Offscreen Expedition 2007

Flying home. watching films (Robert Altman’s last film, “Prairie Home Companian” in particular) has made me feel emotional (in a good way) and refective. My experience over the past 12 days has inspired me beyond words and my memory of this journey will fuel my work long into the future. I feel so priveledged to have shared this journey with our 9 young explorers and 3 outstanding teachers and the network of supporters and friends who have helped us along the way. It is so clear how valuable this has been for everyone involved (me included) and the inner smiles and pride are palpable.

The people involved in this expedition have made me so proud. It is life affirming and energising to see the spirit of humanity and possiblity in people from different cultural, religious and economic backgrounds as they have risen to the considerable challenges of the expedition. Listening to them speak at last night’s celebration and reading their blogs I realise how transformative their physical and inner journeys have been. They have grown in confidence and knowledge, and seem less cynical and more self assused than when we set off. Preconceptions of the Middle East, or Arab World or Gulf or Arabian Penninsula or Islamic World (whatever us adults want to tag it) have been challenged and the power of first hand experience has filled them with motivation to communicate to their peers.

It is now Offscreen’s job to support our expedition family, help them turn their experience into resources which can be used in schools accross the country and work with eachother to grow our community at a grass roots level.

 We are a strong unit now and we look forward to taking this forward, with a shared vision.

A bus load of Offscreen love to you all. Stephen

dayuum can’t believ wer cumin bak home todaii i’ve had soo much fun eventhough it was a lot of hard work i jus can’t seem to get my head around the last 12 daiiz evrything we’ve done all the people we’ve met just the whole experience it’s been so overwhelming….

a litl summink summink frm me….

we started this expedition jus going with the flow,

but the truth was just to take it slow,

cherish every moment,

not only as a trip but as a famo,

it’s been a life changing experience,

something schools don’t do without reason,

offscreen came on a mission,

just to say we can turn on the ignition,

cos this mission is complete in the UAE

now it’s all about cumin bak and doin our own thing

proving to evry1 what’s right from wrong

and how simple things are accomplished without making life long

leave out the media

these daizz it’s all about what we do through our own eyes

and OFFSCREEN HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT THE LIES…..

if onli we cud stay out here 4eva but the truth is we have to get bak to our own lives bak in london and so we end this great journey and cum bak with the most life changing experience I have ever had…..luv ya and the offscreen team and evry1 for making this happen…….xxxxxx

well… right now i’m on the plane going back to london. I actually don’t know weather to be happy or sad, mixed emotions. It been a great experience these 12 days, and as everyday went by it got better and better. I’m going to miss the drivers that we had back in Oman as they made the jurnye more interesting and fun. And most off all im going to miss everybody from the team, it’s been great fun getting to meet new people and just working with them. I can go on for age as we have got 4 hours left of the flight but i think i’ll stop here.

Many thanks  to all the people who made this possible.

Bye Bye…Julson

Day 12

Well Well what can i say! im just on the emirates plane now heading back to London.Im reminiscing on the entire journey.Its been such a unbelieveble experience,ive met alot of great people in my life but the Middle East is not what i expected it to be.Before the project began I was very curious and very suspicious because of my background i thought maybe there will be alot of conflict,tension and even rascism.Its completely the opposite.The people of the Middle East are the most friendliest ive ever met.What’s shocking is how friendly,kind and generous they are and will do anything just to help but dont expect you to give anything in return.Ive also learnt about myself personally and how have changed in the last 12 days.What ive learnt the most is to appreciate things more because they way we were treated was like celebrities and I think that we were spoilt by the activities ,the people we met and the places we visited.Also to rely less on time and to  just let things flow.Unlike london the Middle East is less busy and the people take their time in things they do.

Wow! I cant believe how everthing has gone so quick but im gonna miss everyone very much.I think we all have built up a strong relationship within the team.We started the expedition as friends but now we are a family.I believe the future is bright and I wish everyone all the best.

Thank you for all the,people,the sponsors and anyone ive forgotten that made this whole journey possible and a special special thanks to Marjan your’e the best!.Stephen and Jamie thank you for the holiday i needed it!

And the OFFSCREEN TEAM thx for an amazing time,I love you guys!

:( it was so sad leavin Oman 2dai..i’ve grown to love the area, culture and the people. its been a gr8 expedition but now i have to go back home and share my experience with everyone. my best moment was duning over the desert..it was an unforgetable ride. waking up this morning made me realise how lucky i am cummin to the middle-east. i’ve made great friends here..and i love dem to bits.

i jus wanna thank all our sponsors.  i will NEVER 4get this trip. im so proud of myself and cant w8 to explain to people what the middle-east is really about.. i cant wait to see my friends. but  one person i  really wanna see  is my mum:D

well  this experience has taught me alot.  its been AMAZING ( only offscreen ppl no wat dat meanz..lolzz).

thanks to ms Oouzer, jamie, barney and steven hu were wonderful and made this trip so liveeee

x x x cant w8 to see everyone

heya, well its the last day unfourtunatly.  im gna miss this soooo much and i realy dont wna go id rather stay in Oman, i would like 2 say a HUGE  Thank u 2 every one who helped organise the trip in dubai,oman and britain and i would  also like to give the biggest thank to the OFFSCREEN TEAM  which is radhika,samira,govana,lucy,ashia,fahad,julson,sam,regan and Jamie, Steven and Barney  and HABIB

gna miss u all soooo much xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Today was the last day which sucks! None of us want to go home everrr! This morning we went to visit a princess called Virginia who was realy friendly and she treated us to a trip on a glass bottom boat around the coast! It was really fun and although we didnt see too much underwater (apart from the odd cucmber fish and other colourful ones!), it was really nice to just be out in the ocean and relax!  After that we went to have lunch at a 5 star hotel called the grand hyatt! the food was SOOO good. i have never seen so many puddings in my life…mmmmmmm. Radhika  also came to see us there which was really cool because we werent sure if we were gonna be able to see her! However, we also found out then that she was getting an early flight home tonight which was sad because we all wanted her to stay for the last night..she was really upset too! When we got back to the house after a nice stroll along the beach, the chaos began and we started to pack and make the house look tidy(which was tough! hehe) In the evening we had our goodbye party which was soo nice because all the people we met throughout the trip turned up to say bye and look at our art work!! sam and reagon then performed the official offscreen song which was really good(should go to number one!) just before radhika and ashia left for their plane. That was upsetting and everyone had tears in their eyes! But we caried on enjoying the rest of the evening and when we said our goodbyes, we all sat down in the living room and had a chat and shared presents which was assome!! It was the perfect end to the perfect trip!THE END! x

day 12, flight to heathrow

I cant say much other than were all

upset about leavinf one of the most beutifull

places in the world.

