The ranks of the OB/GYN department have swelled dramatically and this picture is from a recent "Team Building" event held at the gorgeous Qatar National Conference Center (where's Dr. Tod?).  The theme was in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

As for us, we are being housed in the Fraser Suites West Bay.  Decent accommodations, to be sure, but we do miss the sweeping views we had, back in the day in the 44 West Bay Tower.  Two spare bedrooms, begging for visitors!  Nonetheless, seems like it can be home for the time being, as we get our feet beneath us.

I plan to Bog regularly and this is just a brief warm-up (journey of a 1000 miles, and all that).  We miss all our friends back home and we hope to see some of you out here.

Cheers!

Who would have thought that Qatar would have so much desert????  On several weekends, we pack lots of water and snacks and head in a different direction.  One time to the Saudi border, another to the inland sea, another day to hunt for fossils, then out to see a fort and the mangroves.  All beautiful and interesting in their own way and defiantly hot.  Makes you wonder why anyone would have settled here, back before AC!  The slideshow below has some representative shots and I'll let them speak for themselves.  

Coming soon, Morocco and the real desert!

Driving in Qatar is like no where else.  I thought the drivers in Hawaii were bad, I didn't even know!  Here you have this amazing mix of Europeans used to relying on public transportation, North Americans with tons of driving experience, rural third-world trained taxi drivers and rich, spoiled and impatient locals (not all, just some)!  They are all driving on this mix of ultra-modern 4-lane highways, roundabouts and poorly maintained narrow streets and construction everywhere, laid out with no apparent master plan.  Amusing at times, frequently frustrating and occasionally terrifying.  Driving, walking or cycling, you must be on your guard and constantly expecting the unexpected.  Literally every trip you will  have a story to tell; taxis doing a U-turn across four lanes of traffic in front of a speeding bus, SUVs going at high speeds, in the wrong direction on a one-way street, motorcycles doing wheelies in a rush-hour roundabout, and stunt driving on public streets.  And Believe me, you haven't lived until you are driving 120 kph (the speed limit), boxed in by traffic merging for construction, with a 6000 pound Land Cruiser that is 6 inches off your rear bumper and flashing his lights and honking his horn for you to get out of his way.  Ultimately, these guys just scream past you on the medium.  One went up on the sidewalk!

Throw in to the surreal mix, exotic cars (and pets), you never thought you would see in person.

Below is a gallery of things you see out there on the streets.  Some pictures I took, some come from news sources (you can't be everywhere).  I decided to leave out the gnarly crashes.

Looking back toward the downtown, along the Corniche.

I was feeling pretty stressed about this.  42 years of driving just didn't seem like enough to get me through.  Haven't been behind the wheel of a car for over two months, there's those darn roundabouts, the instructors hate Americans and almost everyone I know, flunked at least once.  And, what if I accidentally defy public morality or customs!  If you flunk twice, you have to take the full-on school with 15 hours of theory and 10 hours of practical instruction.  Even then, no guarantee you'll pass!

My coaches told me to take the seat behind the first driver.  That makes you number two and you don't have to navigate out of the school parking lot (a treacherous undertaking, I'm told) and you can learn what the instructor expects.  Number three has to negotiate the school grounds, coming back.  I assumed the position and kept my eyes and ears open.  The other two guys were super nervous!  The instructor didn't fasten his seatbelt, and I was sure it was a test.  The first guy didn't adjust the seat or mirrors and didn't tell him to buckle up. He's toast, guaranteed!  Driving out to the lot was a piece of cake.  The instructor was clearly in a bad mood, yelling and advising, but all in Arabic.  I got nothing.  Next, the guy in the backseat, behind the instructor totally jumped the queue and went next.  No adjustments, no telling him to buckle up, lots of yelling in Arabic.  Two down, for sure!  
     My turn.  I make a big show of adjusting my seat and mirrors, and he looked irritated.  When I asked him to put on his seatbelt, he yelled "no need" (two out of the four words that were in English)!  Several of my coaches  figured they (or someone they knew) had flunked because they weren't aggressive enough, so I blasted right out on the road and took the first roundabout on 2 wheels.  He seemed pleased.  I stayed right at the speed limit and he yelled at me a few times, but I have no idea what he was saying.  My turn took about five minutes, including the completely uneventful trip back to the school.  I got out and I thought he said "pass, pass", but I wasn't sure.  One of the guys looked completely dejected and the other looked like he was fighting the urge to start dancing.

