Going Outward Bound in Oman

There are many lessons that you can learn from nature. To start you learn how to appreciate the simple aspects of life, you learn how to take care of yourself and others, you learn organization, and you learn how to disconnect from the outside world. Last week I had the privilege of organizing another Outward Bound course for 25 college students in the Omani mountains. It is one of my favorite programs I get to organize and we were fortunate to have a great group of students who made the most of the experience. 

The course took place over 4 days and 3 nights but felt much shorter than that. Our journey began at 4:00am on May 10 as we departed campus for the airport and a 7:00am flight. We arrived in Oman around 10:00am and began to make our way to Jebel Akhdar (the green mountain) about a two hour bus ride from Muscat. People were tired, hungry, and ready to get started. Day one of the course focused on distributing gear, some basic team building, and learning how to set up camp. During the course students had to make camp, cook all their own food, carry their belongings on their backs, and hike each day. For many of them it was their first time doing each of these things and really stretched their comfort zones.

 

Over the time we had on the mountain students had some intense realizations about their own skills as a leader, how they interact with groups, some of the obstacles groups face in achieving results, and reflections on the privileges they have in their daily lives. Even for me as a course chaperone it was an opportunity to disconnect, reflect on the last year, and really appreciate all the things that have been happening in my life recently. For most of the participants the Outward Bound model of using the outdoors as a classroom is quite powerful. Opportunities like this are not common in the Gulf area so we are lucky to have this partnership in Oman.

 

This program marked the end of the academic year for me in Doha and the official start of summer. This year has been the most challenging yet most rewarding of my time in Doha. I am looking forward to the quiet time this summer to recover and spend time with great people.

Finally Making it to Beirut!

One of the biggest positives of being in Doha is the opportunity to take long weekends all over the world. And what is the best way to do this? With friends who see that place as a second home! For years now I have been putting off a trip to Beirut because I wouldn’t have enough time or I always knew it would be there. The first weekend in May my friends Ahmad, Peter, and Fiorella had plans to visit Beirut for the weekend. They knew I had never been and invited me along to celebrate Fiorella’s birthday. At first I was hesitant with only 3 days to spend there but in the end I booked my ticket and didn’t look back! 

The way it worked out my friend Ahmad landed in Beirut on Thursday afternoon and I would land at around 1am on Friday morning. To prevent me from needing to drop my bag, Ahmad brought all of my things with him on Thursday. So when I arrived at the airport I had a passport in hand, smile on my face, and was ready for a great weekend. When I got to Beirut I got in a cab and immediately went out to meet the group. We ended up at an underground club that we stayed at until the early hours of the morning. Lebanon is famous for its nightlife and this was the perfect introduction to it.

 

On Friday our touring of the country began. Lebanon is a small country and we did our best to see as much as we could in a short time. We did a road trip to the Al Shouf Cedar Forest to visit trees that were thousands of years old. On Saturday we visited the Jeita Grottoes, Harissa, and Byblos. Although all of the sites were amazing, Byblos was one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. It was set as an old fishing harbor and had so much charm and character. I could have walked around for days there. On our final day we took out my friend Peter’s boat to go to lunch in Batroun and celebrate Fiorella’s birthday. Ahmad and I flew out late that night to return to Doha and head straight to work on Monday. The whole weekend was a whirlwind but I can’t believe all the amazing things we got to do.

I know this won’t be my last time in Lebanon but I am so thankful I finally made the trip. So often I think to myself, “what can you see in just 2 or 3 days?” But once you arrive in country it is amazing how much you can see, do, and experience in a short time. I have never regretted any of those short trips and I hope to take more while I am here! Thanks to Peter, Ahmad, and Fiorella for organizing a great weekend!

Bahrain Grand Prix Weekend

One of my GCC bucket list events since I moved to Doha has been the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix! It seemed that every year the event would pass without me having realized it but this year I was determined to make it happen! In a planets align sort of moment we also had two friends from New Zealand, Mark and Holly, move to Bahrain just a few weeks before the race!

Kristal and I embarked on our 25 minute flight to Bahrain on Thursday night arriving at around 9pm.

