Ramadan Kareem!

'Generous Ramadan'

Ramadan will be upon Qatar either starting tomorrow or Tuesday. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from food, liquids (yes, even water), and other sensual pleasures in order to practice self-restraint and generosity. Fasting is one of the "five pillars" of Islam along with the declaration of faith, daily prayers, charity, and a pilgrimage to Mecca. All this fasting means means the hour prior to sunset, folks drive like crazy to make it to their Iftar meals (the first meal after fasting all day). The US Embassy sent a warning email suggesting that expats avoid the roads the hour before sunset, as there is a higher rate of accidents during that hour during Ramadan. Restaurants are closed during the day and no alcohol is sold or served (even in the hotels). Non-Muslims are to take their food, drink, or smokes in private and not do any such activities in the views of Muslims during that time (no, not even in your car). One is also suppose to be more modest in clothing (watch those necklines and hemlines!). After sunset- the shops and restaurants will stay open later to accommodate all the merrymaking. I'm curious to see how my students are in class during this time.

The month is the ninth month of the Islamic and is based on lunar-sightings. There is some contention if the month starts when the moon is viewed with the naked eye (leading different Islamic countries to start on different days) or starts based on astrological calculations. At the end of the month, Muslims celebrate with communal prayers on Eid ul-Fitr, or feast of the fast-breaking. It also means a week-long vacation from classes, during which I will be in Morocco, hiking the mountains!

Speaking of sporting, a former high school cross-country teammate of my brother's was Muslim and fasted even during the season. He would train and compete without a drop of water until the sun went down. And given how Ramadan is determined, the month will fall during the cross-country season the entire time he will run cross country in college. I asked a colleague if Muslim athletes get any sort of dispensation. She said no, religion is first, sports second. Her father played in soccer leagues and the team simply trained a little less or worked out closer to sunset. The Education City Recreation Center just sent out a notice of when to work out or lift during Ramadan fasting time (so as not to over-tax a fasting body).

This being my first Ramadan, I'm curious to see how it goes. I do believe I will fast for a day or two myself, just to experience what my peers and students experience for a whole month. In the meanwhile, I'll be extra sure to remember my lunch each day , as the Subway in our building will be closed all month (ditto for the Starbucks in the LAS building). Ramadan Kareem!

Marhaba Qatar!

I'm back in Qatar! The little push-pin that represents me on the world map has moved back to the Middle East for the next academic year. I'll be teaching both semesters, mainly because the students desperately want/need electives and they seem to think I did a good job. But my teaching position also covers my salary as the new Sustainability Coordinator for Carnegie Mellon Qatar. I hope to coordinator, promote, and encourage environmental and sustainability initiatives on campus. I'm still figuring out what that entails but I have some ideas.

It felt surreal packing to return- I couldn't believe it was time to leave already. I had made two lists before I left Qatar- one of things I left in my spare room and things I brought back to the States. The lists proved helpful in answering questions such as recalling if a jacket was here or there and did I really need that wide-brim hat? I packed significantly less than last time- I shipped two boxes and packed four suitcases (one suitcase even had another suitcase in it!). Last trip I had 3 boxes and 5 suitcases. I knew that I didn't need too many going-out clothes and that I should stock up on shoes before I left (shoe quality can be doubtful here). Logistics were easier this time as well, as I didn't need a visa, medical testing, or any new shots.

The emotional packing proved harder though. I found myself becoming very distraught about leaving my wonderful boyfriend James for another few months. We've been together for over two years now (having known each other for 8 years prior) and have done some version of a long-distance relationship for the entire time except summers together in Chicago. I've been in Pittsburgh, Washington DC, and now Doha. He's been in Chicago and spent this summer's Mondays-Thursdays in Virginia, so we only saw each other on weekends. The 4 months we have until we see each other again really isn't so bad when you hear stories about the laborers/nannies/maids in Doha who don't see their families for years. That puts things in perspective but it doesn't make things hurt any less.

It now feels odd but also normal to be back. I know the roads, the stores, the apartment complex. It feels 'normal' and while in the States I often referred to Doha as 'home'. But Chicago felt familiar and 'home'-like as well. It felt as if I had hit pause on my Doha-life, lived a Chicago-summer, and then returned to Doha to hit 'play'. Since things feel more normal, I hope this means I've recovered from my culture shock of last semester and I'm now more acclimated to this world. Well- to the stores and the driving and the people, but not necessarily the heat. That's another story.

