The lofty rhetoric frequently used by NYU Abu Dhabi in promotional material, during candidate weekends and sprinkled throughout our classes and everyday interactions frequently becomes the butt of our jokes. While this happens consistently, sarcasm cannot wash over the influence of this rhetoric. We are part of a university, even if we pretend to be disinterested in such talk, which espouses cosmopolitan ideals.

This influence, which we sometimes choose to ignore, clearly inspires, or is at least in the back of the minds of, those of us who choose to travel during the breaks. The geographic position of the UAE near the convergence of three continents makes travel relatively cheap and easy, and I am truly grateful for the travel experiences I’ve had in just my first year. It seems, however, that we frequently travel carrying bits and pieces of this lofty rhetoric. Ideally, we would hope that in our community, we respect everyone’s opinion equally, that we feel comfortable being ourselves and that we at least attempt to understand the backgrounds and cultures of others. This becomes problematic when we seem to take these ideals outside of the bubble that is the NYUAD community and sometimes attempt to apply them or expect others to do the same. NYUAD is in most respects an ivory tower whose ideals do not exist in large amounts outside of its boundaries.

Whenever I hear of someone, myself included, discussing the idea of traveling to a place that is known for its instability — without being from or holding any connections to this place — I shudder at the arrogance. Many times it seems that, when these decisions are made, they are done so under the assumption, or delusion, that a certain cosmopolitan, accepting safety bubble will appear and protect the individual from harm. This comes from the privilege afforded us by NYUAD, but in reality, we cannot expect the same kind of nonchalant acceptance. When I hear of students’ close calls in these areas, I am glad they ended up safe, but I find it hard to muster sympathy when they enter areas with beliefs, justified or unjustified, formulated by centuries of culture and still seemingly expect them not to apply to themselves.

Just as difficult to understand is when we swoop into locations and expect clean, prepackaged, experiences that do not offend our cosmopolitan sensibilities or the life of physical comfort we live in Abu Dhabi. This seems to manifest itself particularly in places like India, where it is easy to seek out the Delhi, Agra, Jaipur route and come away with a much more digestible view than from somewhere like Mumbai. We become shocked when going in with certain assumptions and meet a different reality on the ground. This happened to me two hours into a bus ride where only standing room was available. My travel companions and I struck up a conversation with the man standing next to us, and after learning that this was part of his daily commute, our whinging seemed a bit absurd.

Travel can be a great chance to see other parts of the world and have new experiences, but coming from a privileged position, we need to unpack the different privileges and mindsets we are afforded by our university.