Desert Safari

 

A Desert Safari is a great way to experience the miles of sand and the vastness of the desert. The Schrocks had the time of their life -- dune bashing!! A day in the desert can be exciting and nauseating!

First there was the camel riding. Camels are loud and smelly but a thrilling experience anyway! Ingrid was especially pleased to be able to do this "finally" -- because she has always wanted to!

Dune bashing means driving up and down the sand dunes. We were in a convoy of several 4WD LandCruisers driven by talented Qataris. Dune bashing is a very local activity. The young Qataris travel to the desert on Fridays to get their thrills. On a busy weekend there can be 3000-4000 vehicles riding the dunes.

Being in the front can be a little scary because you are the first to drop down 30 metres of shifting sand. But being in the back is also scary because you can see the other vehicles drop out of sight and have more time to worry about what is coming. People are injured while dune bashing if the driver is not experienced or the passengers are not wearing seatbelts.

This may not look like much. Sliding sideways down a dune feeling like you might roll over at any second. Waves of sand blocking the view from the windows. Imagine Paula and Lisa inside screaming at the top of their lungs.

We traveled to the edge of the desert where the sand meets the Gulf. Looking across the water is the desert of Saudi Arabia. The Gulf extends into the desert in a long finger called the Inland Sea. There are only two places on earth where this happens.

The kids let off some steam in the Gulf: looking for shells, running on the beach, examining pieces of dead coral, enjoying the coolness of the water and sand as the sun set.

We finished the day with a BBQ of lamb and chicken eating in majlis tents.

Simon is 13

This week we celebrated Simon's 13th birthday! It was a fun time with friends from morning until night. We met some of Simon's friends and went skating at the ice surface in Villaggio Mall.

Then we ate lunch at the new "Shake Shack" -- great burgers!

Then some fun at Gondolania Amusement Park.

And cake at home after a very full and fun day!

Christmas with Friends

We are thrilled to be sharing Christmas in Qatar with the Schrock family. They arrived on Saturday and we have been keeping busy every since. It is fun to see the country through fresh eyes! Our trip to the Souq Waqif was spectacular -- including getting up close to camels and falcons. We had a wonderful meal at the Iraqi restaurant and found some special purchases in the market stalls.

We visited some of our favourite spots: Sheik Faisal Museum; the Corniche; Camel Race Track; Villaggio Mall.  

Enjoying lemon mint drinks

And besides the tourist sights, we also celebrated a wonderful Christmas Day together, complete with turkey dinner and stockings. We had a Christmas morning swim at the Clubhouse and a Christmas evening movie at the Theatre ("The Hobbit"). One of the few things that we cannot get here in Doha is eggnog. Because it is a tradition with us, Simon did some hunting to find a great recipe. Lisa and Paula made a delicious batch and everyone enjoyed it. The kids said it was better than Scotsburn!

Eggnog mustache!

National Day

On December 18 all of Qatar celebrates National Day. This year we stayed in a hotel on the Corniche so that we would be very close to the action.

The day started with a parade in tribute to the military of Qatar. The boys loved this display and Tim marveled that a small country would have so many machines. Army tanks, Special Forces boats, K9 team, Amiri Guard, Air Fighter jets, Hazardous Material Unit, Mobile Hospital. We saw it all. The parade was jam-packed for a full hour.

Here are some of our favourite sights.

See the falcon?

It was a beautiful day so people hung around the waterfront for the afternoon, sitting on the grass for a picnic or a nap. There were lots of children dressed in National Day costumes: a dress or a thobe made to look like a Qatar flag.

And of course, there were the usual cars painted to look like a flag cruising the Corniche with people standing on the roof. This is very scary to watch because of the speeds that the cars are traveling. This year the police seemed to be discouraging this tradition.

The day ended with a 10 minute Fireworks show like nothing we have ever seen before. The fireworks were set off from one island and 15 small barges in the Gulf. The lights spanned the entire Corniche and was set to music.

    

Convocation

Working at the University of Calgary Qatar has given Lisa many unique challenges and adventures. The latest and most pleasant event was to attend the annual Convocation ceremony for UCQ graduates. There is just one Convocation per year due to small numbers so far, but it is no small affair!  This was the third Convocation held by UCQ. The first year all of the graduates flew to University of Calgary in Canada to participate in that Convocation ceremony. Last year was a small local affair. This year 20 representatives from the University of Calgary, including the President and the Chancellor, flew from Canada to Qatar to perform the ceremony.

But the most exciting attendee was Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.  Her presence at the ceremony was significant in demonstrating the Qatar government's support for educating Qataris as nurses. The twelve students that received their Bachelor of Nursing degrees were thrilled to have a member of the royal family in attendance.

For Lisa and other faculty, the VIP protocol meant formal dress under academic regalia, closed toe shoes, and several rehearsals beforehand. Tim was able to attend the ceremony and the incredible meal afterward. But no-one under 16 years was able to be a guest at the event. Max and Simon missed the opportunity to dress in their tuxedos.

Lisa's Panto

 Lisa has taken on something new and exciting this Fall. Along with her friend, Laureen, she has been participating in the Doha Players Theatre Group. This is a group of ex-pats that perform musicals and dramas a few times each year. It has been an interesting experience.

Last week they finished performing a Pantomime. Lisa learned that a pantomime is a British word for what we would call a "spoof" -- completely different from a mime! It is a musical theatre production that involves song, dance, and lots of audience participation. The lead female character is played by a man and the lead male character is played by a woman. Very funny! Pantos are a Christmas tradition in Britain.

