[[Hyperventilating]]

The offer is extended and accepted.
The story of how this happened is something to tell in private.

PHONE CALL

Still. No. Word.

Wait, lather, rinse, repeat.

Home Safely, to Wait, Wait, Wait

We arrived home last night at 7:45 PM, so very happy to see our people!

Now, today the "regular" routine has started again full force. Despite a good night's rest, my brain has no clue what time it is (1 PM in TX? 7 PM in UK? 10 PM in Q?) and, as a result, is uber-foggy.

We now begin the process of waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more, hoping that news of either an offer or a decline comes sometime in the next week or so.

This, in terms of John, is relatively straight forward (yes or no, plus details if it's a yes). For me, as a "spousal hire," this is more complex...not just a yes or no, but what to "do" with me (what sort of work)? I very much want to teach--the interaction with the students, the challenge of cross-cultural teaching, the side benefit of time flexibility, and the ability to "stay in my field" are all central--but with limited teaching options, things aren't necessarily that easy.

I'm throwing salt over my should with crossed fingers.

London Highlights

Our two days in London have been wonderful (and expensive, even on the cheap! good grief! :)), and we are packing up to leave from Heathrow tomorrow morning. Here are a few photos from our major activities.

A station on the Underground, aka "The Tube." Learning to use this system was actually easy. We bought an "Oyster Card," which is like a pre-paid card that you use to get through the entry/exit booths (rather than buying a paper ticket). You can refill the card at any station, and if you have money left over at the end of the trip, you can cash it out. No matter how many times you ride on any given day, there is a maximum charge you won't exceed. On the weekends, that max is 7.5 pounds. This gave us maximum flexibility and more than paid for itself each day. The stations were VERY crowded in towards town, like crazy crowded, but we still enjoyed it. Being able to go anywhere for as long or as short as you want is fun and liberating--if you miss a stop, you can just catch the train the other way. The cards also work on the double-decker buses, but we didn't use those.

London has a cool China Town area, near Picadilly Circus (the same area where all the "Broadway" type shows are located). We walked around here some Saturday night, and this is what it looked like on a closed-off street: lanterns hanging in preparation for next weekend's Chinese New Year celebrations, tons of restaurants, zillions of people, and a lot of fun (if you don't mind crowds). Several Chinese groceries are also here, and we worked our way through two of them. People were like sardines all through this area.

The London Tower (main fortress/castle/historic site) is where we spent most of Saturday. It is a complex of buildings surrounded by two walls and (now dry) a mote, bumping up against the river Thames. This is probably the must-see place for a London newbie. The architecture was most fascinating to me, and John took lots of photos of weapons for Jack. The Crown Jewels are on display, but no photos are allowed. We would really love to bring the kids back here.

Friday, our main adventure was the London Eye, a huge ferris wheel. You ride in large bubble-like cars attached to the wheel--maybe 25 people per car?--and the ride takes maybe 45 minutes? This is the view from the top, looking down at Big Ben. It was dusk, so everything was lighting up. We were surprised by how fast and rather turbulent the river is. Yes, this ride gave me some serious vertigo at times, but it was absolutely worth it.

Two tired loony toons on Picadilly. Adios London. (Notice John's shemagh...that's the one from the souq...he was rather a Dapper Dan in it with his wool blue blazer.)

Yippy kie yie yo yippie yo yippie yea, TEXAS HERE WE COME.

Situationally Induced Narcolepsy

We flew to London overnight, arriving yesterday morning at 6:15 AM London time (6 hours ahead of TX, 3 hours behind Doha). We figured out the whole London Underground thing, got to our hotel, took a 30 minute nap, and then went out into the crazy-in-a-different-way London world. I'll have stories and pictures about that later.

The interesting thing was that we were both so tired--combination jet lag, very little sleep on the flight, mental overload, and a long day of jolly adventures--that last night around 7 PM, we both developed a sudden onset of narcolepsy. Any place we would sit down outside of the cold (...70s in Doha...30s in London...good grief!), we would each suddenly fall asleep. In a shop, at a pub, on the tube (subway), sitting bolt upright, we would start to sway and fall asleep.

