Let the Countdown Begin!

As of the end of this week, I have only (*only*) 25 more days of teaching before my non-teaching work days begin. I would be lying if I said I wasn't extremely happy about this. In fact, I find myself happily plowing through lesson planning just because of that faint light at the end of the tunnel - the spring semester tunnel which leads to SUMMER VACATION!

So other than happily marking off each calender day I also mentally plan milestones and activities to take my focus off the countdown. Only marking off days is like watching a pot boil - it just cannot go fast enough!

What are those milestones and activities you ask? Well, we've got these fun events coming up:

1. Soon - buy our airfare home for summer vacation
2. May 14th - Diamond IAAF Track & Field event here in Doha
3. August 1st - continuous training for the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon

I am also busying myself with nesting a bit more. I recently bought some colorful pillow cushions for our living room sofas. A teacher and friend who is leaving has said she'll give us her bookshelf. And we are in the process of fixing our bed. Our bed needs either plywood criss-cross reinforcement or two twin box springs underneath it. (It is a fake, hollow platform bed esssentially.)

I am counting down the days, trying to stay busy, and preparing for the end of the semester and the beginning of glorious summer vacation.


Until next time,
WW

Got a Flat?

I got a flat. I was driving at neck break speed (as I've learned to do here) on the way home from work. It was about 12:00 noon. I had just turned right onto a 80km/h road when I had (HAD TO) blow my nose. I reached for a kleenex when all of a sudden I felt a bump. That bump was the right side of the road - a bit closer to me than a few seconds before the nose blowing.

Now, I have never driven on a flat before. I have had a flat before, but parked without realizing it, returned some time later to see the flat tire. After the bump I could feel a slight pulling of the steering wheel to the right. Honestly, I wanted to get as close to home as possible (I would be scolded a bit for this later on).

As I drove the pulling to the right and a strange noise got louder and louder. I thought "Oh crap..." There were a few more round-a-bouts to navigate before arriving home. I decided to pull off before one of them and assess the situation.

Sure enough I had a flat on the front right tire. I did not freak out. I calmly called just about everyone in my cellphone address book - nobody answered. My husband was at work, so I just texted him a message.

As I waited outside my car, calling people and looking at the completely flat tire a white SUV pulled up. Two Arab men in thobes were inside the SUV. The one in the passenger seat said, "You have a flat?" to which I replied, "Yes, could you help? I have the spare in the trunk..." The one who spoke said they would call for help and both motioned for me to get in the SUV with them, but I smiled and said, "No thank you. I'll wait with my car."

I waited for about 5 minutes and began to think that they had forgotten about me. However, I was relieved that the SUV pulled up again. They said, "We will fix it." I was glad that I could stop calling people (who didn't answer their phones and/or didn't have their phones turned on).

I watched as they worked together and skillfully changed the flat. The one who spoke explained that I should not drive on the spare for too long. I nodded that I understood. I also threw in for good measure that my husband would figure things out when I got home. (I seem more inclined to say, "I'M MARRIED!" here than anywhere else....)

After they were finished I said probably three times, "Thank you!" to which the one who spoke English said, "It is no problem. It is out duty."

Really, I wanted to tell them that after EIGHT MONTHS in Qatar they were not only the first Arabs that I had spoken with outside of work and my classes, but also the first to show any of the hospitality that this region is so known for..... However, I simply said, "Thank you!" again and was on my way.

That whole experience gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling because I had actually had an exchange with "locals" but on the other hand it made me realize just how walled up it is here. I say walled up because the way the people live in compounds with walls all around their homes is very much symbolic and representative of the relationships that I have not been able to make with the people here.

Maybe I'm not trying enough to meet and be friends with Qataris. Or maybe (this could be the biggest reason) I am the on who wants to build a wall between me and Qataris because I'm so incredibly frustrated and exhausted after trying to teach my students......

Until next time,

WW

Photo credits: http://i.ehow.com/images/a02/52/vn/change-cars-flat-tire-200x200.jpg

http://iliyanamohamed.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/2434191640_2ed3b312be.jpg

Interesting Article about Qatar

A few days ago I read this New York Times article after a few co-teachers posted it on their Facebook walls. Basically, Qatar is headed for a lot of problems because of: fast food leading to obesity and diabetes, sudden mass wealth leading to laziness, extreme heat making exercise outside nearly impossible, and the time honored tradition and popularity of marrying first cousins.


