You know, it’s a real pain to add pictures to Wordpress. I’m including a link to an album on Facebook - you should be able to view it, even without an account.

Qatar is pronounced more like Cutter, although there is a gutteral G sound in the beginning that’s hard to hear. Locals are called Qataries, which sounds not like Cutter, but how you think it would sound - Cat-taries. Also, it’s Do-Ha, not Doh-A. Learning. : )

We scored free tickets to a football match - a World Cup qualifier between Qatar Australia. No one scored, Australia qualified. Not the most exciting game, but I’m still thrilled I got to see a football match in a country that actually gives a hoot about football (soccer). Anecdote: We went to the mall again and thought it would be fun to get jerseys for the game. We go into three sports stores. One did have jersey’s, but they were too expensive, so we looked for tshirts instead. We found t-shirts for every other country - and even stuff for the Yankees and Red Skins! But nothing for Qatar! How odd, we thought. We figure we can probably buy shirts at the game though. But when we get there, it doesn’t take too long to figure out why we couldn’t find anything. The crowd is largely male Saudis wearing the full white robes! Of course they wouldn’t be wearing t-shirts! Who would have known?

I would love to blog more, but it is past midnight here and we have an early day tomorrow - plunging right in! I hope the photos serve as a good summary as replacement. : )

I didn’t go to bed Wednesday night. Aside from frantically shoving things in a suitcase and making sure I had checked and rechecked every superlative check-list, my flight departed at 6am, which meant a 4am check in time, so trying to get in a few winks before the flight felt a little futile.

Bright and early at 4am, Kris drove me to the airport. It always makes me sad to say goodbye to him for these long trips and we discussed the other day that the longest time we’ve ever been apart was during my 3 weeks in South Africa. So here it is again, the big continent separating us again, for a longer span of 22 days. I guess it’s just a sip of what we’ll have to handle further down the road when he goes into the military and I’m out galavanting around the world, but still. I hope we’ll be able to travel to these far off places together.  At any rate, enough mushy stuff. Back to the trip…

While waiting in my terminal, coverage of Obama’s speech in Egypt blasted over CNN. It was very cool to be sitting there, embarking on a journalism trip to the Middle East, and have such a prominent issue come up that finally felt relatable. And it occurred to me that this is probably one of the main reasons so many Americans don’t know or care about the Middle East - the only time it matters is when it’s hurting Americans. And I don’t say this as a way to bash my country, but understand the challenge I will face in making the work I do worth the look for Americans.

In New York, I met up with Jen, from Washington. She’d never been to New York before so after we picked up our bags and stored them away (couldn’t check in until that night), we hopped on a bus to the city. Not the most adventerous trip. Saw Grand Central Station, which I don’t remember ever seeing while there, so that was neat. We walked a lot but didn’t really go anywhere and I didn’t want to have us get lost and miss the bus back to the airport. A non plus.

We get back to the airport for dinner and I ordered my last American cheeseburger, which was a major disappointment but oh well. The fries were good. Eventually we make out up to our gate for our flight to Qatar and one by one begin meeting up with other students from the trip. “The Lemon Tree” book began to be our group flag. Someone would see one of us with it and ask if we were part of boot camp. Oh, and no one has finished reading the 4 books assigned to us. Which made me feel a bit better. So we got to know a little about each other and they all seem very nice and so far we’re all getting along very well.

The flight to Qatar wasn’t too bad. Jen and I checked in together and got seats in the emergency exit row, so we had lots of leg room. Only downside is that we couldn’t see out the window. We all had the intention of reading, and all passed out after a few pages, myself included.

Upon arrival, one girl discovered her passport was missing, so we had a short hang up while they searched the plane and, luckily, found it. Another girls’ luggage was a little delayed coming off the plane, but no further hiccups from that point and everyone reacted first class.

People from Qatar University met us outside the gate and we, 8 students and a professor, piled into a van. The driving isn’t as crazy here as I thought it would be. I guess it’s worse in Egypt. I mean, it’s still a little nerve-wracking, but nothing worse than driving with New Yorkers. They also have speed cameras here, which I found hilarious. I’ve also determined that places that drive on the same side of the road as you feel less foreign. Except for some of the architecture and signs written in Arabic and English rather than Spanish and English, it didn’t feel that different from Phoenix. But we’ll see how it is during the day.

At the university we were shown into apartment rooms. The 5 girls are in one apartment (two double rooms and a master - I’m sharing a double with Carrie from Harvard). Big kitchen with a washing machine, a dining area and den with tv! And internet access!

We went to a nearby mall for dinner at the food court. The place was mobbed! And, get this, looks just like the Venetian (? I think) in Las Vegas. It has the faux sky ceilings, artisan streets, and a gandola ride. And the food court surrounds an ice rink. So bizarre!

As far as culture shock is concerned…the first time Jen and I felt it was while were checking in for our flight and were the only Americans. The mall was neat because we saw everything from the women completely cloaked in black, to boys and girls dressed like regular Americans. And so far we haven’t felt oddly treated by anyone. We had to go to the grocery store to get some food and two men laughed at us, but it seemed friendly, as if to say, “Oh, Americans! You’re a riot!*shrug*

Free day tomorrow. More students will be arriving. We plan on some time by the pool in the morning and then I think we have dinner tomorrow night. But it seems like the girls are turning off the lights now so I’m off to conquer jet lag.

