So compared to the first full day in Bahrain, day two was more political and economic based and not so many cultural experiences. We started the day at the US Embassy and boy, did they blow my socks off. We actually got to sit down at a conference table with the US Ambassador himself! We talked with him for a good while about the economic situation of Bahrain as well as actions/recoveries taken since the political protests last year. With him, we also discussed education reform and how the country is moving to advance their school system. After the Embassy, we went to a meeting/luncheon at GPIC (Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co.) Sounds like a total snoozefest....am i right? Like one of those stale meetings and lunches with bad food and a boring speaker....ya, sounding familiar? Well, You and I are both wrong! We were welcomed by a TEAM of people, including the President of the Company himself. We sat casually in couches along the wall of this BEAUTIFUL room and served by a man in black tuxedo. This was very swanky, but very comfortable at the same time. The President of GPIC was a HOOT. He just talked and talked and talked but made us laugh. We talked about his company, yes, but also about himself (a very proud and confident man) and all of their awards and great achievements that he, and his company have accomplished. We was very informative, we learned about how much the oil companies contribute to the economics of Bahrain (citizens don't pay taxes, so the royal gov gets its money from the oil companies) After a very impressive tour of the building and BEAUTIFUL plant,
(interruption-----yes, I just said beautiful. They had nature preserves on campus to prove that there are no environmental conflicts)
we went to lunch at the company club. Now this was not a stale chicken plate lunch, but a whole buffet at a huge table where we sat with the execs of the company. I was summoned by the something or other head guy who ended up informally proposing to me to be his second wife (and then he would do the same at dinner later that night). But after our huge lunch, we went to another meeting where we learned very little about Bahraini primary/secondary education but more about post graduate plans. This meeting was not like the last, meaning it was boring. We had already had a huge fun filled day and I like myself found it hard to stay awake. This was the snoozefest and honestly, I did not learn that much out of the 3, yes 3, presentations. The last one was the most informative (which is still not a lot). Anywho, back to the cool stuff, after a quick nap, we went out to a late dinner with some execs from GPIC where we had a belly dancer and a one-man keyboardist/
Day 3 was much more laid back and not as packed of a day because we had a flight to catch at 6.
We stared by going to a local International school. This was an amazing experience. We witnessed morning announcements and the weekly prayer AND the weekly singing of the national anthem. From there we went on a tour of the school. It was rather small (expected) and it had k-12 all on the same campus, just in separate buildings. We broke off into different groups and my group went to see the senior campus. What I found fascinating was that the school had 3 dedicated labs to Biology, Chemistry and Physics and a specific and separate lab teacher/course to back up the lecture course, like in college. From there, Ben and I snuck into a World History class where students were presenting on WWII. It was fun to see Bahraini students present in English on topics that are studied in the US as well. We talked to them after their presentations and we found out that the teacher was from HOUSTON! Small world. After school, we left for BAPCO (the Bahraini Petroleum Company). They were super informative and we learned that Bahrain was the first country to strike oil in the Gulf (the Arabian/Persian Gulf), that I didn't know. We also learned more about the Petroleum's industries part with the government and how much they contribute to education. After another luncheon (less exuberant) and tour of the plant, we left for the airport to head to Doha, Qatar, where I am right now.
WHEW......still there? good....this last part is much more interesting, I promise!!!!!!
This morning we woke up in Doha at a super swanky hotel called the Movenpick Tower Hotel (or something like that) overlooking the Arabian Gulf and drove out to the US Embassy. Now, let me tell you, there is a MASSIVE difference between the tiny island of Bahrain who obviously does not get that many American visitors vs. Qatar who is mainly all Expat Workers. Anywho, we got to the embassy and instead of escorting us right through the front door like in Bahrain, we waited in line outside in the rising morning heat. After 3 check points, 3 security walk throughs and 1 outburst from our tour guide Lisa, we finally made it to the conference room with some lady. This time around, we were now very pressed for time because it took so long to get through security. The director talking to us was not very informative (except she was a good contact for some of the IB and Robotics teachers) and we left shortly after to move onto our next appointment. We then went to the Qatar Academy, which was probably the COOLEST school I have ever seen! This school is privately funded by the Qatar Foundation and this academy is VERY prestigious and cutting edge with new technology in the classroom. Like a lot of schools in the states (including mine next year), they are 1-1 with laptops for every student. However, what sets them apart is that all of their students have MACBOOKS, that's right, the little white MacBook computer that is only the BombDotCom. My mouth about hit the floor when I saw that. Their campus also includes Pre-12th and they are adding a pre-pre school next year (like 6mo-4yr program). Words cannot describe this school, once again, I will just have to post pics about it. From there we went to go meet with a program director from the Qatar Foundation at a new project called, Hamad Bin Kalifa University. This was a compound which included branch programs from Georgetown, Texas A&M, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon and Columbia Medical School. This was SO COOL and SO unique. Each university has t's own building and it's own true programs offered by the home school back in the states. But, the whole university is obviously not provided, it's only it's specialty courses (A&M's engineering school, Northwestern's journalism, Columbia's medical school, Georgetown's International Relations and Carnegie Mellon's computer science program). But though different students are technically enrolled in different schools, they all live on the "big umbrella university" Kalifa U's property with different students, use the same student center, share libraries, etc. It was so cool to see how this works. 5 different schools, 1 community, but yet official degrees from those universities and even school spirit, just amazing. After leaving "campus", we drove next door to a 5star training complex for Arabian horses. The Emir (king of Qatar) is obsessed with Arabian horses and LOVES showing them, so the Qatar Foundation built this brand new facility for breeding, training and showing horses. It is even open for the Qatari public to use and take lessons, which everyone does because 1-it's a part of their culture and heritage 2-they can. I learned today that Qatari nationalists are the richest people in the world! There are very few actual nationalists, but those who are actually from here, are LOADED! They build skyscrapers because they can. I learned today that 60% of Doha's skyline is vacant. People build them to show off their wealth and to say "Hey, that building is the tallest/coolest/whatever building in the region) It is all just for show and a display of wealth. Crazy Right!!! This country is so much more different than Bahrain, but a GOOD different (except Bahrain is much more liberal with the Arab culture)
WELL, sorry for the long hot mess of words. With the late night, travel and wifi hotel craziness, I am now back on Blogging schedule and will post each night for the few of you who actually read this back in the states. Good Night!
