Yesterday, I got to experience one of the best parts about the Ramadan season...The Garangao Celebration! This is a local children's celebration that happens around the time of Ramadan where kids and adults participate in a parade where they sing, play instruments (mainly drums), and instead of throwing candy at the parade watchers, we gave them candy as they passed by (side note: they love their sweets out here). The kids also dressed up in traditional muslim garb and they looked so adorable! My little gentlemen walked around in their "mini-sheik" outfits--holy cow! I couldn't believe how wonderful they looked. The singing and instrument playing filled the halls and the excitement on the kids' faces just can't be described. Good thing I have pictures! One thing I loved in particular was that there were a lot of non-muslim students in the parade as well. It was so nice to see the kids celebrate and come together. Check out the pics and videos on my facebook!
I also found out today that all the processing is finished and I'm officially a resident of Qatar! This allows me to have my passport back, thereby allowing me to leave the country (score!), and most importantly, buy a car! I've been renting this entire time and it gets pricey, so I'm excited to finally be able to get a car. One more step to feeling settled.
The end of this week will mark the halfway point on my journey to our September break; otherwise known as Eed. The break will be a week long and much-needed! This will also be the first time that I'm in Doha, not working, and not doing anything school related. I'll finally have a chance to see the city and really relax. I feel like I've been going non-stop since I got here cuz oh wait...I HAVE! :)
My last bit of exciting news came with the discovery of a marvelous little contraption known as the Slingbox. The slingbox, ladies and gentlemen, is a device that my parents will connect to their tv. It'll send a signal back to my computer and the software I've downloaded. I'll then be able to do the following: watch any channel live that my parents get through their cable, DVR any show that my parents get through their cable and therefore, most importantly, SEE MY HAWKEYES GAMES! The best part about that last one is that I can DVR them so that I don't have to be up till midnight or 1am on Saturday night (a school night) to see the games live. Don't get me wrong, I'd be totally willing but this is way better! I'll simply hook up my computer to my tv, open up the software and BAM! Go hawks, baby! Another funny thing about it is that if my parents are watching tv at the same time, I can only watch what they're watching at the time! So unless it's the middle of the night or I'm watching DVR, my parents and might still be fighting over the TV...or calling them to change the channel :) My friend Kristin (not Keeling) told me she calls her swingbox her "America Box". She used it in Hungary as well as here and she told me that whenever she misses the States, she turns on her America Box. I have a feeling I'll be doing the same, but I think I'll be caling it my "Iowa Box".
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