On this expedition we have found out the

the middle east is not all about war, terror

and conflict but is mostly about a modern city

rising out of the sand and a country filled

with kind, generous and helpfull people, with out

the emiraties and omanies this expedition would

have been any normal trip abroad but thanks to

everyone this expedition has been a truly amazing

and an unfirgettable expeience.

Im gonna enjoy sleeping on my flight so ill blog later hoprfully.

Bye

PS:every1 make sure you keep in touch!!!!!!!!

heya

2day we went to the Omani school 4 girls. We then went to the omani british council to paint a big mural where the omani students teamed up with the british students to create our own ideas of britain and oman, after we had cleared up we alldecided to visit Radz in the Hotel she was staying at because she had fractured her tail bone we wnt to the souq and bought a couple of gifts >.<

then we had a bbq which me and the other girls had organised we decided to have n the front garden lol with the help of Habbib the nicest guy you could ever meet and were all gna miss him loadz and loadz

byeeeeeeee [xxxx]

day 11 was the final day of offscreen work so we teamed up with oman…ey kids and did two big paintings for the british embassey, one was of there impression on london and ours was of oman thhhheeeeeennn we visited radical and she was moochoes tired but on the mend from her broken ass bone. AAAFFFTTTEERRRR TTTHHAAAATTTTT we had a last visit to the suique… suke… suikie? ….. market which was as confusing as ever but pretty cool. when we got back Habib (the most awesome driver ever) gave us little gifts to say thanks and he was pretty upset that we were going SO we all gave him a big Habib hug and then had a BBQ which was nice.

THE END …almost.

Day 11

We went to visit an Omani school for boys.As we arrived there were a big group of children dressed up in army clothes.They werre standing in ttwo rows and as we entered they said a salut to greet us.This was very unusual for me but it made me feel quite special because they went through all the hassle to make us feel welcome.We also met up with the students that we worked with in mosque.TThey showed us some of their art work and it was of very high standard.Most of the work i saw had a theme of drugs running through out.

What i enjoyed most was the small entertainment they had for us in the music department.There were two kids playing a traditional song on the keyboard.This inspired me to get up and show them my stuff! so played I improvised a little something on the keyboard.We then heard a song from an Omani stude

Today we started by going to a girls school which was really nice. Everything was really clean and spacious, the opposite to our school at home hehe. Then we met up with the omani students again at the british council to make 2 murals; one to represet oman and one to represent britain. At first everything was a bit chaoctic and i didnt think it would work well because it was sometimes a bit hard to communicate with the omani students and tell them our ideas but everythinbg seemed to pull together at the end and it looked pretty awesome!! After that we went to see how radhika was doing! she seemed pretty okay..but bored!!(she had to spend the day with jamies bad jokes hehe) Then we decided to go to the Souq to buy some souvenirs and have a look around for some little bits n bobs! After that we had a BBQ in our front gardeny area that Habib cooked for us which was yummy! and thats about it!! I cant believe we only have one day left..that sucks!! im gonna miss it here so much! toodlepip x

hiya,

Well, we woke up around 7:00 and were meant to have breakfast at 7:30. But this was a bit hard for me. I couldn’t get up. My back was hurting from the game i played yesterday, so later on around 9:30, i was taken to hospital to get x-rays done 4 my back.It was fractured! lol. But im fine.i was then taken to a really posh hotel 2 rest. So many kind people helped me . I must say, it was with the help of Jamie (thanks). The hotel is real nice. That’s it for today.

good night

radhika

Hi de Hi!

Well today was full of dramas! we woke up to find Radhika couldn’t move, which was worrying!! so she had to go to  hospital with Jamie where they did an X-ray and found out that she had a fractured tail bone!!  dun dun dunnn! Thats the last time she tries to climb over a rope! But we all miss her and it has’t been the same without her today, although she does get to stay in a hotel tonight so we’re all a tiny bit jealous of that hehe. Anyway, today we left the wahiba sands camp which was sad because it was such a nice place to stay and it was so cool just waking up to the red sand and blue skies! Our first stop was for lunch which was yummy..chicken and chips! hehe and there was an amazing view across oman to add to that! Then we went to a place called Masifa which is a little village that took over 900 years to build, it was so peaceful there and the scenery was really beautiful so we spent a couple of hours sketching! After that we started our journey back to our base house in Muscat where everyone fell asleep..until our Car tyre exploded! it wasnt just a small puncture it was a  masive rip..argh!But we all survived! Then we got to pizza hut yummmyyyy! everyone was awake then! After that we arrived back home and had to say goodbye to our drivers which was sad becuase they were all soo funny and friendly and we miss them already!! Anyway best stop rambling!! byeeee  x

I  can’t believe this was the last dai in the wahiba sands it seems so hard to explain to people back home that we’ve been living in sand! since the last 2 daiz no1 will ever quite be able to understand what the offscreen team have been through not only as a group but individualy 2……..

so we woke up to anova daii of sunshine and heat…we set out in our 4×4 for the last time it was emotional we somehow managed to hook ourselves to cars they were part of our lives the time we were in the camp….

we set out in groups to go the town of misfah which was in the mountains….to be honest it didn’t look so nice in the beginning but it was when we looked deep inside the town and saw the water fall..which showed us a real insight to what this town was about..it was amazing a real highlighting experience of what oman is all about…..

after working in misfah for about 2 and a half hours we set off away from the wahiba and the mountains back home to muskat it was an emotional journey leaving this part of what seemed to have set in our hearts over a really shot time but I have to say living in the desert and camping out had to be one of the best experiences ever especially as me and lucy attempted to climb a dune right to the top which was practically impossible but we made it up and back down….

HAPPY TO BE BAK HOME IN MUSKAT AND LOOKING FORWARD 2 A GD NYTIE SLEEP I S’POSE BIG DAI 2MA I GUESSS !!! :)))))))

Well…Today has been the most tiring day so far, i say that because we done about 6 hours driving  and for some reason i couldent sleep in the car haha. Well we visited this place called Misfa, It was high in the mountains and it looked like the flibnstones haha, but it was really beautiful. When you first see the area it looks dead and just uninviting, but whebn you walk deeper in it shows it’s real colours; it felt like paradise. we did a Few art pieces whilst there. And then embrased ourself for the long journey back to Muscat. But we had ‘Pizza Hut’ on the way so that was a bonus.

Bye Bye

ermm 2day we left the desert and i miss it already. its been gr8 living in the desert. today was another calm day we went to the mountains and did 4 sketches of the village. i think i did good because i really concentrated on my work. we have 3 days left and im going to miss here. the drivers are so nice. although im gonna miss here im gonna be glad to see my sisters and friends and  my MUM :D

byee tc

ps: mum can u plz buy me chicken and chipz wen i get back  lmao!!

day 10, 2 days 2 go

Today we were in the car for about 7 hours travelling

from places 2 places visiting a small town called misfa.

We the headed for the mountains for several kodak moments

.

