Today was definitely an interesting day! I didn't do a single thing until about 11am, but after that I was just going going going! I haven't found out the results from my Arabic test yet, but I'm not expecting anything good. That test was seriously the hardest test I've ever taken, including the calculus test I made a 54 on freshman year. I had to write my own little notes on there to prove that even though I had no idea what the question was asking, I could at least read part of the story they gave me to read.
I got my research assignment and will be researching the effects of cultural differences on diplomatic negotiations. There are a lot of little nuances in each culture that affect how officials do business with other foreign officials. However, not enough research and statistics have been done on the topic to identify these little nuances or even how to prepare for them. We're still negotiating my class, but it looks like I will probably take Politics and Islam, exactly what I was hoping to take. Both my Arabic class and this potential Poli Sci class are actually at Georgetown, so I'll have to go to a different campus in the mornings before work.
Tonight we busily ran around getting things ready for convocation, as we introduced over 100 students to TAMUQ and welcomed the rest of our 500 students back to campus. Y'all, in 2003, TAMUQ only had 29 students, and now there is over 500! That's insane! And we only have one building! It was a whole new experience attending an A&M convocation in a different country. For the most part it was segregated; I saw multiple times men coming with their wives or friends and having them sit two or three rows away with other women so they could sit in the men row. It was the most bizarre thing I have seen because everyone was just getting up and shifting around so as to accommodate this phenomenon. I promptly stayed where I was, in the middle of the men row, naturally, but only because there was no one sitting within three seats of me. The little auditorium was only about 2/3 full, so there were plenty of empty seats.
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| Terrifying tarantula statue |
The speeches were dry, as per usual, though the TAMUQ SBP did a fantastic job with her speech. It was short and sweet and definitely set the tone for the upcoming year. They also recognized those making the Dean's Honor Roll in the last full academic year. If we tried doing that on main campus, we'd be reading names til the cows came home!
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| Our Turkish dinner! |
I finally have a Qatari cell phone! I haven't unlocked my American phone, nor am I sure that I can, so for now I actually only have a Qatari SIM card, but that will change tomorrow. I was basically yelled at by a staff member, who incredulously looked at me as though I was insane for not having gotten one in the four days that I have been here. Apparently Qataris and ex-pats alike are attached to their phones almost more than Americans are. And, in case of a sudden evacuation (unlikely to ever happen, so calm down Mom), they need to be able to get a hold of me ASAP.
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