Anne's blog travel 06-07

Tuesday December 19th 2006

Well I will be leaving tomorrow with the 15:10 flight with Qatar Airways to Dubai to meet my father. I'll spend three nights there and two days with him. I'll have a whole day there on my own on the 23rd until my night flight leaving at 10pm.
Sunday I get a call from Abdulqader. He's at the Hubly Bubly sheesha parlor and asks me to come and join him and I laugh. He lets me know he wants to catch up before I go and we plan to see each other today with Saad and Mohammed (Saad's brother). Saad and Mo have tried to organise to take me down to Sealine (not sure about the spelling) to the sand dunes to ride in a sand buggy. Last night Mo calls and tells me it's off because he can't get access to the four wheel drive needed or perhaps it's the buggy. I'm not sure. "You are not to disapointed?" he asks. I laugh and say no. I'm meeting him for coffee at Starbucks at City Centre at 1pm. He asks if I want to go and see Souq Watif or other things with Saad and Abdulqader as well. We'll talk about it over coffee.

Yesterday I also get a call from Saad. "I miss you Anne" he says and we have a good chat and I realise that just a month ago neither Saad nor Abdulqader could have had a conversation with me over the phone. Now we understand each other enough to do so.

I went to the MMC party/celebration last night. I showed up at 8pm but left at 8:30pm. A number of men in Thobes are saying thank you to the volunteers who haven't been invited. They thank the Emir without whom this never could have happened...which reminds me of the full page ads in the paper congratulating the Emir on a job well done. We all laugh at this as no one is openly thanking those who actually did the job. I guess it was somehow the Emir's money but still. Kisane, Gerry and Reg are there but Lorraine has made a point not to come. I thought I'd have a chance to say goodbye to some new friends but decide to leave as the atmosphere isn't condusive to this. I manage however to see Ahmed quickly and sit next to Zuo Li and Fang Mai both from Quang Zho, China the site the next Asian Games. They came here to help us out and gather experience for their job for the next games in four years time.

On the way back I stop at Qatar Airways in city Centre. It always amazes me that things are open so late. I end up going back to my room and coming back out to Qatar Airways to revalidate my ticket. It's about 9:30pm and the office is still open. It's very much a night culture here. People have naps in the day and come out again at night.

Tonight Lorraine and I are going to a celebration at Jewel's home. It should be interesting to see her place and a traditional celebration although Jewel (Jawara) has lived in Jordan for one year (studying pre med) and then studied for 8 years at Mac Masters University in Ontario Canada. She wears the Abaya but she has been very much exposed to the western culture and only wore the Abaya in Canada in the last two years she was there.

Bye for now