The Sky is Falling, or Day 22 in Doha

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.

Leepom Ogum, or Day 17 in Doha

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:

Tela red leepom raw ogb tut moms sox

Feeling Domestic, or Day 6 in Doha

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 cafeteria 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!