The article states that when people marry first cousins and have children there are genetic disorders like blindness and mental disabilities. This of course set off an alarm in my head when I tought of my class. (I cannot stop thinking of my class because they've been a particularly rough bunch.) In fact, out of 18 ladies I have 2 that have noticeable eye problems. One wears glasses and one does not. The one with glasses has one clouded eye turned inward towards her nose. The one with no glasses has one eye that catches my attention. I cannot figure out if the one eye is stuck in the same position or if it wanders. Either way, the one without glasses has a pair of eyes that act as separately darting around the room.


The article went on to explain that "Qatar ranks sixth globally for prevalence of obesity and has the highest rate of obesity among boys in the Middle East and North African region." I did notice a big difference in bodies when I moved from South Korea to Qatar. In South Korea I was looked upon as "big" even though I am 5'5" and about 125 pounds. Here, women cover their curvy (obese?) bodies with the long, black abaya. My students do not seem to have any insecurities about their bodies. It was refreshing at first, but now I see their habits as described in the New York Times article as clearly unhealthy.




Perhaps the most shocking (and predictable to me having lived here for several months) is the private life of the Qatari man running a government program to decrease these issues. That man is a 25 year old, overweight man who does not exercise and married his first cousin.

I do not know if the people here are in denial, do not understand/believe the medical research, or just do not care about these health issues. I guess only time will tell...



Until next time,

WW

Abaya photo credit: http://jamericanmuslimah.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/abaya.jpg

Qatar CBS News Story Videos

Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kU9gkmrmxg&feature=related

Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huXgOqBsJLU&feature=related


My students are using some video clips from this special CBS news story about Qatar.

You can see the growth (from 2003) in Doha. You can also hear and watch the Emir and his consort speak English while describing their dream for Qatar. It is inspiring.

Enjoy!,

WW

IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championship - in Doha!

Well, here I am again on vacation from teaching and looking at this blog again. I need to be more consistent with my posting . . . . .

In March M and I went to the IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships in Doha, just 3/4 of a mile from our house. It was exciting!

There were athletes from a lot of countries. In fact, we saw some Ethiopian professional runners (Meseret Defar, Sentayehu Ejigu Kalkidan Gezhegn) who had an amazing cheering section from local Ethiopians and/or Ethiopians who had made the trip to Doha. One of the most amazing races was the women's 3K race. One runner actually fell down near the middle of the 1500K race, but managed to get back up and finish first! That runner was Ethiopian runner Kalkidan Gezhegn.



We also saw American male heptatlon athletes Bryan Clay and Trey Hardee, who won the gold and silver medals for the event. We were very excited to see American hurdler Lolo Jones race and defend her title in the 60meter hurdles.




It was an exciting day and seeing so many different people cheering on their own was fun. I hope we get to see more world class events like this in the future. In fact, in May Doha will host another IAAF track and field event - outdoors through the IAAF's Diamond League.


We left thinking that we needed to run more, but after the RAK 1/2 Marathon in February we've been taking it easy....maybe too easy. It is time to run again!

Until next time,

WW

Tour de Qatar (yes, really)

Saturday, M and I saw the final leg of the Tour de Qatar. The ladies tour came and went a a week ago and we did not see any of it. In fact, we have missed a few major sporting events here in Doha. Last fall we missed the Qatar Open tennis matches and also the England Vs Brazil soccer/football match. However, we were determined to see these world class cyclists duke it out here on our "home" turf so we quickly did an Internet search to find more information.

Luckily my husband is a cycling enthusiast so after we found very little information about future tour events (who wants to know past tour times?!) on the Qatar Cycling Federation's website, he went to Le Tour's website to find excellent, up-to-date information about Tour de Qatar events.

We found out that the last stage would be Saturday starting at 12:00PM and finishing around 2:00PM. The course would be easy to find and near our part of Qatar. The race would start from Al Wakra and end along the Corniche in Doha. So, around 11:00AM on Saturday, we got in the car and drove to Al Wakra.

