Today is the first day of the Abu Dhabi Book Fair and the day reserved for the trade. Hall traffic is rather light except for the crowd surrounding the entourage of advance men and bodyguards accompanying Shiekh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Prime Minister of Abu Dhabi. Following the Fair’s official opening, he toured the hall and spoke with visitors. We spoke about American English-language learning materials. Despite a somewhat severe appearance, His Highness was gracious, gentle, and soft-spoken. As it turned out, this encounter was not the only one today in which appearances would be deceiving.…but more on that later. Sheikh Sighting
My goal was to learn as much as I could as fast as I could. I visited fellow exhibitors in the hall and participated in the “speed dating” networking session. I talked with smart and experienced people about the potential for our members in this market. The resulting perspective is positive, but cautious. Continue reading ‘Day 2 from Abu Dhabi’
