Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Helpful lists and future planning...

I have been going to a Thai massage place near Al Sadd stadium called Royal Thai - if you live in Doha you should really go to this place, it is amazing! I love it! It is nice to treat yourself to a massage to help with the stresses of the week :) I told the receptionist the other day that I will be moving to Thailand in October and all of a sudden all the girls were chatting with me. Asking me questions and telling me that they will make me lists of places to go as they are from all over Thailand. I came down from my massage and they gave me a Chonburi list. I have already been warned to stay clear of Pattaya but it was so nice of the girls to included lots of places.


I have been doing a lot of thinking and after March I want to travel from Thailand on to Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. If I have the money I will go on further but I will tackle this when the time comes. The girls at Royal Thai got me all excited about travel plans and places to see. With almost two months until I leave Qatar it is getting pretty real and exciting! 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

I can now tell people WHERE in Thailand I will be :)

Today was exciting because I woke up from an email from CIEE telling me that they have placed me in a school in Thailand. Come October I will be teaching English in the Primary School at Kasetsart University Laboratory School in Chonburi, Thailand! Gahhh - I am so excited for this new challenge and adventure! I see lots of beautiful beaches and plenty of exciting trips in my future :) 


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

K-TAR!


It is pretty cool to be one of those weirdos with a sign at a concert when Alex from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros says Qatar (he pronounced it K-TAR) during HOME! Oh, and Jade says thank you when she reads that we had all come from the Middle East to see them :) K-TAR happens at around 3.58.


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Laugh until we think we'll die, barefoot on a summer night... UK 2103 [maybe I should write about it].

I don't know where to really start. London was amazing like it always is. That city will never disappoint me - rain or shine, cold or warm. As I sit here looking back at the last 10 days I am a little sad that I can't press rewind and live it all over again. It is pretty clear that I will be in holiday blues mode for about a week. I know, I know, I am being depressing and dramatic but that is ME. I seriously did not want to leave London and now that I am back I wish I could jump right back on a plane! I guess I can stop wallowing to share the highlights of my trip... but really can I go back already.

In no particular order -

1. Seeing my life long friends and soul sisters [I can be as cheesy as I want about these two people]. You two will always mean the world to me and I am glad that we got to have drinks together, laugh together, and have a picnic in the park together. I am also happy I got to spend time with you individually while I was in London. We speak all the time thanks to Facebook, Whats App, and Skype, and because of the wonders of technology when I see both of you in person I feel like we just saw each other yesterday. You two make London great and I better see you in Thailand! p.s. I am extremely proud of you both.

2. Pimm's - hello summer sunshine and a great drink to enjoy it with!

3. Stopover - Mumford & Sons put on a great show and all their friends were amazing. I have posted pictures and posted about Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros so I won't ramble on here about how amazing the weekend was because I think it is pretty clear that the whole weekend was unforgettable. As my friends and family know, I am not a camper. So sleeping in a tent for two nights was not ideal for me but it wasn't dreadful. I had some serious sleeping bag envy and on the second morning I made the mistake of going to the bathroom and losing my spot. A brilliant festival weekend with amazing performances and great memories with wonderful people.

4. The weather - yes I know I complained about the heat but it was nice as long as you were not inside, on the tube, or on a bus. Beer Gardens, parks, and walking around in suitable attire for the weather. When it is sunny in London you see a lot more of it!

5. Sara's pull out couch! HAHA - joking! But really, thanks for letting me take over your apartment. I am sure Matt is still missing me! Hey, I did the dishes for you and refilled the water purifier! The couch looks better with me on it and even better with Christina living there too! Maybe we will just move back in and have HAPPY HOUR drinks at The 3 Monkey Bar every night - ;)

6. I won't even start to comment about BIG BEN - Sophie and Sara you both should be ashamed of yourself.

7. Thank you London for breaking my bank account! This is a highlight because there is no way I would change ANYTHING I did. Oh an I wouldn't return all the clothes I bought for myself either - thank you Urban Outfitters for helping me establish some great credit.

8. Seeing Shelagh, my TAMUQ work buddy, in London was a great highlight. I think it is safe to say I am not that scared of heights now that I have done the Eiffel Tower and The London Eye. What a perfect day for us to go up and see London form the top of the eye. I hope that you are Ellie had an amazing trip! It made me extremely jealous - I can't remember the last time I went on a Mother Daughter trip.

