In the Paper Today--Kidney Surgery and Drinking

There is just too much I would love to comment on in this article, so instead I have just decided to include the full text of the article and let you enjoy all of it. As a side note, expat non-Muslims are allowed to drink alcohol in Doha, but you have to be at a hotel or have a permit.

Qatari sentenced for drinking alcohol
A 46-year-old Qatari national who was drinking at home in peace was caught by the police and charged with consuming alcohol when he went out to a shop located nearby to buy something.

The man was unlucky as a patrol police van suddenly passing by the shop suspected that he was not walking properly and intercepted him. It appears that there were some cases filed against the man previously since the moment he walked into the courtroom, the chief judge told him that his face looked familiar.

The accused nodded in agreement, suggesting that he had indeed been to his court earlier. The judge sentenced the accused to 40 lashes, but the latter said he cannot stand this punishment since he had undergone a kidney operation.

The court then ordered a medical check-up after which, depending on the condition of the convict, the sentencing might or might not to be carried out.

In the Paper Today--We are in good company...

Expatriates form 34.5% of GCC population
In the US media we always hear about the disputes between nationals in Middle Eastern countries. What we don't talk about (or at least I haven't heard much about) is all the "foreigners" living and working within the country. Population affects the social climate, structure, and stability of any area. The Expat community in Qatar is very high--approximately 55-67% (depending on the source.) I was surprised to read the statistics for other GCC countries:

In Saudi Arabia, expatriates accounted for 25.1 per cent of the total population in 2002-2004. This is expected to come down to 20 per cent by 2017. The figures for other GCC countries are as follows- UAE: 66.1 per cent (2002-2004)-63.4 per cent ( expected in 2017). Kuwait: 62.5 per cent- 59.8 per cent. Bahrain: 37.7 per cent- 34.9 per cent. Oman: 26.2 per cent-23.9 per cent.

Adnan said, though the inflow of expatriate work force is still on the rise, their educational standards are going down in most of the GCC countries, compared to the nationals. This is due to the inflow of more unskilled and semi skilled workers as well as domestic workers.

He said, the number of housemaids and other domestic workers have gone up in most of the GCC countries, which does not augur well on the social or economic development. On another level, unemployment among the nationals, especially among the educated youth in on the rise in all the GCC countries. The rate of unemployment is particularly high among the females.

This shows that these countries have not succeeded in creating job opportunities for natives on par with the increase in population as well as the level of education.

In the Paper Today--Better wait until you are married...

Indian denies fathering girl out of wedlock
Having "relations" out of wedlock--especially having a child out of wedlock--is still a very serious offense in Doha. It can get you jail time, a beating (one report I saw said a man was sentenced to 99 lashes for impregnating a woman he later married), or deportation (if you are lucky.) Some well-intentioned social rules create difficult situations for ex-pat couples and for women being taking advantage of.

Older stories:
Maid accused of killing her newborn
Four maids march into courtroom with their ‘babies out of wedlock’

Nixen "the Vixen" Gets Married

My good friend (and old roommate), Nikki Purdy, is now Nikki P Kelly! I went to NYC for her wedding. They were married in the Manhattan Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony and it was great to finally meet Cameron (after so much bragging from Nix!) It was also fun to see Val and Steph again. This was DEFINITELY worth the trip. Thanks to Val for supplying the pictures below since I forgot my camera (still kicking myself.)

While I was there, I also visited the Barnes & Noble and stocked up on books. I almost cried when I walked into the 4-story bookstore to see so many books in English in one place!

In Honor of Nix: Some Travel Musings...

