"Does anyone know that lamborghini?"

The 'hang out in your costumes and eat shawarma' party was a big success. The residents were happy. And I was happy that there were no problems (no inappropriate costumes, no dancing, no complaints by Security...). But I had a very 'only in Qatar' experience. I noticed this black lamborghini kind of cruisin' around the halls for about 30 minutes and then it parked in front of one of the female halls and revved its engine for another 30. Seeing fancy cars is kind of weirdly normal around here, but this one I had never seen before (we see a neon green one quite frequently) and as a result I was kind of suspicious (and it did not help that this one reminded me of the Batmobile - black body, black tinted windows, black rims...). I asked several students if they recognized it, but none of them did. So I decided it was time to approach the mystery lambo because it did not really have a reason to be here. As I was approaching the guy realized he was in trouble and so he sped off. Never in my life did I think I would have beef with a lambo, especially working in education. It was all rather comical. Man, what a weird experience... :)

Happy Halloween!

I was at a store yesterday with some CDAs shopping for their Halloween program tonight. Halloween is still a little taboo here and thus we are putting the emphasis on shawarma (a yummy Arab sandwich thingy). Anyway, at this store there was this little boy, an expat kid probably about seven, on a mission to find something, anything, that would work as a Halloween costume because costumes are few and far between around here. But this kid got me. I will likely never forget him even though our paths crossed for maybe five minutes. This little boy had burn scars all over his body, or at least on his face, neck and arms. I do not know this child's story, but I cannot get him out of my head. I do not want to pity him, but all I want for this kid is to be a kid and that includes having an amazing Halloween. I believe every kid deserves that. You could sense his despair in finding something to work as his Halloween costume, so for one night he could imagine he is something else (I remember doing this when I was a kid). And he found success with this mask thing. You could feel his sense of relief from across the room. But he was a couple QRs short after he took all his crumpled QRs out of his pocket and counted his many 1 QRs (probably his allowance) on the floor of the store. I had an urge to give him the few QRs he needed to cover the mask, but his brother gave him the money he needed (BTW I have no idea where his parents were). Thank God. I think we adults (for once I am calling myself an adult) sometimes get so wrapped up in our lives that we forget how important it is for kids to be kids along with what is important to kids. If anything, we need to find the kid in all of us again. In fact, we could learn a lot from kids about what is really important in life. I am not sure I am making much sense...sometimes I have a hard time articulating my values because my mind is racing with thoughts. Anyway, I hope this little boy has a great Halloween. I hope all kids have a great Halloween! Even us adults! Just enjoy this day! But really find joy in every single day and be thankful! Happy Halloween everybody! And happy birthday tomorrow to my little brother!

Make A Difference Day

It is Tuesday. Already the middle of the week for me. Thank you, baby Jesus! But let me tell you about last weekend. I had so much fun! Probably one of the best, if not the best, weekend I have had since I moved here. I hung out with my boss, Kristin, and her husband, Rhys, on Thursday night (I hang out with them, fellow NWers, on a rather regular basis). Friday I did a little work and then went out to the Qube, a club at the Ramada, with some Carnegie Mellon folks. I had so much fun! The club brought in a great DJ from London for a Facebook party (I still do not understand...but whatever)! And I did not feel all that out of place considering I was likely the only natural blonde in the whole place. But the best part of my weekend was Saturday. I have been part of a group organizing Education City's first Make A Difference Day. Our objective was to get students, faculty and staff more involved in the community and to raise awareness regarding a wide range of environmental and social justice issues in Qatar. I guess you can compare it to Syracuse's Day of Service, but much more elaborate with the massive tent, chairs with seat covers, excessive breakfast and lunch, t-shirts and hats... I frankly think the whole idea of giving back was kind of lost with how opulent it was, but this kind of activity is new for this part of the world and thus it is a start.

