Dubai Rugby 7s

A weekend of mayhem, late nights, great nights, laughter, new personal jokes, Wild Wadi, no bikini bottoms, RAIN, trash bags as rain coats, coolers of beer, drinks in coffee mugs, MORE RAIN, a wrecked apartment, a long bus ride back to town after the DOWNPOUR, the experience of finding that bus, a full English breakfast, and great fun with great friends. Oh and there was some Rugby in there too! I have been to Dubai many times but I have never done Dubai like that. I am sad I had to leave early but I do leave for America in a few days for a month - need to get my life sorted out and of course there is work! 

Haven't we seen that sand dune already?

Back to back weekends at almost the Inland Sea (near Saudi)! The weather has started to change so we have started to take advantage of the desert. Pamela and I were joking around saying "where shall we go this weekend? Last weekend we were riding elephants maybe this weekend we should go ride camels" and this turned into a desert day - sadly no camels though. 

Most people here drive SUVs with 4 wheel drive yet most people don't even drive them in the desert. Pamela wanted to take her new baby out for a test drive in the desert, little did she know that her new car was going to receive her new name, bump. Having never driven in the desert before Pamela mistook hard ground for soft and she floored it over a bump. Apples went flying, butts of chairs, and a lot of swear words were screamed. We thought everything was fine until we got to a flat strip of land and I heard a sound. Pamela's bumper had fallen halfway off! After the boys came back for us and "fixed" it we carried on. Until the bumper completely fell off when we were on a sand dune! Poor bump! She did so well minus the bumper! After all this drama we got to the beach and enjoyed the day. Thankfully the drive back was not as dramatic. 

The next weekend we decided to go again. This time I was in Dina's car. Dina, oh Dina, I love ya! Even when you drive down a sand dune with your eyes closed! WE got stuck 3... maybe 4 times. The worst being when we finally got there. She was REALLY stuck the last time. Spinning wheels and all. After breaking a few tow ropes and getting another car stuck in the process of getting her out a nice family form two sand dunes over came to our rescue on their quad bikes. They pulled both of them out in no time. Thank goodness for that family... we probably would have been stuck there for a while and Dina could of lost her car at sea! 

Two back to back great weekends our in the desert! Makes you remember that Qatar can be interesting and fun despite being a big sand pit! Got to make your own fun... I am sure there will be more desert days to come! 

"Don't worry about a thing" - Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Travel Diary

27^th October – 2^nd November 2012

How Sri Lanka was all of a sudden a trip –

I was going a little desert crazy on the first morning of my holiday after seeing a few Facebook posts about the Eid Al-Adha holiday and the various places people were going so I decided to look up flights to India, Sri Lanka, Oman, and Thailand (just to see if there was anything in my budget for a last minute trip). After finding out that flying to Sri Lanka was the best deal for such short notice booking (less than 48 hrs) I started to pitch the idea to my travel buddy Pamela. After throwing ideas back and forth for a few hours, and an extra fee for paying online because the Internet was not taking the credit card, we were booked and ready to head to Sri Lanka for 5 full days! I don’t think I have ever been that spontaneous in my life! We had picked a country and booked it not knowing were we would even stay once we got there. It is a good thing I am a crazy organized person because right after we booked it I went to Pam’s house to plan our five days, book hotels, and make sure we knew where we were going and what were the MUST sees for such a limited time. Sri Lanka was going to be a great escape from the sand and humidity! 

Day 1 (28^th October) - 

We arrived in Colombo at 3 am after a 4 and half hour flight with no sleep. No sleep because the kid behind me clearly had a broken TV (or he was playing a game on the TV aggressively) and it was like I was sitting in a HORRIBLE massage chair. Of course my expression every time he did it made Pam start laughing and I am pretty sure people were not amused at our giggle fit but hey, it is our holiday, we can do what we want! After landing we were greeted by a taxi man from Bentota that we had prearranged through the hotel. It was early in the morning so the traffic was not bad and it only took us 2 hours to drive to our hotel across the road from Bentota Beach. I thought driving in Doha was bad but driving in Sri Lanka is something else. The way the pass is almost as if they are playing “chicken.” I am so glad that we did not RENT a car like originally thought we should do that is for sure. We got to the hotel in a pretty mellow mood thanks to the Bob Marley tunes in the taxi and were taken to our “temporary room” which was an under construction room with no AC. Thankfully there was a mosquito net to keep us safe! After a few hrs of sleep we moved into out new, clean, finished room and went to breakfast. Our hotel in Bentota was a converted villa with a nice pool and walking distance from the beach. 

