During Abu Dhabi J Term, NYU Students Embark on Immersive Global Adventures: Part One

The only requirement for Professor Shady Amin’s Abu Dhabi J Term course, An Ocean Voyage? Lack of seasickness! The course took place aboard the OceanXplorer as it cruised the Indian Ocean. The high-tech scientific vessel is designed to explore and share information about the world’s least explored areas. Professor Amin hoped to expose students to ocean research, showing them how we examine, understand, and communicate the ocean’s critical role amid climate change. 

“There’s an opportunity for students to do experiential learning when they’re on a ship,” says Professor Amin. “They’re learning things I would never be able to teach them if I was in a classroom.” While some students used sonar data to map a section of the sea floor, others examined phytoplankton samples. Still others utilized the ship’s state-of-the-art media equipment to document the experience aboard.

“For 10 days, I lived an adventure I thought only happened in novels,” says Alessia Piacitelli, a senior Economics major. “From discussing research on the bridge with incredible scientists to working on seabed rendering and collecting samples with the NASA team, it was an extraordinary experience. Most importantly, it made me think deeply about my generation’s impact on the ocean as well as why protecting it is essential for both the present and future.”

For ten delicious days, students in Professor Jonathan Shannon’s Abu Dhabi J Term course Mediterranean Foodways: Cuisine, Culture, Sustainability immersed themselves in food. They traveled to Florence, Italy, to explore culinary attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

“Italy is a fascinating case study of transformation and sustainability,” says Professor Shannon. “I thought it would be great to introduce students to the challenges of sustainable agriculture and eating in the 21st century in the context of culinary traditions.” 

Students visited food markets, an olive oil production facility, a traditional biscuit manufacturer, and an agricultural research institute. They also took a memorable pasta-making lesson where local chefs taught them how to mix, knead, and shape dough. “Working alongside Professor Shannon and my classmates felt like more than just a class. It was a collective celebration of food,” says Aysha AlMheiri, a junior majoring in Social Research and Public Policy.

For their main assignment, students created an interactive story map exploring a specific food culture in Florence. The completed maps represented a range of cuisines from Chinese and Halal restaurants to Sicilian foods, tiramisu, coffee, and chocolate. “This course showed me that food and drinks have the unique power to unify people across cultures,” says Aysha. “Cuisine transcends borders, languages, and differences. Overall, it made me deeply reflect on my sense of identity and how food has played a role in shaping it.”

In Professor Saman Hussain’s Abu Dhabi J Term course Being Here, students traveled to Nepal to practice spiritual and simplistic living. They visited monasteries, embarked on silent hikes, practiced yoga, and heard lectures from representatives of different spiritual traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. What’s more, they embarked on a digital cleanse, wore a limited wardrobe, and engaged in daily meditation.

“This course provides students with an experience of the daily life of mystics and monks committed to ascetic ways of being,” describes Professor Hussain. “Through experiential inquiry and intercultural encounters, students enter an intentional way of life. They have the rare opportunity to embody the timeless spiritual maxim, be in the world but not of it.’”

Airin Haque, a junior Electrical Engineering major, says the presence of mind she gained during Being Here was life-changing. “In the busy and distracting world we live in, we often forget who we really are,” she explains. “This course helped us pause, reflect, and find peace within.”

Above all, living in the Nepalese mountains with a view of the Himalayas was Airin’s favorite part of the course. “We hiked, had picnics at the summit, and watched the sunset in complete stillness,” she says. “The combination of silence, nature, and deep support from my classmates made it one of the most healing times of my life.”