Post #12- Marysia's Post

Post #10 - Kyle's Post

Post # 9 - Elias's Post

Katara and the Museum of Islamic Art

On Thursday morning of our study tour, we all met up at the school to take a trip to a coastline shopping center called Katara, and to a new and large museum displaying various forms of Islamic Art from many different regions.

The name Katara is an ancient name derived from the word Catara that was used on maps and publications to name to peninsula of Qatar. Katara is currently a work of art in process. Katara was born out of a long held vision to put Qatar as a cultural beacon radiating in the Middle East through theatre, music, visual art, conventions, and exhibitions. An example of visual art includes the dove housing in the middle of the cultural village.

The stone structure is visually appealing. It has many designs such as straight and meandering lines. Doves can be seen sitting of the posts jutting out from the sides. This structure stands true to traditional Islamic art which generally include round structures and symmetrical designs.

From Katara, we drove straight to the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). The Museum of Islamic art is relatively new, opening in 2008. The MIA represents the full scope of Islamic art across three continents over several centuries. Its collection includes metal work, ceramics, jewellery, textiles, and glass. Interestingly, the museum was not limited to Middle Eastern art and culture. It included artifacts and manuscripts from areas such as Europe, all of Africa, Central, and South Asia. It encompassed Islam as a whole.

It was very difficult to choose a picture to post for this part of the blog because every picture I had was rich with history and culture. Therefore I chose two pictures to post.

This first picture is an artificial warrior riding on an armored horse. This piece of art likely represented the Crusade period where Islam and Christianity clashed for the first time. The armor and weaponry displayed is concurrent with that time period.

The second picture I chose is of old clocks and calendars known as “Astrolabes”. An “astrolabe” is an astronomical computer relating to time and the position of the Sun and stars. “Astrolabes” are used to show how the sky looks at a specific place at a given time. This should not be mistaken for the traditional Islamic calendar which used the position of the moon as its base for telling time or date.

Post #8 - Gabriela's Post

I don't know how to start this without crying. The thought of leaving Qatar makes me extremely  upset. Not only did I gain weight, I gained a new family. I will never be able to forget the memories I have made here. That's what my family and I have been doing all day. We've reminded ourselves of how we felt the first night. We talked about me coming back. They have taken me in with open arms. While we reminisce on the past, we created new memories too. My family and I went to Nando's restaurant because they know I've never been.
I will definitely miss waking up to see the Qatar view.

This view gets more and more beautiful everyday. And when I woke up on day 10, I stared  at it for a very long time. This view calmed me down, got me energized, and reminded me how lucky I am to be on a CGS study tour.

I will miss the view, and my friends and all the places we visited. I will miss my host family the most though. I will miss playing with my younger host sister and making stories with her silly bands.  I will miss talking to my oldest host sister about her experiences in uni and with music. I will miss talking to Viven (the host sister that is my age) about everything. We may look nothing alike. We may have different lives, but not do we have so much in common. I'll miss our lame jokes that only we laugh at. I will miss  my host parents telling me I haven't eaten enough even after I ate 3 shawarma.  

The life in Qatar is amazing. There is nothing like it. It is fancy, and a whole new world for me, but the people are even better. The diversity that is in Qatar is amazing. My host family, who are half-German, half-Lebanese showed me many new worlds. I was learning about Qatari, German and Lebanese culture.

The only thing I would change on this trip is that I would make it longer. Honestly, if it were up to me I would never leave. I am in awe of the amount of knowledge I have received and honored of the unique experience CGS/MIS has given us.

 
These 10 days have been very eventful. I went bowling for the first time, had Indian food for the first time, bargained with a shop owner  (and won!) for the first time, got to see how Arabic looked on signs, and learned about new opportunities there are to study abroad. Thank you to all who have made this possible for my classmates and I. We can not thank you enough.

