This Is It, or Day 125 in Doha

This is it. My final day in Doha. And today is going to be unusual, because this first post is going to be about leaving and goodbyes and things, where as today's second post is going to be telling you about the May Trip (as it has come to be called)!

People keep asking me if I'll come back to Doha. The world is pretty big, and, though I pretend, I haven't seen that much of it. If I do come back, I'd love to come back this time next year for graduations... wouldn't that be great, CMU? (hint hint, nudge nudge)

But looking beyond next year, what I would want to come back to are the people, and, like most university students and staff and faculty, the don't stay in one place very long! This is a very dynamic community, and you can never come back to the same one you left. I'm sure I'll experience that when I'm back in Pittsburgh too.

(Was it Pocahontas that said you can never step in the same river twice?)

So what did I do on my final day?

I stayed pretty secluded to start with, getting this and that finished up and packed. I found another bag of things to have a friend take back to Pittsburgh for me, as well as food and things to give away to people sticking around a little longer than I am.

In some ways, packing isn't hard: basically everything has to go in. I did manage to make another little goodie bag for myself that Rishav will deliver to Pittsburgh for me.

But I'm was detached from it.

My semester ended ending this evening.

First was a "dinner" at Maya's, the chocolate restaurant, with a few of the CS people. Samreen, ever the chocolate lover, was present, as well as Rishav, and Nasreem and Amal, two other CMU students. We ate a lot, we laugh a lot, and it was a heart-warming goodbye with a card and some good hugs and promises to see each other in the future.

Afterward, it was another few, quick goodbyes to Zaid and others, then an hour of printing and finalizing plans for the "Epic May Trip." Then, Abdalla and I got news of a gathering over at Cornell with another of my favorite groups of people.

Sabrina convinced a group of Cornellians (and us) to come with her to Star of India. There was a lot of laughs (especially for the guys... don't know what it is about those kind of jokes that just set them off) and then, it was time again to say goodbye. Sabrina was making me teary-eyed; it is very hard saying goodbye to people that I may never see in person again.

And here I say, God bless the Internet.

After we got back, Abdalla scurried away to finish his errands, and I cleaned out the rest of my stuff from my apartment. Food went to Tina, trash went to the dumpster (I'm such a good roommate), and extra toiletries went to the social room with "Free" on them. Somehow, my apartment, which still has at least two girls still actively living there, didn't look that much emptier.

It was in the taxi, leaving Education City for the airport, that I realized that this was it. Having Abdalla along is delaying the shock of leaving all these people, but my last Doha skyline fading into the distance... that was real.

I've promised a few people some reflective blogposts, but this isn't one of them. The airport in Dubai is not quite a reflective place. Amman in a few hours!

Not Even Close to Midnight, or Day 114 in Doha

So we can ignore that weird middle part of my day... that part where I took a 4-hour nap, ran errands and had a group meeting.

That just leaves the beginning and the end.

The day dawned early. Too early. I was the opposite of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when I got up at 7:30am. (Blurry-eyed and un-bushy-tailed?) Abdalla and I were going to check out the post office, which I've been curious about since I got here, before heading to the Turkish Embassy for a visa.

There is only one post office in Qatar, from what I've been told (though I have seen other ones in strip malls...). Everyone has their own PO box number, so you never actually put a street address on letters and packages going through the post to Qatar. Personally, it doesn't quite seem like there were enough post office boxes for every person in Qatar.

Architecturally, it resembles a pigeon roost, which is what the website says it is supposed to look like. Something about letters being like roosting pigeons or something. It just reminded me of the Pigeonhole Principle. I'm such a nerd.

In addition to a bunch of post office boxes, there was also a QNB branch (a bank), a few random windows to purchase stamps or exchange money, and a little food shop where we got breakfast. Carack and a spiced cheese roll...

The Embassy took no time at all (since we were told there was visa-on-arrival for both of us) and I was back home... for my nap.

Tonight was a wonderful CMU tradition.

The day before Reading Day (the day with no tests in the middle of finals week), the faculty and staff of the Pittsburgh CMU campus stay up until the ungodly hour of 9:00pm to cook omelets for the students during the annual "Almost Midnight Breakfast."

