Just being on a college campus is enough to add a bit of spice to my day.
This week is the "EC for Haiti" campaign. A few organizations from different campuses are all banding together to man table everywhere around here for a week to solicit donations for the victims of the earthquake that will then be given to the Red Crescent. If you are at EC, come say hi to me tomorrow (Monday) in LAS from 11:00-noon. And donate money.
Today was the kick-off event, which was possibly planned by Cornell, who decided that kites would be necessary**. I didn't really understand the theme, but there was also egg-tossing, cotton candy, chocolate pebble candies, and an iPod raffle. Yay donating to Haiti? While attempting to fly a kite, I ran (thankfully not literally) into Matt, an exchange student at Texas A&M. Sadly, there was no wind for him either, so he got to run next.
I did mention the egg-toss, but I don't think I mentioned the fact that the first friendly face I saw was a chicken-embryo-covered Utsav. He's male; what do they know about taking care of eggs? (Nevermind that Swapnil and I went through three eggs before we could get more than five feet apart.)
After closing shop on that event, I went with Yahya, a half-Egyptian Cornell student, to watch the final match of the African Cup at Georgetown. Apparently they've been showing all the Egypt games there, and the last game (the one I couldn't attend because I'm a girl) was a lot more exciting than this one (since they did get four goals instead of just one this time).
But, during that goal, which was scored five minutes before the end of regulation time, everyone was on their feet chanting "Masr" (Egypt) and singing along. You can see the low-quality video, but, trust me, it was the reason I seek out these things. Excited fans make me excited!
My final adventure for the night was accompanying a friend to pick up another friend at the airport. At 3am. We were a bit early, so got some tea at bandar (which I then spilled on myself. It is the first time I have spilled tea, and, of course, it happens the day after I do laundry.) When we got to the airport, the flight was a bit delayed. I haven't been raised in this sort of multi-culture, so while we were in the airport, we began guessing where each person was originally from. Fun fact: most people with moustaches are from India. Who knew?
Tessa finally arrived, and we went to the nearest Starbucks to feed her coffee addiction. What costs $8 in America costs $5 here and $1.75 in Brunei. I've included a menu in Arabic, for those of you who need the translation for "cafe americano." (I personally need the translation from "cafe americano" into "a diluted shot of espresso".) We also went to McDonald's for a late night snack. There is nothing like having classes in the morning and pretending like you don't.
**EDIT: This just in from Utsav: "Basant is a traditional kite flying festival in India. At Cornell we celebrate it annually as a picnic. This year we decided to charge for the kites and all the funds collected will be either sent directly to the Cornell center in Haiti or via Red Crescent." So now we both know!
I just finished Skyping with my family, and, would you believe it, they accused me of being too happy? "Get depressed or something."
Well, I must say if my days continue being as productive and fun as today was, there is very little chance of that.
I'll skip the boring part where I graded homeworks, did my homework, got free food, and went to a group meeting.
I'll jump instead to the part where I stuffed myself at a delicious Indian buffet called Caravan. And I suppose we can also talk about the fact that I was with an awesome group of new and old friends. Remember that day with two dinners? Sabrina, Utsav, Salman, and Abdalla were all there tonight, in addition to a few of the CDAs (RAs) around here. I hang out with the resident life crew wherever I go, it seems.
My exciting food choice of the day was... balls. That is a bit easier to say than gulab jamun. They were spheres of what I thought then was dough and honey, but I know now as cream and flour in a rose-water syrup. No wonder the name means something like "rose fruit."
A trip to Doha is never complete without a stop for tea and talk at bandar. It intrigues me the kind of people that hang out there at all hours... since I'm definitely one of them. Most of the group headed over there after dinner to chat. While the group of us was shooting the breeze, someone (I think it was Salman) suggested a ride on a dhow. Now, these boats get lit up at night with strings of lights - much different than the tourist sightseeing cruise I took earlier. Also different was the bargaining. We were very insistent that we wanted the boat for half an hour, and we wanted it for 10 riyals a person ($2.70). So all the guys in the group gather around the dock attendant and assail him in Hindi, Arabic, English, and Urdu. He takes it all, dishes it back, and then some. (Someone told me the language that he added, but I'm not sure what it was... something about him being Bangladeshi?) And we end up with a stunning cruise for 120 riyals (which was 13QR per person... but totally worth it).
The guy who was driving the boat was also our DJ; played Akon and Kanye, Daft Punk and Rihanna. And some interesting mix of dance and Arabic music that was entertaining. We started a Doha dance party in the middle of the bay.