The most enjoyable part of da day was probably going

on the mountains, It was boiling ut probably the most beutifull

thing iv seen in my life. The view from the top was stunning! and

every man and women ought to check it out.

in misfa we where told to do several drawings of the landscape from

different views.

We finished the day with a pizza(makes a change from chicken n rice

4 every meal during our 10 day stay)

We have just had 2moros mission brief and will now head of to bed coz

we all have 2 b awake by 6.

Im probably wont b able 2 finish dis blog because im 2 ti

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

   heya

sorry i didnt write yesterday but i was so busy. we went driving in the desert over the sand dunes it was the best part of the trip ever when we saw the turtles it was nothing compared. we also saw the sun set that was the absoulutly spectacular once again it was nothing compared to antything seen before we found a lizard in the desert it moved so fast. But today we woke up at about 6:00am and we left at 9:00 to go straight to the souq,buti was’nt therir for most of it because i had to go to the doctors because i had a infection in my top ear piearcing.                                                                                                                               we then went to luch at a resturant where we had chips finally because we’ve been living off of chicken and rice for the past 8 days lol.                                                                               after that we came back to the new camp where staying at (which is in the desert and its called Al Areesh were staying in some type of hut which is so much better than staying at Tiwi Beach because it has actual beds),then jamie made up a game which was quite fun lol not the best though lol .                                                                                                                      after that we got a lecture from a man called Steven Fryburger  about the geology of the desert which was quite interesting. and that was about it you’ll have to watch the videos to see everything else that happened lol.

     Byyyyeeeeeeee  [xxx]                                                 

today was a calm day. we visited a market. in the market, people were selling goats and camels, and the women was selling things to me.  after that we visited a budwin house. it was interesting to find out about people.

we came back to camp and we had a workshop. a artist came to visit us and talk to us. it was really interesting.

today was very nice

luv everyone xxxxxxxx

luv u mama

Day 9

Out of all the days ive spent in the middle east,today has been the most interesting in terms of the  people [beduwins].We first went to Sinal Souk which is a market.Here we saw the way the locals make their money but what i noticed was how everybody dressed.95% of the Omani men wore white dish-dashers and cap[looks like a turbin] and it was the first time i got to see the women in one place.They also wore dish-dashers with bright colours but some had black on and they wore a black face-mask which symbolised a bird.

In the market most of the shops were owned by men and the women had stalls outside.There were alot of goldsmiths stores and the things were selling were mostly for women.There were fruit and vegetable stalls and they even sold live animals such as camels and goats.They people were very friendly and made feel welcome as soon as you stepped in the shop,this made me feel respected even though they may seem to see us as a tourist.

We visted a beduwin family in the desert and we had an informal interview with them.They explained the reasons why they live in the desert.All of the Offscreen team asked questions and the answers we got was translated for us because the Beduwin people couldnt speak English.I never realised that there were people living in the desert but the striking thing was the fact that they seemed so happy and it just makes me appreciate them even more because i think that they are very strong people and kind.

so another big dai for the offscreen troop…still camping in the wahiba sands which was just so amazing WE SLEPT ON BEDS but ofcourse that doesn’t matter……then we went to the suk not sure how to spell it but it’s another word for a market…they had so many shops which was so interesting to see this one big culture spread it’s wings in so many ways and just experiencing their way of life and how they spend every day life compared to what we do in england…

it was so similiar to your average green street market but it had this omanian feel to it which made it all the more special…

after lunch yeey i’ve learnt to appreciate chips so much don’t know what I would do without it….

we went to se a bedoin house don’t know how to spell that either it was kind of fun asking him so many questions and learning about his way of life and how the bedoins cope with living in the heat of the wahiba sands….

one quote from me today……DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER..THE WAHIBA SANDS ARE DIAMONDS WHICH TOUCH THE HEART OF EVERY MAN EVER LAYED FOOT ON IT………

XXXX

Yet again today was fun! We got up early at half 6 and left to go to the souq market to sketch the people there which was nice because it had a real selection of things like jewellery, fish, figs, electrical, repairs and so on! It also had a nice atmosphere and the locals were really interested in what we were doing. After that we went for lunch and today was the first whole day without chicken and rice!! I guess i kind of missed it hehe. Then we headed off to see a few Bedouin guys and we asked them about their way of life which was really interesting! It was only about a 5 minute drive from our camp so we went back and spent the next part of the afternoon talking to Steve Fryburger who’s a geologist and artist and told us some useful tips! So then we went off for a couple of hours and watched the sun go down which was really pretty as usual!  We also climbed what seemed to be the biggest sand dune in the world Ever! i seriously thought i was going to collapse, but it was worth it when we ran back down again! Then we ate dinner and talked to Steve fryburgers family who are all really nice and spent some time star gazing! all in all its been a really nice relxed-ish kind of day!! and i cant believe we only have 4 or so days left! ive decided im going to live here forever!! mwahaha, Anyway ciao omegos! x

Hiya,

          Today has been really fun!Ummmm we left the camp around 9:00 and we headed off to Souq, it’s like a busy market.It was really nice and everything about it was very traditional. There were somany people who were really friendly. We then went to have lunch, which wasreally tasty. We then came back to the camp and we all played a game. We had tojump over a rope without letting go of the team. That was hard; I kind ofinjured my lower back. But it was really fun. We then were talking to SteveFribergrer, he is a geologist and an artist. He taught us some of his skillswhich were really good and it was really interesting knowing how he createsart. I then went up a sandy hill, to gaze at the sunset, wow that was awesome.We had lunch later on and then just chilled out and did some work in our sketchbook. Well that’s about it for today. Got a long day ahead and at the moment ijust want to go sleep. (LOL)

Good night

radhika

Xxx

Day 9

IM TIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(so I probably

wont right much)

Any way, today we wnt of to sinaw to visit a souk(market)

we went of to see the difference between english and omani

shopping, we where told to draw people and to see the difference

between men shop owners and women shop owners(your gonna

have to check out the video coz im real tired and need to do some work?

dont know hat for tough)

So we visited the sinaw then head of to a bedouin familly in the wahiba sands.

We found the reason for why they live life, like nomads (know this from ks3

history lesons, it actually helped me out today, first time ever)(check the video

for the intervew coz its “long flex like, u get me”).

Back to the camp by 16:30. Then went to a geography lesson(taught by steve freiburg

Sorry If I spelt your name wrong) Finished by 17:30.

Watched the sunset and just “jammed” for an hour an a bit.

Now where back in our sketch books doin something(dont really know what im

doin).

Check da vids dey iz well cool, Barry had 2 climb up the 4×4 so he could ge

a good shot of… 

…the cars we where drivin?

Ill type more 2 moro hopefly

bye

yesterday we rolled along the coast

of the Arabian Sea

a gentle, creative day.

Sunkissed and wild haired

we stopped at a town called Assaylah.

Set up our mobile studios in dusty courtyards

and quiet streets,

to paint Omani doors.