Rachelle, one of the CMU alums who currently works here in Qatar, has advocated for this event, and I loved it. At CMU-P, it is held in one of the largest spaces on campus, and I don't really know who is making my omelet (if I even decide to get an omelet with the huge lines). Here, I knew every faculty and staff member, at least by face if not by name. In addition, I could wander among all the different groups of people, since I knew most of them too.

It's the little things, such as attending an event for two hours and feeling like it breezed by.

Also, just to clarify, 9:00pm is not "almost midnight." Not if you've ever had a project due at midnight...

CS Community, or Day 110 in Doha

People are trying to get me to stop talking about leaving... but it is what's on my mind these days. Sadly, taking the place of studying and projects that need to get done!

Today I spent the day helping Khaled, Samreen, and Keghani with planning the CS End-of-Year Banquet. I sat by a card that people were signing for Dean Thorpe; I got very craft-y and cut out and glued together placecards; and I designed and cut the name tags.

Basically, I sat at a table and had fun while Khaled ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, Keghani kept mentioning things that Khaled needed to do, and Samreen was upstairs exhausting herself with another project.

But, the event was a success! Samreen and I started by making the Computer Science Pictionary words into slips of paper, then attempting to print from the stubbornest printer ever. So I missed the opening, which included a geeky facts quiz about the professors that Keghani put together.

Janahi and Ahmed, a pair of guys that seem attached at the hip, helped with a slideshow of nerdy quotes (including some good Chuck Norris ones) and customized pick-up lines for each professor. These lines might have included jokes about hard- and software, shortest path algorithms, optimizations, and single hops... a computer science love-fest.

We had good food, some music provided by Kaleem... and then the skits.

This is totally something only CMU-Q can do. (I take that back... there are some professors and students at CMU-P that are distinctive enough to do this with.) First go the students: we pick a few professors with some quirks and create skits revolving around them.

My favorite was Khaled-as-Majd, a bipolar, marker-throwing tyrant who cares. Janahi-as-Khaled-Harras (my networks professor) had some nice moments too.

Next, the professors to get to jab at the students that are perpetually falling asleep in class, that ask a lot of questions, and that are just very distinctive in their walking or talking. "Janahi" and "Ahmed" were in a few different skits; "Khaled" had a in one as well.

We were all cracking up; it was like all of SCS was in one, great joke.

I didn't want to leave! It is an "end-of-year" thing, so everyone was talking about the future or the past. I still can't focus on the "now" of finals next week.

I can, however, focus on the "now" of finding people to hang out with. While on my way out, I ran into Fatima, Maria, Waleed, Hira, Zaid, and others playing charades on the cut with movie titles (a popular game around here). So, of course, I sat and gave my two cents, making Waleed act out John Tucker Must Die. (He didn't succeed, just for the record.)

I saw them again as Abdalla and I were headed out of EC. There were four of them that were very close to jumping into the car and heading to City Center, but they were smarter than we were and went off to prepare for finals week.

There is always tomorrow...

Food for Thought, or Day 105 in Doha

After the desert safari yesterday, today's half of the conference was a bit more chill. The "Undergraduate Conference in Information Systems" concluded today with student presentations, poster presentations, and three speakers.

The two speakers that I made it to were a least fascinating and at most applicable.

I learned what SCADA systems are and how vulnerable they are to attack! The presenter went on to mention a few incidents of vengeful employees using their knowledge to compromise the sewage system. There goes the water supply...

The other talk was about consulting. Not best practices, but instead the "Three R's" that the present had picked up as the most important pieces: requirements, revenue, and relationships.

Varun and I got to chat over lunch and dinner about the conference, and about their hopes for its future. There were students from Bahrain and from Qatar University... but not that many from CMU. They'll have to work on that piece for next year...

Speaking of lunch, there was this delicious buffet with some great chocolate mousse that got mixed with cookies ("biscuits") and resurrected for dinner. Delicious free food...

And yesterday was the realization I had that I've gained weight since I've been here. I was trying on shorts that I brought from home, and haven't worn since I've gotten here (not quite appropriate). Well, they were always a bit tight... but I think two desserts a day and no walking has done them in.

So of course, at 10pm when it was snacktime, we go to Baskin-Robbins for some cotton candy ice cream for Sidra. I had the resistance to say no to that...

But had a "baby" shwarma instead. Fewer calories?... Maybe I should just start working out a bit more.

Skipping around EC, or Day 96 in Doha

Today. Was. Fantastic.

I am so happy and content right now... aren't those joyful words to hear? (They are definitely good to say.)