No communications last night because I'm not exactly sure how we--the two zombies from central Texas--even made it back home. I promise we'll share more pictures and stories soon, this evening if we can find a place to charge the laptop...

The Qatar Foundation has signs like this one posted in a number of places around Doha, but they are especially prominent on the campuses at Education City (where TAMU-Q is located). You can hear the QF encouraging or maybe even demanding this of the Qatar people, especially of the younger generations.

And, I added, "He won't respect you in the morning."

The souq police.
No, really. The sides of their saddles said "Souq Police."

So I've lost track of the days. We've been on three continents in the last week--home to Doha to London. I don't know what day it is, and I don't know what time it is. I'll do my best to get this right chronologically.

Wednesday we took our first tour of the market/bizarre/souq. I posted about that below. Then Thursday, John had final interviews, I got to tour the grocery/mall and met with some very special people, and we both had lunch with Molly and Clifton, a Texas couple living in Doha who are trendsetters in "how to be generally awesome" and "how to bring a little redneck to the land of the dunes."

That was all before 5 PM. Actually, John went back to the hotel around 3 PM Qatar time, and I took a fantastic walk on the Corniche (http://www.qatarliving.com/node/171817) with a dear, dear friend. This friend and I have known each other for a while professionally, but we have never had the time to just talk. She now has a daughter, and we took a long walk along the beautiful park built along Doha's Persian Gulf Bay. Lots of people of different nationalities were walking, too. It was gorgeous and peaceful, and it was the *perfect* way to end my interaction with the Qatar/Aggie folks.

I got back to the hotel at 5, and at 6, we decided that YES, WE WOULD STRIKE OUT IN QATAR WITHOUT CHAPERONES. All week, our sweet array of hosts showed us the best time, and for newbies in the Middle East, lots of "experienced companionship" is definitely required. But we wanted one last thing from Souq Waqif, so we got a driver through the hotel and headed over.

The thing we wanted is called a "shemagh," which is a scarf for a dude. Worn around the neck or on the head, you've seen them on guys before, only maybe not on a Scottish-Texan who wears cowboy boots, plays the pipes, and tawlks awl funnnneee. John had tried to buy it Wednesday when we visited, but we haggled the seller down and he put the wrong shemagh in our bag by mistake.

See the thing to do at the Souq is to haggle. Some have told us any amount off the marked price is good, while others have said that if you don't get at least 20% off, you aren't doing it right. You have to name your price with padding for negotiation built in. The tag says 20 Riyals (Qatar dollars), you say you'll give 15, the seller counters with 16, you say yes and walk off with a 20% discount. SUCCESS.

Except that John is totally not a haggler. So he gives me the money and either (1) just pays the asking price or (2) makes me do the haggling. Well, John had talked to some TAMU-Q folks, and he had gotten an introductory lesson on bargaining. After an hour of wandering (remember, the souq is a maze of little shops with narrow walkways and no signs), we FINALLY found the stall with the perfect shemagh that John had tried to buy before. Here's how the conversation went:

John: "How much for this one?"

Seller: "30 Riyales"

John to me: "How much should I give him?"

Me to John: "Well, how much do you think?"

We then had to sort through all the advice we'd received...and we settled on offering 20 Riyale but really being able to go up a little more, up to 26 QR. We had read AND heard that if you pay full price, the seller will think you're an idiot...and that even, after a hard-driven bargain, the seller acts mad, really he's not mad at you because you were successful.

But remember, John is not a haggler.

J to me; "Okay, 25 QR, but what if he doesn't accept?"

Me: "Then walk away. You have to be willing to walk away."

J, looking distressed at the thought: "I don't like to bargain. I'll just pay the 30 QR."

N: "You should try it anyway."

J: "But I hate bargaining."

N: "If you pay full price, you know he won't respect you in the morning."

John was very quiet for a moment, then he just took the money and started bargaining, got the price down ~25%. He told me later that the whole "won't respect you in the morning" line was the key. :)

Dateline 10:49 AM London Time on Friday, Feb 12th

We interrupt
this
blog
deallywhopper
for
a
day
of
CCTT trouble huntin'
in
JOLLY LONDON.