Carnegie Mellon Qatar on PBS

Tomorrow PBS will feature a show on Education City, to be shown at 8:30pm (EDT) local time in Pittsburgh. (Check out PBS Website for local showtimes- Looks like the show will air on Channel 11 in Chicago on Sunday, May 18 at 12 noon CDT.)

The program entitled, "Should American universities be trying to win over young hearts and minds in the Middle East?"should feature a good amount of Carnegie Mellon Qatar and our students. However, I'm wary about what angle the show may take.

The title of the program alone makes me suspicious about their portrayal of our campus. However, a recent story Dean Thorpe told at Carnegie Mellon Qatar's first graduation also leads me to believe the story may not be entirely favorable.

As the graduation ceremony wrapped up, Dean Thorpe offered true story with a bit of random advice attached. He cautioned the students, whom we fully anticipate to be the leaders of tomorrow, that when they encounter media and the press, to be prepared for 'ambush journalism'. He said a camera crew from the States was in a few weeks ago and brought all their lights and cameras into his office and 'just wanted to ask a few questions'. So after the normal niceties and the usual questions, they sprung on him a question something along the lines of 'How would you respond to the accusation that you are taking away good educational resources from your home campus and/or America?'

Uh. Um.

He said he responded something about how this campus offers our students and faculty a chance to be exposed to different cultures, to become more active and engaged in world affairs, and be better global citizens when they rotate back into the Pittsburgh campus.

I understand he had to come up with that on the spot, in front of a rolling camera, and needed to address the issues related to the 'accusation'. However, as one not intending to 'roll' back into the Pittsburgh campus or for those faculty not from the Pittsburgh campus, this is a bit of a stretch. I'd would have to joke and say I'm here as an immigrant worker, seeking opportunities not available to me in the United States.

But getting back to the PBS show, I'm curious how they will present Education City. How they will bring up or address hostile comments towards our community and if they will embrace the idea that education is crucial ending the ignorance, hostility, and unrest that permeates this region. (Check out Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin's Three Cups of Tea for another take on the importance of education).

Some Feedback on the Sustainability Mini

Yes- I need to update (especially about India and Jordan!) and I'm thankful that Blogger now incorporates the ability to schedule future posts. That will be especially helpful while traveling.

I'm sorting through the piles of '51-276 Examining Sustainability in the Gulf Region' self-evaluations I requested of the students. I originally did not plan to request these self-evaluations but I was curious how they would rate themselves (and I was also unsure how to grade the students).

In going through the evaluations- I noticed a few interesting observations:

1) One student commented and wondered if anyone would honestly give themselves lower than an 'A' ? Actually, yes- some did. And interestingly enough, they were all non-Arab students.
2) One student (Palestinian) informed me that 'doing such evaluations is very hard for us. Our culture is more of community based rather than individualistic, so we tend to underestimate our work to favor community.' I'm going to email the student and hopefully get more of an explanation about this statement.

(On a related note- I've heard that it's hard to student groups to have true club elections- for students won't run against each other for fear of shaming the other person by beating them. I've also heard it's been hard to have a debate club on campus- for students don't want to shame the other person by pointing out the faults or errors in the other's arguments. Interesting.)

[Breaking News Alert- freak rain shower in progress here at 3 pm in May!]

Regarding the course, I received some positive feedback.
"I enjoyed this course very much. I learned about many solutions and systems that I have never heard about before. ...I would like to thank you for every thing you have done for us. Your feedbacks were very helpful and valuable to me. I hope to see you the next semesters."

"Thanks for the course again :) was fun thinking about the environment and not code design. If the same amount of smartness and work is put by students into environmental sustainability, there surely can be a change."

"I hope this course will continue and more students take it as its very interesting and fun learning at the same time. I found out very fascinating facts from the book we read and from class discussions."

"I really enjoyed the class and enjoyed doing the project"

"Thank you for the course , it was really [sic] benefical. "

"Thanks for a great mini course!!"

"I’d like to add that I really enjoyed the content and idea of this course, and wish it would have been a full semester course as that would have given us plenty more time to work on the final project. Thanks a lot for this course!"

I'll give my own assessment of the course when I have a little more time to think about it- but overall I think I achieved the original goal of having the students begin to recognize the importance and prevalence of systems in our everyday world.