June 2010
6 posts
closing time
My year of gallivanting and globe-trotting is over—I am safely back at home with many more stamps and visas in my passports. If nothing else, this year has helped me to know that people really are quite the same when it comes down to important things, that I really should keep up better with the news (lifestyle change!), and that friends make the best traveling companions—don’t...
incredible india
After leaving Doha, a group of us headed to India for one last trip before coming home. HOT is an understatement—the unrelenting heat and humidity are the top reason for not visiting in the summer, so I’ll remember to visit again during better weather. But, on the bright side, the food, clothing, people were amazing and we all had a great time. Here are a few highlights:
GOA: Goa is a...
May 2010
2 posts
goodbye doha
The biology lecture final was this past Thursday and right after Phyllis had an end of the year party at her house with all the students. It was lots of fun and that’s when I realized how much I’ll miss everything after I leave. Here’s the top few things I’ll miss: the other TAs, the students, traveling, having a nice apartment and pretending to be a real person, school...
April 2010
3 posts
updates
Sorry I’ve been lax in posting, but really life in Doha hasn’t been all that exciting. Here’s a recap: in terms of teaching, the semester is winding to a close. After dissecting chick embryos and fetal cats with our students, we just had our last lab test before the final. We have exactly one test, 2 final exams, and 60 papers to grade before our time as WCMCQ bio TAs is...
March 2010
8 posts
weekend in dubai
Last weekend Noreen, Adam, Aleks, Zack and I hopped a flight to Dubai. I had never been so we did the traditional round of mall visits, pictures of the Burj Khalifa, beach and of course we had delicious pinkberry :). It was fun, a much bigger and better developed version of Doha. We had a Chinese food excursion—since there’s no good Chinese food in Doha we went on an adventure to find...
dahab and mt. sinai
Dahab was beautiful, a cool diving and snorkeling spot. We went snorkeling our first day and it was amazing!! It was my first time snorkeling but I think I mastered the breathing only through your mouth requirement. We snorkeled at the Blue Hole and there was so much to see—seahorses, rainbow fish, needlefish, beautiful coral, and a lot of other things that I can’t name. We were so...
cairo
We made it to Cairo and found a hostel but by then it was around 2pm already and we were starving. So, instead of finding a delicious restaurant, we went for fast and easy—KFC right outside of the Egyptian Museum. The museum is huge and packed with things to see, but most items don’t have that much information and there’s really way too much to see in one day, much less one...
luxor
We just got back to Doha yesterday morning, but I was exhausted because our last night in Egypt, we climbed Mt. Sinai to catch the sunrise and then right after we took a red eye flight with a 6 hour nighttime layover at Kuwait Airport. I feel much better now though, after a nap yesterday and then a full night’s sleep. Egypt was amazing!! I feel like I was able to see so many impressive...
February 2010
11 posts
spring break already?
Noreen, Adam, Aleks and I are leaving for Luxor, Egypt on Wednesday. From there, hopefully we’ll swing by Cairo, Alexandria, Sharm El-Sheikh and Dahab—I’m excited! I can’t believe it’s spring break already though—that means only 2 more months in Doha, 5 more months until med school, and approximately 4 years until I’m a real person!
camel races?
Yesterday we tried to go to the Education City-organized day at the camel races. Everything was good, we drove to the racetrack, but somehow we missed the races! Instead of driving around with the camels, we spent a leisurely day baking in the sun at the main building. We thought the camels would run by, but we were mistaken :(. On the upside, I did get a short camel ride!
hillary clinton was here...
but alas, I didn’t get to see her even though she was only one building down. Some of my students did, so I’ll be sure to ask them about it tomorrow. Here’s what she said, enjoy.
narwhals? →
Thanks to D for informing me about these mythical creatures. For anyone else who hasn’t heard of them, watch the informative video!
tasty buds
This semester, I want to try some new (hopefully delicious) places to eat in Doha. Noreen and I also have a plan to cook more often. Thus far, we’ve been to a new Indian place close to school, aptly called Tasty Buds and a Chinese restaurant called Ruby Wu’s. We’ll definitely be returning to Tasty since it’s as cheap as school cafeteria lunch (11 riyal) and the Chicken...
January 2010
4 posts
back to reality
I’m back from a weekend in Beirut—so delicious! The weather was beautiful one day and then the torrential downpours started. We just walked around, drank cappuccinos at cafes, and ate some amazing food. Beirut is a real city, but not too big or intimidating. People speak English, Arabic and French—too impressive. The day we walked by the Mediterranean it really reminded me of La...
playing hooky
I’m off to Beirut with Jakob this weekend, no real reason, just for fun! Sorry I’ve been lame at posting, but promise to update soon.
新年快乐！
*Sigh* So I finally figured out how to get onto Tumblr, Facebook, etc. (pretty intense firewall) but guess the two weeks without have been good for me. China has been great, except for the freezing part—it has been in the negatives everyday :(. It’s mostly like I remember it—lots of people, more cars and tall buildings than I remember. Because of the weather, I’ve...
December 2009
6 posts
off to freeze in China
I’m leaving tonight for China where I’m meeting my mom and visiting relatives. I’ll be back in Doha on January 9th, but no worries, I will be online during break. Please skype me! Happy Holidays!
Jordan recap
Sorry I’ve been lax in posting, but here’s a quick summary of my Jordan trip. Jordan was really amazing! I went with Noreen, Rebecca, and Aleks. This time we planned enough in advance that there wasn’t too much hassle—look at us becoming world travelers. On our first day, Noreen’s family friend invited us over for Thanksgiving so besides the TA Thanksgiving we had the...
Eid al-Adha →
alexandrk:
An amazing collection of photos taken during Eid al-Adha, or second Eid. It is the Muslim “Festival of Sacrifice”.
November 2009
9 posts
Jordan Itinerary (courtesy of Noreen)
Thursday, Nov 26th: arrive in Amman, check into Palace Hotel, out to dinner in Amman! Friday, Nov 27th: see Amman-Hercules Temple, Roman Ampitheatre, art galleries, downtown Amman Saturday, Nov 28th: drive to Wadi Rum, Tour Wadi Rum (on camel, inshallah)— BY 2pm!!, stay in bedouin tents in Wadi Rum Sunday, Nov 29th: Drive to Petra, Spend the day and night in Petra at Cleopatra Hotel Monday,...
busy busy
Last week the Doha Tribeca Film Festival was here so I saw a grand total of seven films in four days! On opening night, they screened Amelia, the new movie by Mira Nair about Amelia Earhart—it was ok, not my favorite (loved Monsoon Wedding and Mississippi Masala) but the outdoor theater at the Museum of Islamic Art was worth it, and there were fireworks! I saw one of the films that won the...
October 2009
8 posts
link to more photos
The TAs have decided to put all our photos from our travels together in one convenient location, so enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43355627@N07/collections/