By Caroline Sheedy

“You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” ―Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

The Middle East doesn’t have the best reputation in the U.S. When I told my friends and my family I was applying to a short-term program where I would travel to the Middle East for a week as part of my MBA, most of them couldn’t understand why. “Isn’t it dangerous?” and “What are you supposed to wear? Don’t you need to cover yourself up there?” were the two FAQs for my decision. It fueled my reasoning further for why I wanted to go, and I kept coming back to Atticus Finch reminding me I needed to hold off judgement until I had an experience of my own. So off I went this past spring break to Dubai and Bahrain with 20 classmates

The trip was amazing and was full of social, cultural, and business experiences. Dubai is an amazing city to see and we got a behind the scenes tour through some of our business meetings. We met with a bank in Abu Dhabi and learned about Islamic banking. We met with a lawyer from Denmark who spoke to us about labor laws and what it is like being an expat in Dubai. We met with the Executive Council of Dubai where we learned more about Dubai’s strategic plan and how it intertwines with the plan of all of the Emirates. We met with the Emirates Group, and specifically talked about the strategy of Emirates Airlines (which now flies Boston to Dubai directly!) and learned how that fits within Dubai’s strategy

While in Dubai, we went up the tallest building in the world (Burj Khalifa), saw the fountain show in its basin, had drinks at one of the world’s most luxurious hotels (Burj al Arab), went out to Palm Island, went on a desert safari, rode camels, and ate lots and lots of hummus. We met with Bentley alumni and got to learn more about their experience growing up in Dubai. And all the while, I was mesmerized by the place. I felt safe and welcomed. My perspective was starting to change.

In Bahrain, we were equally as busy. We met with a bank that is the largest mortgage provider in Bahrain and very active in the social housing scene. We spent an entire day at a petrochemical company where we got to meet with the company president and enjoy lunch with employees. We had traditional food and listened to traditional music and rode a camel at a desert camp. We had an amazing cultural tour in Bahrain’s grand mosque and got to see the call to prayer and watch the prayer itself. We enjoyed shawarma together. We had a traditional breakfast with alumni. We went to the Bahrain International Circuit and got to take our big bus for a drive on the track. We shopped and bartered in a souk. We experienced the realness of Bahrain, offsetting the mystique of Dubai.

We learned about how business operates in both countries. We saw firsthand what building relationships can do and how important trust is when doing business in the Middle East. But aside from the business lessons, I had a change in perspective — my number-one goal of the trip. I have an appreciation for the area and a better understanding of its people and their traditions. And so I came home with a quick thank you to Atticus Finch for inspiring me to go on this trip and reaffirming the need to really understand people before judging them — whether it is classmates, coworkers or business partners. I highly recommend a Global Business Experience to all MBA students.