oh what a life....

yes, the subject should be sung to the tune of "oh what a night".... and wednesday night was quite a night, as was thursday actually, but i owe an update on more than that i realize - having popped into paris for some enchanted evenings, endured the end of ramadan, spent a week in intoxicating istanbul, made friends with the founders of al-jazeera children's channel, had a special opps guy move in next door, and seen a grand entrance for the emir & the sheikha all since my last email..... with all that going on, i thought "oh what a life" would better suit.....

and what a life it is.....

ramadan is history - much to everyone's relief. especially the "tea-boys" at offices and the snack bar staff at the university, who had to spend the month reporting to work every day but forbidden to brew any tea, pour any coffee or even stock the shelves with chicken sandwiches, falafel and kitkats (the QU mens campus small cafe cuisine).... instead they just had to sit looking forlornly at the empty chairs and empty tables, where the students could eat no more..... a american friend who works at the qatari foreign ministry who was doing the whole keep-the-waterbottle-and-hide-sips-behind-the-desk trick told me that one day she ran out of water & asked the tea-boy to refill her bottle and he brought it back to her wrapped in newspaper, eyes darting furtively about, obviously pained. she didn't ask him again after that. i did manage a weekend in paris mid-ramadan which was blissful - autumn leaves, rain, wine, cheese, walking everywhere.

there was a national holiday for eid, at the end of ramadan, and i went to istanbul for a week with a friend.... it was just wonderful. istanbul is really an amazing and intoxicating city.... just full of intrigue & history & beauty & quirks & character. we had a great time. (though it made me realize how much i have become accustomed to the desert climate! ... the weather is beautiful now - a great time for a visit if anyone is so inclined) i returned from istanbul recharged and ready to dive back into life in doha....

i gave two talks this week. the first was about the experience of international students on a panel at a US embassy event on studying at American universities. the whole event was in arabic, so it was quite a challenge, but fun. the second was at a local international school - doha college - and was a presentation for 17-19 year olds - basically about life / the fulbright / making the most of their experiences.... i structured my talk around the idea that i was where they were - graduating from an international school - ten years ago.... it was actually a lot of fun - the kids were great and their teacher has told me since that they got a lot out of it.... i was swarmed with questions at the end about college and law and all sorts of things. though the first question i got when i finished my little speech was quite interesting - a young abeya-clad lass informed me that she did not wish to ask a question, but wanted to correct me - i had made a mistake and said "israel" when i should have said "israeli-occupied palestine" .... i responded by telling her that, no, i had not made a mistake, reminding her that israel is a nation recognized by the international community with a seat in the united nations, and while i intended no disrespect to the palestinians and their plight, i made no mistake by referring to the state of israel. i also said i wasn't there to have a discussion of israeli-palestinian politics, but we could do so if necessary.... i of course should have anticipated that, but didn't.... i think it was all the more remarkable for me after rabin's memorial service the day before... the afternoon prior while walking on the treadmill as i flipped through news channels (i find going from al-jazeera / al-arabia to BBC / CNN is always interesting).... on BBC, i was able to watch president clinton's eloquent and moving eulogy for yitzhak rabin - broadcast live from the memorial service. the memorial / the anniversary of rabin's death was not even mentioned in the arab news. it was especially striking as i still remember rabin's funeral - and how tremendous and overwhelming it was that arab leaders travelled to jerusalem to pay their respects. at the memorial service there were no arabs present. and his death was not remembered in the arab world.... and here i was talking about how i was where they were ten years ago, and this girl's question after seeing the memorial service (and not seeing it anywhere in the arab press) reminded me of where the world was ten years ago..... and so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past....


on a more uplifting note, on wednesday i was privileged to be able to attend the "reach out to asia" inaugural charity gala dinner. qatar has started a campaign to raise money for asia. it was initially established to aid the tsunami victims, but will now go to earthquake victims and include a variety of forms of aid programs. the gala dinner will be held every year for ten years, and the intention of the program is to provide long-term comprehensive aid for recovery from the recent disasters and infrastructure building for the future. the event was quite an affair - hosted by the emir, the sheikha and the heir apparent, everyone who is everyone in the region was there (or so i was told), as well as number of other VIP guests and celebrities. held at the ritz-carlton, it was all glam and snaziness - a lavish (dry) dinner (nothing like lobster and lamb with pineapple juice), a charity auction, entertainment, and people-spotting. i'm not quite up to speed on who's who of the gulf, but a friend would point out people to me, always in tones of hushed reverence and awe: so-and-so owns the largest shopping mall in kuwait, mr. so-and-so brought toys'r'us to the region, that's richard branston, etc. the whole evening was quite a scene, an obviously for a good cause, but there are two experiences i just have to share -