Once we arrived around 11:30AM we noticed pre-race preparations underway. I love race day! It was so fun seeing all the police cars blocking off traffic and cyclists warming up! M and I are both runners who haven't been able to race since the summer in 2009, so seeing all this action was very exciting for us.

The funniest thing of the day was seeing the team crews all waiting along the Corniche. These men were all North American or European. Because it was a nice, warm day they all took off their shirts and lounged about in full view of local Qataris. Several abaya clad women stared, snickered, and covered their mouths after seeing the tanned bare chests of these non-Arab men. It was such a strange sight for us as well, that I made my husband take a photo of them. I said, "This is something that we will NOT see along the Corniche in Qatar ever again. Take a photo!"

The awards ceremony was also interesting. M told me that in European tours women give the cyclists their awards and kisses on both cheeks, but this simply was not done in Qatar. In fact, three obviously foreign women merely held a shiny tray of medals that were given to the cyclists by thobed Qatari men. I did not know the men who raced, but the winner was Francesco Chicchi from Italy. M knew Tom Boonen from Belgium and Tom seemed to draw a crowd from some Qatar expats.

Overall it was a great day. Just being at a race made us both want to train harder and find more races here in the Gulf.

Until next time,

WW

Demographics in Qatar

(Image source: Immigrant Populations Worldwide by Wikipedia with author Stephen Bain, the darkest blue countries we see have a population with more than 50% immigrants)

Qatar is a tiny country by some comparisons. By now some of you have probably googled the place and found it to be a small peninsula off the much larger Arabian Peninsula. We are directly across from Iran by the Arabian Sea, and our other neighbors are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

While the area is predominately Arab, both the UAE and Qatar host hordes of S.E. Asian (mainly Filipinos), Indian, and Pakistani workers. To the casual observer the population imbalance of local/immigrant is glaringly obvious. One can view a sea of men in light blue jumpsuits laboring in construction in the sun throughout Qatar. One can also view what seems to be one or two Malaysian or Filipino nannies per family of Qataris. Just last night M and I watched many Qatari families which all had one to six children walking through The Villagio Mall with one or two nannies in tow. Watching a nanny bring up a child (some with genuine love, and others with complete disdain for the child(ren)) makes me sad. However, seeing all these immigrant workers dwarf the local Qatari population only means one thing - present growing problems and future disasters because of the complete unbalance.

Let's look at some statistics: As of January 31st, 2010 the Qatar Statics Authority accounted for 1,681,099 persons. What's shocking about the latest count is the growing gender imbalance due primarily to male immigrant workers.

1,282,978 males

398,121 females

This gender and local/immigrant population imbalance has grown drastically since 2004. And I know of no means to stop it, except for something called "Qatarization" in which the Qatar government calls for the training and hiring of Qataris in the workplace - specifically the energy and industrial fields. Here's more about Qatarization from the English version of the website:

"Qatarization is the identification and development of quality, competent Qatari males and females to assume permanent positions in our industry. Our objective is Quality Qatarization.

The preparation of quality Qataris is based on performance, and competence rather than time, and should be balanced with operational requirements to ensure a smooth operation.

Qatarization requires the support and commitment of experienced Qatari and expatriate staff, at all levels, to develop and train inexperienced Qataris and help them gain valuable on-the-job experience."

Wow. Good luck with that. The grand majority of my Qatari students do not want to work. And really, why should they? Their families (whether it be fathers or husbands) will provide for them and the country itself brings in thousands of immigrant workers who are in need (not want) of work.

Anyway, here are more Qatar immigrant population statistics provided by the US Department of State from 2008:

“Population (May 2008 est.): 1,448,446;

males 1,096,815 (75.7%);

females 351,630 (24.3%).

Population growth (May 2008 est.): 59.6%.

Ethnic groups:

Qatari (Arab) 20%;

other Arab 20%;

Indian 20%;

Filipino 10%;

Nepali 13%;

Pakistani 7%;

Sri Lankan 5%;

other 5%.”

So, when people ask me "What's it like living in Qatar?" I often think that we are not living in Qatar, but rather a SE Asian/Indian peninsula where Qataris drive their cars around at neckbreak speeds and take their mob of children (and two nannies of course) to the malls.