Anyway, I was tasked with leading a large group of primarily students, with support from a few coworkers (it was great to have them there too because we do not see each other very often), to do a beach clean up south of the community of Al Wakra. No one, including me, really knew what we were getting ourselves into, particularly the bus driver (I was just following the instructions of the municipality guys). We literally had to go offroading in a massive coach bus to get to the beach. It was a riot! There were a couple of times I thought we were going to get stuck... But it was worth it! Again, I had so much fun! Who would have thought picking up trash and getting so dirty would be so much fun? And there was a lot of it! I guess the trash comes from ships that just throw their crap overboard. And I learned some new facts! I learned what mangroves are! I had no idea yet through out the week I had to explain to people what they were ("plant thingys...that sort of grow...near a beach...???"). So I now know what a mangrove is and how sensitive they are. And I learned that flamingos fly! I had never seen a real flamingo before! First, they are not bright pink like the plastic lawn ornament kind. They are light pink, almost white, with black legs and THEY FLY! They are awesome!

So here are some pictures of us doing some good ol' manual labor:

Flamingos!

And mangroves! FYI Do not step on the little reedy things because then you kill the whole thing. Those reedy things are the lungs of the mangroves.

The culprit of much of the trash: tankers! Boo!

The road...

And our understandably nervous bus driver...

A wild camel! This is not the first camel I have seen, but the first that I have been able to take a decent picture of. Whenever I see one, I have a moment where I realize how fortunate I am...but forget to take a picture... :)

I do not speak text message.

I received this email from a student this weekend:

thanx..nd da activities r really intresting....gosh i m so thrilld abt dem...sory i m @ home dis weekend ..so cudnt cum on friday nyt... ll cya on sunday:P gudnyt haf a good weekend

Got that? I get a number of emails like this from students. I have deduced that writing like you are sending a text message is taking over. It is like a whole other language. It takes me a few reads to translate because I do not speak text message very well (BTW I write in full English when I text or instant message...I do not even use contractions).

Not much else going on. This weekend I threw a football around with some Georgetown and Carnegie Mellon staff. I have not thrown a football in a long time and thus my shoulder is now kind of sore. I also went to the driving range (I think there is one golf course in the entire country) and wacked some balls. About half of them went a respectable distance while the other half went basically nowhere (I think the tees at times went further). However, I believe I have the potential to be a decent golfer if I practice at it. I also went to a girls only dinner at the home of a Carnegie Mellon colleague. Girls Gone Wild in Qatar...NOT! We just played a little bit of Wii. And it technically was not even girls only since one of them had her one-year-old son was there. And I must say I have a new boyfriend - her son. That boy loved me! I am a child magnet. So that was about it. Better than your typical Doha weekend, but that is about it...

Jet Lag: Round 2

Gosh. I have nothing to really write about. However, I feel like if I do not write something then people will stop coming back and thus I feel like have to put SOMETHING down. So here I go.

Jet lag. The insane amount of jet lag I experienced moving here was not an anomaly because I am going through quite a bout again after my recent trip to the States. I have been back since late last Monday and I am STILL jet lagged. I have experienced jet lag longer than the length of my trip to San Diego! Disgusting! The thing that is so frustrating is that I am tired. REALLY TIRED. However, I do not sleep. A 24 hour period usually goes like this for me: get up in the morning around 8:00 a.m. dead tired wishing I could stay in bed, I work until I am done with what I need to do (usually around 6:00 p.m.), next I make myself a little dinner, then off to the gym I go, usually running for an hour (you think that alone would make one sleep well at night), and then finally I come home to fart (not literally, but figuratively) around my apartment. By this point, 11:00 p.m. or so, I am exhausted and hopeful I will finally get a full night of sleep. I go to bed at approximately midnight after doing a little reading. I do fall asleep...BUT...then I wake up WIDE AWAKE an hour later. Just one hour! Then I am up for a good three or four hours. During these hours I read and play around on the internet. Finally, I go back to sleep between 4:00-6:00 a.m. and thus I only sleep roughly four hours of sleep a night. I am constantly hopeful the next night will be different because there is no way this can go on forever. I am a sleeper, dang it! I love getting eight to ten hours of sleep a night. But coming back here from the States is just the pits because of the drastic effects it has on my sleeping pattern. I do not know what to do. I drink warm milk, stay awake from caffeine, and such (but no sleeping pills because I have had bad experiences with them in the past) to no avail. All I can do is stay hopeful that it will be different the next night.

