Posts from May 2008

So. Boo friggin hoo. Sarah Brightman got SICK and was not able to sing at the graduation ceremony. I was devastated. I was SOOOO looking forward to seeing her. We DID have Andrea Bocelli. He has a lovely voice, and he's much larger in person than I ever imagined. The air was warm but there was a light breeze, and it made the evening concert spectacular. However, I was reminded just how lovely Sarah is when the fill in pretty much dropped the ball on every duet. He ended with "Time to Say Goodbye" and it just wasn't the same without her. :(

I learned the Qatar National Anthem, which isn't very catchy. The first two lines are and then it kind of gets muddled and confusing. I was up close and personal with His and Her Highness. There were also a number of high security folks present. Thabo Mbeki for example, President of South Africa. It was just weird being so close to so many people of influence. I've never even come close to seeing one of my Presidents.

This is the entire ceremony. I think you can see me for a split second at one point. The nice voice that does both Arabic and English introductions is my friend Ahmed.



In addition to the campus wide graduation each institution has it's own graduation. I attended VCU because one of my staff was graduating this year. I found 2 things very surprising during this ceremony. First, the Qatar Military Band plays bagpipes. WTF? I seriously thought someone next door was having a Scottish ball (we were at the Ritz Carlton). Yah. Anyway, the second and quite shocking moment came with the band played the Qatar National Anthem followed by the US Anthem (as it is a US school). 75% of the people in the room sat down. I never felt so incredibly awkward to be standing ALONE surrounded by Qataris who were sitting while my anthem was being played. Apparently it created quite a buz among all those that DID stand. Yeah. That's probably the first time in my life I ever felt SO out of place in a room full of hundreds of people.

He put flowers on the bed for me....



....he makes me so happy

See you in Zagreb @jbeatty, @lizabeth, @john!

P.S. I have officially created a new term for any international travel involving 2 or more e:peeps. It's called an e:trek.

Last weekend I got to spend some real quality time with Rory. I'm not going to go into detail but, as my little extended family, you should know that the boy is a diamond in the rough. He invited me over for a quiet night in. He cooked me dinner - tofu fajitas. He actually bought me tofu! But it gets better. He served it to me alongside a crisp cool glass of DR. PEPPER!!! Liken finding Dr. Pepper here to finding some rare exotic fruit that shows up every 3rd blue moon in Buffalo that you just adore - and your significant other went out and got it for you. Seriously, I was melting. He is incredible!



Next day we went out to "Party on the Pitch", a fundraiser for the rugby club. I took on his buddy Mark in the sumo ring, and Rory and I danced to the live music. I love being outside, having a drink on a warm night, and listening to live music. ; Especially since I've been lacking it for so many months. Lately it seems ALL I do is hear live music! Ha! Anyway, enjoy the photos. Cheers!


huwaaaaaaaaaaaaa


i challenge you to mortal kombat, *slap slap*


i am the champion!


i put him out of commission


so he took it out on ian


and i drank almost an entire bottle of champagne



P.S. Feliz Cinco de Mayo! AND....Feliz Cumpleanos Jenks!!! Happy 32!

I went to my first proper concert in Doha last night. We had a special showing for Education City only. Great stuff! There was such a variety of tempos and influences. Arabian, Latin, Oriential....blended together like smooth creamy ice cream at marble slab. I just thought I'd share some culture from the other side of the PM. I think I'm going to have that woman's dress made, but with a built in bra because my boobs are way to big to dance around without.

So there's this wonderful event called Dunestock that I was able to attend this past weekend. It's a 12 hour music festival in the middle of the dunes. Fun!

Unfortunately the first half of the day was plagued by a sandstorm. Special. It's like the ONE day there's a big outdoor event, bam.


visibility was shit. it's not easy driving in the middle of nowhere when you can't really see


i don't know if you'll be able to see how hard the wind was blowing the sand...it hurt


one of the scottish bands i think


people playing on the dunes (this is one of the few places in the world where there is 'singing' sand)


people started getting a little loopy by nightfall (byob events produce many drunken monkeys)


the music got better at night too, lots of singing along and really bad stage diving- that guy attempted to back flip...


i was guilty of loopy behavior too. i think we were trying to imitate 'cyclops' from the x-men


cheese

This weekend was full of more Doha firsts. I went to my first beach party at the intercon, I went to my first Dunestock, and I finally camped out in the desert for the first time. Here's a few from the beach party. More photos tomorrow. Right now I'm exhausted and really need to go to bed. Looooong day tomorrow.



it was like a baby rave


my friend wael


painting with the lights



rory....he's so sweet, i wish you could meet him

Opa wasn't my grandfather. He's the father of my 'babysitter'. Sylvia was the babysitter for all us kids, and we used to live next door. It's one of those deals where you kind of become family with some folks. Hence, I called her parents Oma and Opa.

On Thanksgiving day they were in a bad car accident. He never recovered from his injuries. It's sad. Good-bye Opa.

Rory.

I had a crack in my bathtub and they couldn't fix it; they had to replace the entire tub. I've been 4 days without a bathroom. I'm really hoping they will finish tomorrow!

I was shocked half way through when I saw the new tub in place, but not yet tiled in. Sand! They filled it with sand!






On a high note, I have a second date tomorrow night :)