Countdown to Turkey

The countdown has begun. Our flight to Istanbul leaves Thursday in the early afternoon. That's less than 48 hours from now!

We visited with our friend who just returned from Istanbul (and Greece - during the rioting, but that's another story) last night and it reignited our excitement to see the city that everyone speaks so highly about. We don't have our exact itinerary planned for our 6 days in Istanbul, but we've got a long list of must-sees.

Then on Christmas Eve we're going to meet up with my long-lost friend and her hubby in the Istanbul airport and fly together to Ankara where they live. It will be so nice to visit with them again after over 10 years!

But first things first. We've got some numbers to deal with before we get on any planes:

• One day of work.
• Two loads of laundry.
• Four meals.
• Two "sleeps".
• One trip to the store for warmer socks.
• Thirty-eight kleenexes. (We're both sick now.)
• One taxi ride to the airport.
• All my warmest clothes packed into two carry-on sized suitcases.
• One thorough cleaning of the apartment. (I hate coming home to a dirty house.)

It's definitely manageable and before we know it, we'll be on our way out of Doha.

I wonder when the fact that we're not going to spend any time this Christmas with our family will hit us. Probably when we've got no way to access our Skype account.

Merry Christmas to you, my readers. I wish you all a wonderful holiday with your families and friends. I'll be back in the New Year with photos and stories from Turkey!

Christmas Shopping 2008

Usually by this time of year all I can think about is Christmas. According to the calendar there are 12 days until Christmas Eve. But really, nothing could be further from my mind.

There are only two indications that it's Christmastime around our place: 2 tiny wreaths printed on either side of the word "December" on my calendar, and a card from my parents on our bookshelf.

When we go into a shopping centre there are some decorations available for purchase, and sometimes even decorations on the walls. But there isn't Christmas music playing on the radio, there isn't snow falling, we didn't have a visit from Santa on the last day of class... Even the weather is working against us remembering the season.

I am not complaining, though. Being removed from the traditions and hype of Christmas has been really refreshing for us. There is no holiday rat race here. Althought there are lots of shopping malls, I don't feel the same pressure to have to spend, spend, spend. This is the first year I can remember not hearing "X number of shopping days until Christmas!"

For the past few years, Darren and I have been trying to reduce the amount of buying we do in relation to Christmas. Again we are thinking about the role that purchasing gifts plays in this holy time of year. Being outside of our culture has given us the ability to analyze more as outsiders and develop a balanced perspective on this holiday.

We've had some help. About a month ago Darren and I watched the documentary "What Would Jesus Buy?" While enjoying a laugh at some of Rev. Billy's antics, along with some genuine headshaking, the message of the documentary was a good one. Then Darren and I independently came across the Advent Conspiracy within the last few weeks. Immediately it resonated with something inside us. We decided to support it on the spot. As if that weren't enough, the Meeting House series "Don't Drink the KoolAid" we started listening to today began with a message entitled "Lie #1: Christmas is for Giving".

It seems that from every angle instead of being bombarded with the message "BUY!", we're being confronted with the reality of how this holiday has become another way to keep the great capitalist machine working. And the more we think and talk about it, the more Darren and I want to divorce Christmas from consumerism. So that's it, no more Christmas presents from the Conleys.

You might be thinking: "Sure, Larissa. That's easy for you to say. You're not getting togther with my family this Christmas. No one is necessariy expecting gifts from you from across the globe. And you don't have kids whose friends will ask them what they got for Christmas when they return to school in January."

You're right, and I'm exaggerating. In fact, this year I did participate in my family's "each of the 4 sisters buys for one sister" and "all the sisters purchase a joint gift for the parents" programs. But the gifts Darren and I chose were ones that also help people in need at the same time (a la Toms shoes, but different organizations; I can't give away the secrets until after Christmas!)

And I've got it easier than the average person in that my family has been trying to "downsize" Christmas for a number of years. This year I received one gift from my parents: a fabulous handmade calendar, and there's one more coming from one sister. But that's it, and that's more than enough!

I realize that altering a tradition can be sensitive. We're not sure how to breech the subject with Darren's family or what their reaction will be. To be honest, Darren and I aren't exactly sure what the next few Christmasses will look like for us in terms of gift buying and giving. But we do know we'd like to increasingly be consuming only what we need and giving away more of our excess. This is true in all areas of our lives, but particularly at Christmas.

Sick at Eid

I'm on vacation. And I'm sick. It's a frustrating combination.

When I say I'm sick I don't mean I feel a little under the weather. This is one of the worst colds I can remember. I think viruses are getting more malicious.

For a couple of hours yesterday I thought I had strep throat, which would require a trip to the clinic and some antibiotics. However, as the day progressed I became convinced that what I'm experiencing is just a regular virus; not a bacterial infection. That's a good thing because since it's Eid, the clinics are closed. The emergency rooms are open, but I'm not sure this is an emergency. I have a cold.

So, I've been spending a good amount of time in bed, with the intention of resting this cold out of me. Sleep has been hard to come by, unfortunately. The only times I have fallen asleep in the last 3 days has been when Darren was reading to me. (The idea was to put me to sleep; I'd already heard the story before!)

While it has been nice to have a really relaxing few days, I can't believe I'm wasting my vacation in bed! We had a number of things on our potential to do list for this week in Doha: visit the Doha zoo, check out the newly opened Museum of Islamic Art, enjoy the nightly entertainment at the Pearl, go on an overnight desert safari.

Instead my days have been filled with reading books, writing posts, drinking tea, surfing the 'net, and watching Prison Break. Oh, and lots of nose blowing, sneezing, coughing and even a fair amount of moaning. Sick people like to moan.

But let's keep everything in perspective. There are many places where it's worse to be sick - all of which were real possibilities for this week: at work, in a hotel in a foreign country (I know, this is a foreign country, too...but it's home to us now), at a friend's house, in a holding cell in Athens like our friend Michael!

Suddenly I'm feeling grateful for this week of nothing to do but relax and fight this bug. Ah, the mental healing power of a blog. Yes, I'm on vacation. And yes, I'm sick. And yes, it's frustrating...but it could be much worse!

Expelling Adolescence

Darren and I have done a lot of talking about adulthood lately. More specifically, we've been discussing what it means to leave adolescence and enter adulthood. Even more specifically, we're considering what it means to leave behind an adolescent faith.

Someday Darren's going to write a book on the topic, but it's years away, so I don't feel like I'm stealing his thunder by writing a little blog post.

This afternoon we watched Ben Stein's documentary "EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed". It's failry new, with a release date of April 2008. In it Stein discusses the following issue (taken from the documentary's official web page):

The freedom to legitimately challenge “Big Science’s” orthodoxy…without persecution.

He interviews scientists who have faced persectution for publishing or attempting to publish research that points to the possibility of Intelligent Design. He also interviews scientists who hold firmly to Darwinism - one adamently calling it a fact.

