Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Dubai

My internship in Dubai was an amazing experience, and when it comes to the quality of the internship; I felt I was a real art director instead of an intern. I highly recommend it. TBWA\RAAD is about 200 people including the PR and interactive branches of the agency, and is located in a brand new office building right next to the tallest building in the world: the Burj Dubai. Despite the small size of the agency, there are 27 nationalities here, and the people are all very friendly and cool. My creative director was American, extremely cool, and hilarious. We quickly became friends.

The city, and the agency, are mostly made up of a mix of Indian, Lebanese, Australian, and British people.There are very few Americans anywhere. This is mostly because Americans have misguided perceptions about Dubai and the Middle East. Dubai has been rated the safest place in the world for several years and there is essentially zero crime there. I’ve never felt safer in my entire life, and I feel less safe in my suburban hometown in Michigan, than I did in Dubai. The agency is very bright and colorful, and even has a small basketball court which doubles as a meeting room with grandstand seating.  There is also an area with big windows, fake grass, and beanbag chairs where you can brainstorm and conduct meetings called "The Garden." Definitely the coolest office I’ve ever seen by a long shot.

There is a convenience store, and several restaurants just downstairs, and you usually don’t leave the building for lunch because it is surrounded by construction. It is not pedestrian-friendly. The first day we were there we got 2 or 3 briefs, and throughout the quarter we were usually very busy. Most of the time the stuff we worked on was for big clients or for important pitches, which was very exciting. The work can’t get too racy because it is in an Islamic country, but they are still very open to creativity. It was fascinating to get a completely different perspective on the world even though much of Dubai is very Westernized or Americanized.

The workweek is Sunday-Thursday because Friday is the Islamic holy day. (which takes some getting used to) I highly recommend taking Emirates airlines if at all possible, it will make the 13 hour flight feel like 5 hours. Also, take the afternoon flight instead of the night flight, it will be much less crowded. I briefly hung out with Ja Rule on my flight there, and he even showed me his $12,000 first private cabin. The agency put us up in a very nice yet modest hotel close to the office and we took a taxi to and from work everyday, but luckily taxis are extremely cheap in Dubai and you don’t have to tip. There’s no microwave or mini-fridge in the hotel room, and you can order room service or go out every night, or there is fast food within walking distance from the hotel.

The state of the art subway system is scheduled to be done soon, and might even be open by the time new interns arrive there, which is good because traffic in Dubai is horrendous. There is construction everywhere you look and 70% of the cranes in the world are in Dubai.  It can be a bit dusty in the city but nothing unbearable. It’s quite hot out year round, especially between April and September, when it’s usually over 100 degrees and humid.

You will encounter many new cultural things that I could go on and on about, but overall it feels like you are living in an Islamic version of America or South Beach. There is an over abundance of wealth and prosperity, and there are plenty of giant malls, skyscrapers, hotels and beaches. All bars have to be located in or connected to hotels by law so be prepared to spend a lot when you go out. The nightlife is pretty good but don’t plan on going out very often on weekdays. For any ladies worried about not being taken seriously in Dubai because of Islamic tradition, don’t worry about that at all. The women in the agency are treated the same as they would be in any office in Europe or America. You just have to dress slightly more conservative.  Don’t pack more than a pair or two of shorts because you’ll want to wear jeans or pants most of the time out of respect.

For anyone who gets accepted for the internship I would just recommend getting a book (Time Out or Lonely Planet) about Dubai and the UAE so that you can be in touch with the cultural differences, and get a good feel for the city before you even get there.  As you can see, I could go on and on about my experiences there and it was definitely a life-changing 3 months that I’ll never forget. Also, I traveled to Egypt and Jordan after the quarter was over, and I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing my experiences there were. I highly, highly suggest going to those two countries if you have the means to after your internship is over. 

Here is a link to a site with my pictures of Dubai, Oman, Egypt, and Jordan:
http://gallery.me.com/keeeysh