Ramadan Kareem!

Happy Ramadan!

With a bit of uncertainty as to exactly when Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, began Tristan and I stockpiled our kitchen with food. This would be similar to the Y2K hysteria, or even better, the grocery store run for milk and bread in North Carolina when it begins to snow.

The confusion about the exact date was compounded by where and when we could get food. Qatari law requires restaurants and grocery stores to close for most, if not all of the day time fasting hours. After iftar, the meal to break the fast at sundown, the city comes to life at approximately 8pm. From 8pm until 2 or 3am all the businesses, food establishments, and malls are open and packed full of families. I'm looking forward to Eid and possibly a vacation if we get our Residency Permits in time.

For more information... An Idiot's Guide to Ramadan

Gig'em Aggies!

Over the past two weeks I've been learning a lot about Texas A&M culture and how that fits into life here in Qatar at Education City. These are pictures of the fantastic building I work in. I have a small, but lovely office situated near the Electrical Engineering department. No, I don't work for the Electrical Engineering department, but it's a temporary space. :)

Beginning our Doha days

I was initially worried that moving to Doha would feel like a vacation. One morning I would wake up and realize "wow, I actually live here!" While the anticipation and excitement which led up to moving here was doused in denial, living here has felt surprisingly normal. I credit these feelings to good ole Carrefour. Yes, a grocery store. More aptly the french version of Wal-Mart. For any Tour de France fans you should know this symbol well since Carrefour is a one of the most highly publicized sponsor of the race. Somehow the adventure of going to the grocery store each day makes life feel normal. Trips to the grocery store and no time for tourist activities...

Our sense of adventure to begin our first weekend in Doha was negated by our jet lag. Friday was again spent adjusting to the new climate and early sunrises (3:30 am early). Luckily, the day was saved from being a complete loss by a friend who invited us to come to a party at the U.S. Embassy. When hearing the phrase "a party at the U.S. Embassy" one might conjure up thoughts of classy tuxedos, copious amounts of brandy, and lovely evening gowns. Great mental images, right?

Well, this is not the sort of party we experienced. The Marines which guard the Embassy have a house and fairly regularly host parties--evening gowns not required! Knowing a few people in Doha, Tristan and I took the opportunity to meet new people that weren't necessarily part of Education City. We met lots of new and interesting people and I'm glad we got to go. My apologies for the lack of pictures, but sadly no one is allowed to take cameras into the embassy.

As new student orientation began early Sunday morning, I came to the harsh realization I, like
the new students, had a lot to learn about Texas A&M at Qatar. Classic case of the blind leading the blind? No, fortunately for me it was a great opportunity learn about the institution with the students. Thus began an insane week of early mornings and late nights at work. When I got home I ate dinner and would promptly pass out. As you may guess this left Tristan quite bored extremely quickly= no wifey to explore our new city...

To compound this hectic week Tristan and I overcame a few immigration hurdles. First being getting our Qatari driver's licenses. Since our trip to Doha in June I've been anxious about becoming certified drivers in Doha.

"Do you know which country has a driving test which consists of steering in reverse for 30 minutes around an obstacle course in the police stadium, at 6 am in front of barracking spectators? Do you know which country has a driving test which has a failure rate of 82%? Do you know which country ensures all its visitors must take its driving test by refusing to recognize an international driving license? If you've answered Qatar to each of these questions you're beginning to catch on." (Peter Wood)

Tristan and I, along with another new expatriate couple, were escorted by a government liaison
from Qatar Foundation to the Traffic Department. He navigated us through the license acquiring system, which was quite overwhelming. The most stressful morning of my life resulted in a Qatari driver's license!

Our second hurdle, required medical tests. This involved chest x-rays and withdrawal of blood to check for TB and communicable diseases. After the driver's license process, this was painless. The final immigration hurdle we completed this past Wednesday adding our fingerprints into a digital database. Look out Residency Permits!

Long time, no blog...

So by looking at the time stamps on my last blog you can tell I'm not the best at capturing all the riveting moments of my life. Between July 19, 2008 and August 29, 2009 what have I been doing? Well, the extremely short list of major events is as follows:

-Tar Heels win the 2009 Men's Basketball National Championship :)
-I graduated from NC State with my Masters in Education
-I received 2 job offers to work in the Middle East (UAE & Qatar)

If you're reading this, you more than likely know my choice to accept my current job at Texas A&M at Qatar then dictated my hectic and chaotic summer of bureaucratic hurdles, insane packing, and sad goodbyes. Trying to pack in seeing as many people as possible, as well as the all pork and beer (prohibited in Qatar by Muslim law) diet left Tristan and I exhausted.

[August 10th] Our departure from the States was bittersweet. So much left undone, yet we were excited to finally be on the way to Doha. Our long direct flight lent itself to a restful 9 hour "nap". Upon arrival we breezed through customs and baggage claim to meet Julie & Jon Chase (our friends from NC) and Jeff (my supervisor). They escorted us to our new home and helped us settle in.

Jet-lag hit hard Wednesday, and sadly day one in Doha was spent in bed. This was abruptly interrupted by a myriad of phone calls and workers from the compound. Thursday, was my first day of work and the university was a bustling place, not in excitement for my arrival, but for the arrival of 140 new first-year students. With one less than productive day under my belt, we had a weekend of exploring to do!

[FYI] Friday is the Muslim holy day, so in many Muslim countries and Qatar the weekend is Friday and Saturday. Yes, I work on Sundays and it's 3x worse than a "case of the Mondays"...