But other than that, nada. Just the usual. Working a lot. Working out. Spending way too much time on the internet. Not sleeping. I am going to start looking for a car next week. A car is a necessary evil. Public transportation is basically nonexistent (only in certain parts of town and used only by male workers), the taxi system is overburden and thus takes one well over an hour to pick you up (if it shows up at all), biking will just result in certain death (and more than likely walking will too), and I can only depend on others for rides for so long. In other words, I need my own wheels. I have a few makes and models in mind as well as a price range. Nearly everyone drives really nice cars here, but there is no way in hell I am going to buy a fancy car because of how reckless drivers are here. I am way too practical for that. I would rather buy a safe used car to drive around the streets of Doha because if I do get in an accident ("no, inshallah, no...") I will not be all upset over a damaged car (it would have depreciated enough already). So hopefully in a week or two I will have photos of my new ride.

Books I am reading right now:
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
I am only about 100 pages in, but it is good. Talks about what would possibly happen to the planet if we just disappeared one day. It is kind of technical and thus I can only read so much at a time, but still very interesting.
The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner
I am reading this book for work purposes because I am designing a leadership program for residents with a focus on sustainability. Lots of practical wisdom on leadership based on research.

BTW, here are some books and movies, some I have read or seen and some I have not, on my wish list.
Books:
Marley and Me
Dune (I read it for a class on Islam a few years ago and now I want to explore it again)
The Alchemist

Movies:
American History X
Wall-E
The Shawshank Redemption
Monsters, Inc.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

So yeah. That is about it. Please stay in touch with emails and calls because I NEED THEM!!! It is tough being here on your own, especially in the middle of the night when I cannot sleep.

Gym = Ambrosia. Sort of.

I had a revelation today (I have lots of revelations...) that the gym here at night reminds me of Ambrosia (a club in Syracuse) with its very loud music. Not all the time, but some of the time. But minus the alcohol, sticky floors and the guidos. And fights. Anyway, every once in a while it plays a hot set (I did not even need my iPod tonight!), but then the rest of the time it plays lame music (lots of weird Euro techno business or very explicit and thus makes me uncomfortable rap) as well as lots of reggaeton (who would have thought that reggaeton was so big here?). And I kept up with some of the U.S. military academy (Army, Navy...) kids tonight. I wanted to see if I could do their circuit and I totally kicked ass at it! They were impressed (the old lady could keep up!) and I was impressed (this old lady could keep up!). OK. That is all.

First trip back to the homeland!

I apologize for the nearly two week period between posts. I was in the homeland, specifically San Diego, and was preoccupied with spending time with my family (my sister got married after all), eating Mexican food, enjoying the weather, and shopping. Here is my trip:

I could not sleep the night before my early morning flight. I was too excited and nervous (I had thoughts of "I am going home...but will they let me out of the country???"). But I had no problems at the airport. I breezed through the numerous checkpoints and thus evidently all my paperwork was in order (you need an exit permit to leave the country and for the first time things worked out for me the way they are supposed to). Hallelujah! AND at two separate points I got compliments from airport officials about my name. They love the name Jade. It was after the second incident that I had a quick thought that I must get compliments about my name at least once a week. It is a name that is not so unique that you never hear it, but it is not a common name either. So I want to give mad props to my parents for giving me a great name. It puts a smile on the faces of others and makes me smile a little too, especially on a day when I was a bit stressed about traveling half way around the world.

