Lest you worry, I'm back from Abu Dhabi and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Got there safely and got my certificate with no problems. The only hangup on the trip was my stop for lunch at Ibn Battuta Mall once I was back in Dubai. The roads in and out are all flooded - it took me close to an hour to get out of the parking lot and back home, a trip that on a non-flooded day would take all of ten minutes.

Oh well. At least my certificate is done. PHEW!