During breakfast we made plans with “Jack” to go on a tour along The Bentota River. We did not want to waste a day sleeping, even though we were exhausted from the lack of sleep, and it was an overcast day, so seeing crocodiles, wild birds, a scary looking water lizard, water lilies, and the coconut family who makes everything out of a coconut was a perfect way to spend our first day in Sri Lanka. We got to know a lot about Bentota as well as the must sees in Sri Lanka thanks to Jack and on that boat trip we planned out the next 4 days ahead of us.

Our first night in Bentota we went and spent with a friend and her family who were also staying in the area but in a villa by the river. We had a night of wine and seafood. A red fish caught by her father and some lobster they had bought from a guy passing by. We took a Tuk Tuk home, jammed to some Bob Marley (they really like him in Sri Lanka apparently), full bellies, happy, and mosquito bitten (well I was). 

Day 2 (29^th October) - 

The overcast during the day turned into a MONSOON like no other during the night. At about 2 am our under construction room was looking a lot better than our new room with a leak! Both of us woke up as the rain started as it really sounded like a Tsunami was coming for us. After the initial shock of the storm we both realized that the roof was leaking! Thankfully we had some towels, and after laughing at the dripping Chinese torture and the fact that it was starting to leak over our bed we did eventually get some sleep.

Another early morning as we had to drive all the way to Pinnawela to see the Elephants! We got there in record time because it is a full moon and that means no school or work for Buddhists. Before the Elephant orphanage we stopped at another rescue and care place where we bathed and rode an elephant. The guy snapped some great photos of us as we rode around in the rain (so thankful that bought myself a waterproof camera before the trip). After that we went to see the elephants at the orphanage. Unfortunately we did not get to see them bath in the river across from the orphanage as the high amounts of rain had made the river too high and rough for them to bath in but it was still nice to see them playing happy in the mud and the baby ones with their Mohawks. We fell into the picture trap again at the orphanage (the first time was with the baby crocodiles during the river trip). Someone will say take a picture and then ask for a small fee.

After seeing the elephants we went on to Kandy (an hour and half drive) to see the Botanical Gardens. Despite the rain the gardens were wonderful. It was so nice to be around GREEN that a little rain was not going to stop us! I am sure we could have made a day out of the gardens but sitting in the rain isn’t excited as it sounds so we moved on to a Tea Plantation. We were shown how each part of the leaf is used, how they make the different teas, and then we had a little tea party.

After a really long drive back we decided that dinner at Panchi Villa would be the best idea as going anywhere else would be a lot of effort. Another dinner of seafood and it was a great feast. Lobster and prawns, so much that it could have fed a small army but after all our adventures we ate it all up. I must say though the amounts of garlic on that meal did not scare away the mosquitoes like I was told. The Sri Lankan mosquitoes seem to love me! The motto of the day – “a little water never hurt anyone!”

Day 3 (30^th Ocobter) - 

Today we moved down to Hikkaduwa but before we got to our hotel there we did more site seeing. First we went to see one of the largest buddhas in Asia, the buddha at the Temple of Aluthgama. We would have had a great photo of us in front of it but our lovely taxi driver apparently does not know how to work a camera very well and before he even took a picture of us he took one of himself! After a wonder around the temple to see the paintings and carvings we moved on to the moonstone mine. It was extremely interesting to see how they separate the stones and the small percentage of good stones they get from each bucket. Not only did we see how the factory worked but we also walked away with some new moonstone jewelry.