This Panto was called "Space Wars" and is a spoof on the Star Wars story. Lots of Star Wars puns and interesting plot changes. Max and Simon appreciated the slapstick humour and weren't completely embarrassed by their mom and Laureen!

  

Christmas Season

It's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas! This week LuLu's displayed some decorations for Christmas: cards, trees, sparkly reindeer! This is a larger selection than we saw last year and continues to be a surprise to us that a Muslim country, which does not celebrate Christmas, would welcome such an open display.

It is difficult to find reference to the birth of Christ but, honestly, that may not be much different than North America. The local merchants seem to be cashing in on the commercialism of Christmas -- just like North America.

Max and Simon also had a blast hanging out with Dancing Santa. Just moments later someone bought ALL the Dancing Santas, including this display model!

We also were able to order a turkey from the UK which will be delivered on Dec 24th.

Tim's Birthday

Simon, Laureen, Max, Tim ready for dinner and a movie

This past weekend we celebrated Tim's birthday. It was a quiet affair and similar to our weekly Friday night movie with Laureen. We started inviting Laureen to join us for a movie and supper on Fridays. It is fun for us and a "cultural experience" for her -- given that our tastes in movies are drastically different from her normal. For Tim's birthday we had take-out Indian food from our favourite Tandoor Restaurant. Our movie was the second Indiana Jones movie (we are doing all of them this month).

Tim's birthday gift was a new BBQ. We were given a second hand BBQ when we moved to Doha and it has served us well this past year. But now that only half of it works, we thought it time for an upgrade. Tim's challenge was to put it together and get it functioning for a gathering we were hosting on Saturday night. He succeeded with the assembly and then filled up the propane tank. To fill the tank cost exactly 8 Qatari Riyals (about $2). Tim thought the man said 80 riyals because $20 would be closer to what we are used to paying. But no, it was just 8 riyals!

Lisa's new wheels

Since starting work at University of Calgary - Qatar, Lisa has been renting a small car to carry her back and forth to work.  For awhile it was a Hyundai Accent and most recently the Kia Rio. This has mostly worked out well. Last week another Canadian put her vehicle for sale in preparation for returning to Ontario in December. For less than the cost of renting Lisa now owns a 2008 Honda Jazz in great condition with just 42,000km.  The Jazz is the same as the Honda Fit in Canada.

And the Jazz is much more "zippy" on the roads -- great for getting in and out of busy round-abouts. In fact, it is so zippy that Lisa got stopped for speeding yesterday -- the first time in her life. And it was on the compound! She was clocked going 33 km/h in a 20 zone. It sure didn't feel that fast......

Swimming in Egypt

Final instructions before the first event

Max and Simon swim on the Qatar Academy Swim Team. Three times a week they are trained by a coach that we all appreciate. Coach Jemma swam competitively for the UK National Swim Team and she is a gifted teacher. Both boys have flourished under her coaching style. Max is also the team captain this year.

Simon competing in 200m Individual Medly

Simon getting tips from his Coach

This past weekend we traveled to Cairo for an International Swim Meet. The QA team of 20 students is young and early on in their training. The program at QA is only 3 years old and the oldest students are in Grade 9. It is hard to attract older students because their time commitment with the IB program makes extra curricular activites difficult to squeeze in.

But despite their lack of experience, the QA Swim Team performed very well! They brought home 53 medals in total!

Max on the starting block for 50m backstroke

Max and his 200m Freestyle Relay Team

Max and Simon each earned 6 medals: a variety of gold, silver, bronze, in both individual and team events. It was such fun to watch and cheer them on. Even though Simon says "we can't hear you cheering mom" it still feels like we make a difference from the sidelines.  Tim went on the trip as a chaperone along with two other coaches. He helps coach the Swim team one day a week. Lisa was able to go because her teaching commitments at the University of Calgary are minimal for these few weeks before Christmas. It was a great time to be together as a family.

Max with members of the Swim team

One of the concerns about this swim meet was, of course, the location. The organizers of the meet said that due to political unrest their school teams have not hosted a competition in any sport for more than 3 years. We saw no protests or cause for worry. We did not go see the pyramids, nor did we venture far from the hotel or the pool. But on our return to Doha we did hear about a group of 10,000 protesters that created a riot while we were there. Thankfully that was news to us!

Coach Jemma surrounded by her team

China Adventure Day 6

Today we spent looking for souvenirs and seeing last minute sights of Shenyang. It was a cool day but sunny so we did not mind walking. During this visit we have seen many different types of shopping. Very "Chinesey" types of shopping.

Lisa was thrilled to buy a piece of fabric with Chinese characters and stamps on it. We had it made into a tablecloth while we waited. Each little booth had a Singer sewing machine -- treadle type! --   and a man or woman stitching fabric for customers.

 

We took a lunch break at a small restaurant that is known to the locals for its Wonton Soup. Delicious!

We ended the day with a celebration of Tricia's 50th Birthday! More friends gathering around a lazy susan for authentic Chinese food. 

The difference this time was that there was no menu. The person ordering the meal walks around a large room where samples are on display. A hostess walks with you to explain the dishes (a very necessary part of the process) and then enters the order into a phone device for the kitchen. Minutes later the food arrives in your room.

A Chinese birthday tradition is that at the end of your meal the birthday person receives a bowl of noodle -- one great long noodle! He or she slurps as much of the noodle as they can and this is a predictor of how long their life will be.