Since most of today was spent recovering from last night (no, I didn't drink... the line was too long and the beer was too expensive), I suppose I might as well tell you about David Guetta.
It was sweet. You can stop reading now if you are going to get too jealous...
We headed out around 9pm, checked out the place, dropped one of Abdalla's friends off at the souq, then circled back around. I must say, there was plenty of parking, no problem, which is something I'm always a bit worried about at huge events like these.
And, as I heard many times, "it was like all of EC is going."
Not quite true, but many of the Texas A&M exchange students were partying and dancing along, in addition to the group of 8 or so I went with. Then there was a few more odd pairs here and there that I recognized.
After an ID check, a security check, a ticket check, and a wristband check, we were inside and headed to the stage.
It was literally right on the beach, with the stage built so there was a wonderful cross-breeze from the sea (especially nice when dancing in the middle of the pack).
The first two hours had some good house music from the DJs, getting people moving (and drinking). It w
as midnight, and I was getting a bit disappointed with the energy and a bit confused about where David Guetta was, when he was finally introduced.
Bam! The lights on the stage started flashing, everyone who had been hanging back pressed forward, and he took to the turntables.
There were glowsticks and people on other people's shoulders, and cigarettes and sweat, and shouting and clapping. I'm not sure if people do this in the states, but some of the crowd 
started their own soprano line on top of what David Guetta was doing. (A "whoop-whoop" kinda thing was one, and the other was the "wooh, oh oh, woooh, oh oh" that you often hear crowds doing at games.)
And I think he was having a blast with it. He would cut the sound so the crowd could sing during some of the more famous lines, and we never disappointed.
He started with a little less than an hour of good mixes with his less famous stuff, starting with "Castles in the Sky", then "When Love Takes Over" mixed with "Gettin' Over."
He then went into a set of pure house, which allowed for a bit of a break and a wade to cool off the feet. They weren't hurting at all, since we had ditched shoes off to the side much earlier in the evening, and we were walking around barefoot, but after a few hours of dancing, it was very nice to spent 10 minutes looking at West Bay from the north.
It was about 1:30am, so we decided that we would sit on the beach until either a) the party was over or b) another awesome song came on. No sooner had we decided that when he pulled out "Sexy Chick." We looked at each other, stood up, and pushed back into the fray.
It was a great final half hour, and of course he closed with "Memories" and, his most famous, "I've Gotta Feeling."
A run to McDonald's to try my first McArabia and have a chocolate sundae, and that ended a night that was indeed a "good, good night."
Today, like I said, I slept until noon. Then did some final-project-ing and some programming. I had some chicken in my freezer that I needed to use, and no free food event scheduled for tonight, so I made something resembling chicken enchiladas (which I don't have a picture for... the pretty ones on that plate didn't last very long, and the rest are very unattractively shoved into a container in the fridge).
I was supposed to be asleep two hours ago, so I would be awake for tomorrow's adventure... you'll see soon!
Warning: today was one of those days were a million things happened and all of them are interesting!
First off, today was a very weird day for weather. After spending the morning Skyping and cleaning, I went outside and the first thing I see is a group of East Asians with dust masks on. I was immediately freaked out, thinking there was some crazy pathogen in the air that was making them wear the masks.
Thankfully, they were anomalies, though it was very windy and dusty, as you can see. The funny smog affected my mood more here than clouds do back in Pittsburgh and Seattle. I'm getting too used to the constant sunshine!
I spent the afternoon and evening around CMU: celebrating the new club space (by eating cake), working on a project, celebrating a birthday (by eating cake), and took a drive around
EC with some girls I met at a Women Leadership Program lunch on Tuesday. As they invited me outside on the drive, one of the girls said, "Your life is so random."
You have no idea.
Anyway, they were explaining the licensing process around here. You hire a personal instructor, then take a much more intense test that we Americans go through. In fact, I think males are required to learn and test on a manual; us gentler sex are allowed an automatic**.
After the drive, I attend the finale of the "
EC for Haiti" campaign. We had a goal of 20,000 riyals; we actually hit over 22,000 (over $6,000)! After a presentation about Haiti, a student band played (with my stunning roommate Khadeejah singing) while we wrote messages of hope to Haiti.
Next was the BAM football (soccer) game. "BAM" stands for "Body and Mind", and they are an EC-wide student club. This team included Rolando and David, two of the Texas A&M students, and a few others I knew (including the coach), so it was a lot of fun supporting them. 
Especially when they won against Cornell, 4-1, putting them in the quarter-finals!
