Spring Break in Dubai
Seeing as though I come from Asia and I frequently visit Dubai, the trip was originally less exciting for me because I was used to traveling. Along with that, I was passing up the opportunity of going on spring break with my friends in LA. Although these factors dampened my mood, I couldn’t help but appreciate the learning experience I was about to be given and the fact that the trip was free.
The students in the class didn’t interact all that much, but we knew that we would be traveling together eventually. Previously, I have been on other spring breaks and taken numerous travel opportunities, but I haven’t felt compelled to repeat any of these trips. This is a trip I would want to do again if I was given the chance, as it was the most rewarding and educating experience of my college career. Not only did it open my eyes around various topics, but the other students in the class were enlightened as well.
While we were there, we met some huge companies, amazing entrepreneurs, and beautiful families; the people hosting us were very welcoming and friendly. The companies we met included the Olayan group, Petro Chemicals, Souq.com (Just got sold for $650 million), Choueiri Group (one of the largest media presenting group in Middle East), General Electric Company, 1776 (Dubai Incubator), Mohammed Al-Mubarak (Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority), and Manchand Family on the last dinner. Each one of them were great, what was really interesting was hearing how they began their career and where they are today. UAE and Dubai specifically are known for expats and the people we met, other than Mohammad Al-Mubarak, were expats, they came to Dubai because they had nothing and now they are one of the largest companies in their fields. Listening to the stories and the lessons they learned from the hardship they have faced and how they become so financially successful was quite captivating and informative.
The questions that arise in my mind are does that make them a successful person in life, have they achieved what they wanted to, if not, how much of their journey is left? The answer I came up with is that it is a never-ending journey. One thing I have heard and observed is that these people weren’t able to give enough time to their families while their kids were growing up because they were too busy building up an empire for them. From this, I concluded that you can never have the best of both worlds, you have to let go of something to achieve other ambitions .
The most interesting people I got to know the most include Mr. Ronaldo from Souq.com, because of the innovations he has been doing in the business, and Mr. Mehta from Petro chemicals because of his hard experience and life advice. Mr. Ronaldo started an e-commerce company when internet, online banking, routes and maps were issues in the Middle East. His story of overcoming all these obstacles one by one was riventing and a huge learning opportunity; he is the epitome of a hardworking and determined man who achieves goals by working smart at right time. Mr. Mehta is essentially a chemical trader and has a huge business today. The reason he came to UAE was to find work, so he is almost an entirely self-made man, but even he said that if I would have to do it all over again I would give more time to my family.
The four main piece of advice and takeaways I have from this trip which will stay with me for rest of my life are, nothing is impossible if you are determined, keep your family as first or at least equal priority to your business, respect the people working under you or over you, and have a good reputation in the market you work in. No matter how small or large your business is, ethics are always the priority to keep the business growing. Now I can proudly say this was the best spring break with a lot of fun, adventure, learning, and connecting.
