We're in Qatar now!

I was able to break away from the book for a night and go check out Carnegie Mellon’s Talent show. Those nerds put on a sweet show ( I kid, I kid). But they really did do a great job. I was able to sit in the front row and get a good view of many of the cultural dances/songs that the students preformed.

I grabbed a seat in the front row and leaned to my friend Brent (the guy who always seems to make an appearance in my photos) and said “I really hope I don’t get chosen for audience participation” and we had a good laugh about how awkward that would be. Next up was a cultural dance from two of the students from Carnegie Mellon. They did a really great job, and it was fun to watch. However, nearing the end of their show they split out into the crowd and grabbed another exchange student and brought her on stage. I turned to Brent and said “OH NO!” and we had a good laugh about it, but as I turned back around I saw a dancer walking towards me. She grabbed my hand and brought me on stage, my worst nightmare. Well, at this time Brent couldn’t contain himself and he was practically falling out of his chair with laughter. I thought to myself, “I’m not going to crash and burn alone”. I Pulled one of the dancers aside before we started and told them to grab him as well, and she did so promptly. But right as he got on stage the song ended and we were not sentenced to any terrible embarrassment. Thank my stars!

After the show we headed out through the atrium, and we stopped to see a display of Qatari culture. There were booths and people all sitting around telling stories of pearl-diving and Qatar as a young nation. What we did not know, was that in a few moments a demonstration was about to begin. The demonstration was a dance performed by the native Qatari men, who all wielded swords. Although I did not admit it to anyone I was with, I kinda wished that I could join it, but after my near brush with embarrassment I dare not speak it. Low an behold only a few moments after it started the men walked around to the crowd and handed onlookers their sabers and coaxed them to join in the dance. I was one of the lucky few.

Sorry there are no photos. (because of cultural differences, many people do not like to, and often object to, having their photo taken. This makes it very difficult to take group shots. Also, I forgot my camera in my room. My bad)

Well, as always… I stand corrected. Turns out my friend Corinne Walters was able to snap a shot. In her words “Here’s what I have…. not super good, but they provide proof! ”. If your looking to read more about adventures in Qatar, you should check out her blog, which I have cleverly hid in her name…

And now for the proof:

Yeah, thats me, dead center and grinning like a doof.