That's right. A dance party. On a dhow. In Doha. I was... delighted!
Coming home, we stood around outside the dorms talking about cadavers and "that's what she said" jokes until the final call of homework and classes in the morning pulled us apart. But, until another day, as Salman would say, "good story"! (EDIT: Salman says "Cool story." I'm embarrassed that I got his catchphrase wrong.)
While today didn't have any extreme, wild and crazy adventures, it was one of those days that just left me with a glow at the end of it. It reminds me how much the simple things around EC and Doha are going to stick with me.
I got a call from a friend inviting me to lunch and grocery shopping (which was exactly what I needed to do!) So Shakir, Arlie, and I headed out for some Indian cuisine, which included these baked chip-things he called "poppers." I was snacking on those the whole time, while eating some Indian dish that he recommended. I won't say it's the best I've had (I like the dishes based around the bread naan instead of those based on rice), but it cleared my sinuses and my hunger.
Lulu's Hypermart, where we went shopping, is appropriately named. Parking was crazy, like it always is anywhere in Doha, and the shopping carts have casters on every wheel, so turning is an art and an adventure. The entrance also has a crowded money exchange dealer, a jewelry store with only gold, and a "Bag Drop" if you want to continue to shop without your cart full of stuff.
I don't think I've talked about grocery shopping much here before, but it is cheaper than the US, but much harder. I can't recognize brands; when English is thrown in in small print on a package, I have to examine everything twice as much. And trying to buy local (and thus cheaper) creates interesting results. I was trying to find vanilla extract, but ended up with a bottle of some sort of vanilla flavouring. For $.30, why not try it out? And, as most the times I hang out with Shakir, we ended up at bandar. Had a bit of "carrack" (the tea that I'm always talking about), then headed back to EC.
As we are cruising through the gates, Shakir asks about a little cricket detour, since Texas A&M and Cornell were playing each other. Since he had painstakingly explained the complex rules to me during the first week we met, I was ready to see a game in action.
And I think I might have understood part of the conversation he had. There was talk of a "score" and a "winner"... but really, there was something about the "number of balls left" (which I kinda understood) and something about the "wickets" (which I'm not sure I understood at all). Then, they started jabbering in some other language, so I got lost after that. I tripped going up the stairs to my apartment, so had to make an egg sandwich from the broken egg. Then I got alerted of free food for a recruiting event, so I got some delicious Baskin-Robbins while reconnecting with some inter-uni friends. After that was a quick stop to say hello at the Campus Life evening event, where I had to explain what a s'more is. I also "played" in a pick-up basketball game. Which meant I left to ice my jammed finger and finish grading some homeworks. The cycle never ends, but I love it so much. Social, busy days like these make me happy to be buzzing with life.
Today was not very well planned. I was not busy, then for 4 hours straight had 4 different events that I could attend. And now, back to being a lazy night.
I love Thursdays, the only day that I really sleep in. I got up at noon, exercised, ate my camel leftovers, and started the craziness.
First up, the CMU Development Solutions Organization (or something that shortens to DSO) is doing a week-long campaign to raise money for Haiti. I went to the meeting for that, supposedly signed up to get signed up for shifts, then scurried off to... CMU's Got Talent! The talent show that shows the exchange students (and everyone else in EC who heard there was free food) what people on this campus can do. My apartment-mate sang OneRepublic's "Apologize" with two other freshmen on back-up... and they were really fun to watch! Jessica did a song from "Ragtime" ('m ashamed to say it's one of the musicals I know almost nothing about) that was very powerful. My favourite part was when a group did an encore of a famous Pakistani song that I didn't know... yet almost the entire crowd was singing word for word with her. Now I want to find out what the song was! (Update: Mishab told me it was Aadat. Now you can go memorize it and fit in!)
After the dazzling talent show, I went to Qatari Day/Night, which was taking place just 100 meters from the show. They had taken the middle corridor, set out couches and tables, had "dress-up" clothes for people to try on, and had some great literature that I picked up.
For about half an hour, there was sword dancing... Men were wandering around in thobes with these sabres that they would wave around in time to a dance. I was sure someone was going to get stabbed, since no one was looking where they were going. So in light of all this, I, of course, grabbed a sword and jumped in. Never mind that there weren't any other girls doing it... it is clearly a cultural event where I wouldn't get tramped. As I was posing for this picture, the random guy that is in it came up and goes "This is my terrorist pose" while miming slicing my throat. I'm glad they can poke fun at the incorrect image we Americans have of them.
