Goodbyes SUCK.

I hate goodbyes, especially when I have to say goodbye to people I love. Like my Super Team. Today I had to say goodbye to three of them. I was a mess, they were a mess, tears galore... But here is a picture of us together (with our adopted members) last night at Cornell's Pre-Med Completion Ceremony:

And here are some other fun pictures from the evening:

See. Tears.

The trip starts now!

This time tomorrow I will be in Nairobi! No more Doha for a few weeks!

And the fun starts tonight! I am going to crash at Gary's place near the airport so I can get away from EC!

There will probably be very few posts, if any, while I am away. But prepare for some mammoth ones when I return.

Much love!

End of Year = Lots of Events

This past week has been quite eventful. Since it is the end of the year, there are lots of events going on...and I loved it!

First up was the VCU Fashion Show. This was my first fashion show ever (which kind of surprised me...) and I totally enjoyed it (even though I thought some of the designs were frankly kind of...rubbish...). I just wish Nina Garcia (of PR) was there with me. I heart NEEEna.

My resident Ramna doing her thang.
My resident Carla working it.
And the girl on the left I thought kind of looked like a tranny...

Next up was the dhow cruise. This was my first trip on a dhow and probably my last. Definitely a lot of fun!

My poor friend! Rosemary felt ill before she even got on the boat, but being on the dhow did not help.

Doha in the distance. Sorry about the feet...
There were a number of jerkfaces on jet skis that would come really close to check our boat out...and a couple times they would intentionally splash us. It is times like this when I wish I had some sort of massive (and painful) water gun to get them back.
Sunset!

Next up was lunch organized by my girls. Oh, how I love them! The location of lunch was a surprise (I am the only one with a car and thus I had to drive, but they would only give me one step of the directions at a time). We ended up at this amazing Arabic restaurant where they had reserved a private tent-like section of the restaurant and had a whole plan for our meal. I was so impressed! And it was truthfully the best Arabic food I have had since I moved here (I just wish I remembered the name of the restaurant to recommend it...). Anyway, they also got me gifts: they made me the cutest poster with photos from this year and gave me a beautiful bracelet with my name in Arabic. I totally cried. Of course. I love these girls so much. And THEN they got me an ice cream cake like it was my damn birthday! It was a beautiful lunch filled with lots of laughs (and some tears), but it hit me at the very end that this was the last time we were going to be together like this as a family (this is how we see our group). So I cried some more...

While this is not an event celebrating the end of the year, I do want to mention it. The Epic Trip is coming up in a little over a week (I leave next Friday)! Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda and then up to Egypt and Jordan. So on top of all the events this week, I am quite busy trying to get my act together for this trip. Including getting some shots and pills so I do not get malaria or something like that and die. But of course it is not as easy as just going to your local doc and getting what you need. I had to first find the Vaccination Clinic who told me I had to go navigate the Ministry of Health who then gave me a form to take back to the Vaccination Clinic... But I managed (patience and a good attitude is what you need in these parts) and got all that I needed (also, you do not want to go unprepared, you need to be able to tell them exactly what you need). But it all only cost me 10QR for everything. Or around $3. Neener neener neener.

Back to the events...

Next up: Senior Convocation. It was quite the spectacle, but frankly kind of boring... It did not help it was nearly all in Arabic yet Education City's official language is English... But I gotta respect I am in an Arabic-speaking country.
The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. I find that I really like classical music when it is loud.

The words to the national anthem of Qatar. It is quite the jam...
QF's President gives amazing handshakes.
Her Highness giving some love to her son who graduated from Georgetown. It was so sweet!
Photo 1/3 of all the graduates (around 200) with Her Highness.
Photo 2/3 of all the graduates with Her Highness.
Photo 3/3 of all the graduates with Her Highness.

I also attended Cornell's graduation event for the graduating med students. Six out of the 13 females (out of a total class of 17) are my residents. Go girls! It was a very nice event with delicious food. It was also the first time I heard the national anthem of the United States in a very long time. Being over here in a part of the world where you definitely do not feel so free gives our national anthem a new meaning. Moving on... I also told my little super team (they were also there) that I will attend their graduation from medical school in four years...but probably when they attend the graduation in New York.

And finally last night was the Enrique concert...and subsequent BBQ for those not attending in the Playground since the concert was literally next door. It was quite the success! Well over 30 students came (great considering how many students have already left, attended the concert or still have finals). And it was so easy! I just put up some posters (theme: BBQ greater than (using the math symbol) Enrique), bought some food (the watermelon was a hit), and kicked back and listened to Enrique (kind of bizarre to have the real deal as background music).

Some of the residents fanning the BBQ to get it going...

Resident Varun and his first glow stick!

There is fresh water in Qatar?

I grew a bit perplexed today while sitting in traffic (what a surprise...). I was stuck behind a truck for Rayyan Water (advertises water made in Qatar) when I thought, "There is fresh water in Qatar? WHERE?" So I wrote down the website listed on the truck. I thought I would share it: http://www.rayyanwater.com/. But it provided no answers.

I will...

...never complain about banking in the United States EVER again. If you want to get me going, asking me about my experiences with QNB. The end.