Abdalla and I got a call from Zaid and Sidra, two friends we went out to dinner with before. I had connected with Sidra during the Haiti event and mentioned that we needed to go out again... I just hadn't realized it would be this soon!
After the shwarmas were gone, it was time for my first movie-in-a-cinema in Doha! Abdalla 
took me to see "The Men Who Stare At Goats", which has a whole slew of Hollywood actors. Half of the movie took place in Kuwait and Iraq, so it was fun sitting with someone who knew Arabic.
In the movie, Ewan McGregor's character is a reporter who wants to show his chops, so goes to the "war zone" of Kuwait (at least, that's how he describes it to his estranged wife). Now that I'm up on my Middle Eastern countries, I saw the humor in that; I also saw the similar grand hotels and impressive landscaping of a typical Gulf country.
Did I also mention that Ewan McGregor eventually begins reporting on these "psychic Jedi's" that the U.S. Army is secretly training. Well, Mr. McGregor (*cough* Obi-Wan Kenobi *cough*), you would know about Jedi's...
Well, I seriously thought my evening was over after that. I went home, felt the few raindrops outside, and started writing this.
Much to my surprise, I get a call just before midnight asking if I want to go for a drive. 
Apparently, it is traditional for Shakir and two of his friends, Aditya and "FeFe", to drive around when it is raining and sing Enrique. Since it was a thunderstorm, I guess they had to invite me, Fatima, and Maria along?
We ended up at bandar. I'm sure you are just shocked. And I got tea. Again, you must be in disbelief.
New to bandar was the lightning over the bay. Tonight's rain was fun to play around in; it never got too heavy, but my feet did get a little chilly.
We ended the night with a game of Charades... let's just say that it was better than all of the lame jokes we told in the half hour before that.
I feel you need a taste of it, so here's one from Fatima, the queen of the lame jokes: "What did the daddy tomato say to the baby tomato?" "Ketchup!"
I'm still listening to the thunder rumbling around outside. Different than the typical night sounds of the round-the-clock construction work... and much rarer as well!
**Correction by Rana: "Women can drive manual , and men can choose to do either automatic or manual :D :D :D Its not based on gender... But it makes more sense that we would choose automatic , its easier and any ways nearly most of the cars in Qatar are automatic, few manuals :D"
I went to the biggest mall in Qatar today. I haven't been able to find any proof of that fact, but it is said that this 5-story monstrosity tops all the others.
An ice skating rink, a Toyota dealership, and a Carrefour (a Wal-mart-like everything store), and I'd believe it.
So we called a taxi and I, for the first time, didn't feel like I was getting ripped off! Mostly because I made him turn on the meter. This confidence in how to do things is nice.
We got there, had lunch with the group of ten of us exchange students (who fit in two taxis...), then split up to do miscellaneous tasks of the shopping variety. Daedri and I have similar price cut-offs (and did I mention she's in doing a major in fashion design?), so shopping with her made it easy to pass the time.
Yeah, today hasn't been very adventureful. After the trip back from the mall (even easier, because we just had to hail a cab instead of calling for one), the exchange students were meeting at the cafete
ria in LAS to do something for dinner.
Some people, actually most, weren't hungry, so the original plan of ordering out was ditched in favor of me making pasta for a group. I puttered in the kitchen with Daedri then served the piping hot pasta (macaroni and shells) on my best china (plastic storage containers) on gold serving platters (some plastic trays I found in one of my cabinets). It was delicious, and, according to the archies, by feeding Sam (who has been sick) and making him feel better I am also feeding his delightful condescending attitude.
Apparently, though, while I put the dishes back upstairs, Gabby and Sophie came out with cake (their addition to the smorgasbord). Disappointing, but it wasn't frosted, so I can forgive them.
We went on a quick Education City (EC) tour, and then ended up back in the CMU-Q Student Affairs lounge for an hour-long discussion about resident life, Campus Life (the Qatar Foundation's unifying effort for all the campuses), and cultural information. Some good information (such as how to take out the trash) and some repeated. But A for effort.
Good discoveries I made though: the Texas A&M kids have a travel stipend. Have I found follow adventurers?Bad discoveries (or more like realizations): Classes start tomorrow.
Good realization: I get to make more friends!
Bad realization: Daedri has pictures of the mall, but I need to get them from her. Then, you too will be able to witness the glory of capitalism in the Middle East!
as midnight, and I was getting a bit disappointed with the energy and a bit confused about where David Guetta was, when he was finally introduced.
started their own soprano line on top of what David Guetta was doing. (A "whoop-whoop" kinda thing was one, and the other was the "wooh, oh oh, woooh, oh oh" that you often hear crowds doing at games.)