It started with me getting up and talking to my parents, and then one of my good friends back in Pittsburgh later in the day. I gain so much strength from talking to people I trust, it's amazing...

So tonight, at 6:00pm, there were three events happening simultaneously. However, with the aid of my magic time travel companion, Abdalla, I was able to attend every single one.


The first was the Resident Hall Council's Sports on the Spine. Frisbees, balls, and a giant, blow-up screen with some sports video game in it littered the Spine. I tossed a single frisbee to Shaza before heading to the match.


Next we had the Carnegie Mellon Students versus Faculty football match. Remember, we are in Qatar, so "football" means "soccer." Varun and Zaid were asked by a professor to be the announcers; Zaid said about one thing while I was in hearing range. Maybe they were scraping the bottom of the barrel? I mean, if they were going alphabetically, that's quite a lot of "no"s before the could strong-arm those two into doing it...


They were in a death-grip 0-0 when we left the event to go the VCU-Q's Palestinian Night.


Besides the dabkeh (dance) performance and buffet of Arabic food, there was a speaker from an Arabic nature organization. With Abdalla sitting next to me, he translated a few bits from her speech in Arabic to English, bits that were very anti-Israel and pro-Palestine. When she then gave the speech in English, the speech was only about the olive tree planting they are doing to help displaced farmers, leaving out all the juicy stuff. Talk about a selective audience.



My final joy/activity for the night: going to the David Guetta concert.

I can't do a good job now of explaining what happened or how fun it was, so that'll just have to wait for tomorrow. (I'm also just a bit tired...)

And the Realizations Kick In, or Day 92 in Doha

It's official: we are in the end times... of university. Not only is my semester in Qatar drawing to a close, but my junior year as well!

(There are two and a half more weeks of classes, a week of finals, and a week of graduations, so I'm not leaving that soon. But my final projects are making it look less and less likely that I'll be leaving the country any weekend soon.)

I attended a workshop (during lunch, of course) about how to finish strong. There was a grid with classes, what percentage of the class grades remain, what is the minimum grade needed, and what are goals related to each class.

At the end, they had a table full of treats, from healthy(-ish) snacks to products supporting good hygiene... I'm wondering if there was a subliminal message in the soaps and deodorants on the table. I just know that my purse still has snacks for an army in it.

Zaid wanted me to take a picture of the zoo of people around the table. I was impressed that there was anything left at the end of the crowd.

After attending the workshop, I felt a bit better. Then I programmed for twelve hours. Wasting away my last hours in a cluster.

Food as Procrastination, or Day 91 in Doha

So one thing that I have been missing from my Doha experience is visiting the hotels! There is the W, the InterCon(tinental), the Sheraton, the Four Seasons... and more. And they are all luxurious and modern and expensive, I'm sure.

The other week when I went to the Four Seasons for a talk, and I got my first taste of the sumptuousness that I avoid when I go to bandar and Aspire Park.

There I heard about an "Express Lunch" served at the W's Spice Market, so I dragged Abdalla along (after he cleaned up a bit) so I could see inside another of the big hotels.

The three-course lunch was delicious, well-presented, and worth the money... well, except for the 35 riyal ($10) bottle of water. But the chili-onion short ribs, spring rolls, a bit of mango-topped salad, a bite of hammour (fish), and a scrumptious Vietnamese coffee and chocolate tart made for a great South Asian-inspired meal.

And I thought that was all the excitement I had in store, but then Abdalla decided to reciprocate, inviting me along to an event that he himself was tagging along to. The A/V Club at CMU-Q was going out for a pep dinner at Nando's, a famous chicken place around here.

I had had Nando's once before, but it was catered and not nearly as delicious as the pile of chicken wings our table got. Poor Zaid was neglected by the staff the whole night. His theory was waiters can only carry three bowls of soup, and somehow he is always the fourth at the table who gets forgotten. His food came last, and his drink took a while to get refilled.

However, thanks to Varun and the A/V Club, the rest of us had a delicious meal. The pile of wings was smeared with their signature peri-peri sauce, of a "medium" spiciness. My nose was running a bit by the end of it, and I drink half of the bottle of water, but I see now why people recommend it.

And with all this eating, my projects have been slow going... But one has to eat to live, am I right?

And by the way, I got shown this piece of "culture"... a great old Lebanese song. And the outfits? Priceless.

