We Are Leaders @ Qatar

This past week was Spring Break here in Education City. Over the years I have had the privilege to travel to Nepal and Tanzania but this year the focus was on Qatar. All across Qatar schools look internationally to run outdoor leadership programs but never within our own country. This year we created a program called We Are Leaders @ Qatar which gave students the opportunity to spend six days and five nights in the desert working on personal and team development. As with any firs time programs, there were some bumps along the way but I can truly say this was one of the best programs I have had the chance to run in my time here. 

Over the course of the six days students completed many challenges that included rock climbing, long treks, mountain biking, and a business simulation. The program also had a lot of firsts for students. First time cooking for themselves, first time putting up a tent, first time walking 10km, and even first time cleaning a toilet. It was amazing to see from day one the learning that took place and I think it was an experience that no one will forget.  

For me personally the program came at a time when I was feeling quite low on my work responsibilities in Qatar. I won’t go into it in full but I was stuck in a negative cycle of emotions that WALQ helped me to break out of. In my time in Qatar I have been able to develop and deliver some amazing programs but WALQ will always hold a special place in my heart. I want to thank Red Rock International who helped deliver the program and all of the students for being outstanding over the course of the week. Video and photos coming soon!

Georgia: A cheesy, snowy heaven

What can I say about Georgia? It was on our bucket list of Doha travel for a while now, and once we found some airline tickets on a sale we decided to pull the trigger! Kristal played travel agent for this trip and was able to find an amazing little ski town called Gudauri, about 2 hours outside of Tblisi.

Our first Georgian experience was at passport control where they took our passports, gave us a stamp, and then handed us a bottle of Georgian wine while saying “Welcome to Georgia”. Not only were we shocked but this kind of hospitality was experienced over and over in our time there. On that first day we drove through a snow storm, on a windy two lane road, to the town of Gudauri. Visibility was poor and our driver took the turns at high speeds considering the conditions. We were thankful to make it to our hotel which include breakfast and dinner so we washed up before grabbing a meal.

When we woke up for the second day of our trip we were shocked to see the storm had passed and we were faced with bright blue skies and stunning mountain peaks. We spent the whole day on the ski slopes, with me learning and Kristal being patient. The cost of the ski resort was like a $12 shop. Lift ticket: $12, Rentals: $12, Lesson: $12, Experience: Priceless (I couldn’t help myself). The slopes were scattered with bars and restaurants pumping house music, $1 coffees, and Katchuporis. Speaking of, Katchuporis are the national dish of Georgia and essentially is a cheesy bread that comes in different forms. Check out the photo.

 

The mountains were so incredible that we wanted to maximize our time there and cut out some of the time we were supposed to spend in Tblisi. The morning of our second day we actually decided to Paraglide from the highest peak down to the bottom of the slopes. It was my first time Paragliding and it could not have been a better place. We have videos that we hope to post soon. After our paragliding session it was down to Tblisi for our own eating tour of the town. We only had one night in Tblisi so we could only scratch the surface of what it had to offer. Cobblestone roads, history, beautiful churches, food, drink, and ice cream were all around us. As we got ready to hop in a cab back to the airport we wished we had more time, although we say that every time.

 

If you get the chance, Georgia is a gem. From what we hear surrounding countries like Azerbaijan and Armenia are incredible as well. We were thankful to even get a few days there and hope to get back one day. A Katchupori magnet proudly hangs on our fridge to commemorate the few days there!

UK and Irish Holidays

As Christmas and New Year’s approached this year, Kristal and I hoped to be able to travel for it. We started to explore some options when we found out that our friends Laura and Paul would be getting married in Belfast on December 22^nd and the decision was made for us, it would be a UK Christmas!

One of the big themes from this trip was having the chance to visit and catch up with friends each stop of the way. Our first stop was in London to visit Kristal’s old flatmates from New Zealand, Ben and Yve. While in London we got to see the Book of Mormon, visited Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, and toured the Tower of London. One of the big highlights was the Bavarian Village in Winter Wonderland that came equipped with an Oktoberfest tent!

From London we hopped on a quick flight to Dublin to begin the Irish road trip part of our trip. We rented a car and drove up to Belfast for the wedding. We spent about three days in Belfast doing some touristy things like a Black Cab Tour and the Titanic Museum, but mostly we were there for the wedding! We got to celebrate Laura and Paul while we shared an apartment in the city with our friends Eunan and Hannah. 

 

After the wedding festivities we dropped our friend Eunan at his parent’s home in Donegal County before driving down the coast to Galway. Galway was a quick overnight before driving down to Cork to meet up with Ben and Yve again as they rented a beach house with two other Kiwis to celebrate Christmas. Christmas Eve and Day were spent in a sleepy beach town called Ardmore that hosted a polar plunge on Christmas Day and had next to nothing open while we were there! We got to cook a Christmas dinner, spend all day in PJs, and watch the best in holiday cinema like Christmas with the Cranks! The best part of Christmas was getting to Skype with both of our families back home as well. Nothing replaces being there in person but we really appreciated seeing people open presents (especially Jaxon and Alexis!). Next year we hope to be home for the holidays to join in the fun!

We left Ardmore with Ben and Yve on Boxing Day/St. Steven’s Day to drive up to Athilone to meet up with the one and only Will Nestor. Will and his partner Deborah met us there and we had a great night exploring the town and catching up. The following day we were back on the way to Dublin for our last two nights. The trip could have ended here and we would have still had an amazing time but Edinburgh awaited!

