This week I’m in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for my 5th visit to teach another IT Manager Institute, , , it is my 48th program since 2003.
The trip started off well with an open seat next to me on the airplane. The flight was free by using points from my frequent flyer account and being able to stretch out a bit on the 14-hour flight from Atlanta made it even more better.
I’ve worked in IT most of my career so I take a few precautions when flying on such long trips.
- First, I take an earlier flight from Nashville to Atlanta. It causes me to have a longer layover, but I have a backup plan with later flights to Atlanta if mine is delayed or something happens to cancel the flight. Sure don’t want to miss my connection as it would mean I have to fly through Paris, , , and I avoid that airport at all costs.
- Second, I arrive in Dubai a day ahead of time. This gives me a whole day to rest before class and also provides a backup plan in case something happens to delay or cancel the flight. I had to use this backup alternative on one of my previous flights so I know it can happen.
Getting here a day early allows me to rest up like I said and to get my body adjusted to the local time.
Class started yesterday and we have a great group, , , 7 managers from UAE, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia. The week will go by fast because I can already tell this group is going to be fun to work with, , , they started “jabbing” a bit on the first day, , , a very good sign!!
I plan to see some new things on this trip plus I have already had an amazing experience that I’ll share in my next post.
Cheers.
ITLever™ 