Although such a short distance from Qatar, Bahrain was noticeably different. The country (believe it or not) was even smaller than Qatar but also less developed. There wasn’t as much of the glitz and glamor you see in Doha and Dubai but a more modest approach. Regulations (specifically around alcohol) were much more relaxed and enjoyed by the similarly large ex-pat population. In the few conversations we had with Bahrainis and others living there it was clear that the lifestyles for nationals were more modest and they experienced a lot of struggles. This accounts for some of the disapproval with the local governments. 

That’s enough politics for now, because Bahrain really showed its best with the F1 race. Widely considered to be the biggest event of the year in country, it seemed like everyone had turned out. The raceway had a festive atmosphere with entertainment that included none other than Mr. Worldwide himself (not sure how Pitbull got a gig in a GCC country), acrobats, drumlines, an ice village and more! The race itself was a new experience as well watching the cars zip around the track. I am admittedly an F1 novice but was impressed by all the fans in attendance.

 

Although it was a quick visit to Bahrain I was so happy to have been able to go. Big shout out to Mark and Holly for hosting us and we were happy to return the favor as they visited Doha this past weekend! Looking forward to more adventures to come with those two. For now it is the end of the academic year in Doha with graduations next week. Looking forward to wrapping another great work year!

Let the Good Times Roll!

So my last post came after summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, and I must say things haven’t slowed down since then! Upon returning from Tanzania I dove directly into a three week tour of the good ‘ol US of A! First stop was Chicago for a LeaderShape training that challenged me both personally and professionally. It was incredibly rewarding and really energized me for the work I am doing back in Doha. I got to connect with some old friends and also meet some people doing incredible things in education, social justice, and leadership development.

After Chicago I flew over to Las Vegas to meet up with Kristal and her family. It was the first time we got to see family since the engagement, and it sure was a good time! We were in Vegas for a lot of reasons, but one of the most important was to celebrate Blair and Lynn’s Bachelor and Bachelorette parties. Blair is Kristal’s cousin and is getting married this summer. In Vegas we had a bunch of Kristal’s cousins, her parents, aunts and uncles, and even grandparents! Her family LOVES Vegas and for her grandpa it was his 35^th (yes 35^th….) trip to Vegas. It was amazing hearing them tell stories from back in the day and to see them in their element. Did I mention we got to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day there as well?

 

After Vegas it was over to New Orleans for a student affairs conference. Brandon and Dad flew down to meet us there and our friends Erin and Kyle drove in from Austin. It was a great conference that Kristal and I both presented at. We got to see friends from graduate school, old colleagues, and of course friends and family already mentioned. New Orleans was an incredible city and we spent most of the time and an eating and drinking tour to take it all in. Some of the highlights were Pat O’s, a swamp tour, real Jazz on Frenchmen Street, Mardis Gras World, a ghost tour that actually terrified us, and a steam boat down the Mississippi. All of that was between being at a conference from 8am-8pm every day! Did I mention we celebrated my birthday there?

 

  

 

By the end of it all we were sad to leave the states but SO ready to get back to Doha. Kristal, Kevin (from Evan & Kevin) and myself were actually on the same flight back from the US. It was a direct flight from Chicago to Doha and work had paid for each of us to fly business class. We had a wine and cheese party 30,000 feet in the air, with all of the flight crew laughing at us. 

Being back in Doha has been great and full of making the most of our time before summer hits. We have had some CRAZY weather including multiple sand storms that are so serious was had two “Sand Days” which left the entire apartment covered in a layer of dust. We did engagement photos in the Souq and Corniche (which can be found on Facebook), we went Dolphin watching in Musandam, Oman with friends who moved to Dubai, and this weekend we head to Bahrain for a Formula 1 race! Although it has been quite busy we are really having the time of our lives.

 

That about covers it for now. Want to give a shout out to Zach and Kristina Devesty on their new baby girl, Arden, who was born last week. We can’t wait to meet her and am glad to hear everyone is healthy. It has been great catching up with a lot of you the last few weeks and hoping to see more folks as the academic year winds down. Keep in touch! 