Offscreen team scattered around.

A boy in a Ronaldo T-Shirt skips by.

Call tp prayer from a mini Mosque.

Some hidden women call from a darkened window.

Flatbed Toyota trucks amongst the goats.

Silver on the inside of crisp packets sparkle

like diamonds in the desert

so today we went from turtle beach all the way down the coast of oman and now were in the middle of wahiba sands….first stop was the old bedoin houses which were abandoned it was such a peaceful area I was really shocked to see that the omanian people rejected this life…

then we went to the town of aseera where we sketched doors om traditional oman houses it was very detailed art work and understanding these ideas in depth…

after lunch we sat in our 4×4 and drove on the sand dunes of the wahiba sand…wwooowww it was such a bumpy ride woooow like another rollercoaster it was soo fun wanna do it again…

now were camping outside AGAIN but the tents are more comfortable and they have toilets wweeppee

o yeh and im really tired so just gonna knock off……xxxxxx

Hi everyone,

I hardly got any sleep because i was busy working on some music soundtracks last night, so i was feeling very tired,but Jamie’s exercises woke me up a bit.

The day began when we visited the Beduwins houses in the desert.The Government have built houses with gas,electricity and water to provide for them but they refuse to live there.All the houses were empty and the area was designated.I thought the archetecture was well built and the sandy colours blended in with the desert.

We then visited a shanty town  called Aseela famously for its traditional doors and windows.There were alot of  children just playing in the local area.They seemed really friendly and nice to talk to.The main aim for the visit was to find out metaphorically what’s behind the doors.

The best part of today was the visit to the Wahaba Sands Desert.We all went in 4×4 jeeps and had the chance to drive around  big sand dunes.It was fun because it felt like being on a rollercoaster.

But the view of the sun setting was just amazing,it reminded me of a film.

Below I have writen some of my thoughts.

* “Together as 1″

* “1 major factor I noticed about this place is the fact that since iv’e been in Dubai and Oman i have bot heard one police siren. this tells me alot about the crime rates within the two countries”

* “Believing is seeing”

* “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”

* “Love-Not-War”

Above is some of my thoughts wich i believe are very powerful and please take them into consideration when you think about certain Middle East Courntries.

WELL…sorry i aint written a blog for two days..i’ve been getting up to alot of things.

today was FANTASTIC! woooow…first of all we went to visit budwin houses…the goverment built houses for the omani’s who lived in the countryside but all the omani’s refused to live in them due to not having a mosque near by, the houses where to near to each other, and the houses weren’t strong enough. in my opinion i think people should live in the houses because atleast the goverment is helping them.

after that we went DUNING OVER THE WAHIBA DESERT!.. it was greattt
the range rover went soooooo fast..I LOVED IT…today was the best day ever.

well only 5 days to go..cant wait to see my sisters and MY MUM :D…and my friends and family!

luv yaaaaaa x x :D

WOW, AWESOME, THRILLING, WICKED!!! The drive through the desert dunes was amazing today. Four land cruisers racing up and down through the dunes. It was like a roller coaster ride. Bumpy, fast and furious, Definately one of the highlights of the trip. After all the excitement, We then found a spot on our own and watched the sunset over the dunes, in absolute peace and silence. It was another moment of awe and wonder!  And of course there was time for a quick sketch. Absolutely beautiful.

We are now at the desert camp at Wahiba Sands, weve set up an art workshop and students are beavering away. If you want to know what we’ve been eating, the local speciality, which we have been served up almost every day!!! is a type of biryani. Except the meat and rice are cooked seperately. The coloured, spiced rice is placed on a huge platter and the meat, often chicken or huge cuts of lamb on the bone are piled up generously on top, Thers also a fish version of this, Fried tuna or Jack fish. Its traditional to sit around the platter on the floor and everyone eats from the same dish, with their hands. Weve all become real experts at this now!

I apologise for not answering any blogs for a while, it is difficult when we are on the road all day. love to all.

Hey!!

Well last night we arrived at the turtle beach camp place which was a really nice experience! We got to see some of the turtles laying eggs then burying them and heading back into the sea! Talking of the sea, it looked like it was glowing because the plankton has something in it which lights up, making it quite surreal but really nice! Today was definity one of the best days yet, it was really fun! we had a slight lay in and got up at 7.15, then had a shower which was sooooo cold, but at least it woke me up a bit! Then we headed out towards a little town where we photographed and drew the doors and windows and spoke to the locals who were all really nice! Later on in the day we got into our land cruisers and headed towards the Wahiba sands which was sooo fun!! the sand dunes were giant and driving down them was really cool and bumpy but running down them was even better! it was like running down a giant soft cliff hehe.  So after all that we arrived at our beach camp for the next two nights, which is similar to the one last night but a lot bigger!! should be fun! toodlepip! x

P.S Happy birthday Chi!! You rockkk!!!

                                HAPPY VALENTINES DAY [X]

heya sorry i havnt been blogging 4 a while,

well what can i say its been the most amazing experience ever so far last night we camped out on TIWI Beach (it sounds so exotic lol) the stars at night time were abosloutly amazing to see there were so many yet i culdnt see the moon at all and me and fahad were on the search for the north star but we couldnt find it lol.

  today when we woke up we went on a small trek across big rocks and stoney hill i was enjoying evry second of it every one else was behind me dragging there feet while i was climbing about lol.it was beautiful it looked like a minature
jurassic park (Tom u wuld ov LOVED it). then we went to meet an english artist in Sur and had a huge banquet insiode a huge hall, then we went to a huge house(it was almost like a mansion ) and watched  and listened to the men playing there classical instuments,they were playing songs which they would usually play which was a great new experience for me because iv  got another insight to a different type of of music,which will help in the long run . We then drove to a Dhow workshop in which we had 2hours to draw a picture of the landscape which for me didnt turn out as good at i hoped.

       we are now currently saying at Turtle beach in which we will hopefully be able to see the turtles come ashore at about half 11 and see them lay there eggs and go back into the sea

 I would also like to thank every body for all the comments and miss u all mwahh [xxx]

so before i start to freak people out back home the only reason i’m not writing in slang is because I was forced by offscreen to write formal…(don’t ask)..ok so what did we do today….after a long and slightly difficult rough night at tiwi beach I woke up to yet again travel lomg distances in the 4×4….

first we went to the wadi ..it was so beautiful and just amazing to see peace and tranquilty in this part of the world…it was so calm yet so hot I thought the wadi was a really interesting place to see the history of oman and how things work……..

after lunch we went to a boat yard which was all about the history and culture of oman and how boats were the only source of travel a long time ago and how they hold an important part in history…..

So right now were on turtle beach and have ust come back from watching turtles lay their eggs on the beach it was absolutely amazing …..(did you know? a big turtle can lay up to 140 eggs at a time) …..sleeping in turtle camp after a long days work looking forward to tomorrow :-??