Services will be restored when
(1) we return to the room,
(2) we run out of money, or
(3) we sober up.

Arabic Saying for the Day, Translated to CCTT

En'shallah
=
Lord willin' and the creeks don't rise.

No relation to the translation above, this just made me laugh. At 7 AM. In a time zone far, far away.

Here's a Hint:When You're in a Souq, Don't Yell Real Loud in a Texan Accent about a Whole Roasted Pig on a Platter

A souq is a market or bizarre--if you have ever been to the Mercado in downtown San Antonio or in a border town, then you know what I mean. This building design dates back to the 1800's (but most of it has been refurbished--the architecture remains but the materials are improved or replaced).

The is Souq Waqif, the market by the water in Doha. It is a general souq, with all kinds of textiles, furnishings, antiques, coffee shops, smoking bars, cafes, and other stuff. Doha has a number of other souqs, too, but this was our first. And it ROCKS. I loved every minute of it, except perhaps the oldest, most conservative Muslim men who occasionally stared at me as if to scream, "YOU BRAZEN AMERICAN HUSSY WOMAN!" Now, in fairness, perhaps that is not what they were thinking as they glared...in fact, most of the did not glare, but a few went out of their way to glare at me (because my blonde hair was uncovered? I was dressed in long pants/sleeves, so that is my only guess). The glaring was by the occasional older man--all of the middle aged and younger people couldn't care less about my hair. The glaring was just a little odd.

I did make a borderline fool of myself (wouldn't you be disappointed if I didn't somehow stick my "heathens abroad" foot in my mouth?). Some of the souq cooking stores have HUGE stock pots and HUGE platters. I mean a pot that is three feet across and a platter that is four feet long. Upon seeing one of the huge platters, I exclaimed, "Good grief! What do they put on there, a whole roasted PIG?" (Lest you forget, Islamic folks don't eat pork...) I caught myself at the last minute and sort of went "PIIIahhhhhggggmmm." But John and Hoddie both ducked and ran.

Anyway, this B.A.H. is moving on...


The side of the souq--John and our guide (I'm not sure how to spell his name, but it sounded like "Hoddie"). This guy was awesome--really nice and knowledgeable and I think he argued on our behalf when I was playing the haggling game with a guy in a scarf stall.

This is the front of the souq--it is a warren of hallways and small stores/stalls, a maze of interesting stuff. I could have spent all day there! But we only had about an hour.

A store full of tea and coffee accessories. You can take pictures of the stuff but not of the people. You have to ask a man permission to take his photo, and you cannot photograph women or children (these are Islamic rules).

Ohhhh....this is the spice store, full of nuts, spices, candies, candied fruit, etc. It smells like HEAVEN, and you can sample anything you want. I could spend hours in here!

More spices and legumes (lots of lentils).

A major Qatari sport is falconry! At this souq are a 6-7 falconry shops that sell the birds and other supplies. A bird will cost from 300 to 6,000 dollars (most are likely on the higher end). A sport of the rich. :)

Another falconry shop. The birds are all wearing head covers.


This is the falcon hospital. I dare say it was nicer inside than many people-clinics, even in America...

This is just a sample of what we got to see today--the museum and souq, as well as the waterfront activities (Doha used to have an economy centered around pearl diving!)--we only got a tiny taste of each piece, and this was only scratching the surface.

Trent asked in a comment about crime. There is almost no crime. First off, it's a police state--they have their own rules applied their own ways. Second, Doha is 70-80% immigrants, and most of these people work in service jobs for small pay that they then send home. Although the pay is small, it is much greater than they can earn in their home countries. Any criminal activity, or even accusation of trouble by a citizen high up on in the pecking order, and you are deported. Third, people take these service jobs very seriously. They take pride in what they do--in doing it well, and faster, and with less expense, and in a way that is satisfactory to the client. They build up reputations and don't want to ruin them. As John's post below discusses, you have an incredible mix of cultures in a fast-paced city that is growing so rapidly that I can't even really describe all the huge buildings and construction. Probably the worst part is the driving/traffic.

