Hola de Lisboa!

I’m going to be admit something. I wikipedia’d the Lisbon Portela Airport almost immediately after my flight landed. Apparently, it is one of the largest airports in Southern Europe. Chastise me for trusting wikipedia if you want but I wanted some perspective after landing in the middle of a major (and ancient) European city.

This landing was in some ways a preview of the city that I have experienced in the first week: the same streets that are lined with elaborate Catholic churches are tagged with graffiti advocating anarchy.

Here’s another wikipedia fact that I’ve found important trying to orient myself in the physical and cultural layout of Lisbon: a massive earthquake destroyed most of the ancient Roman fortress city in 1755, and when planners decided to build again they built away from the remaining castle. Each major hill and valley of Lisbon’s skyline is the result of a new era’s architectual innovation: the 20th c. work is furthest from the castle, 19th c. work a little closer, etc. Each hill/valley area is home to a v. different type of neighborhood.

I’ll stop lecturing now, and get exploring.

More pictures can be found at my blog: http://meardley.wordpress.com

Thesis Research in Dubai

Having already spent a semester abroad in savvy Tokyo, Japan, I would have originally found it difficult to write about any other city so soon after my experience there. Clearly, as an Urban Studies major, I should have known otherwise.

For my senior year I chose to write my thesis in conjunction with the International Topics seminar, a class of about ten people writing about cities all over the world. Because we have such a small number of students, and most other Urban Studies seniors choose to write about issues closer to home, there is a sizable sum of money available to give to students conducting international research. Barnard students specifically can receive grants up to $750. Naturally, with such a discount, I scrambled during midterms to put together a research trip that would take over the majority of my winter break after the New Year.

My thesis topic is a historical analysis concerning the implications of oil discovery on the social dynamics, industry, and infrastructure in Dubai during three distinct time periods: 1900-1955, 1955-1970, and 1970-present. While here I’m mainly looking for information on social dynamics; there are ample reports available on the city’s astounding growth patterns and mind-blowing infrastructural development. I can at this point confirm that the buildings are indeed mind-blowing, and have not failed to shatter my excessively high expectations of the city. However, that is not to say that Dubai does not have its fair share of urban problems, no matter how unique of a city it is.

Due to numerous foreign growth strategies, including the hugely successful commercial free zones (allowing easy set-up for corporations with zero-to-no taxes and the potential for 100% foreign ownership), lax immigration laws, and a high quality of life, the city has exploded only in the past fifteen years. Companies from all over the world have set up headquarters in the city, creating new jobs and bringing an enormous amount of capital into Dubai. That being said, the city has literally sprawled along the Persian Gulf and into the desert. It is not possible to walk between most neighborhoods; tourists take taxis when they cannot walk to their destinations, and thousands of commuters (mainly from Sharjah, which has a much lower cost of living) have no choice but to drive every morning and night, creating tremendous traffic congestion. The city desperately needs a commuter rail to alleviate this problem.

Aside from an improved public transportation agenda, which is in danger of being stigmatized even before construction, the city also suffers from an unstable population demographic. Although Dubai has experienced immigration for hundreds of years, the most recent influx has been so overwhelming that a mere 10% represents native Dubai locals. They rarely mix with the expatriate population, and generally keep separate without acknowledging the severe cultural clash. It is an odd feeling to hear the sounds of the five-times-daily Salah begin at 5AM knowing that there are so few that actually follow Islam. This is not to say that other foreign Arabs do not practice their religious faith, but the numbers are still small in comparison to those that do not.

Dubai is an incredible city; few will deny that. With still a week left to explore, I am confident that I will still agree by the end of it. However, it is not a flawless city-planning model by any means, and future planners should not let Dubai’s incredible jagged skyline and extravagant tourist attractions mask this fact.

Written by Katie Magiera, BC’ 09

Allow me to introduce myself…

… because evidently I forgot to in my introductory post. I’m Courtney Chin and normally I’m a proud student of Columbia College (class of 2010), but for this Fall 2008 semester I’m studying abroad at the University of Melbourne in Australia. The university is absolutely huge: it has nearly 35,000 students, and like Columbia, has several different schools within it: the school of design, of the arts, of engineering, of law, etc. Unlike Columbia, however, students could actually study law or medicine as undergraduates up until this past year, when they switched to the “Melbourne Model,” which is basically modeled after the American system of a more liberal arts undergraduate focus and then professional focus in graduate years. Established in 1853, the campus is absolutely enormous compared to our dear little one (walking to class might actually take more than five minutes), but the buildings are just as beautiful.

the quad within the Old Arts building

The university is based on the British system, meaning that it also has eleven affiliated colleges within it. Whereas in the States, a college is just an undergraduate school, it means something quite different here. A college is actually a residential community– sizes vary, some have only 60 members whereas the largest have about 350– where students not only live but also have a dining hall, library, rec center, etc., and also have their own sports teams and other such clubs. Think Harry Potter. My college is called Queen’s College, home to about 200 students, most of whom are all Australian– I believe there are 8 exchange students.

the view from my window

Living in college is truly unlike anything I’ve ever imagined– it’s almost like the sorority experience I never thought I wanted, but it is all kinds of lovely. The community is so tight-knit; everybody knows each other’s names and says hello when they see you on campus, everybody hangs out in the quad together and takes all their meals together, and everybody parties together. The college actually sponsors things called “turns,” which are basically themed drunken fiascos (like bling or childhood fears) where at the end of the night each year’s song (there are only first, second, and third year residents) gets played and then we all recite the Queen’s College chants. We also have a GC, or General Committee, which is like a student governing board that hosts a general meeting open to the entire college once a semester, where freshers aren’t allowed to speak– and if they do, they get thrown in the shower with their clothes. Whenever a sports team wins a grand final match, we spoon bang, which isn’t nearly as dirty as it sounds… it really is just banging our spoons on the table in the dining hall for an obscenely long time until our hands hurt, the spoons are bent, and the tables are missing significant chunks. Although Columbia is over a century older than Queen’s, the traditions that Queen’s has give the college such a unique character in comparison.