After spending two weeks in Doha, Qatar I realized how many misconceptions I had cleared and found it very interesting to have learned about such a unique part of the world. One major factor that plays into the business world in Qatar is that most businesses need a Qatari partner who owns 51 percent of the company. That obviously has its own challenges and makes you wonder if running the business there is worth it. There are plenty of businesses but most focus on oil and gas because of the huge oil and gas field, the North Field, that is on the coast of Qatar. Another interesting aspect of business is that they are required to pay for housing for all employees, and there’s no income tax, so if you work there, you are able to pocket a lot more money than if you were to work in America. Qatar is a very newly rich country, so they don’t exactly know how to handle their money, which is why there’s so many huge empty buildings that aren’t in use. I also learned that people tend to stay to themselves and not bother with how the country is run, because of the consequences that may happen from speaking up. My time abroad has changed my perspective of the middle east and Islam as a whole. I didn’t do much research about it, so I didn’t know what to expect besides the stereotypes given to that area of the world. After talking with businesses, locals, and many TAMU Qatar students, I realized all of those stereotypes are wrong. The people in Qatar are some of the best people I’ve ever met, and I hope I am able to meet many more. We discussed many similarities and differences for hours and cleared misconceptions that we both had for each other. After two weeks in Qatar, I can definitely say I would go back, and I recommend everyone visit at some point in their life.