Tomorrow John has more interviews and I go to the GROCERY and to the mall. Then we leave for London tomorrow night. More to come!

(We love your comments--they urge us on! Thank you :))

Some Randomness

We had the huge treat of going on a "city tour" today. Two very kind and lively Nepalese gentlemen--one driver and tour guide--drove us to several key sites. Rather than stay in the car for the five hours, we asked to spend some time in a couple of specific places. Here are a few random pictures the day.

The Qatar Museum of Islamic Art. This is an incredible place, from the architecture to the setting, to the contents. Although many of the artifacts were pages of the Koran (from as far back as the 8th century!), this is not a mosque or religious museum--it is about the cultural and artistic side of Islam.

See?!? We were really here! We're standing in front of the window (in the Museum) facing "New Doha" (the site of 1000 sky scrapers).

Here is New Doha from without the window or the goofy Texans.

Coke and Diet Coke ("Coke Light") cans. You can't see it, but the tops have PULL TABS!

Kentucky Fried Chicken. I kid you not.

American School of Doha

We had muchos adventuritos ahoy, so get ready for three posts full of pictures.

First stop was the American School of Doha (the Compass School, from yesterday, is a British/International type). The ASD has a typical American curriculum, which hits matha nd science progressively harder starting in about third grade. Seeing their charts of concepts for 5th grade showed me that Jack would be capable but clearly challenged by the work. The kids are serious and focused in the middle and high school--the learning is not as "student driven" as in the Compass School/British approach. This has an evident downside, but you really have to consider the personality of the kid. Some kids don't thrive in a high-pressure situation and instead get excited/motivated by discovery.

The ASD is funded by oil company sponsorships, so their campus was huge, in excellent condition, and looked more like a small university than a K-12 facility. The oil company kids get preference, so admission is tight.

Both of the schools take *incredible* trips each year. This year, the middle schoolers went to Oman for a "beyond the borders" week. They also had an optional Habitat for Humanity trip to Cambodia. These are not "vacation/tourist" trips--the kids do serious learning and experience "real life" in these countries. I think the Compass school takes even more trips (again, the looser, inquiry-based learning curriculum). Here are some pictures of ASD:
The pre-k and kindergarten are in one wing of the elementary building. They share a library, cafeteria, and common area with the elementary grades.

This is the library, which is too large to photograph in one picture. ASD has about 140 students per grade, divided into classes of no more than 20 (no more than 15 at the pre-k and k levels).

The outside play area is covered, for protection from the sun. Late spring and summer here get brutally hot--as high as 120 degrees and 80% humidity in July/August. The schools have sun and dust-storm regulations which sometimes prevent outdoor play.

But then again, when you have two huge basket ball courts (inside), a full-sized gym, an indoor workout room, and a full-sized modern POOL, being inside is okay...

This school is primo...makes me want to go back to high school myself. Well, maybe. Okay, not really. Well maybe if we get to go on the trips and have international food festival days...

Application for the Compass School is form. Application for the ASD is a form, letters of recommendation from teachers, immunization records, a physical, and a sample of belly button lint. That is just for application...to get on the waiting list...

All this school and housing touring has made it VERY DIFFICULT to get "too far ahead of ourselves." This may have all been an exercise in interviewing and adventure with no job offer...we are trying to recognize "big issues" but not get our hopes up too high...

It's all in what you bring to it

John here, and I ain't no Ernie Pyle, but I do gots me a story to tell.

We're meeting the dangdest folks. There's the 7 foot tall doorman from Nigeria at our hotel. He has a smile that would light up a christmas tree. Our driver, Warren, from the Philippines who would wait for kingdom come to make sure he was right where he said he would be when we got through jabberwocking with whoever we were visiting. The real estate man, Ahmed, from Morocco who showed us 3 villas all the while making commentary on the managements of each place so we could make informed decisions - and also gracefully answering our most insipid questions about shemaghs and prayer practices and national identities, and asking his own questions and saying even at 42 he wants to learn something new about the world every day.

