Hello, my name is AJ Baird. I am currently on a study abroad trip to Doha, Qatar. It is a very fun trip so far with lots of new experiences. To start off, let’s begin with the first impressions of the trip. It’s a very safe place. Haven’t seen any crime or anything suspicious. There are not as many people during the day time. Even though it is winter, I guess people are just accustomed to the warm weather so they normally want to stay away from the outside. The buildings and the skyline are very beautiful. The lights and the heights and architecture of the buildings are very amazing. It amazes me what humans can accomplish. Their culture is very different but our culture is very similar as well. America and Qatar are both hardworking people.
What I hope to gain from the trip is to learn more about the culture. Learn how they think and their processes for different outcomes are. For example, I heard a story of a foreigner that stole something and he was eventually caught and he was immediately deported from the country. This shows how the Qatari people have zero tolerance for crime. I like how simple yet structured the judicial system is. Nobody breaks the law because the punishment for crime is pretty brutal to endure. Some differences between this country and America is that Qatar has an Emir which is ideally a king of Qatar making it a monarchy while America is a constitutional republic. The emir has full control over the government and while he has given up some power over the years to make some room for democracy, he still has most control in what happens making political processes fast. This has been my first blog post and I hope you enjoyed it.