My New Crush, or Day 76 in Doha

After another lovely night of sleep (sorry I keep mentioning it, but one forgets how wonderful it is!), I woke up and spent the morning catching up, working on final projects, writing some postcards, turning in some homeworks early (gasp!)

This afternoon was the first Ultimate Frisbee scrimmage I've been to in a while. It is getting hot, so they booked the field from 4pm until 6pm, when there is a bit of a breeze and the lower 90s weather is decreasing down into the 80s (35C to 30C). I played pretty well; (Professor) Khaled kept making me run, but we won in the end.

After a very productive day, I was excited for my adventurous evening. The first "adventure" was going to the residence halls' event and making fried ice cream... I've always wondered how it works, and the secret is to wrap it in a slice of bread, then refreeze it, then fry the outer bread. So easy, so delicious, and so, so wrong.

Next was the search for dinner, which was quickly found when an event at CMU-Q had half of the members it was supposed to. A buffet was set-up, and I met some more random EC people (as I do fairly often), and hung out with Sidra, Zaid, Omer, Abdalla, Fatima, Maria... my inter-uni group that always entertains me.

Then, it was time for the event of the night... a Qatari football match! Two of the best teams in the country were opposing each other. (I didn't realize there was more than one team in Qatar...) Over 15,000 people turned out to the stadium, and it was definitely different than other matches or games I've been to.

First off, there was the price... 10 riyals is less than $3. Even very low-ranked baseball games are $5, so this was impressive for me (though not for Abdalla). Next was the cheering: it was very musical, with drums and horns and clapping. No spelling out words or cheerleaders, just beating and chanting.

Next, of course, was the concept of the "family" section. I was a bit at first that we weren't in the male section, where all the cheering was going on, but after ten minutes of their incessant cries (which were very clearly and loudly heard from our side of the stadium), I was glad we were a bit removed.

There was no halftime show, no loud peddlers selling peanuts (though there were quite ones selling candies and scarves), and no assigned seats.

There were, however, little bundles of squares of paper that, when something exciting happened, or just when one felt like it, one could toss in the air like confetti.

I wanted a packet, but never got a chance to buy one. It was halfway through the second half (and Abdalla had hinted a few times to leave, but I was still enjoying myself), and all of a sudden, a dark little boy, holding a packet of papers he has picked up from the ground, begins talking to me in Arabic.

I immediately turn to Abdalla to see what the little boy wants, and they have a conversation that ends with him giving Abdalla one of the papers. He turns to me, I smile and ask for some, and he carefully peeled off three from his rubber-banded stack. (See? He already likes me more than Abdalla.) Little Omar had stolen my heart right then and there.

I was so infatuated with his cuteness that when he passed by again (after giving the rest of his papers to other random white people in our row), that I had Abdalla take a picture of us. And the rest, they say, is history:


(I mean, the rest is actually that he went back to his family and collecting papers, while Abdalla, Maria, Fatima, Zaid, and I went to bandar for some carrak and a chat, in addition to singing obnoxious songs and helping me with my Urdu. I'm supposed to learn to count with this. Even when we left after midnight, there were still Qataris out on the road celebrating their win.)

It's Fun, Really, or Day 73 in Doha

Let's play a game...

How many hours of sleep has Corinne gotten in the last four days?


Food is a much better subject. I grabbed a quick dinner at LAS with the Urdu-speaking gang (who constantly had to remember that I was around, and switch to English).

Then, there is this vending machine in the rec room at CMU-Q that is wonderful. For 1 riyal, you can get a juice box (mango even!) or some chocolate wafer candies or some chocolate cookies. For 3 riyals (just less than a dollar), you can get a mini-cup of hot chocolate (which isn't well-mixed, so there is this huge sugar rush at the end).

There is a cluster of computers in the room right next to the rec room... can you guess where Khaled and I have been coding for the past few days? Nothing is better at 2am than that hot chocolate.

My Laptop is Put to Work, or Day 68 in Doha

I've decided that the ECQC people (*cough* Varun *cough*) owe me a t-shirt for my kind and thoughtful lending of my laptop for displaying the slideshow during the event today.

Someone get on that.

I was sitting doing nothing (well, actually laying down, thinking about napping, but not actually able to) when I get a call from Varun. I had taken my computer to him yesterday about not being able to access the internet, and it was a stupid proxy problem that I should have been able to find myself. Anyway, he noticed it was a Toshiba, with an S-Video socket, and so asked me to lend it to him. I said yes, and that I'd be at uni in less than 30 minutes.

