First Impressions of Doha, Qatar

Even as I made my way to the airport in NY, it still hadn't hit me that I was about to leave the country. I was about to be 7000 miles away from the only thing I had ever known. Yet, there was nothing. No nervousness, No worries. I was simply existing. As I sat in the airport waiting for my plane to D.C., I was chit chatting with my friend about this and that. We didn't discuss my fears, or any nervous, just the normal happenings in our world.
When I got off the plane in D.C. the plane to Doha, was already boarding. Still I was more mesmerized by the fact that this plane could fit over 300 people and had private suites.
Twelve long hours I arrive in Qatar. At 6:30pm local time it is still dark. However, the temperature is well above 90 degrees. The first thing that amazed me about Doha is the fact that almost no one who lives here is from the Middle East. In other words, there are a lot of foreigners from all over the word. Also to my surprise everything was written in Arabic and English.

Even though things are written in English not everyone here is fluent in English. It's funny because I usually have such a large vocabulary. Now, instead of saying words like magnificent and wonderful, I say things like nice and pretty. You have to slow down and listen hard. Funny enough, I like the challenge of figuring out what they are saying. I secretly plan to learn some Arabic while Im here. Most things are in English but some people are still working on it lol.

Anyhow, the plane lets us off of in the middle of the Tarmac somewhere and a bus takes us to the Doha arrival center. There is nearly no one in the center. You get in line and the nice attendant asks you if you have a visa or if you want to buy one. I tell her I want to buy one, she says "ok" , charges my card and stamps my passport. After the India situation I was terrified of visas but Doha has redeemed the visa process.

The driver meets me at the door. As we ride through the city I am truly amazed by what I see. The buildings and architecture in Doha are far more beautiful than anything I have ever seen. They are better than Chicago, better than New York and the lights are better than Vegas. It was absolutely amazing. Everything is so clean and modern. So beautifully made. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to do much else today as we are seven hours ahead. But I can't wait to wake up to tomorrow and discover what Doha has to offer.