After having lived in Doha for six months now, I have quite
a bit to reflect on. Overall my transition could not have gone smoother and I
am so thankful for all the support and outreach I have received in my journey.
Both my personal life and work life have already proved to be rewarding and I
happy to say that I made the right decision in moving here.
One of the biggest challenges when I moved to Doha was
connecting with people. Never in my life have I had the challenge of connecting
with people that I had here. Generally I am able to make connections quickly,
find conversation topics, and after 15 minutes know their life story and act as
if we went to high school together. When I moved here conversations were more
difficult to come by, common ground more difficult to find, and I found it hard
to be accepted for who I was. Over time I have been able to meet some really
incredible people who provide such great support for me here in Doha. In
addition to these great supports I have here, I also have access to
opportunities I never could have imagined. Some are more superficial like
flying first class and not having to constantly worry about money. But others
are more experiential like meeting people from around the world, traveling
frequently, and experiences many cultures simultaneously while in Doha.
Something that is not lost on me is the lavish lifestyle in Doha. I valet my
car several times a week free of charge. We have a cleaner, Dennis, who cleans
our apartment twice a week. I was able to buy a new car. I now know what its
like to fly business class. And the list goes on. It is easy to get caught up
in this lifestyle and begin to expect these things. But I hope I never will. It
never ceases to amaze me that I am able to do something of these things and it
makes life that much more enjoyable and easy.
Another somewhat obvious aspect of life here is being an
ex-patriate. Being an ex-patriate anywhere comes with a lot challenges but here
in Doha it is somewhat “normal”. I say normal because approximately 80% of the
country are ex-patriates representing countries all over the world. As an
ex-patriate here my transition has been made easier by several factors. First
off, I come from an English speaking country and everyone here speaks English.
Nearly everyone who speaks English also speaks at least one other language,
making me one of the only uni-lingual people that I know. Additionally pay in
this country is often correlated to the country that you come from. Americans
are generally paid more than other countries and have a reputation for being
hard workers. Particularly in the education field I am given a lot of
credibility based on my background in US educational institutions compared to
other places I may have gone to school. Something I am still wrestling with is
figuring out what the ex-pat role is here. Is the role to educate nationals on
fields that are new to the region? Is the role to work directly with students
offering the best practices from around the world? Or is it a blend of both?
Work has been such an incredibly opportunity and I could not
think of a better way to apply my knowledge after completing my Masters degree.
The challenge and opportunity to build programs from the ground up has been
amazing and it comes with great support from the division. I will say that the
work is incredibly more challenging than I could have expected. The branch
campus model is incredibly complex and comes with a lot of duplication. Our
student body is so diverse that it is difficult to gauge what the student voice
is. We have mostly commuter students so offering programs is more difficult.
Additionally I work with many colleagues who do not have formal backgrounds in
higher education/student affairs so we often have different work philosophies
which can cause challenges. Regardless of these challenges I feel very
fortunate to be able to work in such a dynamic place and continue to lay a foundation
for student involvement in the region. We have done some GREAT work thus far
and will continue to push towards creating an environment where our students
can have meaningful learning experiences outside of the classroom.
Overall I am glad that I made the decision to move to Doha.
Time has gone by so quickly and it definitely does not feel like I have been
here for 6 months. Doha has quickly become a place I am happy to call home and
feel supported in. When I think about how the entire thing worked out, I am
incredibly thankful and humbled to have this opportunity. Brennan moving here
has been a HUGE help in this whole process as well as our other roommate Vilius
who has been a great addition to the team. Now that 6 months have passed I will
be moving to other transition stages of making an impact at work and continuing
my adventures with Doha as one of the best launching points in the world!!! It
has been a great ride so far and can’t wait to see what is in store next!
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