Day 7

we have been told by the teachers( dey dont do

crap) to not use slang in this blog, so I wil know

use as much slang as possible just 2 p**s

em of.

Alright listen up, Today we went of to Sur at 0830 hours

We drove of first to visit wadi al shab to go 4 walkies

dis wadi was heavy, it was well beautifull. The palm tress in da

foregroud with da beutifull  yellow clifs in da background. we den

(sorry bout dat just did a massive burp like, u get me) went of to a

town calles sur. I is did som evy drawing of som people in

a band n den went of 2 draw som dhows n stuff. Afterwards we

headed over to our camp at ras al jins(turtle beach).  STAYED IN FRONT

OF A CAMP FIRE N DID SOM s****a. now wer of 2 go an c turtles dat

r dat weigh over 100kg.

So speak 2 all ya soon laters

hiya every1,

Today has been really tiring, but fun at the same time. Let me explain…..Well we left to go Wadi Al Shab. Wadi is a place that use to or has water, the one we went to, had crystal blue water and had loads of palm trees. Its scenery was so beautiful. After the Wadi, we went to Sur, it’s like a busy town. We were kindly invited to lunch and then we went to listen to live music. OMG they were soooo good. I never knew it would sound that great. The music was performed by a local group, i think i would call them suretts, because they dont have a name. We then went to a boat yard, this is where we sketched on paper. It was really peaceful. The car i was in was car 1 (all together their were 4 cars.) The driver in car 1 was soo coollll. His name was Habib, his real funny. I just cant believe how nice the people are here in Oman. They are so friendly and have alot of respect for us. Guess what……..it drizzled today, which was odd, but at the same time it was really humid. We then drove to Ras Ul Jinz camp. It’s really nice. we got here had dinner and then went to the beach to explore the surrounding. We went there to see turtles, they were huge. We had to wait for an hour to see them, but then when we did, i couldn’t believe my eyes. We saw two of them lay about 80 eggs. Well that’s about it. Im tired now, so i will chat later. good night.

radhika

love every 1

Woke up today in the camp, to a beautiful sunrise. I felt surprisingly refreshed. Set off for a walk along Wadi al Shab, a beautiful lagoon. The afternoon was spent in Sur in a shipbuilding yard, where we spent two hours peaceful drawing.

2daii was fantastic…we went to tiwi beach and collected loads of rubbish…yes rubbish aswell as natural objects..we were given the task of collecting things which interested us and then creating a peice of land art it was really interesting…..

I created a palm tree with radhika it was a symbol of the interference between man and nature and how man kind’s interference destroys nature….after this we sat in the 4×4 and drove around it was definately a bumpy ride but worth it….

so right now were on tiwi beach and were gonna be camping out here for the night not realy looking forward to it but the change of scenary will definately be an experience to remember..just sitting looking at the stars at night makes this part of the world seem so simple and relaxing….there is no conflict here!!

I really enjoyed the journey up to Tiwi. Offroad driving through vast rugged landscape. The beach itrself is great for collecting natural forms. Shells, coraL, cuttle fish. Even a dried shark skin in its entire form. We had a great time collecting natural and manmade objects. It was quite shocking to see the amount of litter strewn across the beach. empty cans, bottles, food items, rope, boxes, flip flops and glass. It made all  of us reflect on the effect mankind has on the environment, how we are constantly destroying our natural sorroundings.  The art sculptures made from the found objects relected these feelings, they were very thoughtful pieces of work, in which students contemplated the meaning of progress and development and how this was effecting our world.

We set up camp, after being chased by camels! and enjoyed a barbeque under a star lit sky by by the camp fire.Looking forward to going to sleep.

Day 6

Today’s visit was at Tiwi Desert.It was the first time we came out of Muscat since arriving at Oman.I got the chance to view some spectacular mountains and the desert.On the way to the desert i was having a conversation with our driver about Oman and Dubai, he told me some interesting things that i didint know,like when Emiratis get married the government pays money to them to help with the preparations and if they have chidren the government pays weekly or monthly depending on the circumstances.

Today has been like a rollercoaster ride. We woke up at 7:45in the morning and we left at 9:30 to do creative art work at Tiwi beach. If I could use one word to describe the ride from our home to the beach, the word I would use is WICKED! It was soo fun! We did some land art at the beach, which was good. Me and Simara worked together,we created a palm tree with many things we collected  from the beach. Our message was that our environment has been destroyed because of made made things. like on the beach we found loads of rubbish which was man made. Also how the nature is being destroyed, because of us. It turned out good, and i think it was an easy message for people to see. Today has been a really hot day; it felt lke being in an oven the whole afternoon. We are at the moment trying to put our tent up, it is really hard because its pitch black. I’m going to help them now, so byeeee.

Radhika

xxxx

well today was very interesting… we had to walk for about 1 hour up the beach collecting man made and natrual objects, pick up 10 of each and the use these to create a sculpture. Me and mmy partner (Lucy) worked to gether to produce a piece of art showing both oman and ubai.. also Oman i a very mauntanous place. till today i did not know the full force of ain water, but the amount of roads within the mountains that have been fiercly eroded away by the sheer force of the water is incredible. this takes place in like a mini caneoyn (wadi). I am now working on my sketch book at camp.

The four men helping us today are very nice generous people like all Emirate and Omani People

Bey Bey!!!

eed for the desert e.g. scarf…

hey every1. well its been 6dayz and i’ve loved every minute of it so far,

well 2day we left the our offscreen house 9:30.we went in land cruisers. we all had different groups to go in. we went down the rocky hills. it was soo fast and i loved it.  we spent a day at the beach.as an activity we had to pair up and collect different man-made things and natural thingz. aftawards we had to build a sculpture. me and sam made something which we didnt plan. it came out rele good.now its 7:42 and it rele hot.im in the beach and we’re gonna b campin ere. its been a good day so far.

i miss everyone

love u mama.nini.pam.sen

plashet gyalzz mwah x

Day 6, IN TIWI BEach

TODAY OUR MISSION IS 2 GET 2 TIWI BEACH AND

LAST THE NIGHT WITH OUT GETTIN BITTEN OR

CUT BY DA CRABS

We left for tiwi beach at 0830 hours

We arrived at Tiwi by 1100 hours, we were first told

2 use the litter on the beach to use as art work (I overheard

jamie and stephen talking 2 each other about how

we were actually here 2 pick up litter, CHILD LABOUR)

we split up in 2 and started “PICKIKN UP ART LITTER”

we wer den told 2 use wot we hav collected 2 create a

3d image, but not any image we have 2 get across 2 da

audience 2 help save da envioment “OUR FRIEND MARJAN WILL TELL U DA QUOTE”

(MARJAN, U SHUD KNOW DA QUOTE, WOT HAVEN U BEEN DOIN UR HOMEWORK ;) )

me and zarah creates a scene using man made and natural items dat we found

and made a scene. We had 2 people camping in the beach and leving their litter behind

(destruction shown by falling trees n a huge amount of s*** left on

da sand)

We den move out for another part  of da beach 2 rest  4 da night  byt our  “FRIENDS DA

TOURIST HAD TAKEN OVER” so we came bak n r now havinf 2 set uo tents in picth blakness

Thank alot tourists!!!!!!

