The Good, or Part 2 of my Final Post

With all of the critiques I had of Middle Eastern societies in my last blog post, I would have to say I admire Qatar and other countries for many reasons as well.

Qatar, especially, has impressed me with their initiative and forward-thinking. They are reinvesting their oil money, not in big buildings or mosques, but in education, medicine, the arts, and culture; it is the spirit and mentality of Qatar that they are improving.

In addition to the country's investments, I think that CMU-Q has a lot of money, staff, and desire that help it put together better programs, more popular speakers, and well-funded events that I appreciated.


I was much more likely to go to events as well. I didn't have many commitments (besides uni and TAing), so I could be flexible with my free time. I also could nearly guarantee that, even if I didn't know anyone that was going, when I got there, there were always familiar faces.


Which leads me to one of the things I loved about CMU-Q: the size and connectedness. I was able, in my short time there, to meet a lot of people and staff and faculty and connet with them. I think, because the campus is so small, people are a lot more friendly with newcomers than in Pittsburgh because it is almost guaranteed that you will run into them again. The class sizes are small, so the teaching and pace are tailored to the class. A question is always thoroughly investigated and taken seriously in the classroom, and due dates are slightly more flexible.


In the larger culture, the trend is for families to be extremely close. I rarely heard of the typical mother-daughter spats that I've heard in the US; instead, girls would say that their mothers are their best friends. Brothers would watch out for their sisters (for better or for worse), and there was a support structure that made earlier marriages permissible and well-supported.


In a culture like that, friendships also grow strong. While I guess that the small size of the campus had something to do with it, it is also how people view friendships. They are investing in your life, so they give you advice, check up on you, and do really great favors. A different flavor of friendship than what I am used to.


While travelling, I did appreciate how friendly people were toward me, especially when it came to advice and directions. Sometimes, things got a bit carried away (and you can never trust a taxi driver), but for the most part, anyone who spoke English was willing to help me.


I think there is a saying about food and good company, but that is truly what I had in Qatar. (A little too much food... but never enough good company!) I would encourage anyone to study abroad, push their boundaries, especially in a place with so many myths and misconceptions, and get to know that the world is bigger than they think.