I am sitting in the London Heathrow Airport...delayed three more hours. I don't mind though because it is clean, has plenty of shops and places to eat. (I am currently waiting for my food in TGIFridays.) At least it isn't the Cairo airport--where we spent most of yesterday. The Cairo airport (like the city) was pretty dirty and disgusting. (It makes me appreciate Doha and how clean it is.) Our flight from Cairo to Doha was also delayed and we didn't get in until almost midnight. I had to be back at the airport at 5:30 the next morning. I am on my way to New York for Nikki's wedding (my old HDR roommate.) It sounded like a good idea at the time, but I didn't really think about how much time that would be on an airplane:

Doha to Cairo, Cairo to Sharm Al Sheikh, Sharm back to Cairo, Cairo to Doha, Doha to London, London to New York, New York to London, London to Doha= 3 airlines, 5 cities, 8 flights, 10 days.

My body is not holding up so well, but luckily this airport has a pharmacy. Since working for the Institute we have been spoiled and flying business class. Since WE paid for this ticket, we got it in economy. It actually wasn't bad. Qatar Airways is a really nice airline. I watched a great movie called "Stranger than Fiction." It is the kind of movie that Jon would fall asleep watching and at the end I would wake him up to tell him how "brilliant" it was. I normally don't like Will Ferrell, but I thought he was great in this. My next flight is on Virgin Atlantic--which I am trying for the first time.

I just looked up and realized on the wall across from me is a Utah license plate. For a split second I forgot where I was and that I live overseas. That happens in Doha sometimes. I am so use to everything that it all has become very "normal"--but every once in a while it hits me..."I LIVE IN THE MIDDLE EAST!" And for a moment it feels so surreal. The Utah licence plate has a picture of "The Fonz" underneath it--That must be a good omen for something. Maybe my travel luck will start to improve.

I wish Jon were here (he couldn't come because of work), but at the same time it is nice to have some alone time. Even though I am surrounded by people--this is still a moment all to myself. No cell phone, no email, no work, no church, no family, no friends, no to do list, no responsibilities. I love flying for this reason. I love "disconnecting" for a while. This is my way of escaping from reality. I don't have to be anything to anyone. I have no concerns except when my next flight is boarding. I don't even mind sitting on the plane--especially now that I have an iPod and airlines have personal TVs. I find it very liberating to be "forced" to watch as much TV/movies as I want, sleep as much as I want, or stare off into space as much as I want. Those of you who know me best know I have a special weakness for really dumb movies. I might as well come out of the closet now--Vin Diesel is a personal favorite. I haven't admitted this to too many people--I like being known for loving really "brilliant" films. I am generally too embarrassed (or too cheap) to see a really dumb movie in theaters or even to rent it. This is why I get excited to fly on planes with personal TVs. I am perfectly happy to watch 3 dumb movies in a row. My only problem is remembering that I am on a plane (and watching the movie with headphones) and it is still embarrassing to laugh out loud or start to cry when no one else sees what I am seeing. I am also a sap for made-for-TV movies--but unless I am sick, it isn't very often that I can justifying 3 movies in a row.

HOURS later...

Still sitting in London...still in the airport. The flight was delayed AGAIN. I have been here about 8 hours, but now at least I am at the gate. Guess The Fonz isn't quite the good luck charm he use to be...

I finally arrived at my hotel in NYC around 4:30 AM on Saturday.

Egypt--Scuba Diving at Sharm

We had the opportunity to do two days of diving at Sharm. Here are some pictures from our dives. This was our first time trying to use an underwater camera, so some of them didn't turn out so well--but it was still fun. It was ABSOLUTELY beautiful. So much better than the diving in Qatar. (At the end there are a few "surface" photos too.)

Egypt--Sharm Al Sheikh

After Cairo, we flew to Sharm Al Sheikh on the Red Sea to spend some time on the beach and do some scuba diving.

I am not sure which is the "10 commandments mountain", but Sharm Al Sheikh is on the Sinai Peninsula:

Egypt--Citadel, Cairo

Egypt--The Old Bazaar, Cairo

Egypt--Misc. Cairo 2

At the carpet making "school" outside Cairo:

Old Coptic Church:

Evening Entertainment:

Learning to make papyrus:

Egypt--Misc. Cairo

More than one way to get around town:

The Nile at Night:

Cairo Street: Got Parsley?