Stein's bias was quite clear and Darren and I agreed the documentary was too emotional, but he raised some very good points, the foremost of which is this: If Americans value freedom so much, why is there no Academic Freedom in this one particular area? Why are academics who try to talk about Intelligent Design ostracized from academia? While they are allowed to conduct research about ID, why can they not publish it?

One interviewee in particular (Richard Dawkins, biologist and author of The God Delusion) referred to the war between science and religion. But I ask: What war? What makes these two mortal enemies? Are science and religion irreconcileable?

When the two sides (science and faith/religion) are pitted against each other as diametrically opposed, it becomes a "one or the other" situation. That's when atheists fear the science classroom will turn into an evangelistic crusade, and when religious folk fear the science classroom with turn their kids away from God. But if we all were to seek truth, apart from political motivation or manipulation, I think it would work itself out.

That's where the spiritual adulthood part fits in. It seems to me (and to Darren; gotta give him credit as he was part of this discussion!) that as one grows, he/she loses the need for black and white answers and becomes comfortable with a bit of ambiguity and lack of clarity. This in turn allows a person to examine data and come to a conclusion based on it, rather than the adolescent method of allowing one's worldview to bias the data (thereby coming to a conclusion before looking at the data).

In the film, people on both sides of the debate were guilty of this worldview-informing-truth mentality, although many of these were well-respected, educated adults. No one, for example, mentioned the possiblity of an Intelligent Designer being involved in the process of evolution. I should not have been suprised though because, of course, that would mean that science and faith were both right, and opposing ideas cannot both be right.

If I were to design a science curriculum for a public secondary school which was not affiliated with any particular faith group, I would propose the following regarding the Origin of Man:

1. Present the evidence for the theory of evolution.
   
2. Present the holes in the theory.
   
3. Leave it at that.

As the evidence is weighed, students can come up with their own conclusions. Why can we not train our adolescents to think in adult ways...especially when the answer is not immediately evident?

Asking questions and seeking answers to them is good science. It's also good faith-building.

Dalia and the black group

For the past few months I've been very slowly reading a narrative non-fiction book called The Lemon Tree. It tells the history of the part of the Middle East that has caused the most conflict at least in my parents' lifetime through the stories of two families, one Jewish and one Arab.

I'm not even half way through the book yet - it's only May 1967 in the story - but already I'm beginning to understand the complexity of the issues that surround the entire area of Palestine/Israel.

The parts of the story that have stuck with me the most have been those that have involved individuals who were willing to stand up for the oppressed.

The first took place in Bulgaria during WWII. If you don't know the names Dimitar Peshev, Metropolitan Stefan, and Bishop Kiril, I encourage you to look them up. A number of events and people working individually ultimately led to thousands of Bulgarian Jews being saved during the Holocaust.

Just yesterday I came upon another similar story, but on a much smaller scale. The best I can do is to quote it here:

One day in the spring of 1957, Dalia was playing with her girlfriends after school. They were at a concrete shelter in Ramla, the same claustrophobic bunker where Dalia and her schoolmates had practiced air raid drills during the recent Suez crisis. Most of Dalia's friends had been lighter-skinned girls from Europe. But recently a new wave of olive- and brown-skinned Jewish children had come to Israel from the Arab countries, including many from Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen. No longer welcome to live in the Arab world, the newspapers reported, these 'Oriental Jews' (also known as Sephardim or mizrahi) were immigrating to Israel, which would grant them the safe haven it offered to every Jew. Among many of Dalia’s classmates, however, there was a sense that the dark-skinned schoolmates were 'bringing the class down.' They were considered dirty and carriers of lice....

Still, Dalia was stunned, she would recall later, when her Polish friend stood atop the concrete shelter and, hands on hips, declared her intent to expel the darker, Oriental Jews from their play group. There would now be two competing groups among the girls: a 'black group' - the cherniti, the schwarzes - and a 'white group'. The other European girls murmured their assent. The 'white group' would be made up of only the lighter-skinned Ashkenazi, plus Dalia and the other Bulgarians....

The Polish girl picked up a stone and threw it at a dark-skinned classmate. Other lighter-skinned girls followed. Dalia stepped forward. 'Where did you say you came from?' she asked the Ashkenazi girls. 'And remind me what happened to the Jews there?' She paused. 'Of all people who should know better,' she said. 'Of all people who should know how not to treat someone badly just because they are different. If you are going to have a black group and a white group', Dalia announced, 'then I am going with the black group.' The issues never rose again among her classmates.

The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan, pp. 184-185

Dalia, a Bulgarian Jew whose family had immigrated to Israel after the War had learned from her past. All the kids in the story were children of Holocaust survivors, but only one was willing to point out the shame in the segregation and oppression suggested by the Polish girl. Interestingly, the one who stood up for the oppressed came from an oppressed people who were shown grace. She then showed the same grace to the 'black group'.

This "pay it forward" mentality is not always the case, of course. If it were, there would have been no need for that story about the man who was forgiven a great debt and then demanded his small debt be paid. You know the one I'm talking about. But I like to think that if I were part of this story I'd be Dalia, and not one of the other light-skinned girls. But am I?

Canadian Politics' most notable hour - at least since the Quebec referendum nonsense of the 90s

I am a Canadian citizen. However, having moved indefinitely from my country, I am no longer a Canadian resident. So I do not receive any of the taxpayers' benefits (understandable since I don't pay taxes), I cannot vote in governement elections...that kind of stuff.

But that doesn't mean I am not interested in what goes on there. And right now is a good time to be interested in what's going on, at least politically.

I have to admit that I was pretty in the dark about the political events of the past couple of days (weeks? see, I'm not even sure when this all started). I understood the basic idea - the last elections' losers wanted to oust the current government with a non-confidence vote mere weeks after an election and instead of sending Canadians to the polls again, they were just going to take over.

This morning, thanks to a link to a CBC story I found at this post from 3rd floor balcony, I now have a better idea of what's going on. It's funny that it took an article aimed at a non-Canadian (more specifically, American) audience to help me understand my own country's situation. But I plead ignorance due to the fact that we can't get CBC Newsworld in Qatar.

Anyway, check out the story if, like me, you're a little foggy on what's been going on in my homeland. Especially if you're American. Or a non-resident. I'll even repeat the link for you here.

What's going on?!?

I just had to document this.

I got up this morning a little after 6, unable to sleep any more. Strange for a hardcore late-sleeper!

Even more strange is this: my darling hubby, the wake-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn-regardless-of-the-day-of-the-week-or-what-he-has-to-do-or-not-do-that-day type, is still in bed now at 9:15am.

I tell you, strange things are happening at the Conley residence!

Vacation Delay

We're on vacation. I guess I should say I'm on vacation, since Darren's vacation has been ongoing since mid-August. Anyway, it's Eid al Adha here in the Muslim world, the time when many muslims will make the pilgramage to Mecca. Everyone else just gets time off work.

