Flying Economy Plus on Etihad Airways was a small but welcome upgrade. The extra legroom made a difference on the 13-hour flight from Chicago to Abu Dhabi—just enough space to stretch and not feel like a sardine. The service was smooth, and overall it felt like a step up without breaking into full luxury. Although even their basic plates would put any U.S. airline food to shame. And I won’t lie, I saw one of the shrimp plates that business class was able to order… I was pretty jealous in that moment. But the adventure started after we landed. Abu Dhabi’s new Terminal A isn’t just a stopover—it’s an experience. The place is massive, sleek, and immaculately designed, with an almost surreal sense of order and calm. I found out they actually filmed a Mission: Impossible scene here (Dead Reckoning Pt. 1), and it made total sense. The place feels like it was built with both elegance and spectacle in mind. After a bit of wandering, I found a shower—nothing extravagant, but clean, functional, and exactly what I needed. It’s wild how something that simple can completely reset your body and brain after a long-haul flight. Then came the Pearl Lounge. I spent a couple hours there sipping strong Arabic coffee from tiny cups that made me think I could keep drinking them forever. Spoiler alert: I drank way too many. I needed to get my moneys worth! The food was an interesting mix—some I recognized, some I didn’t—but it was interesting and comforting in that international lounge kind of way. Wandering back into the main atrium of the terminal felt surreal. Giant LED displays, travelers from every direction, and a quiet sense of movement everywhere. It felt less like an airport and more like a global meeting point in some alternate timeline. One thing that stood out were the prayer rooms—tucked into corners, quiet, and filled with people finding peace amid the buzz. That hit me. You don’t see anything remotely like that in U.S. airports. It’s only about the bottom-line and bare-minimum, So it was humbling to watch people pause for something spiritual while everything else kept moving. It wasn’t showy or loud—just a normal part of life for the people around me. Moments like that remind you how easy it is, especially as an American, to think your way of living is the default. Traveling strips that away. You see how much depth there is in other cultures, how much you’ve never really considered. It’s not about fully understanding everything—it’s about being open to it, and realizing the world’s a lot bigger than the bubble you came from. I would say a vast majority of Americans struggle to notice details like that. Later, I grabbed a McArabia from McDonald’s— Yes, it’s a thing. Grilled chicken on flatbread with a spicy garlic/tomato sauce. It’s quite good. Something about trying familiar brands in unfamiliar formats always draws me in. I know McDonald’s doesn’t scream culture or a place you seek out on the other side of the world. But the unique menu items are fast and fun. As I sat there eating, I realized I might have been one of the only non-Muslim travelers around. It’s a strange feeling—to be clearly in the minority, as an American. Especially in a time when the U.S. isn’t exactly the world’s favorite country, it made me pause. But no one treated me differently. If anything, I felt quietly observed. Curious glances, nothing more. That’s the thing I love most about travel—the world doesn’t revolve around you. Sometimes you’re just a small piece passing through someone else’s normal. And that’s beautiful. It’s gets boring being surrounded by one-track minds. So yeah—Etihad Economy Plus was great. But what I’ll really remember is standing in the middle of a futuristic terminal in Abu Dhabi, wired on coffee, eating a McArabia, and feeling completely, wonderfully out of place.