However, the acceptance there wasn't like my other plans for the evening, which fell through. Tonight was the African Cup semi-final between Algeria and Egypt. I want to go see how intense people get for football around here... being in Austria for the EuroCup a few years ago was really, really cool. However, they apparently get wild and dangerous. One of the places in the souq wasn't going to show the game because they were scared fights were going to break out.
So, in sum, sometimes I hate being a girl in any country where places are too dangerous for me. That happens in the US too, though, so I can't be too harsh. And don't worry, parents, friends, strangers that read this blog... I'm being careful!
I don't feel like an exchange student any more. I'm not sure that I ever really did. I think I have this tendency to forget that time moves in other places besides the one that I'm in. For example, the idea that it is snowing in Pittsburgh boggles me. Sometimes I think the human brain is capable of so much, but then I try to fathom how far I am away from my family and I can't do.
Part of it might be the fact that I can Skype with them for free whenever we can find a time (which usually means me waking up at dawn while they try to stay awake at night). If you are interested in a face-to-face chat, or even just an instant message session, add me as cmwalter.
The language barrier is also something that I don't have to deal with. Yes, every so often, my Islamic Feminism class starts arguing in Arabic; yes, I can't listen in on every conversation happening in the library; yes, ordering at restaurants often consists of pointing. But I must say the Pittsburgh campus probably has more languages regularly spoken than here! Now, what I actually did today (beside philosophize) was my normal mix of (a) regular, (b) enriching, and (c) off-beat. Classes this morning and afternoon: you know which category those fall into. Office hours: easy. Discussing "The Giver" at a book club: fairly obviously in the second. Watching "Baran": probably falls into more the "off-beat" category. But nothing beats making up a pretty-good-but-not-great cookie recipe (and possibly stealing my roommate's jam) for the off-beat things that I end up doing when nothing immediate is on my plate. (On my plate! Ha! Get it?)
I've just found an achievement for my "real" bucket list (you know, the one you have to complete before you die): to be a member of the Circumnavigator's Club.
Besides the ridiculous amount of coding that I had to do tonight (yes, I know I'm a computer science major, and it comes with the territory), I got the chance to stretch my inter-college connections and attend a formal dinner for Dr. Sam Mannan at Texas A&M. Though I didn't get a chance to talk with the guest of honour, my tablemates and I talked to Jim, a Exxon-Mobil employee who works on their "cave", a 3-D modelling space for process safety in their plants. He did mention environments that they can create, such as a roller coaster and outer space, that don't quite fall into that category but sounded fun. His open invitation might just be something I take him up on.
Speaking of free food, I also had lunch on the International Education division. The exchange students (that could show up) talked about our "first" impressions. The few that stuck out are the group love of shwarma, the attraction to the locals and their openness, and the mentality of always being served (thus never having to clean-up after oneself). The good news is the my passport is back in my possession, so I can travel!
So, on these days that my day doesn't have a great excitement in it, I turn a little more introspective (or at least tell you the things I'm thinking about). There is a group of exchange students that are planning a trip to Egypt during Spring Break. Since I sadly got rejected from the CMU-Q Singapore trip, I have a week to burn. However, the group is looking at spending up to $2000 on the trip.
Now, when it comes to travel, I am more willing to say yes to spending money; however, I spent five weeks in Europe for that amount. I am much more of the hostellingtype, and I've heard good things about couch-surfing as well, though have never been brave enough to try. Between this and my dearest love for $20 Rick Steves' books instead of expensive tour guides, I feel like this trip might not be for me.
On the other hand, Egypt is a very hard place to travel alone. I'm just leaning toward finding less tourist-y destinations while I'm close to this part of the world.
(No pictures of today, but I'll give you one of my recent favourites that had gotten cut previously. It is one of the many, many trees that is planted inside the CMU-Q building.)
Just when I thought there was no way I'd be able to complete the things on my bucket list during the week, God sends rain!
I got a text this morning from my good buddy Edwin alerting me of the fact that it had rained! I jumped to look outside (and was surprised by a pigeon on my windowsill, but that's a story for another day) but the light rain had already passed.
I took a picture of the puddles and clouds, since rarely do you see a day that's not sunny, and I figured that would have to be good enough. Imagine my delight when this afternoon, the humidity soared and the water in the air congealed into raindrops again for me! I actually felt them this time (and took another picture to celebrate).
Besides that, my day was uneventful. Most Mondays there are computer science talks during lunch (that offer free food), so I went to the talk today about Google getting hacked by China. While Ryan Riley, a professor from Qatar University, didn't have any insider information, he gave plenty of advice on, if you were going to attempt to get into the e-mails of Chinese human rights activists, how you would go about doing it.
