Click on the slide show above to learn about Gabrielle Hajjar’s experience in Dubai.

Gabrielle Hajjar usually trains for the upcoming field hockey season on Jack Berry Field at MIT under the guidance of Coach Sally Starr, but this summer she traveled a bit farther afield — to Dubai.

Hajjar (SMG’10), who is of Lebanese descent, went to Dubai to work as an intern for the Chalhoub Group, a large fashion import company. When Starr learned of her trip, she asked Hajjar to find a way to continue her training — so Hajjar turned to Google and found a Dubai-based coed team that played at her skill level and had room for another player.

One of seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is roughly the size of Rhode Island, but with much greater wealth. In the past few years, the Dubai government has launched several massive construction projects, including the world’s largest man-made harbor and two giant palm-shaped islands off the Dubai coast.

“I had a really great experience, but I don’t think I could live there,” Hajjar says. “I love being in Boston. In Dubai there’s smoking everywhere, even at work. And of course, it’s really, really hot.”

Kimberly Cornuelle can be reached at kcornuel@bu.edu.