Of 4 dinna catcg up wid ya 2moro

laters

PS: Barry been doin a bad job wid bein a camera man (Barney)P,m Hanu u might wana think bout reconsidering ;) .

ok so today we woke up early as usual and got ready to go to the grand mosque in oman, my first impressions of the mosque … it was absolutely beautiful the architecture on the building and on the inside was so detailed i was amazed…we were guided by a man called shaikh khalfan who gave us a tour of the mosque and expained some of the things which make islam the religion it is… I would never have thought that this man was such a joker he made learning about islam interesting and humourous…after the talk we were put in pairs and had to walkaround the mosque and find interesting things to draw..the girl I worked with didn’t speak english but I thought that made it more interesting as we were connecting our thoughts and ideas througjh the power of art…I really enjoyed the day as it was a time to reflect our thoughts and ideas of what oman was like compared to the previous days in dubai..it definately is a change of scenery..but I think oman is more spacious and just as beautiful as dubai…..x

This morning we got up really early again, and i think today the tiredness really hit everyone. we could barely open our eyes, which was annoying because then we went to see the grand mosque which was really amazing! The way it was built and the materials they used made it feel really special. not only that, but it was realy peaceful and made me understand how the muslim religion works, whcih was inspiring! we then met up with some omani girls and boys who we paired off with and did some large drawings around the mosque, which turned out nicely!! then we went back to our giant house and hung around for a few hours doing art and explopring the local beaches etc! it was a really nice day and relaxing too. in the evening we went for a meal in what apeared to be some kind fo penny museum, which was cool but we were still soo tired!! then we went souq market where we got some kick ass scarves for our desert expedition starting tomorow!! its gonna be assome!! anyway, must sleep night night! x

DaY 5

We went to visit the mosque today in Oman.Here we met up with Shake Al-havan who is a consultant in human resources.I got the chance to see a mosque for the very first time but some of us within the group are already muslims. Through this xperience I got the chance to get all my questions answered and it opened my eyes of the way I thought about muslims.I learned that muslims wear white because all of the prophets such as jesus,moses,Muhammed all wore white to represent pureness.Visitors in the mosque can only step on the blue carpet because it woold be too much hassle and uncomfortable for people to go through the whole process of washing before entering etc.I also learned many things

When interviewing the Omani students,I felt a real sense of friendliness and they seemed really calm and genuine although some of them coulnt speak fluent English but they still communicated through the art by workinhg with us the Offscreen students.Not many of them knew too much about the UK but simultaneously the speak the same language as us.So for me this broke barriers between the media’s interpretation of the middle east and they way we have experienced it so far.

Day 4, Our final day in dubai all I can say is ill miss this place I feel like this is my home now. I belong here (definately considering of living here). So far we have had no troubles everything

Rhadika and Giovana running barefoot through Dubai airport to catch our plane to Oman. Giovana turns to me and says,

“they were so nice sir.”

“who”

“the girls at the school (Latifa) … and that man today (Yasser) and … you don’t understand sir, they were so nice.”

thank you Dubai

Last night i stayed on a dhow which is like a small boat but instead of it having walls it had sheets around it and it had a security guard there all night which we call MR .Smiley lol. I went to the National Bank Of Dubai to visit the pearl museum in which we saw the worlds biggest pearl. But later on tonight we are going to be going to a resturant and after that we will be coming back to the XVA and then were off to the Airport and were gona be going to Oman and live it rough in the desert for a couple of nights lol .

till tommorow

BYEEeeeeee!!!! >.<

noooo.. i don’t wannna leave dubai this city is too big for visting in just 4 dayz but we hav 2 go the flights are booked to oman. so wat did we do today…?

first we went to..no wait first we woke up after a kind of rough night in the dow (funny lookin boat) we woke up at about 7.30 hearing Jamie telling us to wake up… we walked to the XVA galler (offscreen home) and had breakfast then we started working on our sketch books with the others we met two calligraphy artists who did some work for us..it was really beautul (there are soo many different types of calligraphy I couldn’t believe it)..n e way we started workin our big banner and then we met and talked to a lot of press and tol soo many photos..we

Dubai has been incredible. I’ve never seen anywhere quite like it. Nothing is done by halves. It’s all super modern, super glossy.It’s fast, it’s galmourous, It’s the ultimate 21st century lifestyle. Parts Dubai do have a sense of history and culture. The Bastakiya area where we have been staying, a real trendy artist’s haunt and the Ibn Batuta Mall, a strange mixture of the ultimate shopping experience combined with a homage to the histories and arts of China, India, Persia, Tunisia and Anadausis. The juxtaposition of flashy neon advertising against beautiful islamic paterns was amazing. The people we have met have been incredibly hospitable and generous. We leave here having had an incredible experience and off to Oman where I expect a great contrast. Goodbye Dubai.

Sleeping in the desert was different but also became damp during sunset.It was very cold because we had to wake up around 5am.

Today we went on a hot air balloon.My first thoughts as we began reaching higher was the fact that i might fall because there was a small amount of room to move inside the basket.i made sure i held on tight to the sides.There were only three people in our balloon and about 8 on the other.I became more comfortable as we stayed in the air.I was filming everything I saw,the atmospherte was unbelieveble because i saw everthing in a different perspective.I could see camels,montains cars in detail.

‘’Just when you think you’ve seen the whole of dubai, your suddenly emerged into a whole new city'’ quote taken from me: Saturday 10th February… so today we went in the air balloon at 8.00 am it was a great experience even though we didn’t really get to see much of the city just looking at the sand was enough. It was really scary when we were landing, I thought the air balloon was gonna tip over but it didn’t :-) after that we spent time in the sand hills sandsurfing we had soo much fun eventhough there was sand practically everywhere. After this short but memorable experience we went to the shopping mall ( second largest in the world) remember we didn’t go to shop we did art work there….just looking at the images we had of what the middle=east was gonna be about back in london and compared to what were acually seeing are two completely different things there was so much peace and cleanliness :-) and eating in mcdonalds was just the best feeling probably becuase I hadn’t eaten MCs for about 3 DAIZZ…. The mall was definately an interesting experience looking at different cultures and experiences through the eye of the shopping mall was just wonderful…. now, i’m at the beach just outside burj-al-arab the seven star hotel is just amazing..woow..from all my experiences today i have to say the one thing which I have seen is that Dubai is a much more diverse and mordernly developed country far greather than what englad will ever be…..x

