Our first stop today was to Tariq bin Ziad School, one of QF’s sites. (And like we have been at every place we’ve visited thus far, we were met with the most gracious hospitality — and left with swag bags). This is an International Baccalaureate (IB) dual-language (Arabic and English) school that is currently serving primary students (pre-k through fourth grade) but growing with the students (so next year will expand to fifth grade as well). This is a private school — and is quite expensive at 60,000 Qatari Riyal. It started as a boys’ only school in the 1960s, and it’s where the emir attended. In the early 2000s, however, it was demolished; the emir mandated it to be rebuilt and announced a new vision (that also maintained Qatari culture); the tagline is “guided by heritage, transcending with knowledge.” Today, the school is coed, and there has been a strong marketing campaign to enroll more girls in the school. There are currently more boys in the upper grades since it started as boys only, but there are more girls enrolling now, especially in the younger grades. The school incorporates globalization, community and family engagement, and absolutely beautiful pedagogy. For instance, today included a celebration of books (and characters) students have been reading. They showcased literature in a dress-up parade, and each class presented a summary to the school. Speaking of books, one class realized that the story of Goldilocks didn’t really represent them. So, they figured out how to see themselves in books: write their own! The teacher elicited feedback from her scholars, and together they created Brownylocks and the Three Honey Badgers (a Qatari animal). I'm so excited to read this. After the school, we stopped by the Villaggio, a mall modeled after Venice, complete with gondola rides. It was very similar to the Venetian in Vegas. This was somewhat of a pit stop to have lunch and change for the desert, but it was also intentional, as going to the mall is a super popular thing in Arab culture — this is where many families gather, especially during the hot, hot, hot summer months. I loved seeing stores with which I am familiar -- but with the names in Arabic, too. Even with all of the familiar sights, there were still a few things that were region-specific, which was really cool to see. We had lunch at Dunia, a Lebanese restaurant in the mall, and it was super good. I sadly didn't take any photos, but I had the chicken taouk, which was delicious. We then hopped on the bus and drove about an hour south of Doha to THE DESERT! I was SO excited for this adventure because I have never seen a desert before! I'm from the Midwest! After we arrived in the desert, we hopped on this monster bus and went flying through the dunes. To see a hilarious video of this experience, check out Instagram or Facebook. We then enjoyed a photoshoot in the dunes overlooking the sea. The views were incredible, the sand was so fine and so soft, and everything was absolutely beautiful. After dune bashing, we headed to Al Majles Resort, a little oasis in the middle of the desert and next to the Persian Gulf. Some people rode camels (I did not because the camels looked sad), some hung out with the oryx (my new obsession and Qatar's national animal), some swung next to the sea, some kayaked, some laid on lounge chairs, some smoked shisha, and all relaxed. We also hiked up a dune to see a desert sunset, and it was, as you can imagine, stunning. Finally, we ate dinner, said goodbye to the desert, and headed back to Doha. I was so exhausted on the bus and wanted to just crash when we got back to the hotel, but I have major FOMO and instead went to the souq with some friends. Nighttime in Doha is beautiful, and the Gold Souq was very interesting -- and not at all affordable. Naturally, I found cats. And, per the picture next to that, my friends were not as excited as I was. We also stumbled upon a date and honey festival, which was super cool. There were distributors from all across the MENA region and beyond -- Syria, Morocco, Azerbaijan, Jordan, etc. We sampled several different varieties, but when we heard the prices (like, 50 USD for a jar of honey), we politely declined. It was an incredible day.
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