Qatar is a beautiful, put together, and well maintained country. When I first arrived, I was surprised to see how little people there were on main roads, and even in the Metro. I found that compared to the United States, where it is always busy, the Metro system here is extremely clean and not crowded at all, which I thought was interesting. When we toured the TAMU Qatar campus, I really loved the unique architecture. There are not nearly as many buildings as there are at the College Station campus, because there are only 800 students attending this campus. This was unimaginable to me seeing as to how at any given time there can be 800 students in the MSC itself! Prior to this trip, I had learned a lot about Qatar’s culture, and the Islamic religion in particular, but what I am hoping to gain from my time here is that I want to learn more by seeing it in action, and be able to ask questions and be more proactive so I can learn business ideas and concepts from a different perspective.
I have already observed several differences between Qatar and the United States, but the main one that I noticed was the way that people act and interact with each other. A lot of the way that people interact with each other is based out of complete respect, whether between or among genders. That kind of genuine respect can be hard to find in the United States, whether among students, within families, or even in places of business. The family dynamics here are really interesting to me, this nation’s people are so family oriented! They spend so much time together, and no matter what, they always take care of each other. Families are obviously a really important part of the United States culture, but Qataris’ whole lives depend on caring for their families, which I think is really genuine and fun to see!
