Walking to the Burj Khalifa!

Last week I arrived in Dubai. Desperately in need of a change of scene, my family and I packed are bags and decided to take advantage of online school. We plan to stay here for just over two weeks, and in that time, I’m really excited to explore and learn about this city!

As I’m sure most of you know, Dubai is home to the tallest building in the world. And my sister, (who we are staying with) lives quite close to it! So last night we all took her dog for a long walk all the way up to the base of the building, where there is a large park. Slightly sweaty, we plopped down on the grass and chatted for a while, facing a small body of water. Suddenly, music blared from unseen speakers, and the the water began to move! It was the famous Burj fountain show that I’d heard all about! We got up and ran as close as we could to the fountain. Standing still and completely mesmerized, we watched the water dance and sway to the music. It really was a fantastic sight.

Later, we rented out an electric scooter, and rode that around the area. It was a bit challenging at first, but with a little bit of support from my family, I soon got the hang of it, and was racing around at full speed! Unfortunately, we had to head back before long. Since we are 1.5 hours behind Sri Lanka in time, my brother and I have to wake up at 6 to get ready for school, which means going to bed a little earlier! But the walk back was lots of fun, and the night was filled with the chatter and laughter of my family.

Learning Outcomes:

5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively – We all helped each other out when we were riding the electric scooters! Without each member of the family running alongside and cheering on the person on the scooter, none of us would have been able to learn so fast!

7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions – The Burj area was full of cars, most of them very fancy, and only a few of them electric. By choosing to walk to the fountain show instead of drive, we reduced our carbon footprint and the emissions in the air that night.