Howdy! Today's blog post is brought to you by Tatiana Grimaldos and Saraya Gallegos! Today is officially our halfway point in this trip! It's so crazy how fast it's going by. We've loved getting to experience Qatari culture especially through our visit to the Cultural Center today.
We started off being welcomed with traditional coffee, saffron cookies, and dates in the "living room" of a standard Qatari house. This room in a Qatari household is traditionally open to the public to come in and experience hospitality. Something we learned is that the Grandfather in the household sits at the front of the room. We also learned how to properly greet guests by saying "Salam Alaikum" and kissing the forehead or shaking their hand.
We then moved on to talking about the teachings of Islam because it is such an important part of Qatari history and culture today. Next the women put on Abayas and headdresses to enter the prayer room. There we were taught how and when Muslims pray, and then got to experience a call to prayer. After that, we all put on a VR headset and experienced the history of Mecca.
Before heading out we all received backpacks filled with gifts and a personalized name card in Arabic script with our own names! The group then all split up to grab some lunch before our FIFA Fan Fest shift.
Tatiana: After lunch I only had about 30 minutes to rest before heading over to the Corniche for my shift. Once I arrived I got stationed in Zone 4 standing and helping to answer any questions people had. Today was a very slow day since there was no game going on. There was an Egyptian singer Hassan Shakosh performing tonight so the crowd picked up a bit but it was not busy at all in my section, since it was towards the back.
While working I met some people working the Fan Fest and they were so nice. We talked for the entire shift about their lives here in Doha, but also what life was like for them back in India. I got some dinner and then went back to my shift. I got to hear Hassan Shakosh perform and he was really good! I then got to leave a bit early since I was rarely approached by people who needed help.
Saraya: I decided to eat at the Student Center with half the group and get Papa Johns. I am beginning to reach my homesickness phase of the trip, I miss the "normal" food, my dog, and my friends. But I have made so many friends here, even international friends at the Fan Festival too. But having some comfort food really cheered me up again. I was hoping to take a nap after lunch but realized I had less than an hour left to change and get to my volunteer shift on time. Once I arrived at my zone, zone 2 also known as the best zone, I see that there are barely any fans. I typically enjoy this zone because I get to talk to people and help guide them to a location. I love getting to hear where people are from and I also met an Aggie family yesterday. Since it was so empty at the Fan Fest, I went on break with the girls of the group to Zone 6, the play zone. They had so many interactive games such as bubble soccer, giant foseball, and shooting games to test out your accuracy. It was so fun getting to play with my friends and we also entertained the volunteers in that area because there was no guest participating over there. My first soccerball I kicked went straight in the air and I was so embarassed since I used to play soccer since I was in 7th grade. But I redeemed myself once I kept playing and began shooting the ball perfectly in the targets. Once I went back to my zone, I helped some cool Argentina fans locate the mini FIFA store. They were hoping to find some Argentina merchandise but it was all sold out. They did offer me a ticket to the game, however it costed $1,200. That seemed liked too much money to spend, especially since I don't even know them. Plus I had already saw the Argentina vs Netherlands match, so I was happy with just one game.
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