I hop in the shower, and by the time I get out, I have a missed call. I called back, and it was two of the ECQC crew, waiting outside the dorms to get the laptop! I dressed and hurried it downstairs, then ran into Daedri on the way up. We had a chat about our spring breaks as she had some of my cookies.

Meanwhile, I got to be laptop-less for an hour before ECQC, which forced me to find people to hang out with. Shaza and Amal and a few others were in the library courtyard, so I chatted with them until Sidra and Abdalla and Maria and Fatima came up, so we could all sit together during the show.

These event are just big EC reunions; they bring together all the colleges and you get to catch up with all sorts of people.

Did I mention that Zaid was the emcee? And Varun was the head of it all... such an amazing job he did!

Not only was every institution in EC represented by a team, but there were sponsors so the production value was very high. The winning team (which was Cornell by the way) got flat screens! Each of the three people on the team!

The questions were pretty good, though some were very hard and some were less so. One of my favorites was showing a clip of this Youtube video and asking for the singer of the original song or the instrument the kid was playing on.




The correct answer is, of course, Jason Mraz or the ukulele. I think the team that didn't answer it correctly was a little too focused on the artist, because I would think they would've gotten ukulele. (That is also one of my favorite videos, for the record.)

ECQC lasted 3.5 hours (which is a bit long... that is one major criticism I had. Though part of it might have been because my computer crashed, so by proxy, my fault. But hey, they were running Windows!) After, there was a buffet, and I said my goodbyes to the IMPAQT group. There is a chance I will see them tomorrow (since they've wanted to see my dorm room to compare it to Pittsburgh) but I'm thinking they will have enough wrap-up stuff to keep them busy.

After talking with them, I'm very, very glad that I came here for an entire semester. A week is just not enough!

Indi...Ah!, or Day 63 in Agra, Delhi, and Doha

It is weird to think that 24 hours ago I was at the Taj Mahal.

That also explains why I'm exhausted now.

Going this morning was worth it; I'm very glad we stayed in Agra for an extra day. I was up at 5:30, then waiting by the the West Gate when they finally opened it at 6:45.

The marble that the Taj is build from is translucent, according to Max, which explains the different colors it takes one in different lighting. The morning one is by far my favorite.

I wandered the grounds for a few hours, then walked back to the hotel to get Max, get our things, and get breakfast.

Then, the hours of travelling started with a few minutes on a tuktuk, then five hours on a bus to Delhi.

That five hours includes a rest stop, which has my official "worst bathroom in India" title. It also included puchina-flavored chips and "Tasty Tomato Fryms."

We got to a road right on the southeast outskirts of Delhi, and paid another auto-rickshaw probably a bit more that what was fair to get us to Max's aunt's house in the southwest.

I got an hour at the house, searching for and finding the backpack I had left there and raiding the fridge for leftovers.

I was cutting it close when I left the house at 18:00, since I was supposed to be checked in my 18:30. The cab driver got me there in record time.

However, Delhi airport has this convention that travellers must have print-outs of their bookings. Since the printer at the house hadn't been working, I had nothing.

I raced downstairs to the Jet Airways office, but was then directed upstairs. When no one was there, I prayed as I went back down that they would just give me the print-out instead of making me run back again. The agent, thankfully, gave we what I needed to get into the check-in desks, albeit a few minutes late. No one said anything, and I made the flight.

A few more hours until I was in Doha, getting picked up by Abdalla, seeing some friends, and feasting on shawarma. Home, sweet home.

While driving around today, Max and I saw "Indi...ah!" painted on the side of a bus. It was ambigious, so I'll offer a few different ways that I read it.

"Ah" like "Aha! I discovered something" : this interpretation is what I thought after I got India "figured out" on the second day. However, things never ceased to surprise me. At times, such as when biking through Rajashtan, I felt like an explorer among the people.

"Ah" like "AAAah! Help!" : this interpretation is what I thought about India while staying in some not so pretty hotels, while getting heckled on the street to give money or buy something, and when kids would grab at my bike or clothing.

"Ah" like "Aww, that's cute" : this interpretation was while I was around well-behaved children, who stared but didn't talk. It was the feeling I had when a family shared their sweets with Max and me at the Elephant Festival.

