Exciting Opportunities!

This week has been busy already, and its only halfway done!

First, I signed up for Arabic classes. One is for reading and writing, and one is for conversation. They meet 4 mornings a week (2 mornings/class) before work and they're free! This is one of my highest priority goals for my time in Qatar so I'm glad that I'm starting right away. There are also classes available at the Qatar Council for the Promotion of Islam, so if I want to practice more, I can do so for a relatively cheap price.

Second, I was talking to Fadhel, our Government Relations Officer at CMU-Q, and I mentioned that my grandparents lived in Saudi Arabia a long time ago. I said something like "Its too bad I'm a single woman and I can't go into Saudi." He suggested that I have my father or brother take me, if they ever visit. Now I don't mind going to Saudi with my dad, but I'm not entering any country where they tell Drew that he has legal authority over me! And I told Fadhel that I didn't know exactly when my dad was coming. So he thinks that if a big group of men and women go, and most of the women are married to the men, and we have a guard with us at all times, they might let me go. He's going to talk to the Saudi government and see what he can do. Not many single American women would be excited about going into Saudi Arabia, and I wouldn't say I'm excited so much as intrigued. But I would totally take the opportunity to see what its like there, and it might actually happen!