A little look into my personal life, I am part of multiple classes where I am working or will work in groups. This is a cause for a) frustration, since I don't know the people I'm working with; b) joy, when the group that I randomly get put it is full of other dedicated students; or c) a sense of humor, since when things fall apart, sometimes it is best to live and let live.
Besides the fact that everything in my life is due on Tuesday, today was very important for my cultural development. For my Islamic Feminism class, we were given the opportunity to see Dr. Aseel Al-Awadhi, one of the first four women elected to the Kuwaiti parliament. She came and spoke to a small group of us (about 20) about her journey and her methods. She cares a lot about having a young staff and young presence in the National Assembly, and as a former professor, she has a good network of college-age students to draw experiences upon.
The class is taught by a Qatari woman, Amal Al-Malki, and there is me, an Egyptian guy, and about a dozen Arabic (and mostly Qatari) girls, almost all of them in abbayas.
The discussions in this class are one of the experiences around here that bring joy to my heart. We do have to listen to some boring stuff, and the stuff we read is dense, but when you distil it down and get to talk about it in class, it is such an experience.
After the talk and discussion, we went with Dr. Aseel and her assistant, Abdullah, to The Pearl, where we sat down at le "Relais de l'Entrecote", some new French steakhouse. (I was not impressed at all, with waitresses in cheesy French maid outfits, not-so-classy steak and french fries, bad service, and just a cheap-looking place... but that's all I'll say about that.)
This was the first opportunity I got to talk to many of the girls outside of class. At the beginning of dinner, Dr. Aseel got asked a question about her family and their supported, and she started talking for a few minutes in Arabic. Then she looked over at me, apologized, and switched back to English.
Later in the evening, I looked over to the other side of the table where, again, a conversation was happening in Arabic. One of the girls caught my eye, and, after a bit, she said, "Don't you wish you had a dial or something, to turn conversations from Arabic to English?" I told her my plan was actually to shock people if they started speaking unintelligible Arabic around me. I don't often mind the switch to Arabic for short conversations, since I know I'm the foreign one around here. However, I know all of these girls were bilingual, so I gave them a hard time about not even realizing what language they were even speaking in. I got a ride back to Education City with a few of the Qatari girls, and we talked about arranged marriages (since one of the girls just got married over the summer) and Qatari weddings (since we passed the men's part of a wedding as we were driving home). And, of course, the fact that I cook for myself didn't go unnoticed. I'll invite them over for lunch before class one of these weeks.
Culture culture culture.
Dr. Aseel is speaking again tomorrow downtown, and I would go except that my life is due on Tuesday. So I'll be having fun designing and programming instead. Just like right now.
Sometimes, I think part of the reason that I blog daily is so that everyday I have an excuse for my need to do more than just homework. Because over three-quarters of today was sitting at my laptop, reading the code and beginning to write a IRC server for my networking class.
The part that I want you to hear about, though, was the Doha Trade Expo. I saw this advertised a bit online and on signs around, and everywhere it was advertised, it went on until "Saturday, Jan. 24." I have no idea of Saturday, Jan 23rd (today) was the last day or not, but the amount of people there was very cool. We got there at 8:30pm and parked in the dusty lot that stretched for hundreds of meters on all sides of this boxy building, which was covered in cars.
Culturally-sensitive me realized after I snapped my first picture that being surrounded by covered women and men does not make a photogenic place.
So Daedri and Brent and Abdalla and I wandered that stalls; we tried some dates, felt some "pashmina" scarves, got talked at by Asian guys on microphones marketing the "Japan Magic Mop" and the "Magic Bullet Blender," played with toy guns, touched sparkly earrings, and got pushed and shoved by many other, more eager shoppers than we were. My favorite stalls were those selling spices like thyme that, not only would make your food taste delicious, but "keep you going all night" and "enlarge" everything important. They also sold wonderful beauty treatments, such as the "Virgin Soap 2000." I was sorely tempted to buy.
We spent an hour or so wandering the floor for that special treasure, but only Daedri bought anything.
I know I was looking forward to our dinner... shwarma.
My new favorite food greeted me like an old friend... or that might have been the other car full of CMU people that we met up with there. Here, more than at main campus, friend groups transcend years and majors. Tessa and Rishav are my TAs for two classes, but I'm Tessa's TA for one. However, once you get out your shwarma and sit in the majlis, it doesn't much matter who is whose what anymore. All that matters is trying not to get the delicious garlic-yogurt sauce on your pants.