My college gives us a week off (Dec. 7-11) plus, of course, the weekends on either end of it. Many of my colleagues have boarded plans in the last 24 hours bound for destinations in Europe, Asia, other parts of the Gulf, and even Africa. Many others have had to change thier plans last minute due to the crazy stuff that has been going on in both Bangkok and Mumbai lately. But Darren and I had planned to say here for the week.

This decision was based on a couple of factors. First, Christmas vacation is coming up very soon and we were planning on going somewhere during that time. But I have to work for 4 days in the middle of the month (Dec. 14-17). So it seemed overwhelming and irresposible to plan two trips back to back like that. Also, the weather here is so nice during the daytime now that we want to enjoy it while it lasts. We also toyed with the idea of taking diving lessons over the break, but ended up deciding to postpone that for now.

But the most important reason is this: Darren's former classmate from his MA program was coming to Doha! She emailed to ask for hotel recommendations, and we promptly responded saying there was no way she was going to stay in a hotel when we've got an empty guest room just waiting for her.

We hadn't planned an itinerary for the week, prefering to wait until our guest arrived and talk over the options together. But Eid approached, I got more and more excited about (1) meeting this friend of Darren's (I met most of his MA classmates but not this one for some reason), (2) playing tour guide for a couple of days, and (3) grilling her about life in Saudi Arabia, which is where she is living and teaching.

Unfortunately, as we were giving our apartment its first thorough cleaning in a fair amount of time, Darren received an email from his friend saing her bus had been cancelled. After being issued the boarding pass and everything, 10 minutes before the scheduled departure she discovered that there was no bus for her to board.

Something similar happened to me in Peru. I had a ticket to take me from Arequipa to Tacna but I must have been the only one with such a ticket. I clearly remember watching the bus start to pull out of the terminal as I sat in the waiting area. I ran outside and had a number of confusing and tiring conversations in Spanish that led to them ultimately putting me on a bus that got me to my destination, though not directly, and in 4 more hours than "my" bus would have. I had no way to contact the person whose service I had hired to take me across the border, so I figured I'd be stranded in Peru. But everything worked out and now I have a good traveling story.

Darren's friend's trip is not cancelled, but now we (all 3 of us) wait to see when/if she will get to Doha. I don't think the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in the habit of running off with naive passengers' bus fare, so I'm sure something will be done.

In the meantime, Darren and I have to decide how to spend our next day or two. We don't want to do anything too cool or interesting without his friend. At the same time, the apartment is already clean, I finished my book last night, and we've explored most of the neighbourhood...what else is there to do at home? This is where all my years of living in Dunnville and the entertainment-creativity it fostered in me comes in handy!

And hopefully it won't be too long until our first house guest arrives and we're out and about together, enjoying all that Doha has to offer!

Doing my part

Since we arrived here in August I have been struggling with the issue of garbage. My struggle is with the amount of garbage Darren and I produce. We throw out probably one grocery bag of trash every 3 or 4 days. That's not SO bad, but we also throw out an armful of recyclable materials each week. This pains me.

I've heard rumours about a Filipino man who makes his living by collecting recyclable materials and bringing them somewhere for cash. The only problem with this is that it is a rumour. No one seems to be able to confirm the existence of this man or the recycling centre.

I think I've mentioned before that the college started a paper recycling program last year. So now I have options with what to do with all the paper I go through: that which is not of a sensitive nature and is blank on one side goes into a pile in my cabinet for reuse; the rest goes in the green bin which was recently delivered to our office during my ridiculously productive week.

According to the marketing department's web page, a plastic recycling program will be launched in the new year as well. I'm very excited about this as it bothers me to see all the water bottles that get thrown into landfills in this city - and even on this campus!

But being without recycling for the past 4 months has helped me rethink my relationship with packaging and containers. I've realized that the introduction of recycling as an automatic (automated?) way of life in most cities in Canada has made us forget that there are actually 3 Rs - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, with Recycle being the third, and least effective of the group.

So I've been making a conscious effort to increase my involvement with the oft-forgotten Rs.

First of all, I've been trying to reduce the amount of waste I produce. This is difficult, but I've found a few small ways to do this:

• When I buy fresh fruit and vegetables at the local grocery store I tie the bag in a slip knot so it can be easily opened without ripping the bag - thereby allowing the bag to be reused. A much better option would be reusable vegetable bags, but they're not sold in Qatar...yet.

• When buying boxes of tea, I opt for the ones that don't come in individually wrapped bags - unless the individually wrapped bags happen to be organic fair trade tea, in which case I think it's justifiable. (And besides, these bags are staple-free!)

• I've been trying to reach for a cloth rather than a paper towel whenever I spill something. I think I should actually put the paper towels in a high cupboard as added incentive.

• The tap water in Qatar is desalinated sea water and we've been encouraged not to drink it. that means bottled water. (sigh) While my preference is to drink water from our 5-gallon bottles, carried in my reusable ethos water bottle, sometimes we're out and we have to buy water to drink. In these instances, Darren and I will order a large bottle, rather than 2 small ones. I don't know how much less plastic is used, but it's got to be some!

• We made sure to get some sandwich-shaped food storage containers early in our time here so we weren't going through so many zip-lock baggies.

• As we leave our apartment on a grocery shopping outing, I try to remember to grab our reusable Carrefour shopping bags so we don't have to use the plastic ones they love to give out at Family Food Centre. In fact, whenever we're shopping and what we're purchasing will fit in my purse, I give the bag back and stick the item(s) in it.

My choice of pronouns in this post was deliberate. In a lot of ways I'm still working on getting Darren on board. He's definitely in agreement with my choices and actions in theory, but he usually forgets that we have reusable shopping bags, for example.

But remember there are 3 Rs. I've also tried to find creative ways to reuse containers such as spaghetti sauce jars, cashew cans, styrofoam meat plates.

I've currently got sea shells drying on a styrofoam tray in my bathroom. On my desk there is an empty coffee can that holds my scissors, ruler, staple remover and used metal paper fasteners (I might call them duo tang clips). There's a 2L water bottle on my dining room table with its top cut off that is displaying my beautiful birthday flowers. And my flour, sugar, pasta, rice and oatmeal is being kept fresh in cleaned spaghetti sauce jars.

Now none of this means I don't want to recycle. In fact, I spent about an hour today looking for a location in Doha to bring my plastic, glass and cardboard to for recycling. I didn't find such a place, but I did come across Rashid and Dana the Recyclers! UNESCO has been promoting environmental activism in the Gulf for a few years now, and the Rashid program was recently launched here. I'm glad they're teaching the kids about the value of the 3 Rs, but they don't make it easy to find out where or how the average Qatari resident like me can participate! I've sent a few emails asking about recycling depots; I'll keep you posted!

I also realize that these small changes I'm trying to adopt will have very little impact on the environmental situation of the world. But I've got to do my part, even if it means tacky-looking vases!

Birthday Shoes, Christmas Shoes

I've been thinking a lot about feet lately. More specifically, I've been thinking a lot about shoeless feet.

