Junior is first IU student to study in Dubai

Junior Samantha Hutt knew she wanted to study abroad in the Middle East, but she wanted more than the typical IU program.

Hutt is the first IU student to spend a semester studying in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Hutt, a political science major and international studies and Hebrew minor, had a strong interest in international affairs that led to three visits to Israel. She then decided to explore Arab culture as well.

Hutt registered through the Office of Overseas Studies. After she found that the only Middle Eastern program was in Cairo, she applied through the study abroad program to study at the American InterContinental University in Dubai.

When Hutt told her parents she wanted to study in Dubai, they weren’t surprised.

“It was interesting,” Hutt said. “My parents had already gotten over the initial shock of me going to the Middle East because I had been to Israel before. I had to convince them that I wasn’t going into the middle of a war zone.”

Many of Hutt’s friends had not heard of Dubai.

“I would tell them that it borders Saudi Arabia, and they freak out, like, ‘Why would you want to go there? It’s a random place,’” Hutt said.

In preparation for traveling to the Middle East as a Jewish woman, Hutt and her family said they needed to be cautious.

Rob Hutt, Samantha’s father, said some of his Orthodox Jewish friends asked if Samantha’s passport had Israeli stamps on it before Samantha left for Dubai.

“They said they’d look at her and think she’s a spy,” Rob Hutt said. “She has to get the passport cleaned. Samantha doesn’t play up the fact that she’s Jewish.”

Samantha Hutt is a Hebrew minor, but she wants to be fluent in Arabic.

“The reason I’m here is because I want to learn about the Arab culture and the Middle East,” she said. “On a personal level, it’s a little bit uncomfortable, and there are times when I could contribute to the conversation, but I don’t.”

Samantha Hutt said people of all ethnicities and social classes walk the streets of Dubai. She also noticed the large number of expensive cars on the streets.

“There are very rich people with Bentleys, and people will pay millions of dollars for license plate numbers one to 100,” Samantha Hutt said.

Although Samantha Hutt is halfway around the world, she sometimes feels like she is back in the United States.

“Sometimes it’s easy to forget that you’re in the Middle East. There’s CNN, MTV, Starbucks on every corner,” she said. “Just looking out my window, there’s Nokia and the Radisson. For the most part, it’s the same.”

Hutt said one memorable moment was a Gaza rally she witnessed on her university’s campus. The Palestinian Embassy and Consulate to the United Arab Emirates spoke, as well as a student leader in Arabic and English, talking about the “terrorist state of Israel,” she said.

“This is the perspective I came here to get, but it was strange to hear it,” Hutt said.
Her program ends April 30, but she may stay abroad for longer.

Hutt’s academic advisor, Marsha Franklin, was excited that Hutt chose to study in Dubai.

“I noticed that when students come back from studying abroad, they have matured even more than they would have in a semester at IU because of the new experiences or responsibilities they have had,” Franklin said. “Their worldview  is changed, and they find that every place doesn’t operate the same (as) the U.S. I hope she comes back with new knowledge.”

When Hutt returns to the United States, she hopes to bring something positive back with her.

“I want a stronger perspective on the Middle East,” she said. “I think in the coming years, the Middle East ... will play a major role in our foreign affairs in the coming years, and for people being able to understand it is very important.”