It is Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, so I decided to be my curious self and go to the Fanar, the Islamic Cultural Center right by the souq. It is notable for its size, but also for the spiral minaret (tower), one of only two in the world. We got there while it was open, but the "guy who answers questions" wasn't there yet. So I looked at the exhibits explaining Islam, the Prophets and Messengers, the Five Covenants, and so on. I got the guts to go to the prayer room (or the actual mosque part) upstairs.
I'm glad I've been "trained" on mosque-going, since, unlike all the tourist-friendly mosques in Istanbul, this one had no warning signs in five different languages telling you to take off your shoes and cover your head.
The prayer room area was, like in Istanbul, a segregated area about the men's area. However, in Istanbul, since the mosques were one large room with the balcony overlooking it, I could go anywhere (including the main/men's section). Here, because it was much more of a functioning mosque, I went in the women's entrance and walked into the carpeted room.
It was much less ornate, more like a peaceful, library-esque feeling, with a few bookshelves along the wall, the typical striped carpet (to help them face Mecca), and a patterned screen that allowed us to look down to the men's section and the front of the room. I think that mosques are some of the most welcoming places of faith I've been in; churches and cathedrals would be next, then synagogues would probably be after that. I've never felt uncomfortable in any of them (which is a testament to all religions that I've experienced, thankfully) but there is something about taking off your shoes to walk on the ground that gives an extra fullness to the experience. Who is going to argue and fight when they are barefoot?
My cultural exchange continued when I met my partner for my Islamic Feminism class. He's an Egyptian male, the only other non-Qatari in the class and the only male. We finished our summary quickly, then turned to the more interesting subject, which was what our feminist beliefs were. He told me what he doesn't say in class, and, while I didn't necessarily agree with what he said, he clearly had thought about what was important in life for him and how a wife and mother would fit in to help make that happen.
And, of course, my final cultural exchange of the night was with other American students. Texas is like a foreign country, right? Though us exchange students from the main campuses are all westernized, people hold passports from Singapore to El Salvador. We ate at a Moroccan restaurant in the souq, where I had my first taste of camel! It was kofta, which I will say is a sausage-like form of it. It could have been better seasoned, but now I have camel leftovers in my fridge. And, like many, many nights out here, it ended with a short clown car ride to Bandar, and some tea. One of the girls mentioned that her friend saw a pet cheetah stick its head out a car window like a dog. This led to all of us brainstorming what our best exotic pet would be. The three winners? Tito, the macaroni penguin; Pistachio, a chimp trained to fetch beer; and a white tiger. Or any white big cat. Because who would mess with a guy with an albino leopard chilling on his couch?
While we were there, a wedding party passed through, and, while some of the others found the honked and chanting annoying, I am always excited to see something new and different.
Ah, a day without class. Which means I got rest, exercise, a bank account, a free t-shirt, and work done. And what happens after all that?
It's a "Friday" night, so out I went!
The first outing was with Zaid, Abdalla, and Sidra, who all have close ties with Pakistan. So when we ended up at Sara Restaurant, a place devoted to "Paki" food, I somehow wasn't surprised.
We were served family-style and ate with our hands. The mealconsisted of a few chicken dishes and a disturbingly delicious portion of lamb brain, which finished with a dish of sweet rice noodles on ice cream. At least, that's what I gathered from their limited knowledge. Dinner 1 was completed with Trip-to-the-Bay 1, as the four of us strolled along the Corniche near West Bay (which should be more accurately "North Bay", but we'll let them have their name). So the pleasant evening was complete, but right as Abdalla was dropping me off, we ran into another few friends of his, including the President of Cornell-Q. Utsav, Sabrina, and Salman invited us to Dinner 2 at Applebee's, which, for the two of us that had already eaten, was just dessert. Then, we traveled to Bandar, for Trip-to-the-Corniche 2. Bandar is on the opposite side of West Bay (which would be "South Bay"?) so Abdalla and I weren't bored with the view.
Instead, we had a great conversation about life in college. Sabrina made a point that, very often, we don't know where we are in life, we just do, do, do. We had a similar view, that you can re-take classes, but you can't retake life. Two graduate medical students didn't quite agree with the "re-taking classes" part, but they did admit that being on Bandar (an outcropping with a boat dock, tea stand, a lots of parking) was not so shabby.
Anyway, the point is that not only did I have a wonderful day of meeting new friends (who made me laugh until I cried -- a Qatar first), but I also got a second to reflect and be overwhelmed with how happy I am around here. When asked the colloquial, "How are you finding it?", I can truthfully answer, "Wonderful."
