A couple of weeks ago, Nick and I went with six others (Texas A&M grad students/employees) on a desert excursion. We had a fantastic time! We left the city at about 2:00pm on Friday (the weekend is Friday and Saturday here) and were transported in two Land Cruisers by Abrahim and Adel, two native Qatari men. We drove for a little over an hour with Arabic music blasting from the car stereo until we found mountainous dunes that seemed untouched by humans. It was then that we began the trackless roller coaster ride they call “dune bashing”. Abrahim started out easy at first, accelerating over bumpy plains of sand, taking the occasional sharp turn. Then we began to climb steeper inclines, still moving rapidly until, suddenly, we’d look ahead and find nothing around us! Down we went over steep cliffs of sand with nothing to stop us from flipping the vehicle except for our driver’s experience and expertise as a self-proclaimed “man of the desert”. We went over dune after dune, some straight down and others sideways (the scariest!). It couldn’t have been more fun or exciting.
After a couple hours of dune bashing, we stopped to admire the sunset over the dunes and the inland sea. We walked on the shore and soaked in the ambiance, which included a view of Saudi Arabia across the water. It was windy, but peaceful in its vastness. It made me realize how small I am, like a grain of sand, in an unfathomable universe. The nothingness of the desert can be so spectacular, yet it is so different from my conventional definition of beauty in landscape. As an East coast girl who has always admired changing leaves and green panoramas, I have now been confronted by an exotic contender in nature’s beauty pageant.
Since we were such a small group, Abrahim and Adel decided to take us to see their friend’s camel farm. The owner of the farm, a weathered Bedouin man, lived in a large tent in the middle of the desert. He had a herd of about 25 camels outside and a rambunctious kitten—his only other living companions for miles. However, in all his simplicity and isolation, he still managed to have satellite television and a mobile phone (which is understandably necessary, yet comical). After taking pictures of the camels, we went inside his tent and he fed us dates and the most sugary tea and coffee I’d ever had. He made the coffee from scratch—pounding and grinding the beans by hand—and served it to us in somewhat clean cups with an unbalanced coffee to sugar ratio. After we finished “tea time” with our Bedouin friend, we hopped back into the Land Cruisers and headed for camp, speeding over the sand in the darkness.
Our guides’ tour group had a permanent camp set up among the dunes on the inland sea. They had several tents, outhouses, a makeshift kitchen/grill, an eating area, and even a sand volleyball court (on which we all successfully embarrassed ourselves). The camp was surrounded by small lights powered by a generator. They had two men waiting for us with dinner made—kabobs, rice, hummus, bread, etc.—and cold drinks on ice. We ate and, after digesting, we went to attempt our first “sand boarding” experience (i.e. using a snowboard on the dunes). I didn’t bring tennis shoes so I used it as a sled instead, cruising down the slope on my butt. Some of the guys were actually pretty good. In the dim light, the sand could have been mistaken for snow and the guys looked like a bunch of crazy surfers (wearing shorts and t-shirts) going north for a weekend to try their “sea legs” on land. Nick held his own and stayed up most of the way down, but gave us some laughs and entertainment during a dramatic spill. Nick and I also decided to take a walk to the top of the tallest dune nearby (a great alternative to the “Buns of Steel” workout) and check out the night scenery and views. It was gorgeous, yet eerily quiet and desolate. It made me imagine how scary it would be to be lost or alone in the desert. I am definitely not one to find that type of solitude comforting.
After dune boarding and climbing, it was time to relax. Our guides brought out the shisha pipes to a square wooden platform covered in large pillows and rugs. Smoking shisha (hookah in other cultures), a water pipe filled with flavored tobacco, is a social custom in the Middle East. Since drinking in public is not only frowned upon but illegal here, it is their version of having a glass of wine with friends. Although I am not a smoker, it is part of the local custom, so why not? Abrahim and Adel came and sat with us, laughing and telling stories. It is hard to get to know the locals here, as they mostly keep to themselves, so this was a special opportunity. The most useful information we learned from our guides that night was that “Nick” means something very crude in Arabic. They insisted that Nick be called Nicholas. :)
After talking and looking at the stars for a while, we went to bed. The tents were filled with Persian rugs, large cushions, and sleeping bags. The temperature was definitely much cooler in the desert at night. I slept fairly well (Nick woke up to take pictures of the sunrise with his new camera) and in the morning breakfast awaited us. We spent the rest of the morning walking along the shore collecting pretty shells and starfish and then headed back to the city around 9:00am. It was a great adventure and a lot of fun!