hiya,

It was an early start forall of us 2 day; we woke up 4:30 in the morning, when it was pitch black,because we had to go ballooning at alfayr desert. It was AMAZING! It was like anhours drive from the XVA gallery (this is where we were staying). It was reallychilli in the mornig, i didn’t expect this, but it wasn’t a huge problem. Whenwe were on the hot air balloon, we could see beautiful red and gold sand everywhere, it was so cooollll. We could see the ripples in the sand which wascaused by breeze. While we were up there, it felt like there was so much 2 see.At first, it was really scary but then being on the balloon kind of tempted meto look down, and i’m so glad I did. It is really hard to describe my feelingsat this very moment because there is so much 2 say and I don’t know where 2start and because of all the excitement. We stayed at the desert for about an hour after we got out of theballoon. The landing was so great! After that we went back to the gallery 2relax for an hour or so and then we headed off to I.B.N Battutah mall, which isapparently the second largest mall in the world! It was absolutely huge! Wesketched a few things and did a little shopping, which was fun. I have enjoyed2day soo much and i think it was worth every bit. (Even waking up at 4:30 inthe morning.)

P.S Missing every1 a lot!

Good night:)

radhikaxxx

We only got 4 and a half hours sleep last night because of the 4.30 start this morning! but it was worth it..even if i could barely open my eyes at the time!!

we got to the hot air ballooning place at about half 5 and the sun was only just rising..it was even a little bit cold!(shock!). Then we all piled into the balloon and waited for take off! the take off was very smooth but i did find the gassy-fire a a bit scary!..it was really loud and hot! i thought i was going to melt hehe. The view at the top was amazing and we could see for miles from our 2000 feet height!. the landing was really fun and bumpy..a bit worrying because we landed in the middle of the road but soon moved over onto a sand dune and fell over a number of times!

We then spent a couple of hours in the desert just relaxing, and doing some sand surfing which was really fun but tricky! then after that..headed back to the XVA and had a snooze! Later, we went to the mall which was HUUUGE (i think its a mile long in total!) and did a bit of shopping and sketching. It was really weird to see how westernised it was in there, but also very nice..i wouldnt mind spending a few more hours there! Then after that we went to the stephens friends house which is really nice and right next to the 6 star hotel! which looked lovely in the sunset! and thats as far it goes!..bring on tommorow!

BYEE x

WOW!…its been an amazing day

i thought waking up early was rubbish BUT wen i got to go on a hot air balloon..i was speechless. it was the most beautiful thing i’ve eva seen. the birds eye view of the derset was amazing. im starting to understand the culture and beliefs of the people here. so afta an early morning we had a gr8 afternoon at the mall. it was the worlds 2nd biggest mall so u can imagine how big it was. it was inspired by ibn Battuta. he was a man hu travelled 4 26 years. to me this mall looked lyk a museum..it was HUGEEEE.the designs on the wall was so detailed.

anywayz im havin a gd tym…hpe evry1 is kl…love u mama.nini.pam.sen x

wish u was ere

day 2, one of the best days i have had in my life. a proper camp in the middle of the beutiful fayaa desrt. The palm trees the red sand this desrt has it all. We are crrently sleeping in with some of the students from Rashid school their art work put us to shame but we stil held up a good fight in sand boarding on the sand dunes of the dessert. tomorow we will be of in a hot air baloon 2,000 ft in the air across the the dessert. and will be visiting one of the worlds biggest mallin dubai.

check da site tomoro, we will upload picture of the desert 2,000 ft in the air.

BYE

PS: shout out to marjan who in a few a days will be freezing in the antarctic GOOD LUCK!!!!

Bring me back some ice.

Day 2

Today we had quite an eventful day.Everyone had a problem waking up because we slept late.First of all we had to go to Rasheed Boys School to meet up with four local students. We arrived at the school in the morning and met up with the students and they seemed friendly and spoke good english.At the school we had breakfast and looked at their art work which was very impressive.

After this we went to one of the students [Maktum’s] house which was like no other house i’d ever seen! He had a collection of different animals such as cheetahs,giraffes,felcons,deers, and many more.There were also a set of top quality cars parked on the driveway.Maktum comes from a rich family so he enjoys many luxeries.

We then went to The Felcon Centre to look at Felons because its tradition is important to the Emirates people.

After this we went back to the school for some lunch which was very nice.We had a three course meal.

Our day ended in the Wadi Fayah Desert where we had such great fun by doing activities such as sand-sking,camping,felconing.The other students from Rasheed Boys School and teachers also came along with us and spent the night with us.

wooow did we have fun today or what..mmm wat did we do lets c…? first of all we went to sleep at about 3.00 and we had to wake up at 7.30 aaagghh sumhow i managed to get out of bed and the next thisng i knew I was on my way to Latifah Secondary School, what was I expecting? mm girls in hijabs who didn’t relate to our way of life, but what I got was completely different, the girls were soo kind and they treated us like royalty (thank yaa) we went to the farm,it wasn’t really much of a farm the only animals there were camels, we made this huge pieces of art work with the other students it was beautiful……..CAN U BELIEVE I RODE A CAMEL ???? i was soo scared but in the end I just went on it and i honestky thought the damn camel was gna chuk me off but luckely it didnt…!!! I saw burj-al-arabit was beautiful looking forward to tomorrow.. one thing today tought me was to never underestimate; what people can be like, the girls were soo much like us we even had the same taste in music okki i gta go luv yaa :-) x

2day was AMAZING…we went to latifa gyalz skul it was gr8..the gyalz were rele friendly n dey made us feel at home… lolz we were allowed to hav a camel ride but as soon as i sat on da camel i came str8 bac off..i was soo scared lolz.one thing i learnt is dat ppl alwayz seem to tink dat da gyalz in da middle east MUST COVER UP but dats a lie coz dey hav so much freedom n dey r independent gyalzim havin a gr8 tym but i do miss evry1love u mum n nini n pam..AND EVRY1 lolz

OMG!.Another amzing day! We all were ready early today… not too early. We left the gallery at 9:30 to head off to the Latifa all girls’s school. We firstly went to their school, but then we were taken to a near by farm called Nad Al Shiba farm, this is where the girls were waiting for us. It was really niceeeeee! Everyone, I mean everyone, was so friendly and welcoming. The girls were really open about things and they all were great fun. I never imagined it being so nice, the environment, the people, everything! it’s been really cool today. I love and miss the girls alot. The whole day went perfectly, it was so nicely organised. AND THE WEATHER WAS GREAT! I have absolutely loved it today, I can’t wait for tomorrow. Bye for now.Good night:)Radhika xxx

today we had a whole entire gallery 4 themselves lol.we had to get up really early and leave the place by 9:00 to get to Latifa School for girls.and iv got to say ive never met people as kind as they were,they had given us so much nice food and taught us soooo much,the trip so far has been an absolutly amazing experience x

