GIRL SCOUT CAMPOUT

Hiking at the Campout - for Qatar this is a green, lush place!

Girl Scouts of Doha, Qatar at our Thinking Day Campout at the Al Thani Farm, back row center is our host - Sheikh Faisal Al Thani













Erin and Brownie friends working at Troop 11's Thinking Day Display

Spent this past weekend (Friday - Saturday) on the Doha Girl Scouts Annual Thinking Day campout. The campout was almost cancelled - Qatar had a massive sand storm last Wednesday and Thursday. High winds, limited visibility, and sand/dust blowing everywhere! Had one point during the storm, when I was fighting my way against the wind and being peppered with sand, where I thought it might be better to be back in DC dealing with the ice and snow. It was still windy when we left for the campout Friday morning, but the trees on the Al Thani farm gave us some shelter, and the wind had died down enough by Friday evening for a nice campfire.

My troop took 10 girls and 4 adults on the campout - turned out to be a great ratio. Those of you who know me know I am not a camper - in spite of that I had a good time. My little Brownies had a great time with the hike (we went to the Orx Farm - small deer- section of the farm. The orx were too far away for a good photo), the Thinking Day celebration (we represented China), the campfire, and just playing. We definitely had the best food on the campout. Since we were representing China, I made sweet and sour chicken and rice for dinner Friday night. The aroma drew the campout nurse - we shared our dinner with her. It was so good that she came back for breakfast Saturday morning. Breakfast was cinnamon/oatmeal pancakes - courtesy of one of our campout Mom's who has worked as a caterer. We need to bring her on all our campouts!

The Al Thani farm, as you can see in the photo, is very green (for Qatar). They have lots of date palms there and 2 museums. We didn't get to go in the museums - will have to go back for that - one is a car museum and the other contains swords, jewellery, furniture, etc; from the Gulf states. Peacocks roam free on the farm. They are beautiful - but noisy! I was awakened (numerous time) Friday night by peacock cries - they sound like a very loud cat yowl. Early Friday morning several of them wandered into our camping area. I considered getting up and chasing them away, but was afraid they would make even more noise! So, just left them alone and eventually they wandered off.

Now - this will really impress those who know me. I was issued a Girl Scout tent for this occasion - an 8 man tent. Very happy with this as I tend to be a bit claustrophobic. Unfortunately, that tent was broken - Fortunately, one of the Girl Scout Dad's came and brought an extra 4 man tent. I was supposed to sleep in that tent with 3 little girls - it was too small of a space for me. After trying to be comfortable in there for a couple of hours - I gave up and took my sleeping pad and bag outside. I slept out under the stars! My only worry with doing that was the peacocks - I half expected to wake up and find one staring me in the face!

Maybe, one of these days, we will try a family campout on a Qatar beach.

Zoo pictures next time - I promise!

AL ZUBARA

Fort Zubara

Dhow fishing boat coming into port at northern tip of Qatar.

Qatar is a pennisula, but might as well be an island. To drive anywhere (say, the United Arab Emirates) from Qatar one must drive through Saudia Arabia, and we are not allowed to do that. I am starting to get "island fever!"

The other day I felt the urge to get out of Doha. Andy had Monday off work (President's Day) and the kids were in school, so the 2 of us got in the car and drove to the northern tip of Qatar. Doha is one big construction site, but the northern portion of Qatar is desolate. There is a good road leading north (the "North" road), but few cars on it (and they are widening this road - why?). Above is a photo from the little port town at Qatar's northern tip. Very small town, and very few people in sight. When we drove into town (about 1 pm) it felt like something out of The Twilight Zone - buildings, even a school, but not a soul in sight. We finally saw a few people at the port. (I did not see one woman or child until we returned to Doha.) Then, we drove to Al Zubara fort (on Qatarn's NW coast) - which is a restored copy of a fort built in the 16th century to defend a small settlement of fishermen and pearl divers. No signs of the settlement now - the fort is in the middle of nowhere. There isn't even a sign to announce its presence! The caretaker (an old man who lives next to the Fort in a trailer) unlocked the gate for us and we went inside. No museum, no signs, just a few wooden boxes with some clay pot artifacts on the ground. Definitely not worth the drive.

Next post will be some pictures from the Doha Zoo. It was nicer than I expected, and even had a small rose garden.

INTERNET MOVING MUCH FASTER!

Finally! Had a few days there when connection was touch and go. Really need the internet to stay in touch.

Very busy here with the upcoming class Valentine Day Party, Girl Scout campout, Texas A&M Boot Scoot and Silent Auction, and school Friendship Festival. As room mother I coordinated the Valentine party for tomorrow. Having food and a craft. My craft mother has been out of town so I searched the web and found simple crafts that just requires construction paper - woven valentine heart door hangers and heart mice. Craft supplies are very hard to find here.

Next weekend is our Campout at the royal family's "farm." I use the " because I've been there and, while there is irrigation and greenery, not sure that they actually grow anything. Picked up the tents for our troop and one has a broken cord in one of the poles. We will just have to deal with that. My troop has 11 girls and 5 adults going - adults include 2 husbands (including mine) who will spend the night and provide security. I am in charge of making the dinner for all these people. We need Chinese food, for Thinking Day, so am premaking and freezing individual portions of Sweet and Sour chicken.

Volunteered to help with the Texas A&M Silent Auction since the proceeds go to Girl Scouts. Will be doing the bid sheets for them and helping set up. Should be a fun party!

Friendship Festival is a big deal at our school. Games, food and fun. Had to solicit volunteers to run one of the games, and will also help with their silent auction.

I might not have much of a paying job here, but I sure am keeping busy!

MORE GULF NEWS

Hello again! Yesterday, at the invitation of a friend, I attended the International Women's Group Potluck lunch. You can read all about it at:
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=February2008&file=Local_News2008020515432.xml

I have several things to say about the potluck. First, a funny story. I was asked to bring a pie - no problem I actually found one of my pie pans (others must be in storage). Used my favorite pie recipe which calls for 3 T. of instant tapioca pudding mix. Couldn't find it (note - please don't send me any) but did find Tapioca pearls - large white balls. I thought they would do the job by dissolving and thickening up the pie. They didn't dissolve! I ended up taking Rice Krispy Treats and we are eating the pies - picking out the chewy white balls.

I talked with 2 women from Zambia! Never met anyone from Zambia before. Both were very nice, with very British accents.

Back to the news story - it is on The Pennisula's webpage as one of the top stories of the day. Will be interested to see if the next potluck is such major news (Egypt is hosting). Maybe this one drew this attention because we had a speaker from our Embassy - who, by the way, was excellent and correct - foreign workers have a tough life here. (Interesting that after lunch the majority of the participants left without cleaning up after themselves - they just left their plates, silverware, cups, etc; on the table or on the floor. A different way of viewing the world.)