Unexpected Trip to Doha

 

It was 8:15 Monday morning and Jason McBride, the Assistant Head of School, was walking down the hall way towards me.  Nothing unusual to see him walking around.  Then he stopped in front of me and said, "Something has come up; can I talk with you for a minute in the classroom."

 

Automatically I start thinking, "No, I don't want to talk to you privately in my classroom; crap what have I done now; which parent did I piss off; what did I say or do that got me in trouble."

 

I think that administrators should prefaces their conversations with underlinings by stating this is a good conversation or a not so good conversation, and why is it I am so quick to assume that I've done something wrong (past experience perhaps).

 

As our conversation continued it turned out that the female chaperone for MUN (Model United Nations) became sick and was unable to attend the conference in Doha, and would I be able to drop everything and go at the last minute.

 

Absolutely!!!  I chance to see Doha, spend the week with great kids, and find out about MUN.  Another opportunity to grab.

 

I was able to get some lesson plans together.  The timing was good.  I had just finished my 6th grade unit so they could read stories; my 7th graders were working on their myths & legends summative and could spend the class time working on those; and my 8th graders were just starting Red Scarf  Girl it would all work out fine.

 

I raced home after coverage was found for my classes, and threw some clothes in a suitcase and got driven to the airport.  I purchased a ticket on Emirates to Doha.  I missed the 2 o'clock flight which the kids and Robb, the male chaperone, were flying out; I would fly out a couple of hours later. Flying out later was not a bad thing  I was able to get a latte, ear lunch, and get my "E" gate ticket which is a wonderful item to have when you are flying in and out of Dubai. The only thing I wish I knew in retrospect was how long we would be gone for - I wasn't sure if I packed enough clothes.

 

I arrived in Doha and caught a taxi to the hotel.  Taxi drivers in Doha aren't so different from Dubai, my taxi driver had to call the hotel to get directions, really! (I love London taxi drivers.  I am a firm believer that every city should institute a similar training program for all taxi drivers around the world.) Perhaps his lapse in memory contributed to the fender bender we got into on the way to the hotel.  No harm done to anyone just the bumpers of the car, but enough to send my nerves over the edge.  I was happy to finally get to the hotel.

 

I met up with Robb and the kids and the week began.

 

We had Tuesday on our own.  We went out to the Pearl, the exclusive area of Doha, and walked around.  We saw some mighty fine cars, Maybachs, Ferraris, Rolls Royce, and others.  I even went shopping in the Ferrari and Rolls Royce dealerships.  I couldn't take pictures or touch the cars, but I was able to look.  Yup!  Rolls Royce makes a fine car.

 

The MUN conference ran from Wednesday through Saturday.  Learning about MUN was great.  To see the kids setting in their delegations and debating real world issues really gave me a hope for the future.  What a great program for secondary students and what a learning experience for them.

 

The downsides of the trip to Doha:

*the fender bender on the way to the hotel

*the early mornings

*the piss poor magician from India that they flew in - not good at all - in fact he was on the sleazy side

 

The positives of the trip to Doha:

*seeing Doha (I was offered a job in Doha and being able to see it and talk to some teachers working there was good; I learned that I had made a good choice to go to Dubai.)

*networking with other teachers

*learning about MUN

*walking around Warfy Souk in the evening

*visiting the Islamic Art Museum - this place was incredible

*running on the Corniche every morning - is was great to be next to the ocean

*spending time with great kids.

 

I arrived home Saturday afternoon and had a couple of hours to relax until I had to go to work Sunday morning.

 

Going to Doha put me behind schedule and I've had to work extra hard to get caught up.  However, an another opportunity came my way and I Jumped at it, and I don't regret the choice.

 

Hopefully the next time an administers says can I talk to you privately it won't be a bad thing.



 



 



Maldivian Christmas

 

Christmas 2013 found me half way around the world by my own choice.  One of the reasons for doing an international teaching job was to be able to travel.  I had two weeks for Christmas break  (here it is referred to Winter Break since Christmas isn't celebrated in an Islamic country, see previous posting) and decided to cross another place off my list.

 

I decided to go diving in the Maldives.  I had heard so much about this magical place that I placed it high on my list.

 

Again, I was a little anxious about this trip.  It would be my second solo trip, and my first solo dive trip on a live aboard.  I was worried that I would be the only single person on a boat full of couples and not have people to hang out with.

 

Whatever the conditions turned out to be.  I was booked and paid to go.  I packed my dive bag and went to the airport. 

 

The flight to the Maldives was uneventful which was nice.  Qatar was nice to fly and things went smoothly.

 

I arrived at the airport in Male with good time to figure out where I needed to go to meet the crew from the boat.

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the boat wasn't full; the passengers consisted of half couples - half singles.  I was very lucky and ended up with a boat full of wonderful people and mostly experienced divers.  Since the boat wasn't full I had my own room.  Love it!  Cabins on a live aboard are small and tight; they can be a challenge to share with close friends let a lone unknown strangers.  It was great to have my own room and bathroom.  (I know that I am becoming very spoiled!)

 

The boat was decorated with streamers and bling.  The crew even had a plant decorated as a Christmas tree.  The atmosphere was welcoming, relaxing, and fun.

 

The crew was helpful and very experienced. 

 

Most experienced divers know the routine of a live aboard.  This boat was no different.  The routine was: sleep, eat, dive, eat, dive, sleep, dive, and eat.  We were able to average 4 dives a day.

 

Everything that I heard about the Maldives was true.  What an awesome place to dive.  Incredible life and big pelagic life to experience. 

 

I was able to meet great people and formed some connections and friendships.  That is what diving and traveling is all about.

 

For Christmas we went diving.  During the evening we had group photos taken around the Christmas tree, celebrated with wine, and had a Maldivian tradition for dinner - roasted duck.  The duck was unique, it was good, but it didn't measure up to turkey.

 

I was on the dive boat for a week, then the plan was to return to Dubai and do some touristy stuff; however, I fell into an opportunity and took it.  One of the other single gals on the boat had a room booked at one of the resorts and invited me to join her.  I took her up on her offer and spent the second week worshipping the sun, drinking, and eating.  It was well worth the $35 dollar charge to change my ticket.

 

Christmas was celebrated under water diving with cool fish; New Year's Eve was celebrated at the fancy restaurant at the resort in peace and quite.  I did stay up beyond midnight and rang the new year in under the stars. 

 

Traveling solo offers some unique opportunities.  Both Jordan and the Maldives worked out well.  Next trip will be over Spring Break to Turkey.  Soon I will have to make a new list of places to travel to - my top 5 are almost finished.  Yes, there are positives to living aboard.  I may return broke, but the experiences will be priceless.

 

Top highlights of  my Maldivian Christmas: 

*diving in warm water

*meeting some great people

*seeing eagle rays - incredibly beautiful

*diving with sharks lined up one after another for as far as the eye could see - incredible

*diving with whale sharks - oh momma what an incredible experience - I want more

*diving with manta rays -- more please - lot's more

*soaking up the sun on the beach

*not having to wake up to an alarm clock

*lots of reading

 

Next on the list - Turkey.  I can't wait.