Post #7 - Julien's Post

One the first day I arrived at Qatar and at my host’s house, I visited the Villaggio Mall with Yaman and Medhat (host brothers). When I arrived there, I took notice of its beauty and it’s impressive architecture. There was an indoor replica of river along with paintings of stars and the sky on the ceiling. I also took notice of the chlorine smell along with the magnitude of the mall. However, what I find interesting was the diversity represented at the Mall. I saw a mix of people wearing regular clothes, clothes that teenagers like I would wear, and Traditional Qatari attire like full Hijabs or Gutras. I found this interesting because I did not know what clothing was worn in a Middle Eastern country. As I walked around, I noticed that there were many American stores and outlets there, which surprised me a bit because I hadn’t been aware that Qatari’s were very accustomed to American culture. This was also evident given that almost everyone spoke English and was aware of the current situations America along with our music.  However, the mall in Qatar was different than regular malls in America because there were more accessories in the Villaggio mall. In fact, there may have been more there than in SONO Connecticut. There was a bowling arena, ice-skating rink, roller coaster, Imax, carousel, go-carting arena, etc. We eventually made our way to the arena park area. There, I saw a mini roller coaster then went around the area, a bigger colorful carousel in the middle, a large light blue waterslide in the corner, and a trampoline jump. This was exciting for me because not only had I never seen an amusement park in a mall, but also I had never seen an indoor amusement park. While this seems surprising to me, the Qatari students who were hosting us didn’t share the same enthusiasm or amazement given that they had been there many times.  We then went outside to a beautiful park where we saw a small lake, the torch tower, and where the construction of the FIFA world cup would be. Despite the cold and rainy weather, the park had beautiful scenery.

Post #6 - Nadirah's Post

 Yesterday we were able to get in touch with nature. In the morning, we visited Qatar Foundation's which was home to Al Shaqab, a complex that nurtured and trained horses in preparation for races.

    Al Shaqab is made up of stables, training areas, as well as an enormous stadium for everyone to view the races. We were able to get an exclusive view of the behind the scenes of how and where they trained. We even met some of the horses! As we were touring our tour guide (humbly) listed the awards the horses have won. The horses that we met hold countless national, regional, and international titles.

    Later in the day, all of the students visited the Sealine Beach which is roughly an hour away from the main city. We arrived at the beach around four o'clock in the afternoon and decided to have dinner on the shore. We laid a couple blankets down, purchased some food from an Arab restaurant nearby, and ate until we all got tired.

    After about an hour or two of multiple conversations and lots of laughs, we decided to take a walk along the water. I know it sounds like a movie, but that's exactly how it felt. We walked down a couple miles and stopped to photograph the beautiful sunset that was ahead of us. On our walk back we met a man who began sharing his appreciation for Qatar’s beautiful views when he saw us taking the pictures. He seemed just as amazed as we were, which made me realize one thing about the Qatari people.

    Since I've touched down in Qatar I recognized that the Qatari people are truly proud to be where they are from. They treat their country with pride, from the Royal Family all the way down to the grains of sand. During the tour at the horse stadium they treated their horses as people, and were not sorry to share their accomplishments. The man at the beach was clearly proud to experience the nature that Qatar holds. I believe believing in your country is important, and appreciating all of the good that it gives is important as well; and that is one beautiful quality that most Qataris possess.

Post #5 - Anna's Post

Hello! My name is Anna Zerbinati, and I am currently half way across the world expanding my horizons. This year I decided to take on another language which happened to be Arabic. Having taken two years and a half of Chinese and then taking Arabic really showed me the distinct features and unique styles of the language. Although I am still an Arabic 1 student, I didn't let that stop me from experiencing a once in a lifetime trip to Qatar. I wasn't fully sure I was prepared but decided to take the risk and couldn't be more grateful I did.  I am loving it here in Qatar! The weather is great, the people are so kind, and most of all everything is so beautiful. Every building, every store, every highway is designed so that when you look at it you see more than just stones and bricks. You see the intricate designs and patterns that show a lot about the Qatari culture. Different from New York City where the skyline is filled with buildings with the same rectangular prism shape.  In a tour through the city you are put face to face with buildings that are zig zag or slanted, or even cylindrical. And to top it off every building is faced with abstract designs that in the night time glisten with colorful lights. 