No, I'm not trying to teach you Arabic in this post (though I did increase my vocabulary today to include directions). We'll get to the title later.
On the Arabic front, my increased interest today stemmed from the boredom that happened after the car ride to get our fingerprints. I'm not a criminal; it is just the system in order to get a resident card for Qatar. It is a positive step, because that means that all the x-rays and blood tests went through. So I got to have a nice man caress my hand as he rolled my fingers across a glass plate. He couldn't pronounce my name, so I told him to call me "Corniche." He, like most people who hear that, laughed.
After that simple process (that you can see Edwin doing in the picture), we sat in the van for an hour. So I brushed up on my Arabic 1-3, then learned 4-7, then learned 'left,' 'right,' 'straight,' and kind of learned 'friend.'
I saw Afaf and met Min yesterday, who are two Cornell students. I convinced them to give me a tour of their building (since you can't get in without a Cornell-ian), so I finally got to see the building.
It has been called the least friendly and ugliest building on campus. I've heard it was designed to look like a hospital, so all the pre-med and med students can see where they'll be (hopefully) working in the future. I think the white gives it a lot of airiness and space, and the light comes down everywhere. CMU is much dimmer in comparison. The building is set up with two parallel hallways, and between them is a courtyard with four giant pods that hold lecture halls sprouting from the walls. One pod looks like an egg-UFO has landed; another, a 12-sided die that some giant gamer discarded because none of the sides were labeled.
Now comes the eating part of my day. I had packed lunch to eat while holding office hours, then there was this free pizza I found. In order to stay awake in my next two classes, I ate all three slices (instead of saving them for later, as was the intention). Then, after class, I went to a local dive for lunch, where I snacked on hummus and pita. Then, Daedri and I went to go see a movie showing, and I got more free pizza. Now, I feel like eating a salad after all that random junk.
But can I just comment on the local dive? The restaurant, called "Choice Restaurant," has a few tables and matching chairs and a very diverse but simple dish menu. There is Mexican, Chinese, Indian, or Arabic dishes, and they load up your plate. The place and the prices belie the fact that they cater to the workers of the area. Eating at a hole-in-the-wall makes this experience so much better than the Western-coated malls and sleek, modern downtown.
My busy day continued with a showing of "Five in the Afternoon", a Cannes winner done by an Iranian director from a well-known family, Samira Makhmalbaf. The movie was a bit long for its content, but it was supposed to be a slow-paced movie. It was also one of those symbolic, deep, less-entertaining-than-informing films. NU-Q Film Society were great hosts and led a little discussion afterward that showed a lot of feminist and Islamic ideas come out.
I was a bit insulted by one of the guys who continually tried to cast the high heels that the main character would wear as an item of "fashion." However, these shoes were put on at very specific times for the young woman, and I believe they show her independence and defiance more than her submission to mere "fashion."
Moving past that rant, the night was with a board game party with my favorite VCU exchange students. Brent was doing well at Carcassone, I learned that Zane has a blog and can do a kicking 'sorority squat' for pictures, and I found out that Daedri's idea of a 'crossword' does not often involve words. So, her wonderful creation, read as an interpretive poem:
So I have this good friend whose trilingual (which is very impressive), and I've begun asking him what different things are in Arabic. I'll let you know how that works out, since the first three letters and first three numbers are almost more than I can handle. (What kind of language has the 'one' have more than one syllable? Though 'two' has two, and 'three' has three... I haven't gotten to four yet, but I would hope that that doesn't continue for too long.)
Speaking of words, today I watched the Human Writes Project performing in the majlis of CMU-Q. Their performance of "Brooklyn Beats to Beirut Streets" was a chronological word wonder telling of these three hip-hop-inspired men and their passion for compassion. They are multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-national, but they gave a message of hope and peace and human need. Their question-and-answer session went quite a long time... you could tell they were poets because they would answer the questions in lengthy cadence.
Also, surprisingly, I ran into Sara, a classmate from Pittsburgh. I was talking to some others, then recognized her when they pointed her out as the MC for the evening. They were incredulous, because around here she goes to Georgetown, so there is no reason for her to be in Pittsburgh.
But in Pittsburgh she was. After a few years there, she decided to do something radically different (where she could learn Arabic, too!) and ended up in Qatar. I knew I knew her! After the performance, Abdallah (who has a car, so I keep him around) and I went adventuring to a park in Aspire Zone. If my memory from the tour a nearly two weeks ago serves me well, the Aspire Zone was built for the Asian Games in 2006. We went to a very extensive park, with the only hill for miles (and it was probably man-made). Very prominent in the Aspire Zone is the, I believe it's called, the Aspire Tower. This is where the flame of the Asian Games was, and it is one of the tallest landmarks outside of Doha central.