For my birthday Darren and I got me a pair of TOMS boots. They're quite unique and I've been wearing them at work to keep my legs warm in the over-air conditioned office. What I love about TOMS, besides the shoes themselves, is the fact that when you buy a pair of shoes from them, they give a pair to a child who has none. It's beautiful - two pairs of shoes for the price of one!

Counting these new boots, I now own 10 pairs of shoes. And this comes after the major footware purge I did in August just before moving to Qatar. I don't feel like I have an excessive amount of shoes, and every pair I own, I wear. But there are people who don't have any. Never have. Not a single pair of shoes.

Shoes are not the most important thing in life, but if your life depends on searching through landfills for discarded items to sell or walking for miles to fetch water for the family, or working on a non-safety-conscious construction site, they quickly gain importance.

This is where Soles4Souls comes in. They'll take your unneeded shoes and give them to someone who does need them.

I love the idea of cleaning out the closet of gently used shoes and sending them to people who need them. But for those like me who live in places without distribution centres, donations can be made online. It only costs $6 to donate 3 pairs of flip flops. And $10 will supply a new pair of more sturdy clogs.

Soles4Souls is trying to collect 50 000 pairs of shoes in 50 days. They've got under 30 days and over 42 000 pairs of shoes to go. Why not join in? If you live in the US, you can find a distribution centre here, or shoes can be shipped to one of their three warehouses. Or click here to donate new shoes.

There are organizations around the world that help people in various ways. But for me, right now, as the recipient of a brand new pair of shoes, it seems fitting to support Soles4Souls (and also TOMS). If I get birthday shoes, why shouldn't someone else get Christmas shoes? Especially someone who actually needs them.

A good day

Today is a good day.

Today I teach my last class of my first semester at my new job. Today the sun is shining and a cool breeze is blowing (as it has done every day for the past month or so). Today I took the 7:20 bus instead of the 6:20 I was supposed to catch in order to be on campus in time for my sub duty. Fortunately, I was not needed to cover any classes early this morning. Today Darren and I get to enjoy the special cheeses we ate with Dan & Marie in France and that we were surprised to find in our grocery store last night. Today the "personal mail" I was informed I had received was not simply a bill from Qatar National Bank or Q-Tel, as it usually is. AND, today is my 30th birthday.

This morning Darren and I were reminiscing a bit before I had to drag myself out of bed and get ready for the day. The conversation went something like this:

Darren: "Remember the day in church when you looked at me and said with a gasp, "We're going to Qatar!"? And then over the next few months you doubted the decision again and again. And I would tell you everything would work out fine. And now we're here!"

Larissa: "Yes. Remember how we used to wonder whether I would spend my 30th birthday in another country? Just another country - we didn't know which one. And now we're here!"

It really is amazing how much our lives have changed in the past year, and also how much they have stayed the same. It's true that we now live in the Middle East. We now have secure jobs, and we now get paid vacation time - and plenty of it!

But it's also true that we still live in a reasonably-sized apartment. I still cook spaghetti once a week, stir-fry once a week, and mini-quiches once a week. We still read the same websites and online magazines. We are still constantly discussing how to be socially and fiscally responsible.

Likewise, our struggles remain the same: developing meaningful relationships with the people around us, discovering and developing our passions, becoming more loving and giving people, growing emotionally, spiritually and physically more healthy.

The only real new struggle is how much we miss our friends and family on the other side of the globe. This becomes more real as special days (holidays, birthdays) come and go. For my 30th birthday, we're getting together this evening with some friends at our apartment building. It will be a nice informal gathering, celebrating a couple of birthdays, as well as life in general. If we were in Canada, the celebration would probably be similar, but we would surround ourselves with the kind of friends that it takes years to develop. We've only had months here.

I want to thank everyone for the kind wishes via facebook, email and even snail mail! It is nice to be remembered. I look forward to what my 30s will bring. One this is for sure: they're not likely to bring snow any time soon!

On my way...to the Olympics!

I'm going to become a swimmer. And someday I'm going to give my neice, Alex, a run for her money.

Maybe.

But for sure I'm going to become a swimmer. I've already started. I've been to the pool twice!

All semester I've been meaning to take advantage of the pool on campus. It's a 2-minute walk from my office and it's beautiful. But there were a number of obstacles. First, I didn't have a bathing suit. Well, I had a bathing suit for the beach, but not one for swimming lengths. When I finally got an appropriate swimming costume, I went to the pool. The lifeguard told me I needed a bathing cap, so that was the second obstacle. On top of all of this, the pool closes most days at 4:30, and I finish class at 4:10. During the mornings I was free and the pool was open, I was usually on call to substitute teach, and being in the middle of a swim doesn't qualify as ready to fill in.

But I finally found a time - Monday afternoons - and got all the gear.

I haven't swum laps since I stopped taking swimming lessons around the age of 12. I wouldn't call myself a weak swimmer, but I'm certainly not strong. But I want to become one, since it's one of the best forms of exercise in terms of impact on the body and use of multiple muscles. Not to mention, it's the only perfect sport for a non-sweat-er like me!

My goal for my first attempt at becoming a swimmer was 20 lengths. My friend (and former Olympic rower!) Jane told me that each length is 25 m, so 20 would be half a kilometer. Unfortunately the first time I went to the pool I lost count. I also stopped a lot between lengths. I'm not sure if that affects the count or not.

Today I had a better plan: 4 lengths of a single stroke in order - front crawl, back crawl, breast stroke, elemetary back stroke, front crawl. It worked swimmingly [:)] except for the one lap of elementary back where I hit my head on the cement wall. Oh, and I got really tired after my second length of my second set of front crawl so I took a small break before finishing.

All in all, I'd call it a success. I was out of the pool in under 20 minutes. The lifeguard seemed surprised and asked, "You're finished?" I told her I lacked endurance and that I would gradually build up to more. She complemented me on my "style" (I think she meant technique) which should make my childhood swimming teachers proud.

Well, folks, I'm on my way to the Olympics! Or at least a less wimpy me.

Playing for Change

I was just browsing my incredibly talented friend Rachel Peter's website this morning and came across something that caught my attention. Along with videos of her own amazing work, she had some clips from the DVD Playing for Change. It is an award-winning documentary that portrays the interconnectedness of all people - through music.

Here is the extended trailer:



I cannot help but be drawn to anything that demonstrates unity among various cultures. The images of people who have never met singing together (through modern technology)are powerful. One version of a song was recorded. The track was brought to other musician in other countries. They would listen to the track and sing or play along. In the studio, the tracks were put together and a single recording was made of musicians from literally all over the world.

Stand by Me:



While they were creating the DVD, the filmmakers decided they wanted to do something to help out those who had helped them. So a foundation was started. Already a music school has been built in South Africa, and there are other projects in the works.

The DVD won't be released until some time in the new year, but there are a number of songs available for free now at the Playing for Change website. Enjoy and be inspired.

