Practical

October 1st, 2106

Dear George, 

My name is Luiza and  I am a student in Raha International School. I am writing you this letter to tell you about some of the adversities you might face when coming from Ashford, Kent to Abu Dhabi. First of all what will be a big change for you will be the weather here. It is fairly hot all the time and it barely rains. Not quite the same thing as the UK. Honestly telling from experience coming here abroad and studying in a new place, with a new culture and different languages and religions might be a shock for you, but you will adjust with time, just like I did. 

I am sure that you are used to your culture there, celebrating all the events and the food you eat and even how you dress. Everyone in your city being more or less the same like you. Well George, when you come to Abu Dhabi to attend Raha International School you will see so much diversity. It will overwhelming at first but you will learn to appreciate and learn from each and every culture. Here in the UAE we celebrate all the holidays you probably celebrate plus the Muslim ones. The people here really like to party, no wonder there is so many festive events. They are also very connected to their roots and culture and are very religious and spiritual. Something you need to keep in mind is that because there is so much diversity there are different religions and different beliefs but you have to respect them just like they will repeat you. Although the culture and religions you face here will be different, everyone speaks English which is an advantage for you but the locals’ mother tongue is Arabic therefore you will hear a lot of that.

In Raha there are more or less 74 different nationalities. There is a gigantic range of diversity in this school and you can learn something from each friend or teacher. When you arrive here you will have friends from all around the world. They will speak the same language as you but they might speak different languages with other people or at home. The good thing about the school is that they teach French, Spanish and Arabic if you are interested in learning a new language.

Furthermore the purpose of this letter is to inform and explain to you that when you come here you will be surrounded by different language and cultures. You need to be open minded about it and explore through the diversities. I am not advising you to forget about you culture and language but instead to try and learn new ones and find out the things you like and don’t like. Language plays a very important role in our lives, because it lets us communicate with one another. In Ashford, Kent you have been probably only exposed to English while here in Abu Dhabi people come from all around the world meaning that there will be many different languages within your surroundings. Being able to speak more than one language not only widens the vocabulary of a person but also it gives us the opportunity to express ourselves differently and to see through a different perspective. Knowing only English as a language will only give you one view on certain topics and issues. George once you come here in some way you will be deprived of many conversations and it will affect you in some ways because language is the main pillar in which our communication depends on. Furthermore to prevent this as soon as you get here, you could start taking a second language class in order to acquire a second point of view within languages and also to expand your ideas and vocabulary. 

 Your identity is a big part of this as well, because eventually you will not be the same George that lived in Ashford, Kent. In the contrary you will explore the world more and see different things therefore gaining a different perspective of life. Although I encourage you to be open minded and an explorer when you come here, I also believe that it is important to remember your roots and where you come from. Coincidentally enough, the majority of the Muslims here believe and perch that as well.