, water bottle, shoes - you name it - I managed to reach the top, while others, crawling, followed. There was a ton of wind when we got there, so we could not help but unwillingly eat a ton of sand. From there, we saw the sunset (the photo does not do justice).
Once you go up, however, you must come down. And let me just say, I made a fool out of myself. Scared of the downward slope (which wasn't that steep in hindsight), I just sat and scooted my way down and took much more time than I really should have. But once I finally reached the bottom, dinner was being served. So we gathered together and ate, while watching the absence of artificial light (well, bare minimum) and the glory of a sky full of stars. I wish the camera could have captured that magical moment.
But what my camera did capture is the magnificence of the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi (Sheikh Zayed Mosque). I thought going straight to a holy place covered in sand was a little bit poor planning, but regardless, we headed there. Meanwhile, on the bus, some guys changed to long pants and girls put on hijabs to respect the religious practices. What surprised me, however, was the willingness of the students to wear hijabs. Especially now, in the age of increasing Islamophobia, some people might have said "No, I'm not going to cover myself up." But the fact that every student was so enthusiastic about going to a mosque made me quite happy and fortunate to be surrounded by these people.
Instead of reading about my experience at the mosque, enjoy these photos that I took!
So yes, tonight was indeed a fun night.