bucketlist

Photo courtesy of Student Life

Senior Spring Bucket List

Thirangie Jayatilake asks the Class of 2018 what they want to check off their bucket list before their final semester in Abu Dhabi ends.

The Class of 2018 is super busy these days: trying to finish capstone, trying to graduate, trying to find a job or waiting to hear back from graduate schools. While they await these results, here are some items that they want to check off their bucket list before their final semester ends.
  1. Bury a time capsule in the desert.
  2. Eat the traditional Emirati mandi.
  3. Get off campus more often. More midnight Coldstone trips and chai runs, more trips to the fish market and more waiting at random street curbs for a cab to show up.
  4. Do a student-led project.
  5. Attend an Emirati wedding.
  6. Run through the sprinklers on the highline. I know that this is usually done on the football field, but I’m a rebel.
  7. Find purpose.
  8. Go skydiving in Dubai.
  9. Go on another desert trip.
  10. Kayaking in the mangroves and picnicking in the sand.
  11. Fly a kite at Yas Beach.
  12. Have an impromptu dance session outside the library. Maybe a silent flash mob.
  13. Learn how to read and write in Arabic.
  14. Failing that, learn some words beyond yallah and habibi.
  15. Travel to another Gulf country.
  16. Taste Omani halwa while in Oman.
  17. Finally try the coffee with gold at the Emirates Palace.
  18. Wear a onesie to class.
  19. Figure out how to navigate the Arts Center.
  20. Master the public bus system. Inshallah.
  21. Try fasting during Ramadan. Iftar at the Grand Mosque sounds delicious.
  22. Go to a camel beauty contest.
  23. Make crop circles on the football field.
  24. Lead an Interactive Media tutorial.
  25. Learn more about Abu Dhabi culture. Living in the Saadiyat bubble means that sometimes we know more about the cultures of our study away sites than we do about Abu Dhabi.
  26. Get rich on student assistant salaries.
  27. After realizing that student assistants don’t actually make that much, sign up for an SSEL experiment.
  28. Make use of personal training at the gym.
  29. Make a list of NYU discounts in restaurants and make the most use of our NYU IDs.
  30. Learn a new instrument.
  31. Have as many jam sessions on the highline or in the dorm as possible.
  32. Try out new skills — take an Attitude class, learn some coding or foray into debating.
  33. Talk to people I haven’t talked to since freshman year.
  34. Eat healthy.
  35. Eat more carrot cake from Circle Cafe.
  36. Get a tan and visit every Emirate. In that order.
  37. Perfect those salsa moves.
  38. Finally become a social media influencer.
  39. Try more shawarmas in the city.
  40. Eat more Camel Cookies.
  41. Take more pictures with my friends before we are scattered all over the world. Again.
Thirangie Jayatilake is Features Editor. Email her at feedback@thegazelle.org.
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