MB Meets World

When I decided to visit countries in addition to Taiwan, I pulled up a map of Asia.  My knowledge of geography is not great!   I found Qatar right next to Saudi Arabia, but dwarfed by the size.  I learned that Qatar has about 2.6 million people, but only about 12 percent of them are Qatari, so Doha (the capital) is very international.  I learned that although this peninsula has been inhabited for millennia, it has only been known as Qatar since the mid-1800s and completely free from British rule since 1971.  It was around that time that the primary industry switched from mining pearls to mining oil.   Qatar has the fourth highest GDP per capita in the world.  Source: Wikipedia.

I heard anecdotally that it is a great spot for wealthy Europeans and others to shop – huge malls with high-end stores.  As an Islamic country, there are dress codes for women that are less strict than other places (I have to keep my shoulders and knees covered, but I don’t wear anything to cover my hair or “western” clothing), alcohol is highly restricted, and pork is absent from restaurant menus.  The world cup was held here in November – December 2022, so many things I am seeing relate to that huge event.  

As I was picking countries to visit, my sole criterion was whether I knew someone in the country.  In Education City, Doha, Qatar lives my good friend Gina Giambattista, whom I met as a colleague at Cornell a dozen years ago. More significantly, Gina and I are part of a running/exercise/friend group known as “Guy and Dolls.”   The history of Guy and Dolls is too long to include here, but suffice it to say that it is an amazing group of friends who have helped sustain my physical and emotional health for a dozen years!  Gina moved to Qatar last fall, shortly before Henry died, to work as a dean for Virginia Commonwealth University School of Arts (VCU). 

VCU is one of seven foreign institutions that, together with Qatari institutions, make up Education City in Doha. The other non-Qatari schools include: Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M, Weill Cornell Medicine, and HEC Paris. This effort started in 2003 to support education in Qatar, particularly for women; when Cornell’s medical school joined the group was the first time I ever heard of this country.

I arrived in Doha the evening of February 1 to Gina’s warm embrace. I am blessed.