Day 69, Thursday - Doha

Happy Thanksgiving! Today, in the US, is “Turkey Day” and an annual reminder to count our blessings and be thankful for the things we have and people in our lives.

To commemorate said day, we have the great tradition of eating a lot.

So, in true American fashion, Terry and Mary Anne invited over some guests for dinner. Mary Anne, however, is very well prepared and had most things done ahead of time. So, while the turkey was roasting, we attended a talk over at Qatar University.

The talk at QU

The talk was really more of a discussion between the guest of honor, former head of the World Bank James Wolfenson, and members of the audience who had questions and comments. The topic was on the preparedness of Qatari graduates for the working world.

Mr. James Wolfenson

It was an interesting discussion.

After the talk, it was back to the house to get some final things ready for our guests.

We had a mix of people at the dinner, some Americans, some Qataris, plus a few other nationalities sprinkled it. We had business people, academicians, homemakers, and a couple of us (including me) in the “other” category.

It was fun to walk around and talk with everyone. I had conversations about my trip, international relations, education, and falcon hunting, among other things.

We had all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes: turkey, cranberry sauce, corn, yams (or sweet potatoes, I can never remember the difference), salads, fruit, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie, etc. I can’t believe I forgot to take pictures, but I was so busy meeting people!

Oh, I also made a new friend today:

He is about 1 1/4" long (I'm guessing) plus antenna and very fast. I have not seen him since this morning and I have kept the bathroom door closed ever since. I am hoping that he went back to wherever he came from and not into one of my suitcases.