Upon arrival, the first thing that came to mind was Florida. It smells very much like the beach here because of the desert sand. Living in the desert is extremely different compared to back home. For example yesterday it rained a ton and the front of my hosts’ house became an ocean. Because it rains so little here the streets are not prepared for large storms, therefor the roads have no sewers.  Instead the government sends big trucks to go to each street and pump out the large masses of water. 

Of course the food here is delicious! Everything is so fresh, products don't last for years, and there's a variety of restaurants from all around the world. On our second night here the hosts planned a welcome dinner at a Syrian restaurant. The food was really good and it wouldn't stop coming! I've noticed that hospitality here is shown with lots and lots and lots of food.  And at the end of every meal you are offered dessert and tea. 

Today we took a trip to the Sheikh Faisal Museum to learn more about old Qatari traditions and how lifestyles has evolved over the years. This is a private museum that displays different artifacts from  a variety of cultures such as the Qatari, Moroccan, Palestinian, Christian and even Jewish culture. Along with that there are many war items such as guns and swords that were used in ancient wars. Sheikh Faisal also has collection of antique cars in his museum and a cage with four cheetahs.  All items on display were collected by Sheikh himself as he traveled the world in search for his pieces. What I thought was very unique about the museum is how there are rooms you can walk into and they are a replica of rooms back in the day. For example there was a section that displayed what old Christian prayer rooms looked like. They had a golden bible and even a confession booth. All in all I have never seen a musuem like this before and enjoyed the unique once in a lifetime experience. 

The trip has been amazing so far and I couldn't be more grateful for our hosts, chaperones, and Center for Global Studies for giving me an experience I could not have gotten anywhere else. I hope all is well back in the U.S! See you guys soon!! 

Thank you !

With lots of love, 

Anna Zerbinati 

Post #3 - Calen's Post

 

The experience in Qatar so far has been exciting and insightful. Tons of surprises and breathtaking scenes make you realize how much of the world you're missing out on & how stereotypes cannot be taken as fact for many places in the world. In our first Saturday here in Qatar, we woke up at 12 pm (I know right). All that rest had me in a good mood for the oncoming adventure. Today, my host mother cooked a delicious breakfast. We had omelets, pancakes, and bacon with a tall glass of orange juice. As I am told, most Arab mothers want you to eat until you can't anymore. They always want to make sure you are good and don't go hungry in your trip. It's a quality that I am used to because my mother at home does the same thing. My host, Yaseen, let me know after breakfast that we'd be joining our peers (Sherifa, Willow, Medhat, Julien, Nikki, and Lina) at two of Qatar's most famous sites and hang-out areas. Around 4:00, we all took a half hour cab ride to Katara and enjoyed a mixture of Arab & American music. Surprisingly, they knew a lot of tunes that are common to us in the states. By the time we got there, everyone had gotten to know each other and we knew we'd have a visit to remember. 

The first site we visited was the Katara Cultural Village. In the image, you will see the waterfall with lights & in the distance you'll notice the beautiful buildings & Qatari Architecture. The sightseeing here is outstanding. You know it's really nice when people who have been coming here for years are still in awe of the images. Afterwards, we got to taste one of Qatar's most famous teas called Karak or (كرك) and even one of their best foods called Koshary. 

After hanging out for a couple hours there, we visited The Pearl. There are some amazing sights in The Pearl. Qatari natives come to the Pearl in their fancy vehicles, dressed culturally and eat at nice upscale restaurants and just enjoy their time there. Everyone seems so happy and at peace that it almost makes you want to stay here. All in all, the trip has been extremely helpful as far as answering any questions we'd have as Americans. But, sadly we only have a couple days left and we'll make the most out of it and enjoy the cultural immersion here in Qatar. I would definitely recommend this trip to more people. 

