doha round 1

so, as this doha round draws to a close, i think i'm coming out standing. 'tis the season for reflection and all....

i really can't believe how quickly these first four months have flown by. but i suppose that's life - you settle into rhythms and they just beat away as you go about your days and ways....

it was almost sad to finish exams at the university amid the uncommon and unlikely little community we have created in the classroom.... class was always quite an amusing little scene. kim kabir (big kim - the crazy, older north korean spy) continued to be a source of wonder. and pascal, a frenchman of north african descent, former paratrooper in the army, recent convert to islam and rather fanatic about it and somewhat scary even before paris was burning (white thube, shaved head but long wild beard, spot on his forehead from praying so much, fiery eyes, booming voice, lots of animosity towards america & the west), took to showing up once a week, if that, and the professors didn't say anything. (i actually rather like pascal & am not afraid of him; he even looks me in the eye now.) farid, from benin, who tried to convert me to islam on day one, continued to be aloof. mohammed sar, from senegal and a sweetheart, continued to be a ray of sunshine and is always called upon to run errands for the professors or reach high things because he is so tall. the little filipinos were rather quiet, but occasionally very funny. abdullah the american-white-guy-muslim-convert-who-dresses-in-"islam the active line"-and-conspicuously-fingers-his-prayer-beads-during-class continued to play that part perfectly. patrick, a master's student from georgetown, continued to be a friend and a good source of news and insights from the boys dorm. oh, and violeta, the woman from kosovo, had her baby - a girl. professor abdullah, who is from mauritania and is absolutely fabulous, continued to wear the same suit for a week straight, while professor mahmoud continued to think that we don't understand something because we are not listening, not because we don't know the vocabulary..... it has been an interesting three hours each day.

the cast of characters at the office and my time there has also been interesting.... our secretary, miriam, is a tiny, tiny filipino woman who looks like she cannot be older than 12, is very shy, and calls the managing partner "sir alaa," which i find very odd. zuhair, originally from gaza, is the "guy around the office" and just kind of does it all - answers the phone, types arabic documents, sends faxes, organizes things, and reads the newspapers. he and i get along well and he is actually very thoughtful and has interesting ideas on things. he came into my office the other day when there weren't many others around to talk about politics in the arab world. he told me how there was a huge difference between "democracy" and "freedom of expression / freedom of viewpoint" - which doesn't exist in the arab world.... something you hear talked about a lot, but very rarely from someone like zuhair. (he told me not to tell anyone he said it of course.) then there's mr. abdulati, a jolly round egyptian who wears vests with his suits and is always engrossed deep in research - in books, he doesn't have a computer in his office and i don't think ever uses one. mr. khalifa bin rassid, the qatari partner and "head" of the firm, sits regally in his office smoking, drinking coffee, reading the papers, and entertaining friends. i don't think he does any work, but it's his firm, and as a qatari that's his contribution (you need a qatari partner with majority, if not total, ownership to have a local law firm). emad is a round-faced, friendly young egyptian, who tries to look serious but doesn't quite succeed. hatim is the skinniest man i have ever seen and makes an art of studiously ignoring me and coming and going as he pleases. alaa, a palestinian-jordanian, is the managing partner and who i work with. he's snobby but kind, exists on cigarettes and coffee, at least while at the office, and keeps the whole firm afloat. finally, ismail, the indian tea-boy / driver, is always about, usually kicking it with miriam and zuhair at the front of the office if he's not busy. the arab law bureau is a curious little place, but enjoyable....

i wonder if i will miss these daily routines.... at this point i doubt it because i am very much ready for a break, but i realize that i have certainly been blessed with the opportunity to have some unique experiences, with some unique characters, here.

speaking of experiences, without a doubt the biggest change in my daily life here has been driving. i drive everywhere everyday. it's the only way to get around. but it's also its own peculiar form of madness..... driving here requires an interesting mix of being at once very cautious and rather aggressive. everyone drives like maniacs and it doesn't help that half the city is under construction all the time, so roads are constantly being closed and re-routed, and there is a system of round-abouts without any traffic lights, lanes, or even rules, and that the city just cannot handle the flow of cars on the roads. learning your way around is also a bit tricky because everyone uses the round-abouts as landmarks for giving directions, but often they have nicknames or are named after things that are no longer there. "crazy roundabout" for example is now no longer a roundabout at all, but a traffic signal. and "stinky roundabout" - officially named soudan roundabout - is so nicknamed because it supposedly smells, but that's hard to know when the windows are closed. "cholesterol roundabout" is also no longer a roundabout, but identifiable because there is a large collection of fast-food joints at that intersection.... you get the idea. i think i've become a pretty decent driver, though i can't imagine being in a land where each roundabout is not a free-for-all battle, and people actually yield before merging on to roads, rather than swinging blindly into traffic, or where angry arab men in huge land cruisers and hummers don't come tailgating up behind you, flashing their brights at you so you'll move lanes and they can continue to roar along at 50 kilometers per hour over the speed limit.... aih. there has been a recent initiative in the region to warn against reckless driving as a "health crisis" because deaths from auto accidents are so numerous it's an epidemic - the 2nd leading cause of death in the gulf apparently....

but i've braved the driving fight, and again, am still standing.... and stepping out of this ring for spell....

i leave shortly for a glorious sojourn oceans from here.... i'll be joining my family to celebrate my sister sadie's wedding in the bahamas (which is very wonderfulexciting!!!), heading to miami for new year's, then will be in DC & NYC in the beginning of january. if you are in either of those locales - mark your calendars! i'll be in DC from jan. 2 - 10, with a trip up to NYC the weekend of jan. 6 - 8. i'll have my ba's mobile, so you can reach me at 703.395.6495..... i would love to see you!

i'll be back with more adventures in the next doha round after the new year..... meanwhile, i hope that all is merry and bright and that this finds you and yours in splendid spirits.