In Qatar!

The first thing everyone should know about hotels in Qatar is that there are a lot of buttons and switches, and they are all in Arabic and I can't figure out what any of them do, but for sure none of them turn on the lights. I've been sitting here in the dark for twenty minutes Skypeing and Facebooking hurriedly, because my computer battery runs out soon and I can't figure out how to work the wall outlets either.

What a marvelous trip it's been so far. I have already met and exchanged contact information with several people. On the plane from Washington, DC to Doha, Qatar, I sat next to a lovely couple from Oman, who were returning home after seeing their son and daughter-in-law in DC. They had very few female relatives, and are looking forward to their first grandchildren, twin girls. The woman, Chalini, wore the most beautiful iridescent purple and red and gold sari. when it came time for the plane to land she requested that I sit near the window so I could see Qatar at night. Before we left the plane, she and her husband Mahadevan asked for the signed doodle of a swirly tree I had been working on throughout the flight with Sharpies and crayons.

After departing the plane, we walked onto the tarmac and boarded a bus that took us to the terminal. On the bus, I ran into a family that had been sitting nearby me on the plane. As it turned out, they were from Virginia (one of the sons had gone to JMU and I had the unexpected pleasure of being able to exchange some good-natured smack talk in defense of ASU) and were headed to Thailand for a vacation to visit another of their four boys. They helped me find the customs desk and we exchanged contact information, and the mother promised to call my house when she got the chance and assure my mom that I had gotten at least as far as Qatar in one piece.

I stood in line at customs for nearly an hour, and made another few friends including a woman from England, a girl my age from Sudan, a young man from India, and a young German boy. I offered my stash of American candy to the young boy and with his parents permission he excitedly chose a pack of Lifesavers gummies.

After getting my very first visa from Qatar, I was ushered into a very full, very large parking lot, where buses stood everywhere. I walked with the girl from Sudan and the boy from India, after we realized we were headed to the same complimentary hotel, to find our hotel bus. We drove past a couple of mosques (with some of the most beautiful architecture I've ever seen) and lots of building-sized ads in Arabic. The roads were crammed and full of honking, but we arrived quickly and safely to the Oryx Rotana Hotel, which is one of the nicest buildings i have ever been in. I can see much of the city out of my window, and will post pictures as soon as I can charge my laptop.

Tomorrow I get up at 5:30am to go back to the airport, where at 7:20am I will finally depart for Tanzania. If every day that goes by is as exhilarating as this one, I will soon run out of time to write about everything!

Goodnight Mom and Dad- I love you and miss you so much.