Greetings from The Sandbox!

Well, it's a little late for first impressions. I've been here a full three months or so now, so there's not too much here that surprises me a great deal. Things aren't that different here than they are back home: wake up, shower, ride your camel to school, study, watch a public stoning, go to bomb-making class, eat dinner, etc.

No, I'm kidding. No one rides camels to school - too slow in the roundabouts.

But seriously, it's not really that different from home. I think the best description is that it's foreign enough to be cool and different but familiar and Western enough to not be alienating. You'll have towering Western-style fancy hotels lurking over fenced compounds, cramped apartments stuffed with foreign workers, and midsize apartment complexes all crammed into some twisty, dusty streets. The older neighborhoods do have that Chuck Norris/Delta Force Middle East feel, but the newer sections have some breathtaking modern skyscrapers. Foodwise, you can get anything from local favorites like shish tawooq and chicken shawarma to American abominations like McDonalds and Bennigan's. But that's another blog.

I guess the most popular question I get, other than "What time is it there?" from my sister, is "How hot is it there?" Unfortunately for all of you who laughed as I roasted for my first month, it is absolutely gorgeous. The high is in the mid-80s, and it rarely drops below 70s; it's been perfect weather for running. Of course, it was hard to believe it would be this nice when I stepped off the plane at midnight into an oven; it rarely dropped below a very humid 100 at night, and it warmed to the 110-115 range during the day. I've lived in hotter places, and I've lived in wetter places, but never in that kind of combination. Nightfall rarely brought more than a 10 degree drop in temperature; I would sweat through my pants after about 15 minutes of walking around even after 11PM. The sunrise times are all hosed up here; they don't do Daylight Savings Time, and we should really be in the next time zone to the east; Qatar wants to stay on the same time zone as Saudi Arabia, so we get sunrise at about 4:30AM and sunset at about 4:30PM.

Anyway, I suppose I'll keep this brief. I'll post some pictures of the A&M building and Education City when I get a chance. I need to get a few pictures of everyday things; it's hardly remarkable to me anymore, but I suppose some people might find a Middle Eastern country exciting and different. But I need to rubdown my camel and beat the dust out of my carpet before bed tonight, so I'm off. Until next time...

It is hard to believe that I’ve officially been in Qatar for almost four weeks! After what seemed like an eternity of anticipating my life as an expatriate, I now feel quite at home in the strange, but modern city of Doha. Nick has been patiently waiting to co-author this blog with me for two months after his arrival in late August. Although I was disappointed that we weren’t able to leave at the same time, it has actually worked out quite well. Nick has an internal navigation system and has been my guide around the city. He has eagerly shown me the interesting sights and the delicious restaurants that he experienced before I came and has also introduced me to his friends here—mostly fellow graduate students—who are all very nice and welcoming. However, the relationship has been symbiotic, as I have received quite luxurious accommodations and fantastic privileges as a staff member of Texas A&M University. My apartment is huge, furnished, and fully paid for—I have 3 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a maid’s quarters (but no maid!), and spacious rooms with huge windows overlooking the Arabian Gulf on one side and the lights of the city skyscrapers on the other. I am on the 23rd floor! The building has everything one would want or need—an outdoor pool (nearly full-sized, with a view of the Gulf), a gym which includes a sauna, hot tub, and steam room, a mini-mart, a restaurant, an ATM, a dry-cleaner, and even men’s and women’s hair salons! The staff members in the building are extremely nice and some of my co-workers and professors from the university live here among many other westerners (predominately Exxon Mobile employees). I am including some pictures I recently took of my apartment for a better visual.




The living room/dining room, the view from my apartment (a bad picture)-the Gulf with a small sand island, the hallway, the kitchen, the maid's quarters w/ bathroom, two of the three bedrooms, and two of the bathrooms.