Checking things off the list

There's nothing like checking things off a list to make you want to check more things off. The old saying "if you want something done, ask a busy person" is so true. Productivity begets productivity. (Just ask my motivationless unemployed husband!)

I've been in hyper productivity mode the past couple of days, and man does it feel good. In a matter of 3 hours on Monday I created a week's worth of teaching materials - listening activities, reading questions, a small project about creating timelines including a template...all sorts of stuff! In the same day I pretty much completed my assigned project work (the stuff they gave me to do because one of my courses was canceled) - that is, until they give me more. Check and check.

Aside from my teaching work, I've also been getting stuff done around the office. Yesterday, after activating my account, I contacted the facilities help desk and filed a few "calls". The sink in the lunch room has had problems draining since we arrived, the front magnet-key-activated door hasn't been closing and the paper recycling boxes I placed by the copier a few weeks ago were getting pretty full!

Within an hour of submitting my requests, there were two maintenance men here: one playing with the sink and the other playing with the door. Unfortunately these men are not well trained. They're in way over their heads (especially when it comes to plumbing!), so the sink is still not draining well. But one can hardly blame these guys for being asked to perform tasks they have not been equipped to perform! On a positive note, though, this morning when I came into my office, I noticed that our cardboard boxes no longer had paper in them! I'm assuming it was taken to the recycling location, and not just thrown out. Gonna have to trust on that one! Check, check, check.

Last night we got an email from QNGH about an upcoming event. It's archaeology-related and looks pretty cool. However, the meeting place is 60 km out of town! So after grumbling in my head about how they only cater to those with vehicles, I drafted a proposal for a carpooling coordinator and sent it to the powers that be. This morning a reply came: not only are they going to raise my proposal at their steering meeting tonight, but they also asked for our location to arrange a ride for Darren and me for the upcoming trip! Check.

Today was my day to sleep in and take it easy, really. I didn't get to school until almost 11 am, but I've still had time to catch up on my email, create a ppt presentation about how to convert feet into metres, do all my marking from yesterday's class, revamp a grading rubric, do my photocopying in another part of the building, tweak today's lesson, have a nice lunch with Darren, and write the majority of this post - all before 2:15 when I headed off to class! Check, check, check, check...

I have absolutely no idea where this sudden surge of get-it-done-ed-ness has come from. Maybe it's the cooler weather. Maybe it's the end of term excitement. Maybe it's the greater feeling of comfort and ownership I feel over my new job. Maybe it's the impending end of my *third* decade. Most likely it's just a passing phase.

I really wish I could harness this whatever it is and pull it out when I need it. There are lots of days when I feel like doing nothing. And it's precisely those days that I need some accomplishments in order to spur me on to more accomplishments. Perhaps I should start making the bed in the morning. It's a very easy thing to do and it might make me feel more productive right off the bat.

It will be interesting to see if Darren and I make it to our bank branch across town this evening! Getting a Qatari credit card has been on our TO DO list for FAR, FAR too long! Aparently even surges of productivity have their limitations!

Belly Dancing

Just over 2 hours ago I finished my last belly dancing class of the year. You read that right - belly dancing!

The school I work for organizes events and classes for students and staff throughout the academic year. There's an art club that Darren attends most Tuesdays, aerobics classes three times a week, monthly movie nights on campus, an introductory Arabic course...all free to those affiliated with the college and their families. It's a pretty nice perk.

So for the past 5 Mondays, I've been attending my first ever belly dancing class. I've learned first and foremost that belly dancing is not about the belly; it's all about the hips. The belly isn't even the second most important part - that's the arms! I've also learned that isolating a particular muscle is very difficult! I watch the instructor slide her shoulders without moving her torso or break out in a full hip shimmy without moving her legs and stand amazed.

The women who attended the class were of all ages, shapes and sizes. The ad that was circulated inviting us to join the class included this paragraph under "description":

Before belly dance became a cabaret type of entertainment, it was a celebration of femininity expressed solely by women in the exclusive company of women. The art of belly dance has evolved, but the benefits of the dance persist. Belly dance is a low impact aerobic activity that works various muscles in the body, increasing flexibility and endurance while learning to appreciate the female body, regardless of size and weight.

It was really lovely for us as women of literally all body types to learn to shake our bottoms together.

From the first class we've been working on the choreography for a particular dance. Each class we would review the steps we had learned the week before and then learn a few more. Eventually we put the whole song together and tonight was our big performance. What I mean by that is that half the class did the dance while the other half watched, and vice versa. But it was the first time we had an audience, so it was exciting!

I will never become a professional belly dancer; I simply cannot coordinate the hips, arms, shoulders and neck at the same time! But I will be there each week in January when the class starts up again...with hip scarf on!!

What's with all the camels?

I thought it might be time to give some sort of explanation for the many photos of camels that appeared on our facebook pages last week. Not that pictures of camels need an explanation! :)

Darren and I joined the Qatar Natural History Group early in October (I've mentioned this before). Besides monthly lectures on topics of interest to "nature people," there are also monthly field trips to less well known places around the country. In addition, there are regular rambles or hikes all over Qatar. Last Friday the ramble was at the local camel race track. That sounded interesting to us, so we got a driver to take us to the meeting place and then hitched a ride (in a car; not on a camel!) the rest of the way.

The race track was pretty much in the middle of the desert. There is a single set of stands for spectators, as well as a tower, probably for judges. The track itself is huge! I heard a couple of figures - some said it was 2 km walk around it, others said 5km. All I know is that it seemed to go on forever!


We were not there for a race; instead, we simply watched camel "training." From what I saw, training means tying the young camels to more experienced ones to get them used to the track.


We did see some camels running on a separate track. None had trainers on their backs; men are too heavy. Instead, a couple were being "encouraged" by the honks of land cruiser horns as they drove along beside the racetrack. The majority, however, were ridden by robotic jockeys. I was very glad to see this because a colleague of mine said that a few years ago she saw a camel race in the UAE and they were using children as jockeys. That would not have sat well with me.


The camels were "dressed" in beautiful blankets which are used to protect them from the sun and sand. I think it also helps identify them since camels owned by the same person usually had matching colours or patterns on their blankets.


Information about events in Qatar is hard to find and when you do hear it, it's often unreliable. For example, the lady who led the ramble said the camel races were held at 4pm, but a Qatari camel owner we spoke to while we were there said they're at 6am and 2pm. Whether they take place on both Fridays and Saturdays, and for more than the month of November no one really knows. But hopefully we'll be able to take in a race or two during our time here. If not, at least we've seen the camels!

Send your ugly fruit to Zimbabwe

Yesterday I read two articles that really disturbed me. The first was reporting on the food crisis in Zimbabwe. Ever since 2000 when Mugabe gave away white-owned farms to people with little to no farming knowledge or experience, the country has been experiencing lower than average crop yields. Along with the droughts and ridiculous inflation, this has left many people in need of food. The article states that already monthly cereal and pulse rations delivered to approximately 2 million have been reduced. According to the World Food Programme, up to 5 million people may require food aid before the coming harvest, which isn't until April 2009.

