Arabian Cruise

For our mid-semester break in February we chose a trip that was relaxing, but with a bit of variety and education, and lots of family time. We took a cruise from Dubai that stopped in five ports on the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. We traveled aboard the Costa Classica Cruise Line. You remember the Italian cruise ship that sank in the Mediterranean last January 2012?  Yes! That was Costa Cruise Line. Needless to say, our cruise was very reasonably priced......

Before our ship left the port of Dubai we had a safety drill. No kidding! It was a marvelous hour of seeing 1000 people dressed in life vests, going quickly to muster stations where we were given safety demonstrations in seven (7) different languages. Next time you complain about the French-English demo on a plane, think about watching it seven times!

Our first stop was the city of Muscat in the country of Oman. From the ship we were awed by our first sight of Muscat with its mountains! We don't have mountains in Qatar and did not expect to see them in the desert. The Al Hajar mountains rise from the sea amid the desert sands.  Muscat has small reserves of oil and natural gas but does not have the wealth of Qatar.

We went ashore and spent the morning exploring the Souq. Lisa made some fun purchases and had a great time laughing with the vendors. The most notable character was "George from India" who sold wonderful cotton tops.

One of our shore excursions was to jump on a dhow and travel into the fjords and the "Norway of the Middle East". This was a fun day on a smaller boat, swimming in the Gulf near Telegraph Island, watching dolphins. Telegraph Island was a small relay station for telegraphic messages from Pakistan to London, England. It was an unpopular post because of the heat in the summer. The post was abandoned in 1870 but the cabin and part of the tower still remain. The tour guide told us that the term "going round the bend" was started here: British officers hated the posting so much that they wished to "go round the bend" of the Strait of Hormuz and back to India.

Another port of call was Abu Dhabi. We spent a day sightseeing and were surprised that it is a city with a very different feel than Doha or Dubai. The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is absolutely beautiful and we were thrilled to have a tour inside. It has magnificent chandeliers (gilded with 24 carat gold) and the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world.

Our time on the ship was very relaxing and full of the usual cruise activities: swimming, sun bathing, spa treatments, and eating of course!

We passed twice through the Strait of Hormuz. This is a strategically important geographical feature. It is the narrowest point between Iran and the UAE. All oil from the Gulf countries (UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi) must travel out of the ("Persian") Gulf through the strait in order to be made available to the rest of the world. Because it is only 41 km across it has been called a "choke point" and there seems to always be fear that Iran will close it off and put the world in a difficult position of not having access to the world's oil supplies. This was an important geography lesson for all of us and the whole boat seemed to get quiet as we passed so close to Iran.

3 on 3 at Villaggio Mall

What do you do when you have a country that wants to promote basketball and there is a mall with an indoor skating arena in it?  Of course, you host the first FIBA Asia 3×3 Basketball Championships and convert the arena into three basketball courts.

Max and Simon play for the Qatar Foundation Under 16 basketball team.  Although the 3 on 3 tournament was for adults, the boys' team was allowed to play during the competition.  It was a lot of fun for them.  When asked if the crowd of 1000 people watching affected their play, the boys responded by saying they didn't even see the people.

Sailing

Like many families, the children keep the parents busy and entertained at the same time.  Two summers ago, Max and Simon attended a sailing course on the LaHave River, in Nova Scotia.  The weather was awful, the water was cold, and the winds were strong.  Needless-to-say, they didn't enjoy it too much.  However, last week they started a sailing course here in Qatar on the Arabian Gulf and their reaction has been positive.  The weather was sunny (+38 C), the water was warm (felt cool compared to the air), and the wind could have been stronger.

Travelers Home

Max on Robben Island

Last night at midnight, Max and Simon returned from their school Week Without Walls. The week is designed to give students an opportunity for experiential learning and to see the world through the eyes of an "intentionally-minded learner". Students in grades 6 - 10 participate in local and international trips which focus on the IB mission "to extend learning beyond the classroom". We are thrilled to have our boys back home and we are enjoying listening to their amazing stories, and already marveling at what they have experienced and learned.

Thailand countryside

Next week Max and Simon will each create a blog post highlighting their adventures. For now, we offer each boys' "best moment".

Max went to Cape Town, South Africa for a "multifaceted investigation of the geographical, cultural, historical, and contemporary aspects of the region". He visited Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned), the Cape Point Nature Reserve, Cape of Good Hope, an Ostrich Farm, a Cheetah Centre, and the Eagle Encounter. He participated in sea kayaking, hiking on Table Mountain, and African drumming. His "best moment" was holding a baby crocodile at Le Bonheur Crocodile Farm. The farm has over 1000 crocodiles and breeds them for meat and skin. The gift shop sells belts, purses, shoes made from crocodile leather. Max had opportunity to taste crocodile meat for supper at a local restaurant. The croc farm is also a popular wedding venue....... not sure what that says exactly!

Simon went to the Chiang Mai province of northern Thailand "to study how human interaction has affected the physical and social environment". He visited four villages to examine their livelihood and their dependance on tourism. At the end of the week the students made presentations to one of the village leaders on how to improve the standard of living for his people.

Simon feeding a cucumber to a baby elephant

Simon's "best moment" was spending an afternoon hanging out with elephants. He visited the Elephant Nature Park and listened to sad stories about how the elephants were rescued from cruel situations. They offered the elephants affection, food, and a bath!

Laureen's Leaving

This weekend we made three trips to the airport. First was to drop off Simon for his Week Without Walls Trip to Thailand. Max went to Capetown, South Africa. And our good friend Laureen returned to Canada for her new adventure.

Unlike Tim and Laureen, Lisa had never been in the First Class Departures area. She was amazed by the area that was large, clean, quiet and full of beautiful flowers!

Family participation

While Shelley was here last week she was able to see our daily activities and participate in school and home routines. One of the requirements for Max and Simon's school program is that they present a "student-led conference" to their family.

It is a 30 minute presentation of their ePortfolio -- showing the work from this year as it relates to the goals of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program.