On my flight from Doha to London, I thought I would have a whole row to myself. It was looking pretty good for a long time. But of course one last passenger boarded the plane and he sat in my row. No full row for me, but I cannot complain. But this was not any ol' passenger. This guy was straight up Bedouin. A nomad of the desert. Bedouins operate with the mindset of survival of the fittest. That is how it is in the desert. Many of the families in power across the Middle East are of Bedouin origin because of their ability to be the strongest. And the craziest drivers in Doha are supposedly Bedouins too. Anyway, this guy spoke absolutely no English (most Qataris who live in Doha know at least some English), felt that all the airplane rules did not apply to him, and proceeded to sit in his seat and not do anything for a good seven hours (I believe largely because he was not acquainted with the operations of the plane). But my favorite part, and the tipping point for me that this dude was Bedouin, was when we were all traversing through the gate at Heathrow and he stopped right before he got on the escalator. I quickly realized he had no idea how an escalator worked and thus grabbed this dude in a suit to help him go up it. It kind of reminded me of the movie Elf when Buddy also had trouble with the escalator. But why this Bedouin dude was going to London is beyond me...

Flight number #2. Off to Los Angeles! In about 11 hours I will be in America! Woo hoo…but ugh. These flights are killers (especially the last hours of these flights that seem to go on forever). I doubt I can do these long trips on a regular basis. Even though I sleep a lot and watch lots of movies on these flights (BTW I highly recommend La Luna Misma, Kung Fu Panda, Baby Mama, and the Sex and the City movie), it takes its toll. But making it home was worth it. I even got a little teary when the plane touched down in Los Angeles. Such a relief! I was home. AND my bag made it! My luggage gets lost at Heathrow every time. So when I saw it make the turn on the belt at LAX I was so relieved.

But I was not done. I still had one more flight (#3), but it was just a quick one to San Diego. And I must note that LAX is a mess of an airport. No signs anywhere. And while I wandered through LAX looking for my gate, all I wanted was a dang milkshake. Anyway, the flight to San Diego was beautiful! We followed the coast down. I was on the right side of the plane and got an amazing view of the stars over the Pacific Ocean (funny to think I started my day in the Persian Gulf). It was like they were three dimensional! I love looking up at the stars in the sky. I check them out nightly here in Qatar. This activity calms me down and makes me feel connected to the people in my life elsewhere around the world. It even makes me realize I am part of something much bigger than I will likely ever understand.

My week in San Diego was also filled with lots of firsts! Firsts in three months! Clouds, rain, slurpees from 7-11, Mexican food (got my fill in some capacity daily), bagels, running outside... It was just what the doctor ordered! And I got to see my amazing family! Talk about getting a much needed fix of love. I am going to cry just thinking about it…

Now to the wedding. Welcome to the family, Bryan!!! It was beautiful!!! All the work Arika put into it and the money my parents spent paid off. It appeared to me that Arika and Bryan were ready to get married. They just seemed so happy! Anyway, luckily we got a tent because during the reception it started to rain! But all the booze made up for it. Here are some pictures from the wedding:



Skyler was missing because he was with all the groomsmen. Lucky me did not have to be a bridesmaid! Yes! I hope to be married one of these days, but I have no desire for a fancy wedding.






Skyler is the third one from the left. Lookin' dapper in that fly suit.


The vows!


The kiss!






First dance as HUSBAND and wife...right, Mom?


My parents being goofy.


So that was the wedding. The next day I headed back to Doha. This time via Chicago and Frankfurt. I hardly remember the journey back. It was absolutely exhausting. All I know is that if I ever have children and I have to take him/her/them on a long flight, I am going to be prepared. He/she/they will be in his/her/their favorite PJs and I will bring his/her/their favorite blankets, pillows, toys and snacks along for the ride. I will treat it like I am going into battle! Why? Because I experienced yet another small child in the seat behind me who screamed and cried through most of a very long flight. I blame the parents who brought nothing for her (and dressed her in a dang dress and tights) and did little to quiet her. It was awful. But one amusing note was that the dude in the seat next to me ate my oatmeal bar when I got up at one point to stretch my legs. I was not going to eat it anyway since there were raisins in it (I like raisins, but not in my food). I come back to find the wrapper. I looked at the wrapper and then him and he basically says to me that the oatmeal bar was fair game because I only took one bite and then left it on my tray for nearly an hour. I did not really mind that much, but who eyes a stranger’s food and then eats their leftovers like that??? Crazy German...