Post #4- Willow's Post

Today we went to Middle East International School, where our hosts go. It was definitely not how I expected it. I figured that since the city is so nice, the school would be big. One thing I really liked about the school is how colorful it was on the outside. The layout is really nice. However, the school holds students from kindergarten to senior year of high school. With the amount of students and the size of the school, it was pretty crammed on the inside, especially upstairs where most of the classrooms are. Classes felt very short since they don’t have block scheduling like we do. They were about 45 minutes each. I went to Pre Calc, Chemistry, Arabic, Art, and Psychology with my host. The other two periods we had a study hall to work on assignments from home. Arabic class was taught in Arabic completely so it was fun to try to follow along with what the teacher was saying. Another thing that was interesting is that instead of having a lunch period, they have recess, which is an hour long. During this period, they are allowed to go wherever they want, so we ate, then played a game of basketball in the gym. The day felt very short, probably due to the short classes.

After school, her driver brought us home and we slept until 7 pm. It was really cool to see school in another culture. Living with a host family has been a great experience so far. They have been very nice and I feel at home when I am with them. Her mom cooks lots of delicious Arabic food every day, which I enjoy, such as Molokhiyya, which is a special herb only grown in the Middle East, and Koshary, a rice and pasta dish with spiced tomato sauce. 

My host is very close with a few of the other hosts, so we go out together. Two nights ago we went to Katara and the Pearl, which has lots of shops and restaurants. Night life in Doha is very buzzing and flashy. Everything is always lit up, even the skyscrapers are a colorful sight. It’s almost like a mini version of New York City.

I can’t wait to see what every day and night holds for me.

Photos to come... 

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!!)

 

Post #1- Ms. Fortuna's Entry

Hi All,

I will write the first entry since the kids have been very busy getting to know their host siblings, and since it has been the weekend, so most haven't had access to the computer. We have just arrived at school, and our students are attending classes this morning, and then they will return to this classroom, our weekly command central, to have a study hall.  This is a cheerful school with bright colors and big windows and a lot of children's art on the walls.  The school has grades pre- through high, so there are many adorable children to see everywhere.  I look forward to sitting in on a class, and to hearing how our CGS students enjoy this morning's lessons.

So far, all is great.  Everyone is happy.  The host siblings are a warm, enthusiastic bunch- one of the friendliest bunches I have seen in exchange students that we've had.  The matches also seem to be well-picked, and the pairs are hanging out comfortably.  Shaniya's host sister came up to me at the Souk (outdoor market) last night and said, "I love Shaniya so much!"

Since it has been the weekend, the kids have been to the mall, at family barbeques, out to dinner at the souk, and having all kinds of fun.

They have just arrived in study hall after attending three 45-minute classes, which they reported were easy.  But, they are all tired having stayed up late and woken up early, so they are groaning about getting out their own schoolwork.

On Friday night, each of their host siblings treated them to dinner at "Damascus" a fantastic Syrian restaurant.  We had a sort of Middle Eastern tapas with many delicious, fresh dishes such as hummus, taboule, baba ganoush, salads of different types, a perfumed quinoa with tomato sauces, garlic potatoes, yogurt, beef, etc.  During the dinner, we heard live music and there was a marvelous dancer, one who performed as a "whirling dervish" with seven minutes of twirling in different skirts.  It was something to see!   Some of the kids tried twirling after him and lasted just about ten seconds each.  Many of the diners also smoked brightly colored houkas all around us.  The garb is a big mix, many western clothes, and many varieties of Middle Eastern dress for men and women. There are many types of fashion for the students to observe.  Some of the kids tried twirling after him and lasted just about ten seconds each.

The weather has been unexpected:  rain one day, wind the next, and today is sunny but chilly.

Doha is pretty.  The part we are in is low and all of the buildings are painted a sandy color.  The arched shape of the windows and the scrolly garden gates are what you might picture when you think of the Arab world, and where people have planted trees, they are gorgeous palms.  Also, there are quite a few stray cats, but no dogs anywhere.

Ok, that's all for now.  I will see who needs help with homework, and pass my computer along to the next blog writer.  Don't worry excessively about your children; they are safe, well-fed, and happy.

 Ma salaama!

Happy Landings!

Ms. Fortuna reports everyone landed safely and soundly.  One photo from the airport shows everyone smiling and excited--not even looking too tired!

Stay tuned to hear from our students!