the foreign is familiar: a week inside doha, qatar
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The Foreign is Familiar: A Week Inside Doha, Qatar An American educator spent a week as an external reviewer of a learning center in Qatar's Education City for Texas A&M - Qatar. This is a photo essay of that experience with a particular focus on the uses of technology, cultural norms, and Qatar's role in being the bridge between Western and Islamic countries in the Middle East.TRANSCRIPT
The Foreign is Familiar: A Week Inside Doha, Qatar
PHOTO ESSAY
Image Sources: http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/qaas.gif & http://www.saach.tv/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Qatar-Saudi-Arabia-UAE-Bahrian.jpg
Where is Qatar?
13 Hour Flight
7 Hour Time Difference from NY
“…fewer than 250,000 native Qataris who make up the country's
population -- grandchildren of pearl fishermen -- are now the
world's richest people, with an average annual income of about
$100,000. They are also the world's most brazen investors -- in
property, art, television, sports, mining, and banking.”
Population: Approximately 2 Million People (1.5 million males)
Qatari Nationals are less than 15% of the population
Most of the population are non-Qatari & prevelantly male laborers
(Indian, Nepali, Sri Lankan, Filipino and Sudanese)
Each Qatari national is entitled to just over $100K per year
Doha is the capital and has been likened to the NYC of the Middle East.
Information Sources – The Lonely Planet & http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/15/news/world/qatar-wealth.pr.fortune/
Doha, Qatar
Ariel Photo Source: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/130814080644-qat02-qatar-skyline-620xa.jpg
1 min time lapse video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HsgAtCowqE
Our guide
quipped that the
Qatari “national
bird” – the
CRANE
Construction is a
constant state of
existence in Doha.
Qatari Men’s Clothing
“white to be cool”
Thobe
Ghutra
Qatari Women’s Clothing
“black to be modest”
Abaya
Hijab
Souq Waqif
“Standing Market”
Museum of Islamic Art
Public Use of Tech
Public use of technology is fascination of
mine, but also very interesting in Qatar
because of some of the prohibitions on
photography.
I saw over and over again (Qatari men and
women in particular), the use of 2
smartphones (typically iPhones).
I could not be sure what this woman was doing with her
smartphone in this picture, but I had observed the irony in
the same museum with two other women in burkas checking
Facebook. I took the risk of snapping this from the second
floor balcony.
Education City
Since DRIVING is so
much part of Qatari life
and we spent a lot of our
time being transported
from one location to
another, the road signs
were something I took a
keen interest in because
of their unique use of
English. Here is the Qatari
equivalent to “Don’t
Use Your Cellphone
While Driving”.
Signs
Public “CLEANLINESS” Campaign Signs•Don’t throw garbage over public beaches;•Don’t spit on public property;•Don’t dump your garbage;•Don’t throw garbage in your neighborhood;•Don’t spit on public streets;•?????.
The ads also carry the primary slogan ”We see you, you are not alone.”
Source for billboard above: http://aalieh.com/2014/04/07/we-all-see-you/
My Obligatory
Camel “Selfie”
My Formal “Look Behind Me” Camel Pose
Camels for the Tourist “Travel”
Experience
The Camel Market
Work Life
I Love Qatar – Info for ExPats/Professionals
• It’s all about family
• Great place to live and have kids
thrive
• Exposure to different personalities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtaWkeOjvyA
I Work In Qatar: From the Laborers
• Tea and Coffee Men and Women
• The “Blue Men”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUEmnFPxARk
Find Out Moreequaltimes.org
4 min time lapse video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruGHcGp0aFM