first, the charity auction. it was conducted by a fellow from sotheby's and in the candle-lit hall, glow sticks were used as bidding-wands, which was quite an interesting effect. The items being auctioned were all outrageously lavish - a cartier pearl-and-diamond necklace & earring set, VIP tickets to the world cup finals, private race-car lessons, an exclusive apartment in 'the pearl' - "the arabian riveria' being developed here in qatar, hermes luggage, a guitar signed by all sorts of famous musicians, etc. Most bidding began at around US$200,000.... then would just climb & climb... it was almost surreal to hear the sums of money being called out. what was even more surreal was the showmanship involved, as gulf businessmen out-did each other again and again. the show really began when the gentleman who had purchased the apartment for US$900,000 donated it back to the auction to be auctioned again. he then bought it again for $900,000.... and donated it back again. this happened four times! and not to be outdone, the gentleman who had purchased the cartier jewelery for US$1 million donated it back to the auction & purchased it again (for $1,100,000).... and so you get the idea. the auction had even been structured to include a time at the end where people could just raise their glow-sticks and call out their donations, but clearly these boys couldn't wait until the end.... it was just unreal. the auction raised US$10.5 million that night. the sothoeby's fellow said that was 10 million more than he'd ever seen raised at a charity auction..... allhamdulila - thanks to allah.

second, the closing act of the night - bryan adams (yes, he's still around & still singing, but doing a lot of charity work too.. who knew?)... prior to his performance a young iraqi boy was playing a traditional instrument the name of which escapes me at the moment (much nicer than the erhu anyway for you china peeps). bryan called him back on stage to improvise with him while he played.... it was really surprisingly neat. he stayed and played throughout his performance. of course there was a request for everyone's favorite bryan adams tune - "everything i do" (think middle school summer nights when the movie "robin hood" came out and twelve-year old girls were requesting this song on radio stations across the world and swooning with their teddy-bears).... so it began, and the room got teary, and the iraqi boy played, and the glow-sticks left over from the charity auction were raised and waived back & forth, and the owner of the largest mall in kuwait looked affectionately at one of his wives, and the white-gloved filipino staff women standing in the corners grasped hands or intertwined arms and swayed, singing along - "i would fight for you, i would lie for you" - all the way to the rousing end. and there was unity and goodwill and peace on earth for a moment. it was quite a scene.

the following night i again found myself at the same affair as the emir & the sheikha as i went to an event launching ASPIRE - the academy for sports excellence - an absolutely amazing project - it's a sports academy / boarding school, absolutely state-of-the art & in fact including the world's largest indoor sports dome designed to train the athletes of tomorrow. the ASPIRE students are not just from qatar & the gulf region, but all over the world, with the government providing scholarships for those otherwise unable to attend.... this is the first year, with only 132 students, but the goal is 1,000 students by 2010 and they have already recruited a number of top instructors / coaches in various sports. it is truly an incredible place, and an incredible idea..... it is also just wonderful to see this nation invest in its youth, with projects like this and "education city" (where the US universities with campuses here are located and a number of other projects are based)... the opening was of course grand - involving a private show developed with cirque du soleil and appearances by all sorts of sports superstars, including mark spitz, nadia comenci (who has had an amazing boob job - more than compensating for the fact that she was never allowed to hit puberty on her own), ed moses, pele & maradona just to name a few..... it was amazing. though of course, even though ASPIRE is meant to be for both girls & boys, the girls were not at all featured in or mentioned during the program, which was really well done & centered around the students, and only got a cameo appearance at the end - veiled of course even though i doubt any of them are old enough to really be required to do so.... and so we beat on....

otherwise, it's chopping wood & carrying water. i realize how much i am still learning here. even simple things like trying to understand the complexity of greetings and their meanings - among the basic greetings you see among men (greeting other men of course) there is: bumping noses three times, grasping hands / shoulders and standing cheek-to-cheek as greetings are mumbled & allah praised, three cheek-to-cheek air-kisses, grasping your companion's head & bringing his forehead to your own, a handshake, a man-hug, and a few others or variations / combinations of the above. apparently different greetings have to do with the nature of the relationship, status, and even tribe / family.... luckily i don't have to worry about that much, but it's very interesting to observe....

and speaking of interesting, i fear i may be rambling on so will spare you.... inshallah this finds you all very well.

three nose bumps,
mattie