Until Next Time,

WW

Buying Booze in Qatar - a Muslim Country

Even though I have lived in Qatar since the end of August, 2009, I just today got my Liquor Permit so that I can buy alcohol. The reason for the delay in getting this permit was just my own laziness and lack of desire to drink alcohol. Honestly, I am not much of a drinker. I tried to be a party girl when I was in college, but that just never was me. I have always had enough fun just being with the people that I love. In addition, after living in South Korea for 3 years and witnessing a plethora of dangerous/ridiculous/unprofessional/reckless stuff happen because of drunkenness not by college students but grown ass adults in suits, I am the straight and narrow semi-teetotaler I am today. And I do not like hangovers, beer bellies, or distractions from marathoning.

On the contrary, now that I live in a very conservative Muslim country . . . I kind of want to drink. I could blame this on the fact that we cannot drink legally without a Liquor Permit (and Muslims cannot drink alcohol at all), or the daily frustration that comes from teaching incredibly unmotivated and spoiled students, or that there is little to do for active people who like the outdoors. I don't want to binge drink or "party" with colleagues or students like some teachers do in Korea (never mind that I never wanted to do that in Korea). However, I find myself wanting to have a glass of wine or a margarita with Mexican food these days - plain and simple.

So I went through the procedure to apply for my Liquor Permit at the Qatar Distribution Company (QDC). Here's what I had to do:

1. Get a letter from my employer stating these things: basic salary (not including transportation and housing allowances), marital status, job position, and whether the employer provides me with housing or a housing allowance.

2. Fill out the application, which included this question field: Religion: _________ . I wrote CHRISTIAN in case you were wondering partly because I think anything but that would have given the QDC a reason to deny my permit.

3. Pay a 1,000.00 Qatari Riyal deposit (For what? I have no earthly idea!)

After I got my permit I walked into what looked like a little 1,000 square foot Brown Derby liquor store. Everything was nicely arranged. It was tiny considering that everyone in Qatar buys their alcohol there - even the hotels and restaurants. The store was arranged by liquors (whiskeys, whiskys, vodkas, etc.) with the beers and wines separate. The wines were arranged by country of origin. At the entrance there was a card swipe machine so you could check your balance. I was given only 1,600 QR because my employer did not write in my letter that they provided my housing, which would increase my salary. The alcohol permit customer spending is based on salary. Therefore, the next time I go into the QDC the permit office man said to bring my contract that shows I get housing from my employer, and they will increase my spending to 2,500 QR, which I am sure we will never spend.

Here was what I bought and their rough price estimates in the US dollar amount:

• Wolf Blass Eagle Hawk Merlot (75cl) 59.00 QR = approximately $16 USD
• Captain Morgan Spiced Rum (75cl) 99.00 QR = approximately $27 USD
• Jose Cuervo Silver (75cl) 105.00QR = approximately $28 USD
• Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix (1litre) 54.00 QR = approximately $14 USD
• Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (75cl) Baron Philippe 66.00 QR = approximately $18 USD
• Corona Bottles (33cl) 6 pack 42.00 QR = approximately $11 USD
  

I spent only 425.00 QR of my 1,600.00 QR allotment.

Here are the very specific and seriouly followed rules pertaining to buying alcohol in Qatar as stated on the QDC Alcohol Permit application and their nice hand out they gave us at the permit office:

1. Permits are for personal use only.

2. Purchases must be taken directly to the permit holder's residence and should be concealed from view in transit.

3. The permit holder and goods must be in the same vehicle.

4. Consumption must be at the permit holder's residence only.

5. It is strictly forbidden to give alcohol to others whether by sale or gift.

6. You cannot purchase without your card.

7. Only permit holders are allowed in the shop.

8. Management reserves the right to refuse or cancel any membership.

So, there you have it. I feel like a 20 year old American again . . . make that newly 21 year old! Sadly, I had the flu this past weekend so I did not get to actually drink any alcohol yet. Well, there's always next weekend and I am on vacation for two weeks. I guess I could have a Corona will doing laundry and cat sitting!

