Monday, April 29, 2013

Qatar Living is Smooth Sailing



Well it has been quite a while since my spamming of my blog after my trip to good ‘ol America so I finally have some big experiences to share. The reason for the lack in blog posts is that I am finally feeling settled in day to day life in Doha and things are less shocking than they were when I first arrive. Luckily there has still been no shortage of adventure over the last few weeks so I can share some highlights with you.

In the words of the great Brennan Biddle, “They said it couldn’t be done!”. This is in response to renting a Dhow Boat (see image) overnight for a twelve hour cruise to nowhere. But after some sweet talking and eye lash batting Brennan was able to reserve an overnight cruise for us and 25 of our closest friends. We were able to load the boat with food, drinks, and music to be played on the world’s worst sound system. This cruise basically went out to see off the coast of the downtown Doha skyline as we proceed to party the night away while swimming and meeting all kinds of new friends. One highlight was the inflatable Shamu that Brennan purchased which nearly floated away 25 times. There were also dives from the second deck of the boat and the paper cut out of the one and only Will Nestor. The trip was an absolute blast and something we all want to do again, just not plan. 



After the Dhow Boat cruise there was the Emir Cup basketball championship. Doha has a professional basketball league that features players from around the world and many former Division 1 college players or NBA D League players. The first professional game I attended was the league’s championship between Al Sadd and Al Rayyan, which are basically two areas of Doha. Think of it as the Bronx vs. Brooklyn. My first highlight of the game was realizing that Rashad Anderson, a UConn Legend (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ3vMJu3u4s), was playing for Al Sadd. My next highlight was the fan sections that all brought flags, drums, and megaphones as they led chants throughout the entire game. The gym was so loud my ears were riningng the rest of the night. I later found out that some of these fans are paid to go to the game and cheer for the club team, which made sense considering the fans would cheer regardless of what was happening on the court. The third highlight was the raffle prizes at the end of the game which included 50 free airline flights, 10 ipads, 5 iphones, and several other electronic items. No one won from the group I sat with but only in Doha will you find those giveaways at a sporting event! The game definitely got me more interested in professional basketball here and rumor has it JMU Alum Abdulai Jalloh is playing out in Doha as well. Will have to check that out!

Over the last few weeks there has been a few desert camping adventures as well. We are trying to make the most of the good weather before it becomes unbearably hot for the next few months. About two weeks ago my basketball team went camping to celebrate the end of a season. We parked on top of a sand dune over looking the water, cooked more meat than a Brazilian Steak House, and stayed up until the sunrise just talking and sharing stories. Once again I was the only person in the group who didn’t speak Arabic and I was amazed at how kind everyone was to translate jokes, songs, or stories for me so I was included in the conversation. This past weekend we went camping in the north part of the country and did a moonlight kayaking trip through the mangroves before setting up our tents around a big bonfire. The trip was amazing with a group of friends from when I first moved to Doha and then some new friends as well. There isn’t much nature here in Doha so getting out to see the mangroves was a really cool experience even though we were paddling upstream the whole way and not making much progress.

Over the last few weeks there have been two interesting Doha articles that I have stumbled across. I think both gives you some insight into daily life here, one in a satirical way and one in a harsh reality kind of way. I connect with pieces of both of them but not entirely and would love to hear other thoughts on them. But I think each does a good job of capturing some daily challenges and experiences of being here:



So that will about do it for now. Big upcoming things? Brennan buys a car this week. Carissa (Brennan’s sister) gets married this weekend. Brandon graduates Delaware on May 25th (I will be flying to America basically to see him walk across the stage before coming back to Doha). And most importantly, by some act of God, I have convinced my parents to make a trip to Doha in January!!! We are finalizing dates and travel routes but I could not be more excited to have them coming out to visit. It is such a difficult place to describe and capture. You need to see it for yourself. That being said, Brennan, Vilius, and I are always accepting visitors so come on out!

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