Into Africa

Headed to Nairobi via Doha today. I'm going to spend tomorrow night in Nairobi proper, meeting friends for a very African Thankgiving dinner at Carnivore. Like it sounds, you can pretty much get any kind of meat, as long as the animal in question is not endangered. Ima eat me some zebra. Just like the pilgrims.

Then it's off on Safari! My trip will spend two days at Masai Mara park and two days at Lake Nakuru before heading back to Nairobi. Here's a video my trip organizers posted of potential wildlife we can see!

I'll be out of contact for the duration, so I'll catch up with ya'll in December with your spring break flight info.

Happy Thanksgiving! / Eid al-Adha! / UAE National Day! (I like getting time off for holidays I don't celebrate)

On The Beach

is consulting slang for between projects. I've really just been chillin in Dubai for the past couple weeks, doing some odd projects every now and then. Took some time to pretend I was a tourist and saw some Du-why things.

duwhy: adj. an ordinary object made superlative in dubai, for no obvious reason

A quintessential example of du-why is hearing that dubai just received the world record...for being the city with the most world records. yay...

My favorite example of du-why - the world's biggest aquarium glass viewing exhibit, at the Dubai Mall. (It was too big for my camera, these pics go side by side)

I was entranced for hours.

Also, you can pay to go scuba diving in it. I did not, because, in all seriousness, the store facing the aquarium glass viewing exhibit is the world's largest candy store!

*Disclaimer: I do not read huffpost. It was just in the search results.

If you want to read about other du-why objects, such as the world's largest pair of chopsticks, please click here. And rest assured that the GCC is wisely spending its energy revenues to spur diversified growth for when the oil runs out...

I Want To Go To There - Nairobi

Thanksgiving here coincides with both Eid al-Adha and UAE's National Day. Luckily in don't really celebrate the latter holidays, but I do get them off, resulting in nearly a week's vacation. And I'm headed to East Africa.

I expect this to be the view from every point in Kenya. I may wander into Uganda or Rwanda as well, whether on purpose or as a by-product of boarding the wrong bus.

Look Familiar?

A little Jesuit-values action, no big deal:

حويا ساكسا

After two and a half months from leaving DC, I've been needing a Gtown fix. Doha provided:

I spent the weekend with the my friends Clare and Pat and found out that I knew most of the other student affairs officers already. On Friday Pat took me on the grand tour of the campus. The Qatar Foundation, which I did just rag on, funds the campus (dubbed "Education City"). The current building is airy, and larger than anything on main campus so far. I met a couple students in the library, who were studying for a CPS midterm. Apart from the climate and campus, SFS-Q has a distinctly Georgetown feel.

Doha and the Dangerous Words

After my project ended, I needed to break out of my Riyadh / Dubai routine and hopped on a plane to Doha. A 45-minute jaunt across the Gulf revealed a city that was very similar to Dubai, albeit it smaller and with less to do. The city revolves around the Corniche, a palm-lined street along the Gulf leading to the financial center of the West Bay. Doha has attracted several international festivals and boasts world class museums. I experienced none of these things.

I was too captivated by the large words. The Qatar Foundation, funded by the emirate's gas reserves, ostensibly works to improve the country. All I saw it do was fund a multi-billion dollar pr campaign, that literally puts big words everwhere. The words are meant to be inspirational, but without any context, they inspire only derision. I mean, what are you going to gain from seeing a billboard that says "GROW" or a skyscraper adorned with "ELEVATE"?

CREATE, conveniently located in front of a new building project

DISCOVER, placed awkwardly in the middle of a multi-purpose field. Imagine playing a frisbee game and getting injured by accidentally running headlong into the "V". I think this word should read "CAUTION".

Saudization

After working through Halloween weekend (which doesn't really exist here) to finish up our project, the case leadership decided to reward us by having our own Saudi Halloween. We gathered at the house of one of our Saudi co-workers for dinner, but just before-hand, were each handed our very own thobes. Enjoy:

Monitor men, thobe-clad:


Some of the guys enjoying a victory Cuban:

I Want To Go To There - Doha

A new segment arising now that I can finally go places.
First up, Doha! I was originally going to go from Wednesday to Saturday, but have to be present in Dubai for meetings on Thursday and Saturday. A less sleep-deprived me would have rescheduled this trip, but I am rather keen on getting away.

So I will spend my 22 hours in Doha wisely. I'm going with a friend from Dubai who used to live in Doha, and we are meeting up with the Georgetown SFS-Qatar crowd. I'm excited to get a little dose of Georgetown and to experience a new country where I don't have to do any work.

This does mean that I have four flights in the next four days:
Wednesday - Riyadh -> Dubai
Thursday - Dubai -> Doha
Friday - Doha -> Dubai
Saturday - Dubai -> ??? (my new project! that i haven't heard anything about yet...)

So expect some Doha photos and stories in a few days, assuming I don't sleep through any of my flights.

Fares on the First

October just disappeared. I don't really believe that it is November, given the balmy 95* weather we're having in Riyadh and general lack of Halloween. What has changed (or will shortly) is my project. Technically it finishes today, although I will be in Riyadh through the end of the week.

After that, I'm not sure. It looks like I may have some time in the Dubai office "on the beach" (consulting slang for not being on a case). I'm curious to find out where I'll end up. While I don't mind Riyadh as much as I first did, it'd be interested to have a change of scenery.

November promises to end on a high note, regardless, with my thanksgiving dinner lined up at the US ambassador's residence in Saudi which should be intriguing. Following Thanksgiving is Eid al-Adha. Not sure the relgious significance (insert wikipedia reference here) but it means I get three days off and I'm looking for a destination.

In the meantime, here are your fares to Dubai for the beginning of February.

February (change from previous month)
SEA $1,067 (down $100)
DC $728 (down $200)
NYC $615 (down $300)
CHI $737 (up $1)
Hong K. $615 (no change)
London $442 (down $1)

So those of you still in the States won't find a better deal than this. Especially if you're in NYC...