We Are Leaders @ Kilimanjaro

The roof of Africa. Mount Kilimanjaro is the world’s tallest free standing mountain and the highest point on the African continent. It emerges from the ground and reaches its final peak at 5,895m (19,341 ft) above sea level. It is considered to be one of the most accessible mountains for trekkers with seven different routes that can bring you to the summit. Kilimanjaro has been on my list for some time now and I had my chance this past spring break with a group of incredibly motivated students.

We Are Leaders @ Kilimanjaro is part of the EBDA leadership program that I run in Education City. This is the first year we have taken a group of students to climb Kilimanjaro and this program is supposed to be the capstone of the EBDA experience. We accepted 5 male and 5 female students to join us in our quest to summit the mountain and our preparations began in November of last year.

Training for Kilimanjaro is difficult. The biggest challenges on the mountain are the altitude and the terrain, both of which are difficult to simulate. As we prepared for the summit all we could do was work on lung capacity and get the group to a comfortable level of fitness. We did weekly training sessions as a group and most people were working out 3-5 times per week in preparation. Regardless of how you prepare Kili is going to give you challenges but we will get to those.

I am not sure what I expected from Kilimanjaro. I had heard from others that it was difficult but with some training anyone can do it. I had heard that summit day was intense but the rest of the time was quite enjoyable. When we actually got to the mountain most of this was correct. Our group took the Rongai route which is considered to be the easiest of the Kilimanjaro routes. We spent the first 3 days acclimatizing to the high altitudes and preparing our bodies for the grueling summit day. Our group opted for a day summit instead of a night summit which allowed us more time to get up the mountain and less time in below freezing temperatures. When we woke up for summit day the group was in bad shape. Altitude was taking its toll on us and some people hadn’t slept or had a proper meal in two days. On that morning I was not very confident the whole group would make the summit but we were going to try.

We set off at 5am in the dark for the summit. As we left base camp we were cold, tired, but determined. The route was in 4 parts. Part 1 was from base camp to the main trail, part 2 was to the first summit at Gillman’s point, part 3 was to the actual summit, and part 4 was getting down the mountain to base camp. The real challenges came during part 2 as we worked up steep inclines and rocky paths to reach our summit at Gillman’s point. By that point most of the group had given everything they had yet we were 90 minutes from the summit and hiking at nearly 6,000m. The first group to reach the summit did so in just under 8 hours from when we left base camp. Miraculously, all of the group eventually summited. There were 14 of us in total. Once we summited and began to head back we began to feel exhausted and many of us needed help off the mountain. I was part of the first group to return to camp and it had taken us 12 hours in total, some others took up to 15 hours to return to camp. Summit day was an incredible challenge but one of the most powerful experiences I have had.

Going into the program I had my reservations about whether the group would summit. We were in good shape but not great. You never know how altitude will affect people. There were too many question marks. I can now comfortably say that the resilience and will to succeed that the students showed on summit day was one of the most amazing things I have seen. This also could not have been done without the support of our tour group, Team Kilimanjaro (http://www.teamkilimanjaro.com/). The TK team were incredible professionals and I could not recommend them more highly.

I could go on and on about the experience but I want to end with just a few lessons learned. Kilimanjaro teaches you that you are capable of far more than you could imagine. When you think you have nothing left you are wrong, there is much more. The mountain humbles you and teaches you about privilege. Our group of 14 was accompanied by 52 (yes…52) Tanzanian guides. This included porters, guides, cooks, etc. All of these men were incredibly gracious, kind, and supportive of our group even though their work is incredibly challenging. When you think you have done a hard day’s work, imagine climbing Kilimanjaro with a 25kg rucksack. That’s hard work. Finally, Kilimanjaro teaches you about reaching your goals. You don’t immediately run for the summit. You prepare, take things slowly (pole pole),and work towards your goal. You must be patient and you must be resilient, but with time you will make it.

It was such an honor to be part of this group and an experience I am still processing myself. So a HUGE thank you to all those that made it possible especially Maersk Oil who funded the program, Red Rock International who planned the program, and most of all the students who made it all possible.

The next adventure is returning to the US for some trainings and conferences. As I write this I am at the airport getting ready for a 14 hour direct flight to Chicago! So let the good times roll and thanks for checking in!