It’s my final day of work, the weeks always seem to be shorter here as you never really get used to Friday and Saturday being the weekend! I’m getting ready for my final meeting with Mohammad to review my placement and I’m looking forward to receiving some feedback and advice.
This week has seen the beginning of Ramadan which has been very interesting to experience. We’ve missed spending our lunches with our friend and colleague Aisha as she is fasting. Most people work shorter hours during Ramadan, including those who aren’t fasting which has been useful for getting last minute shopping at the malls before we go home and having more time in the evenings. On Monday we went for dinner in Al Quasr at MJ’s (a steakhouse) with Karima and Peter's supervisor, who it was nice to finally meet. Being a vegetarian I wasn’t sure this was going to be one of my favourite restaurants however it was a wonderful evening with great company and surprisingly good food too, with surprisingly good veggie alternatives.
It’ll be sad saying all our goodbyes today as we’ve been made so welcome here and have been so well looked after. We’ve already said farewell to the Bytes staff-who have continuously kept us well fed and always brightened up our days with their smiles and friendliness. Now the internship experience is nearly over I’m getting ready for another mini-adventure before returning home to Scotland. I feel like it has gone by so quickly but at the same time it seems I’ve been here forever from the amount I’ve learned.
Tonight I’ll be returning to Sri Lanka to catch up with the children and staff in the orphanage where I’ve spent a lot of time over the years doing voluntary work. I’m expecting some major culture shock moving straight from the extravagant Dubai lifestyle to staying in the orphanage (it will be a bit more basic!)! I cannot wait though; it will be an extremely busy next 10 days!
Once again I’d like to thank everyone at Saltire and Jumeirah who enabled us to have this amazing experience and I look forward to catching up with everyone soon. Also a thank you to Peter and Beth, its been great to share so many Dubai adventures with you both (and a lot of pic-n-mix!) J