The folks at A&M Qatar are each exceptional, too. It makes the prospect of coming over here to do a job that has never been tried before seem possible. The attitude is: No road map? No problem. A little patience and a little kindness and we'll figure it out.

And holy cow these people are piercingly intelligent.

The golden rule is alive and well, peeps.

Skype Makes Us Smile

Photos from Day Two

Here fishy fishy! This is the view of the Gulf from the road to the hotel. Gorgeous blue water, but I hear that it is not the best for swimming. Makes for a nice view, though.

One of the sports stadiums in Doha. The mix of highly modern and rather traditional architecture here is very interesting.

The private British School in Doha. This is just one of the buildings on one campus--it has a pool, a gym, and two other buildings at this campus. It is behind a 10 foot security wall with 24-hour guards. (Everything here is behind security walls...)

Inside the Compass (British) school, a group of "older early years" (ages 4-5). This is the sort of class Hannah might be in next year, equivalent of American pre-k. They are learning to read and write, and they have structured lessons which are very hands on (no worksheets).

This is a map from the "pre-k" class showing where the students originate. In this particular class, only one is American, but in other classes, 4-5 were American. You also have a huge range of other countries represented. The kids are wonderful and very accepting of new people.

A group of fifth graders--closer to what Jack might expect at this school. Classes are ~20 kids with one teacher and one full-time aid. They learn using the "International Primary Curriculum," which differs from American in one main way: the science/math/technology concepts are integrated. Rather than learning about geographical formations in one class, temperatures in another, and computer modeling in a third, they give the students a theme "problem" to explore (all of these may have to do with volcanoes, for example). I like this type of integrated learning and have seen its effectiveness in my own classes.

We went to three different private communities where ex-pats live. This is the third one, "Al Fardan Gardens II." It contains 140 "villas" plus a central exercise/swimming/lounge/etc. building. Many families of TAMU-Q colleagues live here. The kids roam the streets on their bicycles (24-hour security control the gates and don't let kids out). As soon as we entered the compound, three kids (ages 7-9) road their bikes down the street in front of us. They "wander" inside the compound much like John and I wandered around Ft. Worth and Austin/Round Rock as kids.
A living/dining room at one of the houses. They provide new furniture, drapes, sheets, towels, full kitchen supplies, TV, computer, internet and satellite, even basic food in the cabinets when you move in. This house has been sitting empty for two months and so is a little dusty/disheveled.
The kitchen in the sample house (granite counters, all new appliances). This house had a living/dining area, kitchen, laundry room, storage closets, entry hall, guest bath, and maid's quarters (!) downstairs. Upstairs was a separate living area, a master bedroom, three additional bedrooms, and three bathrooms. The whole house had 10-foot ceilings, marble floors, Oriental carpets, etc. The window coverings were out being laundered. It has a **small** backyard with storage area.

The pool at this Al Fardan compound. It is *huge*, like something at a major hotel. The associated club house has a full dining room, a formal room, a TV lounge, two billiards rooms, and a "cyber" room (computer or game room? It was locked). Next to the pool is a full gym with step and exercise classes offered weekly. All of this is included as part of the living situation.

We visited two other compounds. Both were equally nice but varied in size (much smaller pool and only 15 units in one) and location.

In addition to seeing the above, John had meetings and I got to see some far-away friends for the first time in many moons. Joseph (visited his class yesterday) took me to a fantastic Lebanese restaurant where I had stuffed grape leaves, fresh made pita bread, and wonderful hummus and fattoush (vegetable salad). We talked a LOT about our food obsessions! At dinner, which was in a hotel where liquor is allowed (liquor is generally illegal without very special licenses in Islamic states), John and I both ate Hammour, the locally harvested white fish. We also got the scoop on Tex-Mex in Qatar...one restaurant is acceptable but not great, but you can find the various ingredients for things like cheese enchiladas you can make at home.

