Four Seasons Doha

Ramadan begins at the sight of the cresent moon in the month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar. That was last night. During Ramadan, Muslims fast (no food or drink) and abstain from smoking, sex and anything indulgent between dawn and sunset. Businesses change their hours with shops open around 8am to 1pm, closing in the afternoon and re-opening around 8pm to 1am. Some grocery stores are open all day but restaurants are all closed until the evening and ...

... not as free flowing as it once was. I may not be around for the opening of the new campus but it’ll happen eventually.

On my Coworkers

Not surprisingly, there have been challenges recruiting staff. It seems to be getting better and there aren’t too many unfilled positions at the moment. All the academic staff and many others were on holidays when I arrived but I’ve since met most administrative staff. I have four direct reports; a ...

Well we made it. Now the kids know why Qatar Airlines has been ranked a 5 star airline multiple years in a role. It was almost 15 hours and there, but between the meals, sleeping, and movies the kids did not run out of things to do.

Great news is that ...

... everything there completely man made, yet Kristen couldn't stop remarking how it was oddly pretty. From there we walked to Souq Waqif, a marketplace/restaurant boulevard for some food. We started going down some of the back areas of the Souq, but it was hotter than Hades, we were hungry, and Kristen felt really weird because she was the only woman not covered from head to toe. I felt weird shopping in some of the little stores ...

... you in their shops at any price) but also, maybe due to the same reason, kind of fake. It did not have that crazy mix of smells, sounds, colors, movements like the souk from Fez, for example. G kept saying that it looks just like a movie set and all the locals were movie extras. However, at a local restaurant we enjoyed the best kebab and shaworma we've ever had in our lives and L's smile while gulping the food (see picture) is not at all fake. We did hit ...

... of all things for dinner!! Day 1: Today Jacques and I went out and about, we got our sim cards so we have local contact numbers and bought travel cards so we can ride about on the UK transport system! We went on a Red Double-Decker bus!! (na-na mom) we travelled into Wimbledon to do some shopping and explore a bit and for lunch we had Burger-King (since it didn't seem right to have KFC on our 1st day!) after a exciting day ...

... back to dollars...I had to bribe him though...4,000 shillings...it was worth it). The Dar airport is horrendous though...no air conditioning, and an exceptionally small departure area with no real shops to waste time. Finally got on the airplane, and I was in heaven....for one, the plane was spectacular (I'm not usually enthusiastic about planes...), I knew I was on my way to a fairly developed country in case I had a relapse, and ...

... is today. And we have to check in at 8.30 a.m... Luckily they have a branch at the airport terminal and we push our backpack-heavy selves through the door as the bank literally opens up for business. Turns out that when I cancelled the account with my bank they forgot to tell me that they didn't settle my creditcard balance. Can we settle the debt right now in cash? No No No, you will have to go to YOUR branch - I'm checking in in half an hour and won't be back to Europe for ...

... being more informal like a pair of jeans with a t-shirt. Women wear an abayah, a long black flowing dress over their clothes and are mostly veiled. Some women have their face covered with only their eyes showing and their abayah's are solid black. Then there are woman who choose to reveal their face. Their abayah's are often embellished with gold or silver embroidery. Some even have ...