Two of us made it out alive!

     Turns out the guy who flunked was a young kid from India, taking it for the first time.  To tell the truth, he kind of seemed like he knew what he was supposed to do, but he was very hesitant, jerky and unpolished.  Nothing a little practice won't fix, but there's no way to legally do that in Qatar, except at the deriving schools.
     The other guy that passed drove fine.  He was a civil engineer from Jordan, taking it for the fifth time.  He challenged the test once and flunked, went to  AL-Rayah Driving School and subsequently flunked two more times.  He then went to the Doha Driving Academy, flunked once and finally passed on this latest attempt.  He was so happy!  I felt very fortunate and humble.
Back at work, they tell me I'm a legend...

I caught a taxi for the 30 minute ride to my test at the Doha Driving Academy.  Studied like a maniac for weeks and coached up by veterans of the exam, but still could hardly sleep the night before.  Almost everyone flunks on the first try.  How would you answer this question?

#16  Is this driver making a driving rule violating (overtaking on the right)?
                                                 Yes     []

                                                 No      []


Seems the test is translated from Arabic into English, and sometimes things don't come out quite right.  My book said this was clearly a violation (in fact, they can seize your vehicle on the spot), but my coaches said "don't look at the words, look at the picture.  If it is wrong, say no".  Here's and example of the syntax issues:

A page taken straight from the driving manual!

I puzzled and puzzled till my puzzler was sore, and ultimately decided to go with all that free advice folks were giving me, rather than the book.  I held my breath, hit the "no" button and got the green checkmark, just like I did with all the other questions.  Hooray!  
Well, not so fast...turns out, all that checkmark means is that you finished the test item.  Seems you can only miss 2 out of 20, and I did just that.  90% on the exam, the big green checkmark and I'm one step closer to my license!  I have no idea which questions I missed, and unfortunately I have no advice for Greta, when her time comes.

December 18th, and the week leading up to it,  is pretty wild in Qatar.  National day is meant to celebrate the day in 1878 that the founder, Shaikh Jasim succeeded his father, Shaikh Muhammad Bin Thani as ruler, leading the country toward unity.

During the preceding week there was horse and camel races, shooting and falconry exhibitions, cultural displays and gifts from employers (I can't tell you what Sidra gave away, because I was at Hamad Women's Hospital at the time and didn't get one.  I know what it was, but the are sending it to me later and it's a surprise for Greta).

The actual day started with us getting up at 4:30am to get an early start to hike to the parade site.  We were told it was important to get there before morning prayer let out out at about 5:00, to beat the crowds.  It was good advice!  The evening included the most spectacular fireworks display I have ever witnessed (and people who know me, will understand that is saying a lot) and ended walking the streets watching car after car go by with folks on the roof, the hood and the running boards, honking, yelling and back-firing.  Mostly in the spirit of fun and celebration, but some, seemed pretty dangerous.  Interesting to note the folks will behave foolishly, even when alcohol isn't involved.
Explore the gallery below for selected shots of the day, and follow this link to hear Ana Qatari
an exclusive National Day track by Rayyana to commemorate the day.  
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10846454/Blog%20resources/ana_qatari_track.mp3

As you can see, I'm still shooting pictures out my window.  I was scheduled to take my written test a couple days ago, but it was mysteriously postponed until next week.  Decided to go today, on my own.  Told get there at early, the tests start at 6:00am.  Took a QR 50 Uber ride out to the Doha Driving school, arriving at 5:50 to be told they don't start till 7:00 on Saturdays.  OK, have a tea with milk, check emails at wait.  Come 7:00, I asked where to go for the test and was told "oh, we don't do those on Saturday".  They check my documents for me and turns out I was missing my "letter of no objection" from my employer.  Oh well, the Uber ride back was on QR 42...

