Post #2 - Shaniya's Post

The day I found out I was going to Qatar I knew it would be full of adventure and fun. I've only been here for 3 days and I'm extremely satisfied; I do NOT want to leave. The kids are just like us and they love the same things we do. I knew that there would be some similarities but not as much as I experienced from them. I met this amazing girl Ameera who happens to be hosting an annoying girl like myself. She is everything that a good host should be. She is responsible and she has great hospitality. Although her mom is away in Lebanon she made me feel welcome my first night that I was there. She made sure that I was comfortable even though she was under a lot of stress. Her flight was the next day and her sister was sick so she was pretty much all overwhelmed. Honestly, Ameera is basically the Arab version of me. We joke around the same way, we LOVE to sleep, we like basketball, and we procrastinate way to much. I really like her and her friends, they are so much fun.

So, today is Saturday and we were exhausted from the night before. Jet lag was killing me and staying out late in the streets of Souq Waqif was as well. We didn't fall asleep until about 2 a.m. The alarm went off at 11:30 a.m. Ameera and I got up, looked at each other, then went right back to bed. We didn't get up until 1 p.m and we were supposed to meet up with friends at 2. We were no where near ready. We got dressed, skipped breakfast and we were out the door. Her father picked us up and we went over to Tahany's house where Mariam, Dana, Marysia, and Sarah were waiting on us. We were all going to the 1 month old "Mall of Qatar". All of us piled up into the small van and we were on our way. Tahany had a driver (so cool) and he didn't care what we did. The music blasted through the speakers while we sang together, being teenage girls. It was about a 30 minute ride in a cramped and loud van, but we finally made it. To start off, the outside of the mall was bigger than any mall I've ever seen in America. There were big fountains and lights on the outside with cool plants and expensive cars parked out front. I walked into this modernized and luxurious building that was just breathtaking. There were plants running up the wall, big glass chandeliers, and a really big (fake) elephant in the middle of the food court. This food court had a FOREST right smack in the middle. There was a rainfall and plants, trees, and a few big t.v.'s that played Arabic music videos in the middle of the court. This food court had all different varieties of restaurants you could name. Since we came from America we all chose to eat Arabic food since we were in Qatar. The food was amazing as I already expected. Although we beg them to let us pay, they won't let us. But we soon trick them.(Ill get to that later.)

We walked around and enjoyed all the scenery of the beautiful mall and its stores. I've never seen so many stores in one place in my life. After hours of walking we went to get dessert. We all order some tasty chocolate treats, ( I swear I have diabetes) and enjoyed every last moment in that shop. We talked, laughed and "Snap Chatted" everything.(You know young people things.) Our CGS gang huddled up and came up with a plan to pay. Ana decided to "go to the bathroom" and she payed for all of us then we (the CGS GANG) payed her back. When they went up to pay they wouldn't stop smiling because they knew that we had went behind their backs to pay and I honestly thought it was so cute. This day was really cool even though I was dying from exhaustion. After millions of pictures and another noisy car ride we went back to Souq Waqif, where we walked around and enjoyed the shops and scenery. Later that night Ameera, Tahany, and Sarah went to a BBQ at Ameera's cousin's house. We played an Arabic version of "Sorry" and stayed up late talking and laughing. I only got 1 hour of sleep but it was worth it. I wouldn't waste time in a country like this because I'm tired. (That's stupid!!)