Hobbies

I don't know why children are "bored" and why some people can find nothing to do. When I first got here, I wondered what I could do after visiting the souqs, the mall, the Corniche, and maybe the Inland Sea. You can do all those things in a week. What then?

Actually, there is a lot to do. Among the things I am doing are 1) working too much, 2) trying to stay fit with a little bit of running and swimming, and 3) still taking pictures / doing the blog.

Among the things I am thinking about doing more of are golf, sailing, or learning spanish.

There are two golf course in Qatar. There is the club in Doha where they hold a European Tour event and there is the Ras Laffan Golf Club over by the camp where a bunch of guys organized a club. The dues are about $250 per year at Ras Laffan and you can play all you want plus free range balls. As you can see from the photo there is a fine club house and the course has grass (!) greens and tees. After you hit the ball, you carry a piece of astro turf to where it lays, place your ball on it, and hit again until you land on the greens. It has nine holes.

I was out there yesterday and there were only about 10 people on the course even though it was a weekend and early in the morning. This is not because it is so exclusive, but because it was already about 105 degrees. When I want to play, I can rent clubs for about $1 so it is not necessary to buy them. This course was built before the one in Doha.

The course in Doha costs $5000 per year and really is very nice. For sailing, there is a club down on the Corniche with nice boats to rent. Maybe I'll try that. I miss learning a new language and it has become difficult to study Japanese. I considered Arabic but could not get in the proper frame of mind. So, I am going back to Spanish. That way I don't have to learn a new alphabet and I have at least some vocabulary already. Hasta la vista...

Arabic Numerals

I needed a second alarm clock since I spend a lot of nights out at the camp so I bought this one at the souq. Remember the "Arabic" numbers we learned in school? Note the numerals on the clock - these are the primary ones on license plates and such here. But everyone knows the Western numbers also.

Based on what I have been able to find out off the internet (a completely reliable source of information) the base 10 number system being commonly used today came from India although base 10 system developed elsewhere of course. An Arabic scholar, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c.778 - c.850), developed the numbers from the Indian math that eventually evolved into the ones we use. The first four numbers were based on angles and 5 through 9 and 10 (using zero) were based on notation used for the abacus. This evolution followed different paths in the West and the East. The ones used in Arabia are actually based on evolution that occured in India.

The ones in use in the West are better in my estimation for several reasons - the most important is that it is too easy to modify the Eastern. Imagine a check for $100. Look at the numbers on the clock and imagine how easy it would be to change that into $355 or some other number. It is interesting that Arabic text is written right to left and that could make it very interesting going between the two number systems if care wasn't taken!

This clock cost an extra 10 riyals more than most of the others they had. Why? Because it was made in Japan! In the '50s Japanese goods were synonomous with low quality. Today you pay extra for it. The cheap stuff comes from China. Even the souvenirs for different places (including Qatar) are made in China. It is a good alarm clock that is nice and loud with numbers big enough to read if only they were "Arabic" numbers instead of "Indian" ones...

Qahwah (Arabic Coffee)

Today for entertainment I went to the Souq and was looking around. I had seen the shops selling Arabic coffee before but couldn't quite figure it out. I knew it was boiled and to me it tastes more like an herbal tea than coffee. It is not like Turkish coffee.

They sell various beans and also spices in the same shop. The main spice is cardamon but they may also put saffron and even ginger or other spices in it. The shop will grind the beans (very fine) or you can grind yourself - you can even buy unroasted beans and roast them yourself. You can make your own blend in the shop or do what I did and buy vacuum packed pre-roasted, blended, and ground.

Now I am no expert at this by any means but I have made it twice now. The gentleman at the store did not speak real good English but he was patient and did his best to explain it. Basically it goes like this:

1. Select your coffee: I bought a pre-blended style that seems typical of the Gulf area. They make different blends in different parts of the Arab world.
2. Measure water into long handled coffee pot: I bought a modern Egyptian pot. They also had Indian ones and some are shaped more like a tea pot. A serving is about the size of an espresso cup and that is what I used here. I'll have to get some cups.
3. Add coffee: According to the gentleman at the shop, about one teaspoon per cup or more if you want. I think one teaspoon is enough.
4. Put the pot on the burner on high heat and brew: Stir it once before it boils. The man said to boil it - the longer the better - except if you like it better not boiled so long. I liked it best when I just boiled it and took it right off.
5. Serve immediately: You can put sugar in it - or not. Traditionally it doesn't have sugar but I think I like it better that way. Note the green color of mine. Drinking a few grounds is expected and it is not filtered. It tastes OK but I think it is one of those things you have to develop a taste for. The aroma is very nice but not like coffee - more spicy. Mine was pretty close to what he served in the shop.

OK, I hope that explains it. I did a search on the internet and you can find out lots more about it including other twists on making it.

They served oden in the camp cafeteria today. Oden is a Japanese stew / soup like concoction that is typically served when it is cold outside. It isn't exactly cold right now outside but it is near freezing indoors. People really like air conditioning here. Enjoy your coffee...

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Roman Soldier

I don't think I would have made a good Roman soldier although I definitely have the body for it :-). Teresa and I had a good trip and it looked like David was having fun too. I got a lot of good pictures, but I find I don't blog very well if I don't make the entries right away. Otherwise, you forget the little personal detail that made it interesting. At least that is the way it is for me.

So why didn't I blog right away? Because there weren't many internet connections along the way thank goodness. Of course that meant I was overwhelmed with work email when I returned.

One of the nice things about a trip like this is I came back thoroughly rested. But it didn't last long. Oh well, I'm caught up again. And how lucky to visit such beautiful places and hear David in concert. Rather than write a lot more I am just going to post some pictures of the trip. Be sure and look behind Yebisu if you are interested...