Inshalla, I will be able to take it tomorrow.

     I'm starting to really love this arabic phrase.  While it can be translated literally as “if Allah wills,” the meaning depends on who's saying it, how they say it, and what they are responding to.  
      While it can be a genuine wish, such as when the taxi driver said “I’ll drive you again, inshallah,” or more commonly, it can be used as a way to politely tell you, there's not a chance in hell.  Like when I asked if my residency permit would be ready by the end of the week and I was told, "I think so, inshallah" (i.e., it will take divine intervention).  Not likely to make it for drinks tonight?  "I'll see you at 7, inshallah." Got a looming deadline?  "I'll have it done, inshallah."  For all of us in Arabic-speaking countries, it nicely describes the uncertainty of life, and it's continuously applied to all promises great and small. 

To obtain an alcohol permit you need:
      1. Your residency permit and Qatar ID
      2. A letter from your employer written in English. It must state the applicant’s position, basic monthly salary 
          (must be above 4000 riyals or 1100 dollars), if housing is provided and whether the applicant is married.
      3. 1000 riyals that you put down as a deposit.  Nobody knows what this is for, but you get it back when you 
          leave the country.



I got it this weekend. Sweet!  Once I was in, I was surrounded by tons of people running around, grabbing pork and booze, hoping not to be recognized.  I was so giddy I forgot to check prices and bought Greta an $80 ham the size of my fist!  


My friend said they were sure nobody recognized me, inshalla...

Another view out of my window, this time trying to emphasize the desert beyond the West Bay.  If you are wondering why I keep taking pictures from the same spot, here's the deal.  For citizens of nearly every other developed country in the world, you just have to show a valid drivers license, and they will issue you a Qatar driving permit.  But...a while back, I am told, a Qatari citizen of prominence tried to get a New York drivers license and was met by a typical display of New York City municipal worker diplomacy and a dizzying array of hoops that needed to be jumped through.  

Long story short, papa won't be doing any driving until he; a) gets his RP (Residency Permit, which has required a medical exam, blood work, chest X-ray, blood typing and finger printing), b) takes and passes a complete eye test,  c) passes a written test (which I'm told was translated from arabic and contains lots of triple negatives), d) passes a driving test (advice here was "be aggressive", especially in the roundabouts), and finally e) passes a test involving walking out to a car with it's hood up and identifying random engine parts.  I'm told my RP is coming tomorrow or Monday...

But I digress

Dr. Aeby's Top Three Reasons for Coming to Doha:
#3 Mid-life need for an adventure - While I love the UH Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Heath and all the people I worked with, I've been there 28 years!  Do the math, that's half my life!  Honestly, I started the ball rolling nearly 3 years ago, at a time when parts of my job were pretty frustrating.  Lots of good changes are happening in the department, the frustration level was way down, but hey, the ball was rolling...

#2 The Sequester - Remember that gun that congress put to their head, hoping it would inspire them to reach a bi-partisan budget agreement?  Remember how the automatic cuts of the sequester were so draconian that only a house of suicidal fools would ever let them come to pass?  Remember that congress proved they were a self-destructive bunch of idiots?  Well, if you are sitting there saying "heck, that wasn't so bad", then you are not in the research business.  Dr. Greta is arguably the top expert in coral disease of the pacific, but she has always been on soft money.  Her lab, along with her collaborators, is on the cutting edge of research in her field.  They are discovering new diseases, new pathogens and the pathophysiology and microbiology behind it all.  Still, NOAA and NSF budgets got slashed and her funding went to zero.  According to their World Cup hype, Qatar is only a 4-hour flight for over 2 billion people.  Greta's goal is to use the Doha hub to create an international coral disease consortium that will have a great chance at competing for international funding.  She already has great collaborators in UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, Tokyo, Okinawa, Taiwan, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.  Hope I got that right, honey  :-)

and #1 Being on the Ground Floor of Something Great

Apparently you even get to drink coffee while you're seeing patients!


Don't forget to give the puzzle a try!