Then traveled south past Hikkaduwa to Galle to see the fort. On the way to Galle we got to see the buddha that was donated to Sri Lanka after the tsunami and the tsunami memorial. I had heard about all the damage in Thailand but I had never heard the story about the train that was derailed in Sri Lanka. It was sad to drive through this area because even though it has been years there are places that are abandoned and places that are still being rebuilt. Once we were in Galle our taxi tour guy man that had been with us all day walked with us as sort of a guard. Jack had told him to make sure we were safe because as Galle was a super tourist spot sometimes there were pick pockets and people saying they will take your picture then running away with your camera. At one point Pam and I were in hysterics because we were walking and he was driving about 15 feet behind us. Was like we were royal! It really was like we had a bodyguard and it was sort of awkward looking! After a quick trip into the museum the fatigue started to get to us so we headed back up to Hikkaduwa to settle in to our new hotel. Again we feasted on lobster and shrimp and a bottle of wine followed by our first FULL night of sleep. 

Day 4 (31^st October) - 

The last two days had been full of site seeing so we decided to hang close to Hikkaduwa. We did not want to be stuck in a car today so after breakfast we took a walk along the beach catching some sun - who am I kidding it was sort of raining still but we walked anyways. It such a shame that a storm picked the week we were there to hit because it would have been really nice to learn how to surf. Someone tried to tell us we would be safe learning but the waves looked a bit scary for a beginner. Today was about swimming in the rain, using my underwater camera for some funny photos, shopping at the local shops outside our hotel, buying gifts for everyone, and having a Tuk Tuk take us to the turtle hatchery. Thankfully the Tuk Tuk has plastic drapes on the side because of course the rain came pouring down again! We got to see newly born turtles, baby turtles they were about to release, recue turtles, and the lucky albino turtle. Being a Florida girl I never say no to baby turtles! I just wish we could have been around to see them set them free!! Before we headed back to the hotel we did some afternoon shopping and lets just say that the population of wooden elephants has decreased drastically thanks to Pamela.

For dinner we decided that we should try and be local so we walked to the main strip of Hikkaduwa and had dinner at one of the smaller hotel restaurants. It was interesting. The rain came again and there really wasn’t a dry seat in the house. We met some really interesting travelers at this place, some traveling and not knowing where was next, some having returned just to be chill in Sri Lanka, and a couple that were there because his parents had been going for 30 years. 

Day 5 (1^st November) -

Our last day in Sri Lanka and it was still raining! We were hoping for at least one day of tanning but I guess swimming in the rain was all we were going to get. Our flight was not until November 2^nd at 4AM so we decided to spend the day being lazy, more shopping, swimming, and reading. You know, the things people do to relax! We found out to late that the batik ladies would have let us work with them for the day - was really upset about this!



Sri Lanka was an amazing trip and I am so glad that I got to go! It really was a great escape from the desert. I am so happy that I have a travel buddy now! Already "planning" our next trip! 

The "Qatari" visited!

Evan just left us. He was here for about 3 weeks. I hope he enjoyed his trip as much as I enjoyed having him here. Missing you already lil' bro!


At least you won't have to do any more of this... or will you?

When the cannon goes off!

Nights become days and days become nights in the holy month of Ramadan. It has been years since I have been in Qatar (or the middle east) for a Ramadan but things have not really changed. Yes, the grocery store might be open for longer hours during the day but the attitude of "inshallah tomorrow"increases immensely and the shorter work days are still around.

My Dad has already bought home 3 boxes of dates this Ramadan. In the evening dates are eaten first during Iftar (the time/meal in which they are breaking fast). These dates are from the date palms at the farm. My Dad keeps on going on and on about how good they are but personally I hate them. It is horrible when I am given one and it would be rude to refuse because acting like I like something is not a talent I am good at. 

When we were younger we lived within walking distance of the post office on the corniche. At the post office there was a cannon located there. I don't know why but at least once during the month, and by suggestion of my father, we would go and watch the cannon go off. It is the way to signal that the day is over and it is time to break their fast. 