Tomorrow, we visit the American School of Doha, meet with human resources at TAMU-Q, take a four-hour city tour, and attend a six-family party at a home in Al Fardan (the compound pictured above). The six families have a total of 12 kids ranging in age from 1 to 18, with most of the 10 and under. I am really excited about them--it's pretty cool that they would set aside time to do this for us.

As part of our city tour tomorrow, we are going to a souq (bizarre or market). That should be major adventure! I'll share as soon as I can.

John is already asleep...Time to bunk down and wait for our next Skype call from the kiddos.
Love to you each.

One USB webcam:
$30
Thank you, Mimi

One netbook computer:
$300
Thank you consulting money.

Two round trip, business-class tickets to Doha, Qatar:
$13,000
Thank you TAMU and Qatar Foundation

One Skype online video-calling account:
$0
Thank you Skype.

Using Skype to see your kids and Mom/Mom-in-law
across the world at 5 PM TX time & 2 AM Q time:
Priceless
Thank you to our dear, dear loved ones.

The scope of the joint

Handy dandy foreign correspondent John here. The scope of this joint is more more more than I was prepared for - the "joint" being the whole country of course. It's hard to describe it, which I guess is why we don't have a better idea about Qatar in America and what's happening here.

Here's a hint - the Qatari's have placed a bid for the 2022 (I think that's the right year) Olympics, and from the looks of things I wouldn't be surprised if they get them. The raw scale and number of facilities amaze me. There are stadiums and sports venues everywhere you look. That is if you can see past the dozens of brand new skyscrapers. And the architecture is GOOD. And the shear amount of commerce going on boggles me.

But it's what's underneath the shiny stuff that gets me the most. Yes, there is mucho dinero - as one mild skeptic put it yesterday "look what money can do." But it's more than money. It's vision. And discipline. Diversify the economy so when the gas is gone there is still relevancy. Put world sports on center stage so the world will come and see. Educate your people and the people around you so there is enlightenment.

Hell, if it were me I'd sit on all that money, drink good beer and eat cheetos until my arteries gave out. And don't get me wrong - it's pretty clear the Sheiks enjoy their fair share of the cheetos.

but Leadership here is "paying it forward" to create a metamorphosis of the the country into something meaningful. Something lasting. Yes, there are elements of it that aren't warm and fuzzy - huge numbers of immigrant workers for starters, and as you might imagine a big chunk of the Qatari population is skeptical of all the sudden change, and resistant. And let's don't forget we're in a religiously conservative Muslim autocracy. But ultimately this country is on the path to a better place, and that's pretty cool. Wish my peeps were all here to see it.

XOXOXO

Holy Sweet Mother of Toadstools, I am TIRED

We just came in from a 12 hour day of interviews, meals, and a guest lecture (we attended, did not deliver). The people here are amazingly nice, and the facilities are beautiful. John met with all the biggie wiggies, and I got a tour of things teacher-related. One of my favorite parts was observing a tech writing class taught by a colleague/friend. He is really great with teaching and technology, but what visiting his class taught me the most is that you cannot assume many things with these students. The students, 50% Qatari and 50% a mix of other (mostly Middle Eastern) cultures, are smart and willing to learn, but the way that K-12 works here isn't nearly as structured as in other parts of the (Western) world. For example, many of these students didn't learn to type before coming to college. So, Joseph was careful to walk them through basic information, carefully reading and helping students understand/think about the assignment steps (how long does it need to be? what are headings again?). These are "foundation skill" details that I would have taken for granted.

He then had the class break into two groups, each one summarizing a section from the textbook (a chapter on persuasive writing...the same book I used until this spring!). He let me ask questions, and I required them to apply the summaries to new contexts ("Tell me of an example in your own life where you see logical appeals at work"). They struggled a little with the summarizing, mainly I think because they were trying to "get the wording right" (English language vs. concepts), but when I asked these follow-up questions (and told them not to look back in the book), they did a good job. Joseph was introducing an assignment today that is integrated into a mechanical engineering class--that m.e. prof grades the technical aspects and Joseph guides/grades the writing. I was really glad to see that sort of cross-class assignment--if you can't do that sort of teaching/learning in a school (small/good faculty) like TAMU-Q, then where can you do it?