"Ah" like "Awe, pure awesomeness" : this interpretation came with the forts and the Taj Mahal, as well as the sunrise and the boat ride. I was blown away by those opportunities and sights.

"Ah" like "Ahhhh, a refreshing glass of water" : this interpretation came after we bought any 15-rupee bottle of water, and after showers at night.

"Ah" like "A...B...C..." : this interpretation didn't help us, since the majority of the signs were in script, which we couldn't pronounce.

"Ah" like "Huh? I can't understand you" : this interpretation happened a lot with rickshaw drivers and hotel owners. Every so often it happened with Max too.

And lastly, "Ah" like "I can't believe I just went to India." : this interpretation is by far the truest. And I am so glad to be home now, and thankful for this way of life. I didn't get a chance to connect with any Indians or very many other tourists while I way there, but I know that some winter, I'd love to come back to the south of India, and go through the jungles, waterways, and beaches.

I'm not done with India. But I am done with this blog post and ready to fall into bed.

Hillary and Chocolate (and School too, I suppose), or Day 44 in Doha

Just thought I'd mention something. When I was talking to my parents (and I got a chance to talk to my sister yesterday too), my dad mentioned the fact that this blog doesn't really mention the fact that I'm going to school.

Don't worry, guys. I'm going to school... it's cramping my fun!

In fact, university was much more exciting today than usual. I got wanded down as I entered the building because Hillary Clinton was visiting! She held a town hall meeting for Al Jazeera in our majlis. I listened to her talk from the second floor. I didn't get a ticket like SOME people that got to sit ten meters from her (*cough* Abdalla *cough*). In discussions afterward, everyone was frustrated because she danced around the issues, especially when it came to Iran (which was discussed a lot), but I think that she did a good job of showing how the ball is currently in Iran's court. I don't think that's what people wanted to hear, but that's what they got. If you are interested, there are many articles about the subject. Al Jazeera's was the most illuminating for me.

"Secretary Clinton is in the Gulf States, not to lessen America's energy dependence, but rather China's. As one of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China's support is critical for passing any sanctions against Tehran. But its been reluctant to do so because it is Iran that supplies China with most of its energy, and that's precisely why the US is here -- to get energy-rich Qatar and Saudi Arabia to step forward as alternate energy suppliers."

In addition to the media coverage around the world, there is quite a bit of student media that was going on as well. Sidra, a friend from Northwestern, had her handy notepad out and was snapping pictures left and right. Abdalla and Zaid were interviewing people (such as Khaled, who got an opportunity to ask a question) about their reactions for their radio show "A to Z", which plays on QF Radio. I also got interviewed, but for a completely different reason... they finally got around to asking me about being an exchange student!

Today wasn't all politics. I was the happy organizer of a study break to Maya, the chocolate restaurant that I've been to before. We were happy as clams, chowing down on chocolate cake, chocolate crepes, chocolate pizza, chocolate fondue, chocolate brownie, and probably chocolate something else too.

I'm still a bit full.

A Selection of Morrocan Pastries, or Day 33 in Doha

A spectacularly unproductive evening followed what set out to be a good day to work on my Computer Networks project.

Lunch is a necessity, so I don't feel guilty for the hour there. Abdalla and I went to an Arabic restaurant, where I had rice and "meat." Here, there is chicken and there is meat. Meat translates into lamb or beef, because of the halal regulations banning pork.

Also, it was a Friday afternoon, so all of the families that just went to prayer were at the restaurant we were originally going to go to (where you sit and eat on the floor... way cool). The crowds reminded me of going out to brunch after church with my grandparents every Sunday when I was staying with them in D.C. Except, you know, Muslim.

However, the distractions began at dinnertime.

The Campus Life of Qatar Foundation decided that they would do their part for Haiti, so I attended a fundraiser barbecue. The main food was similar: hotdogs and hamburgers. What wasn't the same was the sides: more pita, less buns, crepes, juice, chocolate pebbles. I got to run into all sorts of friends from the dorms: Fatima and Maria, Sabrina and Utsav, Michael and Zaid.

However, Daedri and I had to run. She had convinced to go meet some of her friends downtown. We got a taxi from Education City to the souq in what was supposed to be a short tea break with these "pilots-in-training" who are attending a pilots' school nearby.