Until Next Time,

WW

Running in Qatar

I started to write this blog because I wanted to give (my own) information about Qatar, but I cannot help but compare Qatar to my experiences in the US and South Korea.

Running is my hobby, but also a way of life. I started running seriously in the summer of 2005 and by the fall I had run my first half marathon and marathon. I was hooked. In February of 2006 I moved to the countryside of Daegu, South Korea. I was too far outside the city to get into a running club. Nevertheless I ran the trails around Daegu University and loved it! I even took the slow train to Gyeongju and ran a half marathon all by my self. During my training runs and during that one race locals stared, but I got used to it. They were incredulous looks of amazement, not perverted lingering eyes that followed me. In 2007 I moved to Seoul and hit the motherload of all running clubs. Running really took over my life and I was grateful. In Seoul there were races every weekend! I met some of the best people through running. We became not just running partners, but traveling partners. Because South Korea is fairly small, we would just choose a region to visit, find a race, and hop on a train. Hotels or "love motels" and transportation were ridiculously cheap and safe. From spring 2008 to fall 2009 I had the time of my life running all over South Korea. And because it was rare to see a foreigner in a sea of Koreans at a marathon (and a woman especially!) some people started to recognize me. This recognition inside such a welcoming community of runners provided a perfect situation to practice my Korean. At one of the DMZ half marathons I found myself completely without English for the day and really enjoyed it. When I met other runners at races or running along the Han River I felt the most connected to Koreans.

Running in Qatar has been quite different. There are no races. I take that back. There was a 5km race put on by Doha Bank, but we did not go. The culture is less forgiving of women in athletic apparel here, not to mention women running around outside the home. Nobody has yet dared to say anything to me, or my husband but their cold stares say enough. The climate and terrain are harsh as well. Running in the evening or early morning is best - even in the dead of winter. I figure the only foreigners crazy enough to run here are lone runners - not likely to join a running club. In fact, we went to meet a haphazard group of runners for a few weeks. They met at 6:00AM to run along the Corniche, but after rising at 5:00AM every day during the work week, the last thing we wanted to do was wake up at 5:30AM to go run. In addition, the group just ran and went home, so we were not getting any of the social brunch type activities that I so looked forward to every weekend in Korea and the US. However, one of those runners and I spoke about starting an official running club to draw more people into it, but I just don't know if I want all that responsibility. Maybe my US and Korean running clubs were just too good to ever top.

Therefore, my husband I run together. He is a lot faster than I, but we make it work. Like a lot of things we miss living here - we will be even more grateful to have them once we return home. And this summer when we go home for a visit we'll be sure to load up on racing. We've already registered for the Rock & Roll Chicago Half Marathon for August 1st!

Until Next Time,
WW

Living in Qatar is a Lot Like . . .

Living in Qatar is a lot like the comedy Groundhog Day starring the hilarious Bill Murray. Let me explain. If you have seen the movie you know that Bill Murray is a TV weather man who suddenly wakes up one morning to re-live the same day all over again. At first, he is confused, later completely frustrated, and then he learns to deal with the sameness of it all - anticipating each character's action before they even know what they will do.

Qatar has been like Groundhog Day in that the weather and geography do not change. Okay, it was hotter than hell in August, ranging from 84F to 105F, and now it is only warm in January, ranging from 55F to 71F, but it will never get cold here. We did not see any clouds until the end of November, and there was no rain until December. Had we not bought a Christmas tree I never would have known it was that time of year. Living in Qatar is like the film Groundhog Day: the same again and again.

The geography is the same shade of beige with the occasional tuft of green shrub. We drove all the way out to the NW coast to see Fort Al Zubara, but it was the same. We also drove out to the Inland Sea and Al Khor just north of Doha. They all look the same. Some places just have more people and cars than others. Living in Qatar is like the film Groundhog Day: the same again and again.

The Ozarks are gorgeous and we say, "If you don't like the weather - wait because it will change tomorrow." South Korea also had four seasons and the most beautiful trees, mountains and rivers. I never knew that I would miss weather and geography diversity so much.

Bill Murray photo credit: http://www.foxnomad.com/
Fort Al Zubara photo credit: http://media.lonelyplanet.com/