At the bottom of that article was a link to an article written by a BBC News Blogger. This one I found even more upsetting. In it Mark Mardell comments on the EU's plan to scrap some of its standards that stipulate the dimensions of 26 different types of fruit and vegetables that are allowed to be sold in European grocery stores. Perhaps I'm completely out of the loop, but this is the first I've heard of these apparently highly ridiculed rules.

What has me so upset is that one group of people regulates the dimensions of a plum while another relies on beans to be distributed by an aid organization...and people seem to be fine with this!

According to this article about the EU food regulations, the "new rules" - and by that I believe they mean the relaxation of the current rules - "are expected to come into force on 1 July 2009." That's 3 months after Zimbabweans will hopefully be celebrating a good harvest that leaves fewer lacking food, perfectly proportioned or not.

Ready to hit the road! (ha!)

As of this morning, Darren and I are the proud owners of Qatari drivers' licenses. This will change our lives in no way, except that we've got one more piece of evidence for CRA that we've severed our ties with Canada and should no longer be considered residents for tax purposes. Oh, and if we needed to rent a car for some reason, now we can.

The whole event was whirlwind-ish. Our driver, Johnson, picked us up at 7am. By 7:35 we were at the moroor (traffic department), where he led us to a small concrete building. Inside there were a number of old school typewriters and a couple of typists. We gave a gentleman copies of our passport, Qatari ID, Canadian drivers' licenses, as well as a passport photo and 15 riyals and he handed us a couple of forms and a letter typed in Arabic.

With paperwork in hand, we followed Johnson to another building and up some stairs. It looked like an abandoned apartment building. There a lady entered our information into a computer and sent us to our eye tests - me in the ladies' room, and Darren in the gentlemen's. The test consisted of holding a piece of paper over each eye and reading a chart. Apparently we each passed because then we were off to another building to get the licenses.

When we arrived at this building we found nothing. That's right - it was a long, empty room. There were men at work on the outside of the building, so we figured the offices had been moved for construction. It wasn't difficult for Johnson to find the right building where we took a number (after some persistence; the lady at reception wanted to send us to a building in the centre of the city) and gave all our paperwork to a veiled woman. After about 10 minutes, we left 500 riyals poorer but 2 licenses richer.

This process could have been nightmarish if we hadn't brought along our good friend and driver Johnson. He's been here for over 20 years and has taken tons of people to get various documentation. He didn't want to name a price for his services so we just guessed at what would be fair. I hope he realizes how much we appreciates his guidance this morning!

Update on the weather - 'cause I know you're dying to know!

Currently in Doha we are experiencing the perfect weather. The daily temperatures range from as cool as 23 this morning to highs of 28 or 29 in the afternoon. It's gorgeous! There's a nice cool breeze and I'm wearing jeans and long sleeves when I walk to the grocery store in the evening!

At the tennis matches this past weekend, I was actually a little chilly. Saturday evening I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, light jacket and scarf. In addition, I had another scarf folded on my lap as a blanket. But with all this clothing, I was still glad for Darren's warm arm to be around me.

People who have been here for at least one winter have warned me that it will actually get cold. Apparently it is not uncommon for people to go to bed in fleece pajamas and cover themselves with extra blankets for about two weeks each year. It shouldn't be surprising, though, since none of the buildings are equipped with heaters. Anything lower than 18 will seem cold to a Canadian; we're used to the temperature in our houses varying by only a few degrees throughout the year.

Upon the recommendation of...well, EVERYONE, Darren and I purchased a portable heater a few weeks ago. Once the cold weather hits, everyone warns, the stores will sell out of heaters and there will be none to be found in the city. So now we're prepared. I also hear that it is possible to get rain throughout the winter months. It's a good thing I packed an umbrella, and I purchased a coat in Paris. I wouldn't be surprised if the next few weeks involve stops at reasonably-priced stores to pick up a few more warm articles of clothing.

I'm glad the weather is becoming more temperate. The stifling hot, humid days of September were difficult to deal with and soon became tiresome. It also will mean for a less drastic shock in mid December when we get off the plane in Istanbul where we're planning to spend the Christmas vacation. I WILL need my coat there!

Becoming a sports spectator

I like watching sporting events. Really!

I'm not, however, a sports fan. I won't keep up to date on statistics or rankings. I don't display team flags. I refuse to argue about the supremacy of any one player or team. I wouldn't even really appreciate a signed ball or poster.

However, I am just now - as the second decade of my life comes to a close - discovering the excitement and enjoyability of live sporting events.

The problem, I think, is that when I was a child the only games I saw live were baseball. Baseball has got to be the most boring sport played in a stadium. Most of the time is spent waiting for the players to do something.

But now that I realize there are sports with constant action and tension, I think I'm hooked.

How did this happen, you ask? The women's tennis championships are being played in Dona right now. Last night I saw two of the world's top 10 tennis players play - Nadia Petrova and Elena Dementieva. I hadn't heard of them, but I was amazed by their athleticism, determination, concentration, and stamina. These two girls played for over 2 1/2 hours with only 5 minute breaks here and there. There were moments when I was so tense - just waiting for someone to hit the ball out of bounds or into the net. I learned how tennis works and gained a whole new appreciation for the sport.

The way I interact with tennis throughout the year will likely not change. I'm not interested in following individuals' carreers. But next year when these girls come back to Doha, I'll be there!

And it's not just tennis. If someone had invited me to a Toronto Raptors game a year ago, I probably would have declined. But now I'd accept in a heartbeat, even though I couldn't name a single player on the team. The same is true for soccer or hockey.

But please don't invite me to join you at a baseball game; I think I've had enough of that for one lifetime.

________
Addendum

Upon further reflection, I think I may have let my newfound enthusiasm get the better of me in this post. I think it should be said that the tickets for the tennis match we saw cost Darren and I approximately $3 each. If tickets were hundreds of dollars - which is very possible depending on the location and timing of a particular game or match - I would not be so eager to go! But I have discovered the joy of cheap sporting events!

Also, we went with a few friends. So the tennis match was more than a tennis match; it was a social event with people whose company we enjoy. This is another vital part of the equation.

So, what I should say is this: if you know someone who plays on an amateur hockey team, I'll gather a few friends and watch...with bells on!

A visit from the Queen

Two weeks ago Monday we had a royal visitor at the college. Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani made her first ever appearance at CNA. As you can see in the photo, she's young, but she's the chair of the Joint Oversight Board - the group who approves or disapproves any initiative proposed by the college. Her mother, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, is the one under whose patronage the college was established 7 years ago. I'm not 100% clear on what that means, other than she's my "real" boss.

The state of Qatar is officially an emirate. As an emirate, all Qatari decisions are made by the Emir's family. I know very little about the country's ruling family, except that they're all from the Al Thani dynasty and that the current Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, seized control of the country in 1995 while his father was on vacation. Sheik Hamad has done much for the country in terms of modernization, women's issues and education. In the three months I've been a resident of Qatar I've heard only good things about this family.

