Welcome Alisha!!!

CRW_0900_RJ
Originally uploaded by intrus.

To welcome our first US Salaam trainee arriving in the UAE, we set up a little fun and games for her arrival. Here is the look on her face after she figured out what the $@%# was going on :).

So while she thought a group of AIESECers would be at the airport waiting for her arrival when in reality it was one individual in a kondura with a pencilled in sign written Alisha Lehr. He "spiik inglish fery well" and drove her around Dubai trying to communicate with what little Arabic she knew. Oddly enough she believed that a 22 year old kid was my driver, but we'll get into her gullibility later.

So he took her to a certain rendez-vous point where me and three others were waiting in two unmarked cars. We cut her off and grabbed the driver from the car and then approached her in the passenger side seat (which is what you see in the image above).

If you want to hear it in her words, I encourage it, but she was terribly tired from a nearly 24 hour trip and all she could think was, "I'm being abducted....oh G-d."

Above all, before you worry, safety was our first concern. We had many back up plans and options to give it all up. The driver is one of the outgoing Salaam SNs and everything was well prepared. Plus thanks to Frances' and Alisha's close association, I was made aware of her personality :). Amazing job team @UAE...both in planning and execution.