Upon arriving in Qatar, I was absolutely stunned by the ultra-modern architecture, the cleanliness of absolutely everything, and the friendliness of the people. As I have spent more time here, I have come to understand much more about the culture, and this has left me with an appreciation of the country that is deeper than its appearance. This appreciation is rooted in our study of Qatar and the surrounding countries? histories, interactions with the locals, learning about Islam and its daily practices, and learning about Qatari culture. I also have developed an understanding of the government and the direction they are trying to take Qatar mostly through the study of Qatar?s 2030 Vision, the Emir?s near-term plan to diversify the economy, boost foreign and domestic investment, make Qatar the sports hub of the Arab world, create food security, and increase education for both Qataris and non-Qataris in the country. In addition, our company outings have given us a better understanding of the business side of Qatar, and we have seen how the government is currently investing in Qatar?s future through creating sustainable domestic agriculture, a key part of 2030 Vision?s goal of food security.
We have done an incredible amount in our short time here, however, my top 5 experiences would have to start with the dhow cruise. We took a dhow, a traditional boat, into the Persian Gulf. We jumped off the boat and swam in the Gulf, had beautiful views of the nighttime Doha skyline, had some amazing Arabic food, and got to hang out and listen to music. My second favorite part of the trip was the desert excursion. We drove over sand dunes, visited the border with Saudi Arabia, had more good food, kayaked down a sand dune, rode camels, and had a great time on the beach in the middle of a gigantic desert.
My next favorite part about the trip was visiting the Souq Waqif, the open-air market in Doha. Since originally being shown around the Souq we have been back almost every day. It is massive, and despite our many trips we haven?t been inside most of the stores. Its traditional middle eastern feel and amazing restaurants make it an awesome place to go at night.
My final two spots for my top 5 experiences would have to include the Islamic Cultural Center near the Souq and the visits with Hassad food. The mosque was incredibly beautiful from the outside and towered over the Souq Waqif. Inside we were able to learn a lot about Islamic culture and specifically how it is practiced in the daily lives of the locals. Lastly, the outings to different branches of Hassad food have been really interesting. We have seen how the food security goal in the 2030 Vision is being carried out, and I have learned an incredible amount about modern agricultural practices and how Qatar is managing to grow its own food despite the almost complete lack of arable land.
A lot of the lessons I have learned have come from the classes we?ve had here. They have all been markedly different than the usual academic classes on campus. All of our classes have been discussion based – talking and learning about the culture we are currently surrounded by. Everything we have learned has been firmly grounded in the reality around us, and it was really interesting seeing the topics in real life as we were studying them. I have learned a lot about the histories and the dynamics of the relationships between Arab countries, Arab and Islamic culture, and the geopolitics of oil and gas, all incredibly valuable to my future career in the military. I think the most important lesson I have learned is that to develop a well-informed opinion on a culture?s practices you would need to spend years immersed in and analyzing the culture. Many aspects of Qatari culture have roots in hundreds of years of history, from family and tribal dynamics to geographical influence to religion, and looking at something as it appears today and trying to judge it is impossible.
