End Year 1... Reflections

We have come full circle. It was exactly a year ago that we left so what have I learned???

1. Green spaces and fresh water lakes are a gift. Next to friends and family, I miss them the most. We are incredibly fortunate in North America.
   
2. Qataris own the road in Doha and the sooner you accept that the more serene life becomes
3. Shipping stuff halfway around the world is bloody expensive no matter which direction its going.
4. 45 degrees celcius is unpleasant no matter what kind of breeze is blowing and summer in Doha is just like winter in Saskatoon. You run from the car to work to the car to the house.
5. You don't need to ship Christmas trees to the middle east cause they've heard of Santa Claus too, you can buy one.
6. The Middle East, in fact, has all the modern conveniences. I just shake my head when I think back to what I predicted life in Doha would be like... Surprise, they do have bottled milk over here and no we don't milk the camel every morning.
   
7. Kids are the same everywhere and teaching is teaching. Its like Canadian vs American football, the game's basically the same, only a few of the rules are different.
8. Being abroad brings your family closer together. My wife, Lenore, is my best friend I have never felt closer to her. My son and I spend more time together than ever before
   
9. Teaching colleagues become surrogate families and the friendships that you develop with those collegues are very tight as everyone is is the same dhow .
   
10. For all its short comings, thank God for the internet. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be overseas without it ... No skype, no expedia, no email, local TV ... Geez people must have read a lot of books in the olden days.
    
11. International schools have a vitality that seems to be missing where I come from. The school is staffed by risk takers. People who are willing to give up the comforts of home, to travel huge distances away from family, to teach a new curriculum in a foreign culture.
12. You can play ice hockey in the middle east! ... If you don't mind playing in the food court of the local mall, or getting a skate stuck in between the ice and the boards and no, we use actual rubber pucks, not camel turds.
    
13. Camping in the desert in the winter is magical...
14. As we are now down to three, Breana is in Canada at university, we miss her daily ... We do look forward to new experiences and adventures