The amount of guards around has become less of a sticking point for me since I've been here, especially since I've realized that they are just doing their job. Which, sadly, doesn't including taking pictures of people in front of water features. So we had to do it ourselves. Sans flash, the water looked beautiful. With flash, my glaring white face is much more prominent. So, combine them in your head, and it'll be a great picture.
A final mention about the park was that while we were there, our timing was impeccable. We were never on a lawn when the sprinklers started to go off; we were taking pictures by the water, and it turned off right as we left; after we climbed the hill, the lights along the pond turned on. The sprinkler by the car even went off right before we left so I could wash the grit out of my sandals. It was a good night, but after my not-so-complete night of sleep last night, it'll be nice to lay down and get some good rest.
Today was probably my first real crunch day for school.
In America, we say "I'm at college"; in most other parts, I hear, "I'm at uni." Uni, as in university, but I often chuckle to myself as I think unitard, unicorn, uni-brow...
Since it was my first real crunch day, I think it was also the first day that I haven't taken any pictures around here.
I mean, I didn't just stay on campus and study (like I should have). I played Monday volleyball with some people (the tradition of CS volleyball lives on here, too, apparently); I went out for some sort of juice drink with avocado, mango, and coconut; I went running; I took a nap; I made my first exercises for the recitation section I am leading tomorrow.
And best of all, I got to have more social, cultural, and just heart-warming experiences with the other residents of Education City. Isn't that just warm and fuzzy?
Here's a retro-photo care of Arlie: from Day 4, when we found a majlis (seating area) around the souq to rest our feet.
In some ways it is hard to believe that it has been two weeks. School just started (even though it feels like forever) and I'm still loving the sunny days.
I thought that I'd talk about different forms of dress around here. Let's start with a "hijab." This is a blanket term for modest cultural wear (like the full outfit of cloak and scarf) or just a headscarf worn by many of the women around here. Most Muslim women from a lot of different backgrounds wear the headscarf, from Sudan to the Gulf states.
The "abayah" is the next word I learned. It is a black cloak that primarily Qatari (though some Emirati) women wear over their clothing. After being here for a bit, there is quite a bit of variance. The wrists be drape-y or elasticized, with embroidery or lace, closed all the way up the front, or with their pants and fancy heels showing. There can be color on the cuff and the ends of the scarf, but the scarf always matches.
Finally, the most modest and most religious wear a "niqaab," or a veil that shows a woman's eyes. Some, though very few, wear a veil fully covering there faces.
The "abayah" was the subject (possibly inadvertently) in my Islamic Feminism class today. It started with a question on the Western perception of hijab (modest wear, including the scarf, abayah, and maybe even veil). And, in my opinion, I believe a lot of Americans think that 1) Muslim women are forced to wear hijab and 2) that they don't want to.
Both these statements are mostly incorrect. There is no physical penalty for not wearing hijab, though there is a bit of a cultural stigma against it. However, my professor, a Qatari woman, only wears an abayah without the headscarf as a sign of respect. So it is because they love their country and culture that they wear it. That, too, isn't the same for everyone. I know a Qatari girl who is required to wear it as uniform, but goes out without it because she doesn't like it.
In the class, the discussion turned to the different ways and reasons to wear abayah, hijab, and niqaab. Many women take it off when they leave the country, because it doesn't have the same significance abroad, of solidarity and family values. I think there is also the practical matter of not having to deal with the stares and insinuations that would result from wearing an abayah as well.
While we're talking about cultural differences, I have two things to show you.
1) Yes, I'm eating fries, no big deal. The big deal is that these fries were delivered. What kind of McDonald's delivers? The Qatar kind. So Sarah ordered them for me (what a good roommate) and we had a nice little chat about what her life is like, what my life is like, the crazy amount of sisters we have (she also has three, but has two brothers on top of that!), and, since our schedules don't align much, it was good to see her.
2) It is. The best. Bumper sticker. I have ever seen. Camel + Heart = Pure Awesome. I wanted to peel it off the car, except I didn't know what it said until my roommate translated it for me. It says, "I am Doha." Now I want it even more. This is my quest.
Warning: today was not very exciting, so I'm going to spice it up with nerdy things. Sound like a plan?
