“Masalama, maasalama, we’ll see you again!"

It frankly feels like yesterday when various members of the freshman class were at Emirates Palace, celebrating an amazing night at the end of Candidate Weekend, concluding what for most was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Then, in the blink of an eye, admissions letters were released, acceptances were celebrated, rejections mourned and the NYU Abu Dhabi class of 2017 slowly started to take shape. Tentative friendships, and some relationships, began to form across Facebook and other social media platforms, and the thoughts of various global members turned towards their subsequent years at NYUAD.

Freshman Nafisatou Mounkaila, who hails from the Bronx, New York, was overcome with excitement as her flight date approached.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be homesick, because I really love Abu Dhabi and what it has to offer,” Mounkaila said. “Also, as I was on my way to the airport, Alexa, a friend whom I had met over [candidate weekend] among others, was on my mind as I could not wait to see her and my other friends again.”

When asked about whether she had any expectations for how university life would be like in Abu Dhabi, she confessed that she always had a deep interest in Arabic.  She is certain that coming here is going to allow her to immerse herself in the language.

Similar sentiments were echoed by freshman Al-Anood Al-Naqbi who was born and raised in the UAE. She has been pleasantly surprised by her experience at the university thus far.

“Honestly, I was a bit nervous, because we don’t really know each other as a class, so I thought everyone would mainly be on their own, and have some difficulty talking to one another,”  Al-Naqbi said. “I didn’t expect everyone to be so welcoming and friendly; I really feel comfortable here.”

Al-Naqbi hopes that throughout the next four years, NYUAD will become more well-known throughout the region and help open the minds of the Emirati people to a global set of cultures.

The general feeling among the class of 2017 is one of positivity as they attempt to assimilate into the general student population. At Downtown Campus, freshmen are engaged in enthusiastic conversations and debates, or discussing their next theater production with the sophomores, juniors and seniors.

“Knowing that we had planned a jam-packed Marhaba, and that there was a lot of information in there that we wanted the freshmen to absorb, we really wanted the students to have fun,” Said Temi Pedro, dean of first year students, who was happy to see the interclass integration taking place. “We wanted them to come together as a class and not have them silo off into cliques and groups.”

Pedro was also surprised and enthused by the energy and spirit of the class, as she expected that by the tail end of Marhaba, students would be waning and tired. The fact that this did not happen was very encouraging to her.

For Pedro, who just began her administrative role at NYUAD, the year is going to be a learning experience like that of the freshmen. After reading the Marhaba reflection session cards, Pedro saw questions being raised about the daily realities of university life such as doing laundry and using dining dirhams. The next Marhaba might see the introduction of University Life 101, a special course designed to help students adjust to a new environment.

For many freshmen, university life has taken some getting used to, but finding time for a lengthy activity list will require practice in the art of time management. For freshman Dhia Farouni, studying and living at NYUAD has been an experience she will remember.

“Sama is amazing,” Farouni said. “It really throws us all together, like we’re one big family.”

Even the study abroad students from NYUNY are excited about the new semester.

“I’d heard about the community here, and how awesome it is, and I guess I just really wanted to try something new and young, while also getting to work with faculty that I would not have had the chance to work with had I stayed on the Square,” said NYUNY junior Kyleigh Johnson.

Before coming to NYUAD, Kyleigh didn’t have any set expectations and instead wanted to take things as they came. Upon arriving, she has been struck by the diversity of the student body and being able to have breakfast with her professors, an activity she said would be almost impossible at NYUNY.

“For me, it was really my own personal social experiment, as I wanted to see how far I could push myself outside of my comfort zone, as I’ve never been in the Middle East before,”  said NYUNY sophomore Thiago Fernandes. “I had hummus for the first time here.”