Ben, Yve, Kristal and I flew from Dublin to Edinburgh on the morning of the 29^th. When we arrived we had blue skies to welcome us and we began exploring the city. It was my first time there, although Kristal had been a few years back. We spent the next few days on walking tours, visiting castles, and sneaking into pubs. We were also there for Hogmanay, which is the city’s New Years celebration. There were three days of events which included a torch procession, massive street party, and city wide scavenger hunt. Hogmanay was absolutely the best New Years celebration I have been too and I was able to enjoy it wearing a kilt! Some of the highlights from Edinburgh were great free walking tours, fireworks over the Edinburgh castle, visiting Doune castle (the location of Monty Python), and visiting our friend Robert for a ceilidh (traditional group dance). 

 

 After our time in Edinburgh came to a close we made a quick stop in Istanbul overnight to visit our friend Cagri and to buy some decorations for the wedding. By this time in the trip we were run down, sniffly, and ready to get back to Doha! 

All in all it was an amazing way to bring in the New Year. We have a few photos that we have shared but we also made a little highlight video to show some of the fun. While we had a great time we really missed friends and family during the holidays. Thanks to everyone for all their holiday wishes and stay tuned for more adventures!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a358J1OhCU4

Backwater Weekends and Education City in the News

In the time that I have been in Doha I have met an incredible amount of Indian nationals. This makes sense because India passport holders make up nearly 25% of the total population of Qatar totally over 500,000 people. The vast majority of these people come from Kerala, a southwestern Indian state known for its lush green landscape and backwaters. The scenery in Kerala has also been called “God’s Own Country” for its striking beauty. Keeping all of this in mind, it has been a goal of mine to travel to Kerala since arriving in Doha.

This past weekend I finally got the chance as myself and travel buddy Kevin D’Arco took a three day holiday to float down the backwaters and find out what Kerala was all about. While we were there we were able to take a day out on a house boat, relax at some beautiful resorts, explore some local markets and see influences from Jewish, Catholic, and Islamic religions. We also met a lot of interesting individuals, the most interesting of which was an Indian Naval Engineer who went by the name Raghu. We met Raghu during a game of billiards and we proceeded to spend the rest of the night with him learning how play properly, having India’s entire history narrated to us, being educated on the benefits of being vegetarian, and attempting to solve all of India’s economic woes. We tried to get Raghu to be our life coaches but were unsuccessful. Although our time in Kerala was short we were both happy we had the chance to see where so many of our fellow Doha residents call home. 

Shifting gears a bit, some of you may have seen the Washington Post article from earlier this week titled “In Qatar’s Education City, US colleges are building an academic oasis”. If you haven’t you can access it here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-qatars-education-city-us-colleges-are-building-an-academic-oasis/2015/12/06/6b538702-8e01-11e5-ae1f-af46b7df8483_story.html

Education City is a really difficult initiative to describe to outsiders and one that I continue to develop an understanding for, even after having been here for four years. That being said, I think the article gives a good overview specifically around enrollment and budgetary figures that are difficult to come by, even here locally. The tone in certain sections is a bit presumptuous and judgmental of the foreign culture and is surprised at the level of sophistication and development that exists, but that is to be expected.

There is no denying that running academic institutions in Qatar could be seen as controversial. There is Qatar’s human rights track record, there is academic freedom, there is budgeting, there is brand management of main campuses, and many more challenges in operating such a model. But when you take back and look at what is really happening here, Education City transcends many of these challenges. During an era that has been marked by strained US and Middle East relationships I think Education City serves as a beacon for hope as education provides a way to overcome global conflict and challenges. Is this idealistic? Sure. Do I think our budgetary numbers to work towards this vision are inflated? Yes. But growth and change takes time. As Education City continues to build upon its first ten years of success, I am interested to see what the next ten years bring. 

As a final thought, take a look at the comments section. The discourse there is fascinating to me and demonstrates an inability to see from another person’s perspective, unfounded generalizations, and islamophobia. I would go so far as to say an Education City education would do a lot of good for the commenters as we graduate students who are culturally savvy, globally minded, and well situated to work in a global context. 

This weekend I head to Salalah, Oman for the annual Outward Bound course we host through the Student Center. I have never been to this location and am looking forward to a great 4 day/3 night hiking journey with 20 incredible students. Will report back when I return!

Pre-Thanksgiving Cornucopia!

Getting ready for Thanksgiving, this post will be a cornucopia of sorts! Featuring a little of this and that from the Doha life over the past few weeks. Speaking of Thanksgiving, we’re in the midst of a turkey shortage!!! Evidently we are feeling the effects of the avian flu that has gone through the US in the last year. Check out more info here:

http://dohanews.co/qatar-residents-struggle-to-find-turkey-ahead-of-us-thanksgiving/

 

Winter has arrived and that means camping season is upon us! We have been able to get out of the city a few times in recent weeks, highlighted by our most recent camp trip that featured an evil santa gift exchange, DJ table, and a beautiful inflatable shark! We threw together some clips from our last two trips for your enjoyment so check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFCcGr5VB54

Some of you may have heard about the rain in Doha today as well, it was insane! We had a year’s worth of rain in just a few hours and the country essentially shut down. There are some great images and commentary in this Doha News Article:

http://dohanews.co/heavy-downpours-in-qatar-lead-to-flooded-roads-school-closures/

And finally for those who still don’t really know what is happening out here in Education City, the USA Today did a nice piece today and actually interview several of Kristal’s colleagues from Northwestern. Give it a read!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/11/24/doha-education-city-american-universities/76063224/

Kristal went back to the states this week to spend thanksgiving at home while I will be here in Doha sharing it with the Doha family. The semester is coming to a close and we are looking forward to our Christmas holiday which will be spent in London, Ireland, and Scotland! Will post updates along the way! Happy thanksgiving everyone!