Stepping outside of your Comfort Zone = New Experiences

We come from around the world to Educate our future!

Before we made a final decision about moving overseas, I remember talking to some of my co-workers and the overarching sentiment was that uprooting my life was absolutely crazy.....borderline insane at this stage in my "career".  I remember feeling like maybe they are right, and overseas education is best suited for young people who don’t have secure jobs, living situations, or family commitments.  Without really knowing what “type” of people we would encounter here…..we decided to take the leap of faith and come anyway.  It’s funny because I do think people were right in one aspect, it does take a certain type of person to move overseas and leave everything back at home.  

Since August I have met and had dinner with some pretty interesting & eccentric people.  Most of them aren't 25 years old at all.  Many of the people I have met are well-traveled, cultured, educated, and simply spontaneous by nature.  The ages range from 24 to 50 in terms of Teachers with a nice mix of nationalities from American, Canadian, African, European, and Asian.  As I slowly start to learn about other cultures and viewpoints on life, I find myself readjusting my own perspectives and beliefs.  Change is good.  Best way to grow.

Lesson:  Stepping outside of your comfortable zone is a great thing......you might just make a difference somewhere in the world .

Without the head wrap could you really tell the difference btw me and her?

Skin Color:  Living in America I rarely had to deal with overt racism or experience an extreme disparity in treatment based on my skin color.  In the Middle East Black is not thought to be beautiful.  I’m finding that there are two very different elements constantly at play here in the Middle East: My Skin color and My Nationality.  Looking at just my skin color most Arabs automatically think that I’m from Africa and assume that I traveled to the Middle East for a “menial job opportunity”.  Millions of foreigners in the Middle East are nannies, cleaners and builders/construction workers which locals consider beneath them.  Al-akhdam (“the servants”), who make up perhaps 65% of the population, are confined to menial jobs and tend to dwell in what they call the slums (which isn’t really the slums if you compare it to nyc projects).  Snobbery makes things worst here.  

         

I’m finding that once they hear me speak or ask where I’m from, their whole attitude and demeanor changes.  You can see the light bulbs go off ….Oh she speaks “English” and she is from America…..I automatically get a higher ranking than even Muslims or other Europeans do here.  It is very bizarre to me that my nationality triumphs my skin color, but my proper English means even more especially in my profession.  

The other thing that I almost forgot to mention is that my hair plays against me here at bit (I can tell my hair completely confuses them).  They don’t know how to process what my hair is, means, or how I got it to look like this lol.  You wouldn’t believe the number of students who simply stare at my hair or ask me questions about whether it is real.  And don’t get me started with the stupid fucking Qatar women I had to scream on for invading my personal space and touching my hair because they thought it was “nice” wtf! Seriously anyone who knows me can tell exactly how my face looked at that momentJ 

With that said, I’m learning to take my unique hair in stride and my “inconspicuous” ethnicity as symbol of strength and pride. 

Lesson: Racism can occur any where in the world.  Even places where their skin tone so closely resembles “Black”.  Stupidity isn’t unique to the US.  

      

Travel:  There are very specific things that I wanted to get out of my overseas experience.  One of the biggest goals for me was to travel and see the world in a way that I never was able to do back home.  With work consuming less and less of my life (thank God), I’m finding it easier to get out and do the things that keep me feeling young.  I say all of this to say, for the past two weeks, I have been contemplating whether I should go home for the holidays.  I have been gone from the US since August and lets be honest I miss the hell out of my family and friends.  But after much thought (and looking at ticket prices $1,500 for a ticket @Christmas fml) I have instead decided to travel to places around this region of the world that would cost me a fraction of that amount.  The itinerary has not been completely decided as of yet, but here are the top three choices I’ve narrowed it down to:

      a)    Dubai, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka 

      b)   Istanbul, London or Berlin

      c)    Nepal and Phuket, Thailand   

Now you see why I decided it might be better at this time to just travel right? Two places for under $1000 (including hotel stay and breakfast every morning.) So friends and family please weigh in where do you think we should go? Any experience with any of the travel locations listed? Keep in mind this is where we would be spending NYE, so I gotta make it worth while if I’m missing the parties in NYC.

Istanbul, Turkey 

Lesson:  You only live once.  Travel is food for the soul.

