‘Ukhruj (get out, leave, break out, go, take off)

It took me a while to decide on the column’s title. I asked almost everyone I knew. Some of my friends suggested puns such as Rev(oo)d by Jood and Jood and the City. Others suggested I go generic: Exploring Abu Dhabi. I finally settled on ‘Ukhruj, an Arabic imperative verb, which means get out. It served my purpose; I am writing this column because I am disappointed that people aren’t exploring Abu Dhabi, because this campus is constraining and isolating. I am writing this column to convince you, the people of NYU Abu Dhabi, to break out of the bubble.

I wanted to tailor my first piece to student needs: affordable and enjoyable. So, here it goes, my take on what Abu Dhabi city has to offer.

Have a barbecue on the Corniche.

I know getting out of bed is uncomfortable and leaving campus is just downright intimidating, but I promise you if you put pants on and suffer the walk to the Welcome Center, a gracious cab driver will offer to drive you to the city. If not then the university-funded shuttle buses go to the Corniche Gate 4 five times a day. Yes, there are five free buses to this one destination a day. Take one.

The Corniche is a central part of the city; it not only hosts a variety of cafes, restaurants, hotels and their respective bars and clubs, but also provides a wide range of open spaces for outdoor activities. There is a bike lane, beaches and my absolute favorite: the parks. There are five parks along the length of the Corniche: the Heritage Park, the Formal Park, the Lake Park, the Family Park and the Al Khubeirah Park.

For our barbecue, my friends and I went to the Family Park located near the Landmark Building.

Photo by Jood Shiqem/The Gazelle

This park hosts a theater, a bike hire service, a skateboard rink, several playgrounds, a football field and a basketball court. Aside from these, the park is adorned with gazebos.

The gazebos offer shelter from the sun, a table, enough bench space for around ten people and preinstalled public grills. It’s a beautiful setting that overlooks a small green area and the city lights on one side and the water on the other — admittedly, the highway gets in the way. The great thing about picnics is that you get to control everything, from food to ambiance to price. Now is the perfect time to go as well, before the scorching heat stops you from going outside. I know sometimes Abu Dhabi feels like a ghost town, but the park is actually full of couples sitting in foldable chairs on the grass, loud children running around the swings and families relaxing on the benches.

Barbecues actually take a lot of planning, and if you’ve never organized one it could be a little overwhelming.

To save you the trouble of stressing over it, I’ve taken the liberty of listing exactly what you’ll need to do:

a) Veal cubes, marinated in salt, pepper, chilli garlic olive oil

b) Chicken tikka masala, marinated in yoghurt, chilli, salt and pepper — also available ready made at Lulu

c) Italian garlic chicken and lemon chicken

d) Mushroom salad, with garlic salt, pepper, lots of lemon and parsley

e) Kidney bean salad, with salt, lots of lemons and fresh red chili

f) Vegetable skewers — onions, tomatoes, bell peppers

g) Small potatoes filled with cheese — split the potato open, fill it with cheese or        butter, wrap in aluminum foil, and place over grill

h) Pickled everything

Maybe you didn’t know that there were parks in the city, maybe you did but never bothered to go out and see them, maybe you just don’t like parks, but this is just one of the things that you can do in Abu Dhabi. Honestly, there’s so much out there, and it’s all just fifteen minutes away. I’m going to try my best to suggest places to go to and things to do, but this column does not do the city justice. ‘Ukhruj, leave campus, and explore what has been, is and will be your home for four years.