Thomas journals

After our family road trip to Doha, we celebrated home Christmas in Jubail, around our little Christmas tree.  We opened presents, took pictures, talked about upcoming New Year's Eve. And about Buffalo, of course.   We've got the t-shirts!

Indeed the Museum of Islamic Art is one of the must-see destinations in the Gulf, truly stunning architecture and restorative atmosphere.  The newly-finished library is a pleasant surprise as well, providing free educational resources and study places -- we met the newly-arrived librarians and Chris posed an interesting research question to them, about the artistic origins of a particular French vase in the collection (ask him for more details -- they did not know the answer, but I'll wager they are researching it now). And the Souq Waqif represents another must-see tourist destination for the inveterate shopper and people-watcher.  The Qatar government re-built the old souk with new fire safety standards but keeping the crowded and warren-like mystery, with (literally) hundreds of independent vendors, a place for locals as well as tourists. We happened upon a local confectioner just completing a batch of gooey Qatari Halwa -- a high-school boy encouraged us to wait and try so

My favorite part of Doha was the Souq Waqif. An eclectic mix of streets, alleys and boulevards the souq provided for several opportunities to experience something new. We smoked shisha and ate camel kabobs at a Moroccan cafe along the main boulevard. We walked through alleys crowded by countless hole-in-the-wall stalls full of fake designer sunglasses, rolexes and other touristy merchandise run by immigrants from the subcontinent. We browsed antique shops full of relics from Qatar's pearl diving past and wandered down lanes filled with chirping birds in cages and shops dedicated to the sport of falconry. I got a cheese and honey crepe made fresh in front of me by an off-duty Indonesian maid, and a box of what looked like sesame seed covered gulab jamuns (they weren't) from another. Visiting the souq brought with it a refreshing bit of culture, a unique blend of nationalities that I hadn't ever experienced before. I would suggest going around 16:30, when we did

     Doha was awesome.  An ever mixing melting-pot of islamic tradition and oil-funded innovation, the city holds surprises around every corner.  As we were only there for a short time, we only got to experience the tip of this city's cultural iceberg.  That said, the sites we visited were nonetheless intriguing and inspiring.         As much as it shocks me to say it, my favorite place we visited in Doha was the Museum of Islamic Art (and yes, you read it right, I did actually love the museum).  The building itself was an architectural wonder, with high domed ceilings, and sweeping sandstone/marble supports, all in a uniform geometric pattern.  I was most surprised, however, at the exhibits.  When I heard that we would be going to the 'Islamic Art' museum, I had envisioned in my head long halls filled with identical-looking scrolls covered in arabic calligraphy ('you seen one, you seen them all').  Instead, what we found were interesting, vers

One of the reasons we wanted to go to Qatar for Christmas was the chance to attend Christmas worship service in a real church -- and for that we will need to wait another year. However, we did attend Christmas midnight service and a daytime service as well, though not in a "real church". The Emir of Qatar has designated various zones around Doha for particular activities -- Education City (for universities), Aspire Zone (athletics), and the ironically-named Religious Complex, a square mile of land just outside the city border, designated/divided for churches. The Anglicans were designated the representative for all Protestants. As the expression goes, it's like herding cats...protestant cats are raising money for construction, and sharing space among 29 different worshiping groups. The santuary is Almost Ready But Not Quite -- last year's shopping-mall fire has stiffened the resolve of the regional fire inspectors to delay certification until there is no possibl

I am intrigued by borders, boundaries, particularly those of states or nations. What does the border crossing tell of a country's character. or its attitude toward its neighbor? At the key Saudi-Qatari road crossing, the Saudi border post appears to be about 30 years old, with little maintenance. The guard perfunctorily stamped our passport and waved us through. At the true boundary, the highway suddenly became a 4-lane new blacktop perfectly surfaced roadway. The customs building is bright and new, with bilingual directional signs. Another pleasant surprise: the passport clerk was female! After inspecting passports, driver's license, registration, she diverted us to the office where we had to pay visa-fees of QAR100 ($27.50) each. Again, pristine, modern surroundings. Later, another fee: QAR100 for a week of car insurance -- curiously, he first quoted a price of QAR160, then said "oh, just 100" without explanation. Border lesson: Qatar is new, modern, and

Our sons, Chris and Cole, barely had 48 hours to recuperate from U.S. to K.S.A. jet lag, when we were off in the car to Doha to celebrate Christmas.  This trip was every mother's dream - the boys (now young men) didn't fight or annoy each other in the car and we all enjoyed each other's company for the long, yet uneventful drive. We stopped first in Hofuf, a town notoriously circuitous and unmarked, and it took many wrong turns and re-tracing our steps to finally find our oh-so-very Saudi apartment hotel. To catch the fort in daylight, we left almost immediately, and finally found it - only to find it was closed! So we browsed the antique shops (all seemingly owned by two gentlemen who Barb remembered from her trip two years ago), but no sales. We found our way to the one big mall with a food court and adjoining obligatory amusement park - and half of us got our food before prayer call! For those not acquainted with Saudi, prayer times schedule everything you do - and if yo

