Keeping promises and beautiful friends...

OK, OK...I know that I promised to keep up with the blog, and I've been sincerely lacking lately, so now that I have a moment to breathe after the first week of teaching, I'll satisfy your reading quota for the next few days. First things first....friends are a beautiful phenomenon in life, and good friends are simply beyond anything words could describe. I've met some wonderful, helpful people here, and I am eternally grateful to them all for their help in getting me settled and connected. The first story is about a very dear friend, Oresta. So, Oresta lives in London, and I haven't seen her in ages...sob sob....I treasure her friendship for a number of reasons, but mostly because she balances me as a friend. She is calm, and thinks carefully before she speaks. I, as most of you, am a bit chaotic, and tend to blabber on, getting to my point later at the end of my diarhetic shpeel. When I talk with her, I am reminded to slow down and think. How does this relate to Doha you ask??? Well, I was driving home from the mall the other night, and for about 10 minutes was thinking about how I could best connect with her, as my internet phone only calls the US for free. So, at the same time I'm thinking about this, my phone rings, and who do you think it is???? ORESTA!!!!! : ) Completely made my day.

As for friendships and connections here, June, a lady who's been here for a few years, decided to think I am cool enough to invite to her get togethers with people who work in various sectors in Doha. These are people from across the world, and it's been a pleasure to meet them all. Just the other night, she had a book swap at her house, and one of the gentlemen in attendance is one of her Qatari friends, who also happens to work for AlJazheera. He's arranging for us to have iftar (dinner at the end of fasting) on the Al-Jazheera compound, and then a tour of the studio! What an amazing opportunity, and how gracious of him to offer this chance.