One of my friends/colleagues drove me to lunch in the hotel district (lots of construction). There was hardly any traffic, and before long he was driving down one way streets the *wrong* way to get to our destination (like downtown Austin, the street patterns were confusing). "Hey, um, I think this is one way," I said. "Well, it's paved and there's nothing in the way, so we're driving down it," was the reply. lol

Tonight was a special (fancy) lecture, delivered by a noted Stanford professor, something about modeling reservoir capacity. I made it to the third slide before I was 100% lost. The first slide was the title slide, the second had his credentials, and the third said "inflow-outflow=capacity." I was pretty impressed that I made it that far! Then he put up some equation with capital Greek sigmas and a bunch of crazy subscript letters and my brain went, "STOP! YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND WILL NOW GO TO SLEEP." At which point I started doing that horrible sleep-sitting up head bob thing.

John had good interviews. This looks encouraging, but of course, I imagine they just work hard to be encouraging to everyone...because they are good professionals. :)

Tomorrow we leave at 7 AM to tour the British school, the Qatari International school, and a hospital (brief drop in on the last, just to see). Then John goes back for more interviewing and I go to lunch with Joseph. At that lunch, I will deliver the 3.5 pounds of Reese's baking chips and 1.5 pound of York Peppermint Patties that I brought over here for him.

Tomorrow afternoon is then a housing tour and dinner with some fancy folks. I can't wait for the house tour and will take pictures. They call them "villas" here.

Here are a few photos of the TAMU-Q building. It was built by a famous Mexican architect and his son. The pink marble reminded us of the pink Texas granite.

These one word signs are all over the campus.

An indoor water feature. TAMU-Q Aggies respectfully admire it.
TAMU-CS Aggies would make it into a giant bubble bath.

Beautiful Arabic calligraphy carvings on the wall.

The research area is blue, which helps lost newbies like me find their way to the academic area, which is not blue.

I didn't have a good vantage point for the whole building, but this is the front.
Notice the super tall door--that is to let big knowledge in (like a palace door).
The front wall is sloped inward...this architecture and the colors reminded us a LOT of New Mexico.

PS: You are correct in deducing that I am not nearly as funny when jet lagged and deprived of free First Class bottomless vats o' champaign.

A Room with a View

Thank you, American pharmaceutical company, for Tylenol PM, which was enough to give me 7 hours soundly and profoundly sunken in the big feathery bed.

This morning, we are freshened up and ready for a day of adventures. We begin with a view from the hotel window.

One piece of the big view--these buildings make a panorama which reminds me (with huge irony) of Las Vegas, minus the buses with the huge "All Nude Review" signs. That, of course, is a nice improvement.

The itinerary today is very full--John with all the important people, and me with my even more important friends and colleagues. I get to visit a class. We will post tonight.

PS: To the kind people of the Qatar hotel media association...if you would like a more accurate view of American culture, then please consider adding something to the TV to represent American culture beyond MTV and E! Entertainment TV...

Here. And Tired.

We are safely in Doha, installed in the hotel. John is hanging up suits (no ironing board though we expected one), and we are getting ready to hit the hay. It's 10:50 PM here.

John momentarily pondered waking up at 2:30 to watch the Super Bowl. I don't really know what to say about that...

Thank you for your comments! We love our people--your laughing and cheering make this fun. :)

Overstuffed Football

Your friendly war correspondent John here. Nancy's covering the most impressive points beautifully, but I had to add one little thing.

We get to London and into the BA lounge, and sit down with a nice cup of Earl Grey and the Sunday London Times. When I get to the sports section it suddenly struck me what we are actually doing. That we are actually on this trip. Somebody pinch me. There is all appropriate talk of the american football Super Bowl - the crazy Brits are too polite to ignore it. But what do I find COVERING THE ENTIRE first page of the section?

RUGBY.

Yes rugby. That sport that the renegades like me played in college and no one around us understood. The sport that taught me to say BOLLOCKS with real conviction. This afternoon Scotland plays a match against France.

