By Emily Albright, MBA in International Luxury Brand Management 2013-2014, United States
After eight months in Paris without a trip home to the US in the meantime, I’m a bit starved for American comforts. You know, 24-hour pharmacies, bad chain restaurants, indoor malls, and no-frills nail salons. I thought I would need to wait five more months to enjoy these heartland splendors, but low and behold, I found paradise during our class field trip to Dubai this week! On the way to the hotel from the airport, I passed by a plethora of North American wonders: Applebee’s, Tim Horton’s, Tasti-D-Lite, Bennigan’s, Outback, Tony Roma’s, TGI Friday’s…the list goes on. I haven’t even seen some of these restaurants in the US in a few years!
I was already in love with Dubai at this point, but the feeling of being in the US only intensified when I entered the Dubai Mall: more restaurants, late-night services, and amazing nail salons. I thought that only the North Americans in the class were feeling at home in the Middle East, but other classmates were also sharing similar sentiments about Dubai. Our Indian classmates enjoyed some Hindi films this week, our Brazilian classmate found the weather reminiscent of Latin America, and the Southeast Asian classmates felt at home with the expats in an emerging country. Dubai is much more international and accommodating than many of us first assumed. For a city that’s located in the middle of the desert, it feels anything but! Who knew that all we needed to do was visit Dubai to feel more at home away from home?
MBA Luxury Brand Management
Class of 2016-2017