None of us were that hungry, so Daedri and I decided to be "adventurous" and try the "Selection of Moroccan Pastries." If you can't tell from the picture... it was the biggest waste of 20 riyals I've spent in this country. They were cookies (biscuits) from packages from a supermarket! The cheesecake was much better, so Hamed and Rushdy shared. They also wanted to share their smokes, but we both passed on that.

So now, I'm feeling a bit stressed, since there is only one day left in the weekend, and it is a bit full already. This week is going to be tough! Get ready for some short blog posts, people.

Such a Random Life, or Day 32 in Doha

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"

Thirty-One, or Day 31 in Doha

It's official! I've been here an entire month. January 3rd, my flight came in from Istanbul; I didn't know anything or anyone. Now look, a month later and I feel right at home.

So the number of days that I've been here is the first appearance of 31. The second was at the CMU-Q versus TAMU-Q girls basketball game.

I've been meaning to go to one for some time now, but I didn't know the location, and often had another thing going on. But tonight, I turned down two other events to cheer on our girls team, which includes Jessica (#42), another exchange student.

So, I get there a bit late, and we are down by about 5 points, which shortly turns into 7. However, the rest of the cheering section (two staff members) and I quickly got us back in the game... and then we were winning! We were up by one or two points all through the second half, right up until... we started fouling the other team.

The TAMU team's weakness was their rough play, but we had had enough, so started answering back. A few free-throws and a few bobbled balls later, and we were down by two points. Fifteen seconds before final buzzer, a nice pass and shoot tied it at 30-30!

Five minutes of overtime were added, and again, we exchanged fouls. They made 2, then we made 1, then they made a final free-throw for an end score of Tartans 31, Aggies 33. That "31" was not as nice as the first occurrence, but we had good hustle and good teamwork and sportsmanship. I'm proud of you, ladies!

I had invited Sara, a friend from CMU main campus who transferred to Georgetown-Q this year, over for dinner, but I was late due to the overtime. We still made a delicious pasta dinner and chatted about life as a student and what I have and haven't done in the region.

Enter Salman. He calls me up for a favor, and the three of us end up sitting in the garden, eating the delicious crepes, bananas, and Nutella that Sara had brought.

Now, Sara and I ran into each other a few weeks ago at the "Brooklyn Beats to Beirut Streets" poetry slam. It was so good to meet someone else around here who cooks and climbs stairs and doesn't litter. Not that I'm generalizing... It's just nice to meet someone else who notices those Qatari quirks.

Salman, like many people, wanted to know what my perception of this place was before I came. What I didn't expect it to be like was Palm Springs, of all places. There is this city surrounded by scrubby, infertile desert, but it pours millions of liters (gallons) of water into the land to make the grass grow and look green. I'm so proud of them for putting down fake grass in some places... it looks just as good (better?) and costs much less, to both the environment and EC.

Well, since I did pretty much end my day with Salman, I'll have to sign out again with a "cool story."

Acceptance Speech, or Day 30 in Doha

It's award season (for Hollywood at least), so I'd like to thank a few of my friends, who I am "making famous" by putting in this blog post.

First, I'd like to thank Utshav and Salman; the former for inviting me out to play some ultimate frisbee today, and the latter for being on the winning team with me.

Next, I would like to thank the group of CMU TAs who informed me of a delicious place called Maya. In no particular order (actually, from left to right), I'd like to thank Samreen, Tessa, Swapnil, and Rishav, my CS superstars. Maya is a restaurant of completely chocolate dishes. After I ordered a chocolate fondue as my "meal", the waitress asked if I wanted any "dessert." The others ordered everything from hot chocolate to crepes filled with bananas and - you guessed it - chocolate.


Next comes the A-to-Z duo of Abdalla and Zaid. They deserve a Grammy for their work on QF Radio (which I haven't actually heard yet...) and for their leadership around their respective universities. While the rest of us were sitting lethargically in a chocolate coma, these two went to pick up Krispy Kreme donuts to sell as a fund-raiser for Haiti. Here you see them standing by a vat of chocolate.

The last two people I want to thank today are the dazzle team that are part of my rap group. On the right you see "sprinKILLZ", who has skillz with the reelz. On the left you seen my G (who's name I actually forgot... I'll fill it in later) who drops Qs like they're on fire. You might also see the fact that each of us has three dozen donuts on our laps. It was one delicious-smelling, beat-busting ride home from Landmark Mall.