9. Sara - you really need to learn how to walk UP an escalator. Thank god Christina was there because otherwise you would have been eaten by it at the top because I couldn't run up to save you as I was dying of laughter. I bet the people watching on CCTV just replayed that over and over again. Also thanks for taking me to a bar where I could remember my college years with beer pong and drinks served in red solo cups - haha love how that is trendy in London.

10. When that one person thought I was a Londoner and asked me for directions and I knew how to direct them. This always makes me happy.

Home is wherever I'm with you... UK 2013 [picture post].

I'd say London makes me feel like I am HOME. Here are some pictures from my 10 days (July 11th-22nd) in London! Blog post will follow... 

Festival ready :) 
Tourist Days! 
Drinking with friends... HELP! 
Laughing until you cry. 
Nice nap on the tube.
24 going on 6.
Who said the food in England is bad? 
But really... I didn't have one bad meal.
Had to go to a show ;)
American meal in London...
.... demolished it! 
Sunshine... which means it is always Pimm's O'CLOCK!
Mumford and Sons <3
Thank **** Ted is alive!
Mumford!!!
The Vaccines killing it before Mumford and Sons.
An amazing show by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros!!!
What a babe.

Seriously... amazing!
Dancing to some Mystery Jets.
I don't think I am homeless at all... Christina is my hero for making this sign.
Starting to push our way to the front during Johnny Flynnn.
Qatar loving <3
GOTR - Lewes - July 19th&20th
There is a wolf at your feet... PURRRRRR ;) 
No caption needed.
Happiness! 
Vampire Weekend on the first night. 
Flowers, feathers, and loads of glitter. 
Happiness again.
Why yes, I did sleep in a tent for 2 night. Oh and Sara is now "one with nature."
Fits her perfectly... hopefully your toe is all fixed!
Watching an act in Covent Garden.
Facing my fears... the Eiffel Tower was far more scary than this!





Keeping cool on a river boat tour!

Friday, July 12, 2013

Finally, I am in London for 10 days!

Finally in London and there is no sun! Heat wave where are you? I only packed summer clothes! Can't wait for what the next 10 days has in store for me :)


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Uh oh - someone hit me!



Yesterday I was in my first Doha car accident and this story must be told. There were tears, however, laughter was a large part of it.

On my way to dinner last night I was stopped and waiting on the light to turn green at Burger King Roundabout when BOOM it happened. My first Doha car accident. I was just sitting there singing along to some Vampire Weekend when I hear tires screeching and a then BAM the car jerked forward. I look back and there is a now another car attached to my car. After a quick tear, or two, I got out of the car shocked and said to the guy - "WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP???" He immediately started saying it was all his fault in his very badly broken English. I sigh and remind myself that I did nothing wrong and I am blessed that this guy is owning up to it all. Luckily a red police traffic car drove by us about 3 minutes after the crash and told us to move over to the side while we wait for another policeman. I could drive my car out of the way but the guy who hit me had to push his car to the side of the road. What a shame. I would like to point out that the guy hit me right in front of Doha's brand new fancy Traffic Department building so we were then instructed to go report the accident. 

The Traffic Department was not really a big deal but the big mistake I made was not calling someone to be my Arabic representative. Not that I ended up needing one but it would have been the smart idea incase things had gone wrong. I was the only female there and the guy who hit me is chatting away to the policeman in Arabic. Luckily, he then asked me my side of the story so I told him what happened with of course dramatic sound effects. Got him to smile and say - "habibti [honey] go get your car so I can see the damage" - so I guess the sound effects were a good addition. 

After he looked at my car and the picture of the guys smashed up car we were waiting in line for the report and the guy dropped his smart phone on the floor. It crashed open into pieces and his friend who had to pick him up started to laugh so of course so did I. I said to him - "you must really be having a bad day" - to which he just gave me a clueless expression because he has no idea what I am saying. The policeman then joined in the giggles. 

So I survived. I am not hurt. No one was hurt. And the car will be fixed while I am away next week. I am just glad that the whole ordeal ended with some laughs because I have heard many traffic horror stories.