Hicks, Hipsters, Hijabs, and Hibachis

Winter is here and you know what that means:  scarves, warm blankets, chili for dinner, wine and movie nights. Errrr... scratch that (record sound), not that kind of winter. But seriously, winter is here in Doha and while that might mean temps in the 80’s during the day, I have been able to:  open my windows, wear close-toed shoes, run outside, and I went stand up paddleboarding this past weekend in the Gulf.  I eat lunch outside at school almost everyday and today we had our team meeting in the courtyard.  Isn’t that the funny thing:  put people in a climate where you can’t really go outside for half of the year and then you want to do every little thing outside when you can. I was so proud of myself paddleboarding - I didn’t even fall once and I couldn’t believe it, all of my yoga balancing must be paying off.  Ryan and I took a lesson at 2:30 in the afternoon and 90 minutes later it was starting to get dusk.  The sun sets so early, and ris...

So many things have been rapid pace since I moved to Doha, but I was lucky enough to take a quick break back in September to meet Ryan in Dubai.  He travels there quite a bit sometimes even once a week it seems and since it is only a 45 minute flight it is a nice jet-setting weekend.  The appeal of shopping at Victoria's Secret and the Birkenstock store drew me back to the UAE.  I know my bar was set pretty low but I needed new underwear people! I hit the ground running as I met Ryan at the hotel and we headed out to Dubai Marina where I finally got to meet some of his colleagues and enjoy a $20 glass of wine.  {Dubai prices are even steeper than Doha prices.} The following day we headed out for a Gulf Ski Adventure at Ski Dubai.  Pants, Jackets, skis, and boots were all included in the rental and we even had an Entertainer (their version of an Entertainment book) buy one get one free voucher.  Kathy Graves you would have been so proud!  Th...