After 7 weeks in Doha: Ten Things I learned

Gas stoves are the devil!  I have literally set shit on fire in my house trying to light the stove.  I have triggered mass panic in my building from leaving the gas on and forgetting to actually light the stove.  It is an accident waiting to happen for a clumsy person such as myself.  I swear being burnt on my arm from lighting the stove to cook wasn’t on my list of “things to do in Doha". I mean this is the wealthiest country in the world; you mean to tell me they cant get electric freaking stoves in all the apartments. 

      There are over 10 malls in the city of Doha.  It is bizarre because malls are really the place to be and seem to be the one stop center for family entertainment in Doha.  Depending on the mall you go to there may be: family arcade centers, ice skating rinks, bowling alley, movie theatres, and carousal rides.  Funny thing is that Qatari women walk through the malls as if they are on America’s Next Top Model with their five-inch stilettos and Fendi/Gucci bags.  I definitely feel underdressed when I walk in with my yoga pants, a t-shirt and sneakers.  Shit I’m not at work so why the hell do I need to dress up?  

      Drugs are banned in Qatar.  Rumor has it that selling or possessing drugs here is punishable by a 40-year prison term.  I know I was like wtf too!  So to avoid this (I guess) many people including Qataris smoke Sheesha.  It seems to be a Middle Eastern pastime that happens in the afternoons at cafes and souqs.  Sheesha is fruit flavored tobacco that is very inexpensive and readily available throughout Doha.  So with that said hash (weed) is what seems to circulate via black market and from what I hear the cost of hash is pretty hefty. 

      Qataris are the most impatience and inconsiderate people I have met in my short life.  They don’t like to wait for anything and when I say anything, Im being serious.  At the supermarket they will literally try to walk in front of you to pay for their items.  At money exchange places they will walk to the front of the line and put their money on the counter to get service first, although there is clearly a line of twenty plus people.  And driving whewww.....they don’t wait for pedestrians to walk and they don’t give any other cars the right of way.  Which explains why there are always accidents here and driving is so dangerous.  I thought NYers were coined the rudest people in the world….clearly not enough people have visited Qatar.  They have us beat by a long shot I assure you.

      

What do you mean no loc salons?

      There are no ethnic salons in Qatar.  I spent over $40 in cabs going from salon to salon trying to find someone who could do ethnic hair ie. Locs.  It is the worst thing I have ever experienced in terms of getting my hair done.  I had to resort to wearing a wrap on my head this week (which isn’t so bad b/c most women have their heads covered) but it was hot as shit.  Frankly if I am going to spend two years here in Doha I may have to either open up my own hair salon to serve the ethnic population here or cut my locs.  It is a heavy decision to make.

      This is random but here are the things that you cant find anywhere in Doha: Cheez-Its, Pumpkin seeds, Oatmeal, Greek yogurt, and hair grease.

  

      When I first got here I didn’t know how I would survive for 2 years with the selection of food that was available.  I couldn’t find a supermarket that I liked, with products that were familiar to me.  There were no bodegas in site for me to just pop in and pick up a bottle of soda or chips.  But Im happy to report that all of that has changed with time and touring the neighborhoods in Doha.  I have found the best hypermarket in Doha that reminds me a lot of Whole Foods called Spinneys and I even found a “few” bodegas that I will make due with for small items during the week.

      

     

      I spent too much of my life worrying about things, rushing to places, and stressing many things that I had no control over. Here no one rushes to go anywhere, people don’t let their work consume them, and they enjoy spending time with their families and friends.  Work is work, and then there is play.  Qataris sleep during the day (those who don’t work) and the ones that do go home and take an afternoon nap; and are out enjoying the nightlife.  From 1 – 4pm the streets of Doha are desolate and then starting 6pm the city of Doha is pumping (well definitely not nyc but they try).  And this is everyday not just the weekends.

      The Qatari women (both young and old) are quite interesting to watch and listen to.  The other day I was in a nail salon and as I got my spa manicure (which was awesome) I overheard some of them talking. They go back and forth between Arabic and English while speaking, but from what I could decipher they were talking about going out to a fancy party.  One girl described what she planned to wear and I was fascinated.  It’s interesting to me because the party she spoke of was for women only.  They get together, dress up, dance & talk without any men.  And apparently the men do the same thing here. I would love to go to one….I’ll keep you updatedJ 

      There is money to make out here.  I have my nyc hustler hat on already and I’m making some good connections with hopefully the right people so that I can do some consultant work.  My goal is to have a different position next year, which could potentially pay twice as much as I’m making now.  So I’m on my grind.  Doha might not have been a bad choice after all…..maybe I’m in the right place at the right time.