Blogs from Qatar, Middle East - page 12

Today is day 5 in Qatar and it's 7:09 a.m. I meant to blog yesterday but our hotel wifi sucks and stopped working. Yesterday was the last day of the Youth Conference that they have before the actual UN conference. It was really interesting to meet so many kids from around the world. There was even one guy who came from Afghanistan! Probably the most interesting part about the youth conference for me was hearing stories from people who come from politically unstable countries, like Egypt, and who still manage to care about, and fight against, climate change. I thought that was really impressive and also kind of made us in Canada look bad. The other night we went to a big outdoor market called the Sooq Waqif. It's all made to look old fashioned and ... read more

First of all, let me say I am definitively in Qatar for another month to help out with work. Still don't know how long I'll be here - maybe longer! I do really enjoy the work here and they are so busy! Project after project comes in and all need help. I guess I'll know more next week, but I'm going back to Dubai for the next two weekends: this weekend to get some more stuff since I'll be here longer, the second to go to some big Rugby festival... game... match... something like that! Melvin and I will have thanksgiving this weekend in some way - either we'll cook or we'll just do a brunch. I can't believe I am completely (COMPLETELY!) missing my absolute favorite holiday! I've often been away from home, but I ... read more

We slept late and nearly missed breakfast. I had told Penny the night before that we're going into a day of transit, so things were a little more relaxed going to sleep because Paris was pretty much finished. She got downstairs in time for her favourite pain au chocolat pastery as well as some bread and fruit....or maybe that was my favourite? We finished eating and got our bags packed, going downstairs a little after 11am. We had turned on the tv to check who won the election; it was big news over here and who knows, things might have affected our travel a bit with another outcome. We decided to try our luck again with the metro as the weather was dry and we had time on our side to get out to CDG. Two ... read more

I haven't written much lately as there is not much to write. Definitely, few pictures to take, but I'll try again this weekend. Work keeps me extremely busy. I go to work at 6:45 in the morning and leave the office around 6:30 in the evening. Which is ok, because all I do is sit in my hotel room and watch TV anyway. Tuesday night - I had a big report due, but I fell asleep at 9. I woke up at 1am and couldn't stop thinking of it, so I just got up and almost finished before going back to bed at 3am. Then back up at 5:30 to finish. Ick. Eventually, I may make my way to the health club onsite and at least ride a bike for a while. The first two days ... read more

I went back to City Center Mall last night; taxis here are ridiculously expensive and most do not have meters. Make sure you know how much you're paying before you leave! I didn't want to drive myself because I'm still a little nervous about the traffic; judging by the traffic at the souk at night, I didn't even want to deal with it. When I arrived, it was significantly different than earlier. It was packed! I don't do well in crowds, and I could the grouch coming. I decided to check out the movies and picked Pitch Perfect; I had seen previews during the day and it looked entertaining. It was, though I really am not one for unnecessary vulgar humor. The worst part, was the people talking incessantly during the movie. It was worse than ... read more