The Emir's wife and daughters are active in education-based initiatives in the country, and just reading the list of universities who have campuses in Education City in Doha is enough to convince anyone that they're doing something right.

On a practical level, her excellency's visit meant nothing for me except that I had to wear a jacket to work that day. She toured around the more important and impressive parts of the college such as instrumentation labs and health sciences facilities. Language labs just look like a bunch of computers arranged around a classroom.

Unfortunately I didn't even see her convoy on campus, although one of my colleagues did get a glimpse of her out the window of the classroom she (my colleague) was teaching in. Maybe next time she (Her Excellency) will stop by my office for a cup of tea! :)

Here's the official news story of the Sheika's visit.

EFL or Gr. 5 Science?

From the look of my desk some days this past week, one might think I was an elementary school science teacher. Actually, some days this past week I felt like one!!

My low level EFL class is learning about processes and procedures from Oct. 26-Nov. 6. As part of the electronic resource pack I was given in lieu of a textbook, I have worksheets that describe how to change a flat tire, how to drill a hole, and how to desalinate water, among others. These are all interesting -and more importantly, useful!- things, but paper is boring. So, in preparation for this topic, I spent a couple of days researching things I could actually *do* in the classroom that could then be described by the students in step-by-step fashion. My research (which incidentally started with wikiHow) took me to do-it-yourself science experiment websites. Let me just say these past few weeks have been a lot of fun!

Sunday, I had my students make paper helicopters. The looked at me a little strangely when step 6 was "Stand up and throw your paper," but once a couple of them did it, there was laughter all around. One student did comment, "Teacher, like babies," but I think it's just because he didn't want to admit how much he liked his paper helicopter!

Tuesday, pairs of students magnetized needles and made simple compasses. I gave them each a plastic cup containing a needle, a pin and a short piece of thread. As soon as the students got the materials, they attempted to thread the needles. No matter how many times I said "You don't have to thread the needle. The thread goes around the needle," their determination caused them to ignore me. So I waited until the needles were threaded and then asked them to take the thread out. I got some exasperated looks at that point, but just smiled. They should have been listening!!

This Sunday I showed the class how to roll a can using the "magic" of static electricity. Before my demonstration I asked if anyone could move the can without touching it. One student blew on it and it moved. Another lifted the desk the can was placed on and the can fell off. A third took a pencil and touched it to the can. I was impressed with their ingenuity. A fourth said "I can do it, teacher." So I brought the can to his desk and his hand immediately reached for it. I snatched it away and said "you can't touch it." "Ok, ok, teacher." So I put it back on his desk and again the hand went straight for the can, and again I rescued it just in time. "Don't TOUCH the can." "(smiling) Ok, teacher. Don't touch." But that smile said it all - after a third time through this little exercise I decided it was time for me to demonstrate my method - and for them to write down the steps...this time in both the active and passive voices!

Tomorrow will be the last demonstration. I'm going to stick a needle in a balloon without popping it - HOPEFULLY!! I have been practicing, but you never know...

The above-mentioned worksheets were also completed, but after describing something they could see and do. These students will go on to become process operators and mechanical technicians in the oil industry; they're hands on kind of guys! I think it's important to exploit that characteristic whenever possible. I believe it so much, in fact, that during the unit on describing objects (shape, material, use, etc.) I carried a big box of different items to class each day. I got a lot of comments and looks as I walked around campus carrying my big box brightly wrapped like a birthday present! No one seemed to say anything yesterday, though, when I was carrying a red balloon with the words "Happy Birthday" written on it. I guess all those who care to comment go home before 4:30! :)

I also experimented with pinhole cameras using Pringles cans (how to see something upside down without standing on your head), making waves in bottles filled with water, food colouring and mineral oil, and writing messages with invisible ink. None of these made it to class because each was either a little too complicated or didn't work as well as I had hoped. But I had fun doing grade 4 science experiments at the dining room table!!

Celebrating Hallowe'en Wanasa-Style

Some of our friends got into the Hallowe'en spirit this year by dressing up and attanding a Mobsters & Molls ball. They had dresses made and judging by their facebook pictures, looked great and had a good time. The extent of my hallowe'en celebrations was a 20-minute learning activity where my students described how to carve a pumpkin in class. (They're studying processes and procedures this week.) So for Hallowe'en I was a Canadian expatriate living in Qatar. Original, no?

But that doesn't mean I didn't celebrate at all this weekend. Thursday night there was actually a party for ladies being held at the college campus. It was called a Wanasa Night. I heard about it weeks in advance and wondered what Wanasa meant. I asked my class and they had a hard time explaining. Keep in mind that I teach what is currently the lowest level of English on campus. The conversation went something like this:

Larissa: What is "waSAna"?
Students: What wasana, teacher?
L: (looks at paper where she had written the word) No, WaNAsa. What is wanasa?
S: (Laughing) Wanasa! You want to know wanasa! (laughing)
L: Why is it funny?
S: No, wanasa is...uh...wanasa!
L: Oh, thank you!
S: Teacher, he (pointing to a student who came in late) is Wanasa.
L: Wanasa means late?
S: No, he happy, he smile, he wanasa.
L: Wanasa means happy?
S: Happy, smile, wanasa.
L: So if I am happy, can I say "I am wanasa"?
S: Not only happy. Teacher, the class - wanasa. The party - wanasa....

This went on for a few minutes. I think I finally deduced that wanasa is a concept, similar to entertainment or enjoyment. At least that's what I've decided to believe.

A couple of female students were handing out flyers to the party the week before. I saw them in the hall and they passed me a flyer. I had heard that at women-only parties the women usually got dressed to the nines. I mentioned that I didn't have a fancy dress and they assured me there was no dress code. They were absolutely right! I saw everything from people in jeans to people in evening gowns. My friend, who actually gave me a ride, wore a gorgeous purple and gold sequence-lined silk gown, and another lady who came in her car with us wore cords! I went out and purchased a sleeveless top to go with a skirt I already had in honour of the evening. You gotta take advantage of opportunities to show your shoulders around here! As it turns out I was cool with the air conditioning so I wore my wrap the entire night, but every now and then I'd let it drop, just because I could!! :)

The party itself was very interesting. There were two fashion shows: the first involved traditional clothing from India, Pakistan, and Sudan, as well as a local Qatari designer's abayas. It was so intersting to see the abayas being paraded before us and noticing the differences between them. One would think they're all just housecoat-like coverings, but there are different shapes, fits and embellishments. I found them very beautufil.

The second fashion show - which came after dinner and some dancing - featured what they called "hip hop clothing". The same students who had paraded the abayas now modeled jeans, short skirts, and cropped parkas. Yes, parkas.

The dinner was a full buffet with a variety of arabic dishes. My plate ended up being much fuller than I had intended, mostly because there were so many foods I hadn't tried but thought looked good. To drink I had half a can of green apple Mirinda which was flourescent green and contained absolutely nothing found in nature, I'm sure!