This morning, bright and early, there were these two tomcats (as I found out later) that had cornered a lady-cat in a tree and were head-butting underneath it. (Ask Jessica for pictures, if you desire.) All I remember is thinking, "That's why they call it 'caterwauling'" as I rolled over and went back to sleep.
I finished my TA training! Not like it was very hard, but there were a few ethical questions that I hadn't thought of before. If you are a teaching assistant for a friend, who calls you up to ask a question, then we were supposed to think if all of the students in the class have the same luxury. If not, that is not treating all students fairly. I hadn't thought of that situation in that way before.
Jessica had mentioned yesterday during training (since she is going to be a writing tutor), that she was looking for a chance to make crepes. I was on board! So today, a few of us girls got together at her place for the delicious French delight.
Have I mentioned recently that I hate the lack of co-ed dorms? I don't even need my living room co-ed. I just want a kitchen to cook for people in! I met Layal, Jessica's roommate, for the first time today. She lives in Bahrain and tells stories, usually involving her and usually involving her clumsiness, that she just bubbles over in explaining. A reinforcing reminder that laughing at yourself is a good and healthy thing. The crepes were delicious, and Jessica did an awesome job making them. There was much flipping and... well, just a lot of really cool flipping, actually.
And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for... where I show you what my first homework assignment is for "Formal Languages, Automata, and Computability" ("FLAC" for short).
We are creating automata, which are basically these flow charts that determine whether or not a "string" is accepted in a "language" (where a string is a series of character, and a language is just a bunch of rules).
So, in the spirit of this homework assignment, I made you all an automata that only accepts the language containing "Corinne" and "Cornish." Here it is, in all its glory, as I return to its cousins (which are much more interesting to make). A final outing for the evening: a drive to bandar, to get shwarma and Moroccan tea and see West Bay all lit up. Those are some of my favorite things in Doha, all wrapped up in one.
The worst part of my day: the fact that TA training was smack dab in the middle of it.
The best part of my day: just about everything else.
As I was walking out from training, Tessa, Rishav, and Mishab were discussing plans for the evening. I heard "the Pearl" and perked up.
So plans were made: begin with a taste of delicious shwarma (my new favorite food, very similar to a gyro or a European kebab), then head over to the a man-made island oasis of riches and fashion. In addition to my fellow TAs, the VCU exchange students came with (but barely. We almost pulled away while Brent was running to get his card for his camera. And we had to pick up Daedri from a park by the Cornish, so finding her was a side adventure.)
But, somehow, some way, (with Brent's iPhone full of "embarrassing" music), we made across the water (via the land bridge) and found Mishab and Rishav, and the girls, and... the CMU architecture students? Yup, turns out the smart (CMU) people think alike. After a day of adventuring, they ended up at the Pearl as well, which made the group at least 25 people. It was like every person in Doha that I knew magically appeared at the same spot! (Not true, I know waaaay more than 25 people.)
The advertising slogan on the posters was "I'd Like to Buy That." We were trying to think of the psychology behind it (possibly jealousy? "Hey, no, I wanted to buy that.") but then gave up and just started posing in front of the them.
As glitzy as the Pearl is, it is less than half constructed, and the row of stores is completely in accessible to students (Giorgio Armani across from Emporio Armani... we thought they were competing brothers, but, sadly, they are just Giorgio and more Giorgio. Maybe a healthy rivalry would have brought down the prices.
After losing then finding Brent and Zane, we trundled back to campus.
But wait, there's more! We agreed that it was a day for doing... so time for another item on the Bucket List: the sunrise at "bandar." "Bandar" (and I'm probably not spelling that right), is this park outcropping by the Islamic Arts museum. On the jetty is a Moroccan tea shop (where a large is just about right if you are trying to stay up all night) which was just barely open when we got there at 3:30am or so to start our watch.
But, at the brisk hour of 0600, the glimmer of pinks fighting against the blue began their surge, and, with a salty sea breeze, some bird calls, and the hum of a city about to wake up, we were on our way back to campus to do what college students do best... sleep.
through three eggs before we could get more than five feet apart.)
have spilled tea, and, of course, it happens the day after I do laundry.) When we got to the airport, the flight was a bit delayed. I haven't been raised in this sort of multi-culture, so while we were in the airport, we began guessing where each person was originally from. Fun fact: most people with moustaches are from India. Who knew?
f you who need the translation for "cafe americano." (I personally need the translation from "cafe americano" into "a diluted shot of espresso".) We also went to McDonald's for a late night snack. There is nothing like having classes in the morning and pretending like you don't.