When I was 15 (maybe even when I was still 14;), and mad I wasn't learning to drive like a normal kid in America, my Dad decided that I would be able to driving from the farm to the round about on the edge of Doha. When the cannon first goes off the roads are so peaceful. Everyone is praying and eating. There might be one speedy person who flies past you because they are late but other than that it was a perfect time to learn how to drive in the Ford Expedition my Dad used to drive. The other day I was driving home on the peaceful roads remembering how funny those times driving with my Dad were. He isn't exactly the best teacher in the world because he gets too nervous and is a horrible "back seat driver." Since I have moved back he still is a horrible passenger. I get a lot of "they are breaking" or "slow down" and sometimes even "there is someone on your left" - not like I have been driving for 7 years or anything?

Ramadan is an interesting month. Not a lot happens but at the same time there is a lot happening just not for none muslims. My students tell me that it is such a busy time for them. They have duties to attend to, meals to eat with certain people, and it is a time for reflection as well as prayer. It is a very spiritual month. Sometimes I don't understand it but after a conversation with someone the other day I see that everyone celebrates it differently and it is all about personal belief. Some have huge meals at the end of the day while others are more traditional and break their fast with soup and have a light meal.  Some pray more than others do but in the end I don't think that anyone should judge this month from the outside unless they have done it (and believe it).

After Ramadan there are two Eid celebrations. One that follows immediately, Eid al-Fitr, and then another one about a month later, Eid al-Adha. From what I know, the first one is more celebrating personally and is called by some as "The Feast Breaking the Fast." A lot of presents, food, and money is given during this Eid. Eid al-Adha or "The Feast of the Sacfice" is a time for charity. Money is given to the poor as well as food (mainly lamb) and people often give to their neighbors. Of course durning both Eids there are different prayers (or more) as well as the celebrations they do not forget that it is still a very holy time.

Happy 2012 Olympics!

A written life update for the month of JUNE!

I don't know where June went. Honestly. It was a fast month. I don't even know where to start.

Well... I dropped my Dad off at the start of the month and I was officially in Qatar alone. Instead of throwing house parties, and staying alone in our kind of run down villa I moved in with a friend in West Bay. She lives on the 29th floor of Alfardan Tower and boy was life better up there then in Ameera Gardens. I felt like I was living in a hotel. It was honestly great to be a roomie again with someone my age. After over two weeks there I picked up my best friend since I was 2 from the airport and we hung out for about 4 days before I moved back into my casa and cleaned up the dust before Daddy Duncan arrived. She was here for her birthday so these four days included: TCBY, Hyatt for massages, Intercon for tanning, the boat, The W for dinner, and lots of laughter!

Work officially finished on the 21st of June and all I can say is that it feels really weird not having a class anymore! I get two months off before I have to be back in the office and I haven't' made any plans to travel this summer yet. All I know is that I will be teaching the high school class in the fall and I am looking forward to it! A nice surprise happened at our QAPCO dinner that made before we broke u for the summer. ALL OF THEM WILL BE ATTENDING TAMUQ in the FALL :) Was a serious surprise and a great way to end my first semester of work at TAMUQ. I can honestly say I know I will never have another class like them but I am excited to see who I get after the summer! New students, new lessons, and new memories!

June was a month of pool days, beach days, good news, good times at work, and fun weekends. I kind of wish I could honestly have the month back to do all over again!



My little brother is due to come out to visit for a month soon. This should be fun, however, a tad boring since we have officially hit 50 degrees Celsius and Ramadan is just around the corner. Never the less I can't wait to have him here and to see him :)

Where did June go - picture post update!

View from the flat I stayed in for most of June while my Daddy was away. No one likes to live alone! 

Crazy jetpack thing at the island one weekend.

June consisted of a lot of tanning... 

Yes. That is a lion on a boat! 

Daddy and I saved a parrot before he left. This is the little guy finally free and healthy again! 

No sir, your lion does not want to go swimming at the island! 

June was a bunch of fun weekends, last days of teaching for the semester, and lots of time spent on a boat at the island! 

A detailed written update to follow...