Until next time…

I received a rough schedule for the first part of the trip while we are in Qatar (below). I also need to pitch some story ideas before I leave - broad-reaching stories that aren’t just about Qatar or Egypt, that aren’t just for an American or Arab audience. It would also be wise/benefitial to use sources that we will be meeting with during our seminars. I have a few ideas for stories, but I am very much open to suggestions - What would you want to know about?

This is the schedule for Qatar:

Friday June 5th Arrival
7.10 p.m. Students arrival to Doha Airport
8.30   Dinner at Villagio Shopping Mall

Sat June 6th Travel Doha
12. am  Student Arrival to Doha Airport
- 07.00 am – 9.00 am Breakfast in Alzhour
2.15 pm  Students’ arrival to Doha Airport
07. 00 pm  Dinner and free time in Souq Waqif

Sunday June 7th A Growing-Changing Qatar
6:00-9:00 a.m. Breakfast in Alzhour
9:00  Bus departs to Qatar University
10.00 – 11.00 Orientation
11.00 – 12.30 News Room
12.30- 1.30 Lunch at Qatar University
1:30pm- 3:00pm- ‘Consumerism and the City in Contemporary Qatar’ by Prof. Andrew Gardner to give a lecture
3:15pm- Bus departs from Qatar University to The Pearl, Qatar
4:00-5:30pm Tour of The Pearl, Qatar
5:30 leave from The Pearl directly to QU
6.00 – 7.30 p.m. Watch “Control Room”

Monday June 8th Al-Jazeera and the Media
7:00am- 9:00am Breakfast in Alzhour
9:10 a.m.  Departure from Dormitories to Al-Jazeera Studios
10:00  Meetings at Al-Jazeera
2:00-2:30- board busses to Qatar University
3:15- 4:45 Lecture by Prof. Ibrahim Abusharif from North Western
4:30-4:45 Board busses to return to dormitories
7:00pm Departure to Old Souk (Souk Waqif)
8:00pm  Dinner at Altawwash Restaurant in souk Waqif
(Bus should wait until dinner is over and return to dormitories)

Tuesday June 9th Movie Screening
7:00- 9:00am  Breakfast in Alzhour
12:10pm  Bus to Qatar University
1:00pm- 2.30 News Room
03.00 – 05.00 Movie Screening
5:15pm Depart from QU to Alzhour

Wednesday June 10th US and the Gulf
7:00- 9:00am  Breakfast in Alzhour
9.30 am Busses leave to US Embassy
10.00- 11.30 Meeting at US Embassy to learn about US-Gulf Relations and meet with members from US Central Command  YOU MUST BRING YOUR PASSPORT TO GET INTO THE US EMBASSY!
12.15 – 1.45 “The United States and the Gulf” with Dr. Steve Wright
2.00 pm Lunch at Qatar University
3.15 – 4.45 News Room
5.00 Bus leaves to Dormitories
7.30 Bus leaves to Almajlis Restaurant for dinner

Thursday June 11th Women, Islam and Qatari Society
7:00am- 9:00am Breakfast in Dorms
9:15 a.m.  Departure from Dormitories
10:00  Lecture on Women in Islam by Dr. Aisha Almannai, Dean of College of Sharia needs interpreter
12:00 - 2.30   “Perspectives on Islam and Arab Society” with Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi at Qatar University (in the Conference Room of the Administrative Building)
3.00 pm Lunch at Qatar University
4.00 – 5.30 “Oil, Technology and Conflict” with Dr. Muneera AlGhadeer
6.00 p.m. Busses Depart to Dormitory

Friday June 12th Free Day
7:00am- 10:00am Breakfast in Alzhour
10:30  8-hour trip to the desert with BlackPearl Tours (they will pick up from Alzhour)

Saturday June 13th Free Day
7:00am- 10:00am Breakfast in Alzhour
10.00 am Busses depart from Alzhour
10.30 12.30 Islamic Museum
Rest of Day: Free time to explore Qatar! Souk Waqif, The Gold Souk, The Falcon Souk

Sunday June 14th Politics and Oil
7:00am- 9:00am Breakfast in Alzhour
9.00 Busses Leave for Oil Company trip

Monday June 15th Iran and The Gulf
7:00am- 9:00am Breakfast in Alzhour
8:30 a.m.  Departure from Dormitories
9:20  Arrival at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar University
9:30-11:00pm “Gulf-Iranian Relations” with Dr. Mehran Kamrava (Director of the Center for Regional and International Studies at Georgetown University)
11:00-11:45 Introduction to Georgetown University
12:00- 1:00pm Qatar Foundation Tour & Lunch
1:00pm Busses return students to dormitories
7:00pm End of Program Dinner

Tuesday June 16th Free Day and Departure?
7:00am- 9:00am Breakfast in Alzhour
3.15 Students Leave to Cairo

Hello followers!

Last summer when I traveled to South Africa, it was such a great experience to be able to write home to all my friends and family about the daily goings-on, and then to read all of the wonderful comments! So this blog will be my personal travel journal, inviting you to follow me through this and future adventures!

I am packing my bags for a Middle Eastern Journalism Boot Camp. And yes, I expect it will be as intense and intimidating as the title suggests. Here’s the official summary:

AUC-QU 2009 Middle East Journalism Boot Camp

June 4-15 Qatar
June 16 (travel day to Cairo)
June 17-25 Cairo
June 26 depart for U.S.

So, although I know I’ll be quite busy and exhausted from the enormous amount of work and learning, I do hope to post here regularly and, as always, very much look forward to hearing from you all!