My time in Qatar has been incredible with once-in-a-lifetime experiences happening every day. Before arriving in this small country in the Middle East, I had no idea what to expect. I had a very misconstrued idea of what it would look and feel like. I imagined sandy deserts with a good-sized town in the middle of it like you would see in movies portraying the middle east with stucco-lined houses and a subtle lack of modernization. I even brought toilet paper in my suitcase because I did not know if I would need it.
My preconceived ideas of Qatar could not have been more wrong. Doha, the capital of Qatar, is legitimately full of skyscrapers of varying designs and colors. I was astonished to see that the whole city and surrounding cities were green with trees and grasses and there was a great deal of infrastructure for such a young country. The malls here are incredibly large, imagine the biggest mall you have ever been in and add 3 stories to it and make it 5 times as large. This is where the people of Doha shop, there are no convenience stores on the corners of roads or a supermarket off the side of a busy street, only malls to shop at. The whole city of Doha is very extravagant with all the buildings being of very grand stature, almost looking surreal.
The most surprising part of this trip has been how nice the people here have been to Americans. For instance, our group toured a fresh produce processing facility, and we were welcomed with open arms, given business cards, coffee, tea, snacks, gifts, and a full tour of their facility. They explained how their government works with agriculture to become more self-sufficient and we were able to see the entire process. As an agricultural economics major, I was amazed by the state-of-the-art ethyl/carbon dioxide sterilization unit they were using for the produce. You can see me admiring the machine next to the man giving us the tour with his arm around my shoulder in the pictures. This is just one of many times we have been treated with an incredible amount of respect and kindness.
This trip to Qatar has been such an amazing experience and I have made great friends all while learning about a completely different country that has, surprisingly, much in common with America. None of this would have been possible without the Center for International Business Studies, Kerri Vance, Stephanie Martinez at TAMUQ, and Ken McFarland at Mays. Thank you all very much for putting this affordable and incredible trip together to help expand our cultural relativism in a business sense.