Hi everyone,Thanks for all the blogs you sent. Its so good to know you are all watching our progress. Miss you all. Plashet, I hope you are all looking forward to your well deserved half term. Anyway, today was another fun packed day, with the latifa school for girls. Went to a farm, that belongs to one of the students. They layed on a banquet for us, well 3 banquets actually, breakfast, lunch and dinner.We spent the day, drawing camels, producing this huge land art in the sand….It was exhausting!!! We were digging trenches for hours and there was camel poo everywhere! But at first we were mistaking it for pebbles and picking them up and throwing them out!!! But itwas all good fun and the final art piece was quite spectacular.We then dressed up in traditional clothes, which we got to keep, had henna done..the girls, not me and basically ate more food. The Latifa girls were amazing, so hospitable, not at all the stereotypical sheltered women we all imagine, but quite westernised in their thinking. They are great artists and they were the perfect hostesses and we all had a fantastic time. So far this expedition is all that we hoped for and more. Having the best time ever. But miss you all back home, loads. Keep sending your blogs. Love to you all.xxx

hey!!

    well well well..what a busy kind of day!. the start was super early, and it must of been about -10 degrees, with blizzards. But we still made it to the airport in time, woohoo! there wasnt too much of a delay which was good too!

   The plane was really cool because they have cameras on the front and underneath of the plane, so you can look at where you are flying! so i watched that for take off.. then slept for a bit..then woke up and watched some films and stuff! and before i knew it ..we were in dubai!

   The first thing that hit me was the heat..it was 21 degrees when we landed..so i was quite hot because i was still wrapped in my blizzard clothes. its also really clean here, and really pretty! but ill be able to see it properly in daylight tommorow!

 The XVA (where were staying for the night) is sooo nice! its really peaceful and comfy and everyone is welcoming! so now us girls can just relax while the boys have to sleep on the dhow mwahahaha!!

anyway must dash! byeeeeeeee x :D P.S the cans are REALLY cool!  (lucy)

First evening in Dubai. First impressions, WOW! Neon lighting everywhere. Huge billboards adorning every building. this is the advertisers mecca. Boats lit up on the river, high rise towers lit up against the star lit night. Amazing architecture, Everything looks brand new. highly polished and so clean. So modern. The old part of the town, Bastakiya, where we are staying has much more character.

Our base at the XVA gallery is cool, comfortable and relaxing., so peaceful and calm….just perfect. We.re all very happy and excited about tomorrow’s day at the school. Sharp contrast between the bleak cold, snowy weather we left behind and the warm humidity here.

 well we are now in Dubai …

     The morning was terrible because it had started snowibng really bad,and we all  had to meet up by 4:30am.

       We were on the plane for 7long hours iwas really boring but the food was good  >.<

when we were coming lower to the grond to touch down i could see all the lights of the buildings and roads,

   The whole thing even now seems all so surreal.when we got off of the plane the heat hit me straight away :>  .the whole entire airport was absolutly spottless of rubbish aswell it is the complete opposite to England

 From Zahrar [x]

Hello evry1, iv’e reached dubai safe n sound, what do i think of the place ?? mmm there are absolutely no words to describe the last 8-10 hours from when I left home, definately one of the best experiences I have ever had, i’m absolutely knackered but i’m soo excited to jus get out there and explore the hidden things in dubai that i’m not worried at all about anything.

aww i jus read al your blogs hehe i mishhh u 2 aysh,, take care of BT 4 me oki….looking forward to producing more peices of art work and very excited about 2mrw - going to latifah school.yeeppee and gna be recording things for the bbc radio service…..by da way i was on TV on wed nyt p.s plz tel ma mum 2 go on bbc site n chek it out oki.. luvv yaa xxxx

WOW….. what can i say? It’s been a very long and tiring day, but i must say it is so beautiful and I’m having alot of fun.. I never thought Dubai would be such an amazing place to be.When we walked out of the airport, warm breeze swiftly moved in the air and it felt like i was wrapped in an invisible blanket. The scenes of Dubai are unexplainable because the scenery is so astonishing. We all are in a gallery called the XVA galley. It’s really nice and cousy. I still can’t believe I’m actually here, and im looking forward for the coming days. Bye for now!

good night:)

radhika

Sams sleep count- 0 (over the past two days)

Barneys sleep count-1.30 hours (in the last 1.30 hours)

Barney is fresh and energetic sam is tired.

helloooooo…omdzz dubai is amazin. i neva fort it wud b lyk dis but its rele nice

miss u guys sooo much

hpe ur havin fun

jo can u say hello to my mum, nini and pam plz

LOVE UUUU

sfe…pp all da way lolz

ello evry1 its samira here at d airport 7.15 in da mornin munchin twirl and drinkin coke (lol) buh im finkin bout evry1 and gd luk 2 da ppl cookin in DT ill rememba u da most…..hello 2 evry1 dats loggd in and lookin at dis including famo……. luv ya gotta go…eat more fooooooood :-)

xxxsamiraxxx

After the long journey to the air port, wait at the air port then plane trip OUT of the air port we arived in Dubai. From the sky you could see how the entire city was mapped out in a grid of lights and its was pretty amazing…In the 6th months since i was told that we were off to the middle east eevvveerrryyyyoonnee constantly told me day in, day out how great it was going to be and how its was a great oppertunity which i never doubted but really wanted to actualy go and see for myself. It turned out to be 10 times better then i expected and people were right … which is what made the whole thing more annoying.Barely 1 day spent here and i already dont want to go.See you all in 12 days. X

wen we arived @ dubai I was amazedit exceede my expectations by milesthe air feels different and fesh.the people of dubai are very verygenerous. As soon as u walk outsidethe airport u can c a different sideof the middle east from the 1 weare used to hearing about on thenews. we are currently sstaying in theamazing roofles xva gallery. filling inour sketch books. overall dubai is anamzing country and every man or womanshould have da chance 2 visit dis amazingcountry in der life. Dats all from me 4tonight i have 2 go n finsh ma game ofblacj jack. bye.PS:shout out 2 all ma friens in FG enjoy urhalf term.

On arrival my first thoughts was the difference in weather.While it was snowing back in London,Dubai was very hot with a slight warm breeze.I felt quite hot because I had a big jacket on.I liked the way the airport was built and structured but it looked more like a newly posh hotel.The people and the way they dressed was very interesting beacuse it looked traditional.Consciously i kinda felt that the people will be quite friendly but they were aslo kind,I first noticed this upon arrival of the gallery where the workers helped us carry our luggages and they also provided us with food and drink.

Overall I was most impressed with the quality of the archetecture and the buildings but it was astonishing on how clean and organised everything was.

today overall has been very, very exciting, overall dubai is much better than what i expected, very clean and organised place, people were exctly what i was expecting them to be e.i.

nice, polite and kind.

Launch Party at 17:30 tonight!