Wish we could take a train to Edinburgh to watch the match.

Business class lounge in London.
3:21 AM Texas time. 9:21 AM London time.
Groggy time.

What Led to the Episode of Hysterical Laughing

John took me to Scotland about 9 years ago and our one major splurge was a night at Stuart Castle outside of Inverness (http://www.castlestuart.com/) with a formal dinner, including a piper. The dinner was supposed to be for any interested guests, but because we were traveling in the off season (cheaper), no one else was there. So we had a huge formal dining room, fire in a large fireplace, a piper all for ourselves, and then a five-course dinner served on china, silver, and crystal. Midway through dinner I started crying because it was a huge "thing" and I'm not used to huge things like that...John takes good care of me, but this was just a little outside of my comfort zone. I'm used to throwing pizza and rootbeer on the table.

So that is the background--an inappropriate emotional response in Scotland--for my most recent inappropriate emotional response in the First Class section of a British Airways flight to London.

Only this time, it was hysterical laughter. That went on for a long time. Thank god for the engine noise...Russell, the dashing English cabin dude, only looked at me strangely once.

Five things I wish someone had told me about flying first class:

1. The cabin is HUGE.
I was picturing the "first class" from regular in-country flights, where the seats are leather and bigger and sit two-together on either side of the plane. No, this was transatlantic. We had a whole ROOM in the front of the 747 Freakin Jumbo Freakin Jet. There were 15 or 16 seats but only 8 passengers. We could have had a dance in the middle of the room. We were sitting right in the NOSE of the aircraft, with the pilots above us.

2. They brought us printed MENUS and a printed WINE LIST.
And we could have as much of anything we wanted whenever we wanted it. And they would just keep refilling those (real glass) wine glasses...Thankfully, I didn't overindulge in that. John kept his copies.

3. They served us dinner and breakfast on WHITE LINEN TABLE CLOTHES. A large tray tabled popped out of a seat set up, and they covered it with a cloth (plus the cloth napkin, silverware, china, and little mini glass/silver salt and pepper grinders). And this morning when my tea literally all sloshed out of my cup during 5 minutes of turbulence? They just laughed and cleaned it up.

4. They gave us PAJAMAS and SLIPPERS. Like to wear and then take home.
Hello? Pajamas?!? This was in addition to the pint-size leather dop kit full of wonderful facial things and lip balm and socks and other stuff.

5. After dinner, they came and not only turned the seats into beds but then MADE UP THE BEDS for us.

Yes, James told me about the free-flowing spirits and plentiful food. But that was not enough to prepare me for the absolute spoiling that ensued. I was speechless. I was overwhelmed. I was hysterical, laughing in joy and disbelief. I was Country Come to Town.

The Secret Life of the Rich & Famous...in the First Class Lounge

So the travel world is divided into coach, business class, and first class. Sitting in the first-class lounge for British Airways at the Houston Intercontinental Airport, here are comfortable chairs, unlimited "snack size" packages of food (cheese, crackers, cookies, pretzels, fruit, etc.), and unlimited offerings of the booze. It is also being taken over by dashing British folk, who are buzzing about and tawlkin awful funny.

First I ate as many of their olives as I could, in good conscience eat without looking a little odd, standing over there by the martini poo-poo platter without a glass. Then I drank some water and a Diet Coke. Because in doing so, I could reassure my parents (hello out there!) that I didn't just come here and act like a fool... NOW I have moved on to a loverly flute filled with Piper-Heidsieck--a fancy bubbling stuff which tastes a helluva lot better than the Asti Spumanti I bought for $10 from the Hearne Brookshire Brothers on New Year's Eve.

Yea for the web cam on my low-end netbook, which worked then didn't work and now is working again. this means that I can provide photo evidence of CCTT: Country Come to Town. John is doing his best to act dignified as I, in my blissful boredom, play with the web cam and take pictures like these...

See? It's not only me.

Ohhh...goodies, goodies, goodies...

Holding one's webcam in one's lap does not for nice chin pictures make.

BUBBLES ON THE CEILING!