While we ate a Qatari woman sang. There was a male DJ hidden behind some makeshift walls who was pumping music out so loudly that many of the Canadians could be seen with kleenex in their ears in order to cope. The singer had a lovely voice, but it was much too loud. The woman sitting beside me said at weddings it's even louder. As this woman sang, different students would get up and dance on the stage. They were lovely to watch, for the most part. These ladies were all great dancers, and took advantage of the freedom afforded them in an all-female environment.

Besides this impromptu dancing, there was a dance competition. A woman performed a gorgeous belly dance to an Egyptian song that inspired me. Having taken 2 belly dancing lessons ourselves, a colleage and I felt qualified to analyze her moves. We identified a couple of "bumps" and a "drop" or two, as well as some "cabaret" steps! :) A couple of girls did a hip hop dance and they were excellent as well.

The attendees were probably half and half students and staff. I enjoyed the conversation around the table, as well as seeing the young ladies enjoy themselves.

By the time I got home I was exhausted from a long day. Remember I catch the 6:20 bus most mornings! Unfortunatley when I got off the elevator I realized that my door key was in my school bag that I had left at home!! Darren was out with a group of people so I gave him a call and begged him to come home. Within an hour I was in bed, having not celebrated Hallowe'en, but having experienced Wanasa!

Staying home and going out

The weekend is quickly drawing to a close. The funny part is that I'm writing this at 11:42 am Saturday morning Ontario time!

Last weekend felt like it started on Friday morning, since Thursday we were helping with the rummage sale setup. Once we got home around 10 that evening, we didn't leave the apartment again except on Saturday night to do some grocery shopping. It seemed like everyone we tried to make plans with (ok, the 2 people we tried to make plans with) were already busy, so we just stayed home and relaxed. Sometimes you need plans that involve others in order to muster up the motivation to go out. I don't remember what we did, but it probably involved Elebits and Skype calls to Canada. I know that I wasn't too upset about our lack of outings - that was my "homebody" side kicking in!

This weekend was just the opposite. Thursday morning Darren and I made plans to go see a movie that evening. He had been wanting to see the new Coen brothers movie and we've heard that the length of time a movie plays in Doha is pretty unpredictable. So we thought we'd jump at the chance to see the flick at the nearby theatre. But then Darren got a call from our friend Michael who invited him (and then later me) to join him on a trip to a Qatari family farm. This invite came minutes before another friend called and asked if we wanted to join them (and a bunch of others, I'm assuming) at the Doha Rugby Club's Oktoberfest celebrations. Who would have thought we'd have 3 things to do in one night!

We ended up going to the farm, and did not regret the decision for one moment. This past Thursday night was one of my favourite experiences in Qatar to date. You can read all about it over at Darren's blog.

Friday Darren could have gone to the wedding of a relative of a man we met at the farm. That sentence IS as confusing as it reads! But we had already planned on attending a Dhow trip with some colleagues and other local expats (they knew each other; it wasn't just a random group of people). A Dhow is a traditional Arabic boat that was originally used for sailing or fishing. It's now used for tourism. It was so nice to be out on the sea, feeling the breeze and even swimming a little! Fresh air is somthing we don't get a lot of in Doha since we're often indoors, so I've got to enjoy it whenever I can find it!

Today we rested. I didn't even get out of bed until after 10 am! A little cleaning, a little cooking, a little game playing, a little reading and the day has gone. Darren is currently out getting a hair cut and doing the necessary grocery shopping while I type this. This evening we'll have some dinner, listen to a podcast from the Meeting House and iron some clothes for the morning. That will have been our weekend!

It feels so good to be invited somewhere. However, it doesn't feel better to be invited to two places at the same time! At least that's how it is with me. Perhaps it's due to the fact that I hate making decisions almost as much as I hate disappointing people. Fortunately it doesn't happen very often!

Next weekend looks like it could be a full one, too - as long as my homebodyness doesn't kick in again! Stay tuned to find out! Hopefully it will involve a nice mix of relaxation, excitement and new experiences!

Convenience vs. well, everything else!

My cubicle neighbour and his wife rented a car for the week in order to explore the city a little more independently. His comment was, "Once you get behind the wheel again, you realize how much you need it!"

But we don't want to need a car.

Yes, it would be very convenient to be able to go places on our own schedules, but it's not a need. Having a car would save us the trouble of asking for a ride, but it's not a need.

I must admit, there are times when it sounds tempting to return to the independent days of car ownership. But then I recite to myself the reasons we've decided to remain a carless family:

1. Traffic: The traffic here is much different that it is at home. There are rules of the road, but they're not the same rules we're used to. I'm sure I could learn these new rules, but it requires more aggressive driving - something I'm not good at and the very reason I try to avoid driving even in Toronto!
   
   
2. Environment: Although it often doesn't seem like it, each person can make a difference. One less car on the road means slightly fewer harmful emissions being distributed into the atmosphere. This is especially true around here where the majority of the vehicles on the road are SUVs.
   
   
3. Expense: Part of our reason for coming here is to save money. A car is an additional expense that we simply don't need at this time.
   
   
4. Hassle: Owning a car means taking care of it. And in this dusty environment, that means more filter changes and car washes than at home. Also, there are lots of accidents every day, and vehicles in accidents need to be fixed or replaced. And let's not forget the initial hassle of purchasing the car, getting the financing (which means getting a loan from a local bank), registering the vehicle...and each of these things requires a letter from my employer and what seems like a stack of paperwork.
   

Since not having a vehicle (for the first time in almost 10 years) I have also noticed unexpected benefits:

1. Humility: It is humbling to always be asking for rides, especially when we're so used to the independence associated with our own vehicles.
   
   
2. Relationships: Wherever we go, we drive with someone. On the bus to work, I talk with my colleagues. When driving with friends, we have nice conversations. Even taxi rides become a chance to meet someone new.
   
   
3. Reduced stress: Driving to work has never been so easy. All I have to do is make sure I'm on the bus at 20 past the hour and that's it. I can read, I can doze, I can chat with people - even in the middle of a traffic jam, I feel no stress!
   
   
4. Exercise: Going grocery shopping, depositing a cheque, paying a bill, mailing a letter, going out for dinner - all these activities now give us a chance to get a bit of exercise. Granted it's not much exercise, but a 10-minute walk is better than no walk at all!
   

If we ever have children, we'll move out to a villa. That's where the college houses the families. There having a car will become a need as there is nothing within walking distance and I refuse to put a child's life in danger on a bicycle on these crazy streets. So that leaves taxis, which don't come equipped with car seats. (In fact, the only car seats I've seen used in the entire city are in westerners' cars!)

But for now, we're happy to be a carless family. And hopefully if we do rent a car for a weekend or a short vacation, we won't feel the need to keep it! If I do, I'll just reread this post from James' blog - it will be just the motivation I need to maintain my resolve to live without a car.