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| Same world, different experience |
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| News - Spring Hill | |||
| Written by Chase Jordan | |||
| Wednesday, 07 January 2009 08:00 | |||
 Ann Jensen recently traveled to another part of the world and had an experience she’ll never forget.The executive director for the Spring Hill Chamber of Commerce went to the United Arab Emirates with her husband, David, to visit their daughter, Martha Jensen, 25. The federation is located in the Middle East bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia. Ann said it took them 24 hours by air to reach the destination. “It was nothing like what I was expecting,” Ann said. “We’ve been on a cruise to the Caribbean, but this was entirely different. It was fascinating and beautiful.” Her daughter is a junior high and high school choir director for the American Community School, a worldwide system. Before working in the capitol city of Abu Dhabi, she taught in Olathe. Martha is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Before Martha left, Ann had a few concerns. “I think every parent would fear their child going to the Middle East,” she said. “We didn’t know what she was getting into or how safe she was going to be. I think she’s quite safe. She has a fabulous staff she works with.” Ann said the area is like a military state. She said the atmosphere was different than law enforcement in America. “I have never seen anyone carry an Uzi before in public,” Ann said. “That was one of the things that made me a little uncomfortable.” Ann said when they visited a mosque, the cab driver pulled in the wrong gate, and a guard came out with hands positioned to shoot. Besides the incident with the taxi, the trip to the mosque was a good experience. She said they were treated as guests instead of tourists. During their visit, the country celebrated its 37th anniversary. The Emirates Palace, the seven star hotel where she stayed, featured 37 cakes for the occasion. She said her hotel experience was over the top. She said the city featured a fireworks display with beautiful decorated lights. Along with a seven star hotel experience, Ann also took a safari in the city of Dubai and traveled across sand dunes and received temporary tattoos that lasted about three weeks. Ann said a lot of things in the country are considered to be “the world’s largest,” including an indoor ski resort inside a mall in Dubai. Martha said development in Dubai was like Las Vegas on steroids. She mentioned she was not pushed to buy things as a tourist. “I loved it, but it was unusual because sometimes I want to take something home, a deck of cards or something that says I was here,” she said. “We didn’t do a lot of impulse buying.” Ann said women are placed on a pedestal and are treated like royalty. She said there are different levels of the way the Muslim women are covered up and that is determined by their husbands. Ann visited a beauty shop and the women took their covering off and wore normal clothing similar to Americans. Ann said she appreciates the freedom she has being a woman in America, where she is on equal basis with men. The official language of UAE is Arabic, but Ann said English was spoken at many places throughout the area. “It’s amazing to me, it was everywhere I went,” Ann said. “My expectation is that I can travel anywhere in the world and they’ll speak my language.”
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