I have found Doha to be an interesting city, so far. It is new and beautiful in a man-made sort of way, yet a bit dusty and much unfinished. I like to say Doha is “nouveau riche”; it is a place that has recently come into money as a result of its natural gas resources and it is attempting to create a city (similar to Dubai) with the most current technologies and unique, modern architecture. I remember looking out the window at the Corniche (the road that hugs the coast) on my ride from the airport on the night of my arrival. I was enamored by the beautiful city skyline, the lights reflecting over the water, and the fountains that seemed to be everywhere. It is definitely a place with aesthetic appeal; you just need to know where to look. However, there is less charm in the constant construction throughout the city. New, empty buildings are going up everywhere and the roads change daily. There are barriers in an area one day, the next day there is a complete road block, and a week later there is a mile-long detour. I often have to drive two or three miles out of the way to get to my apartment (even though I can see it just a block away). Yet, one thing that none of the local drivers have to worry about is actually following any rules. Driving over medians, through road barriers, and off-roading to get by traffic and construction are all standard procedures.
Speaking of driving, I proudly took the wheel the very first day I spent in Doha and won a lot of respect from fellow ex-pats for getting out there in the mix so soon. Yet, every day is a new “adventure” and my confidence on the road still meets new lows. I will briefly explain the thrills and terrors of being behind the wheel in Doha…
The Good:
-You never really need to worry about getting in trouble; everyone breaks the rules. Just don’t speed too much or run any red lights (see below).
-You can park anywhere that you can make a spot and there is no towing. You wouldn’t believe the creativity involved in parking, especially by the owners of larger vehicles.
-I have become much more aggressive and have learned to get what I want by being a little pushy and much more confident.
-You are never expected to be polite. If someone wants to get in and you don’t let them, there are no hard feelings and no reason to feel bad. It is each man for himself out there.
The Bad:
-I am bound to get some tickets when I come back to the States. I’m sure I have become an overly-aggressive driver by most U.S. standards (however, I may make it as a NYC taxi driver!).
-Should you be caught speeding or running a red light here on one of the many roadside cameras, you will pay dearly. Fines can be from $500 to several thousand dollars. Of course, many of the locals don’t pay any heed to these fines; it is really just pocket change for them. Plus, the cameras are huge and blatantly obvious from a mile away.
-The traffic is terrible! Due to the poor city planning, the ridiculous amount of construction, and the lack of sufficient roads for the number of drivers, traffic is heavy almost all of the time in certain places.
-People honk their horns constantly! I mean, in a grid-lock without an inch of available space. They honk when they want you to move in impossible situations, when they want to let you know that they are about to hit you, when you are about to hit them, when they are about to hit a pedestrian, when they are riding your bumper (while simultaneously flashing their lights), when they are letting you know that they are about to break a rule and don’t really care how you feel about it, when they stop randomly in the middle of the road, and when they want someone to bring them food from inside a restaurant (their version of takeout). It is really just crying wolf to me. I can’t really trust that there is any reason to be alarmed anymore when I hear the sound of a horn…another bad habit to bring bake to the U.S.
The Ugly:
-The Qatari drivers. The locals here have free reign over the roads and they use it to their full advantage. Not only will they most likely get by with breaking the rules, they aren’t too worried about the fines they will receive if they do. They almost all drive Land Cruisers and drive them incredibly fast and with no consideration of other drivers. My rule of thumb: As soon as you see one approaching from even 500 yards away (“objects in mirror may be closer than they appear”), GET OUT OF THE WAY! Further, (Warning: politically incorrect observation) I feel a little unsafe when seeing a woman wearing a burqa/full hijab (only exposing the eyes) while driving. Perhaps I’m wrong, but doesn’t it seem like there would be a serious lack of peripheral vision??
All of this aside, though, I have actually enjoyed driving here. It feels like a real, 3-dimensional version of Mario Kart. Each day that you park your car for the night and get out in one piece is like beating another level! It’s a sense of accomplishment, a lesson in hand-eye-foot coordination, and another reason to be happy to be alive!
I am really having a blast out here so far and get a lot of enjoyment from observing a new culture and living in a place so different from home. I doubt we will ever lack in topics or stories to write about and I’m already quite behind in my entries. I’m looking forward to sharing more about our adventures! :)