From Barbara: Its been a long time since I've "blogged." Life as an international school teacher is often not as "exotic" as you might think - sometimes its just a pain! Teaching in an under-resourced/under-developed country often makes for more work in getting or making what you need.  Bureaucracy is often staggering, and things that one used to take for granted, take more time and effort to get accomplished. Then there's the time spent just traveling - things are not "down the road."  Finally, there's the worry that what I write about now just is not as important as when I wrote regularly to our mission supporters.  Am I griping?  Well, yes a bit, but mostly I am trying to explain why I just do not write as much as I used to.  Well, last week I received an email from Ken and Frieda McRae in India, that deserved a report - such good news!  A little background - last December I blogged about our latest trip to India. Here's some of what I

The attendance at the last day of the conference was sparse, so the president of NESA cancelled the closing session. We heard an excellent keynote speaker, Tim Burns, speaking on current brain research and how that should inform our teaching. I then attended two rather mediocre workshops - Goal Setting in Writer's Workshop & Helping Students Read Non-Fiction Texts. I met Patty and Chris for lunch at a terrific outdoor cafe before going to an unexpectedly wonderful spa experience at the Intercontinental that I had booked the day before. After a good pedicure, I was offered time on the heated tile reclining chairs in the "relaxation room' before taking time in the sauna, then steam room and finally a rainforest shower - HEAVEN! I floated back to the hotel to meet up with Jeff and Cole who had finally toured the Ancient Agora. We met Letty, the Camponeschi's and Meg for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, taking a cab back in an unexpected rainshower.

Julie and I, too tired from the late night before, bagged the early keynote speaker; instead meeting at a coffee shop before walking over to the conference hall around noon. I love being an adult. Jeff and I attended an unusually blatant recruiting session by the American School of Doha and were quite interested as it appears there is not a strict age limit. I then attended a good workshop on bringing picture books alive and learned new ways  to engage students in read-alouds. Afterwards we went back to our hotel to spruce up for the NESA "gala" dinner and Greek dancing, while Cole went out on the town alone for a spaghetti dinner. Jeff and I danced a few Greek folk dances, then headed home early - exhausted.

We were up early to get to the institutes that began bright and early at 8:30 AM. I went to Georgia Heard's class on Enhancing Reading Comprehension Through Poetry - and she is the master. Julie joined me for the afternoon session because it was so good. By 1:00 we were free to roan the city. We joined the Camponeschi's to try to use up the remaining parts of our Acropolis tickets that allowed us to see several other sites. Ancient Agora was closed (again) but we enjoyed trolling the Monastiraki flea market, the original Olympic Stadium and Hadrian's Gate, the National Garden. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to clean up for a good dinner  to celebrate Julie's birthday. Before dinner we went to an intimate gathering for a fantastic concert of piano and violin featuring pieces by Fritz Kriesler, Mozart and Prokofiev. The musicians were from Austria and very good. After a culture-starved 6 months in KSA, this was heaven. Drinks before dinner (tsipouro) at Strofi&#

After a harrowing time on the metro (why didn’t we send the luggage ahead in a cab as planned?)  - with doors closing on Kerri Caramella inside with her luggage outside, and the Camponeschis still inside the car – we all finally rendezvoused at the Acropolis Museum Boutique Hotel.  We immediately went to our quirky modern rooms and should have slept, but most wanted to get out and about and see the city.  Cole and I went two blocks, past seedy sex shops and closed businesses to a mom and pop restaurant called “Smile” for a souvlaki (gyro) and local brew. LOVED it (and went back several more times during our stay in Athens.) Then we went back to the hotel and crashed for an hour before meeting with our cohorts for an investigation of the Plaka – near our hotel.  Lots of souvenir shops, jewelry stores, cafes – and finally, a view of the Acropolis.  We found Diogenes Café on Lisikratous Square and had a tasty meal and wine. Thirteen of us then wandered the streets back home – exhausted bu

From Cairo to Athens: A Birdseye View Square green plots of farmland, fed by the delta of the Nile, intersected by long straight roads – or are they irrigation lanes? The big city of Alexandria, crowding the coastline and seeming to push out into the sea. Incredible clouds rising up above the sea – huge masses of puffy cumulus Flying across the open expanse of aegean blue Mediterranean Sea in a NW direction Passing over the huge island of Crete rolled out like pie dough in all directions, surrounded by small uninhabited tiny islands with huge cliffs rising out of the water. Karpathos to the east, then more and more roads running along high ridges with towns nestled in depressions, lowlands. A white ferry pushing ahead, connecting two islands. Unusual contrast of blindingly white snow on mountains in distance with irridescent blue water ringing the islands. White windmils slowly turning on the highest tree-lined ridge. Banking west into the Saronic Gulf for a first sight of Athens. M

Two recent news items spur this post: First, an article in Saudi's Arab News -- our main daily newspaper -- headlined Saudi Downstream Forum in Jubail . It includes an aerial photo of the petrochemical industry here. As far as I can tell, the photo shows an area very close to our school; but the photo seems to have been taken several years ago, without the new superhighway. The headline is at first curious, as there are no rivers in Saudi Arabia, and no dramatic ocean currents either. Here in Jubail, the term Downstream is a standard metaphor for the big factories here that receive petroleum pipeline rivers and process it into now-essential products of modern life: petrochemicals, polyethylene, polystyrene, and myriad items named in advanced chemistry classes. Our proximity to the factories was reportedly the main reason our recent school-expansion plans were rejected -- the Commission has now sited our new high school construction ten miles further north, away from the facto