Easter Weekend - March 21st thru 23rd

Realizing that it's been over a month since the celebrated of the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I must say that the pictures we took from the weekend's celebrations were just too cute not to share with you. You'll notice that Daddy is not included in any of the pictures. Well, that is because unfortnately he had been working a shut-down that continued through the entire weekend, including Easter Sunday. The kids and Mommy celebrated as best we could, though, by: opening the baskets the Easter Bunny brought for the kids, sharing Easter-goodie bags with the kids from our compound (some of which didn't celebrate Easter but were grateful either way), enjoying Easter brunch with friends at the Ramada hotel's restaurant (which was also celebrating Mother's Day for all of the Middle Eastern community), participating in an Easter egg hunt at a friend's villa (at which Gabrielle found one of the golden eggs that was filled with money - in addition to the money already included in her basket), midnight Mass for Gabrielle and Mommy at the new church (as Daddy and Nick stayed home asleep), swimming at Alfardan Garden I's compound pool, and a sighting of the proverbial "lamb" in the back of some local's pick up truck! Whew!!! You think the kids were tired at the end of it all? Just think of how Mommy felt!!!! LOL! Again - Enjoy the pics!

Internation Women's Day with the SSLG - March 21st

The Spanish Speaking Ladies group celebrated International Women's Day in true Latin style last month. Ladies and even children performed in front of a live audience, dances from their native countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, and Peru. My personal favorite was the Jarabe Tapatio from Mexico, which you are listening to. My brother-in-law back in the States is from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He has performed this dance with my sister at several special events more times that I can remember. "Hola, Sergio!! Echate un grito. Nos vemos pronto!"






















Being a member of this group has brought my children and I an awareness of our culture and background that we hadn't really thought much about lately. In reference to race, we have always taught our children that people, regardless of color or where they are from, are people just like everyone else. As a matter of fact, it is custom/the norm here in Doha to be asked the question, "What country are you from?" which just points out the diversity of cultures which exists in this small town. It has been great exposure for our kids. And our children have been taught to simply reply, "I am a Mexican from the United States."












Moving on, the pictures above illustrate one of the most memorable dances of the entire event. With the location of this venue set right in the middle of the popular Hyatt Plaza mall, it was expected that there would be a larger audience than intended. What great exposure!! Well, that was so until the lady from Peru performed her dance, in her adorably cute native costume! Oh, did I mention it was SHORT! Let me tell you, all the mall goers in the area just seemed to stop right in their tracks. The one group that particularly caught my attention and whose picture I couldn't help myself from taking was that of a group of local ladies who appeared less than happy to see this type of "exposure." The looks on their faces were as if they were insulted that someone would do this, without regard to the local culture. I must admit that the full three minutes of her performance were a bit tense for some of us that had noticed these ladies. One of them even pulled out their camera phone and began taking pictures of her. I wondered what would they be wanting that picture for?? Well, to my relief, at the end of it all, the group of Qatari women simply clapped and went on their way. Maybe they CAN appreciate the freedom women from cultures other than their own have, after all. I remember taking to my friend Gina about the whole thing, and we both had thought, "What an interesting post for my blog this would be." I hope you all agree!!!

And as we always like to do, we're including a picture of our kids with yet another one of Gabrielle's friends. Her name is Valentina and she and her family are from Colombia. Luckily, the children are still to young to have realized what all the ruckus was about. They were just more than happy with the buffet of different foods and multiple options of desserts that were available to them. What kid wouldn't be?

Nick at "Music 4 Me" Class with Gabrielle - March 19th

With Nicholas not enrolled in school just yet, we have had to find other activities he might enjoy to occupy his weekdays. One of them has been taking ice skating lessons at Villagio Mall. (See older posts for those pictures.) The other one, is a popular Music 4 Me Class held at the Alfardan I Compound. For the past 10 weeks, Mommy and Nick have attended a 45-minute a week class, singing and dancing to all sorts of different children's songs; plus get to keep a copy of the songs on a CD which are played practically non-stop in Mommy's truck. Let's just say, the songs just grow on you!!!

He'd enjoyed them so much and was so cute when singing at the top of his lungs in the back seat, that his big sister Gabrielle's curiosity got the best of her. She had hoped that one day she would get the opportunity to attend this class with her little brother, and that day finally did come. The kids were so excited! They sat together and for once in their little lives, sissy was following Nick's lead. They sang, danced, played instruments, popped bubbles, played peek-a-boo, and received cute little stamps on the backs of their hands to end the session off nicely. All in all, they were both very happy and tired little campers at the end of it all. I must admit that it's nice they are this little and close enough in age that they can still enjoy some of the same things. Daddy and I are enjoying this time, too, since we know it will not last forever. Se la vi!!

Here are some pics of classes from the previous session. You might recognize Nick's most constant Doha companion, Parker Jackson, Todd and Hannah's son. Both boys have truly blossomed during this term of these classes. What fun we've all had!

Doha Zoo Field Trip with Gabrielle's First Grade Class - March 17th

Gabrielle will be a full 7 years old on Cinco de Mayo this year, and we are a bit ashamed to admit that it was here in Doha, Qatar that she had her FIRST TRIP TO THE ZOO - EVER! When her school sent home the note announcing the trip and requesting parent volunteers, Gabrielle was beside herself with excitement. Neither one of us would have missed it for the world! After a quick group picture with her closest of friends, we were off. The first LIVE animal Gabrielle saw was a GIRAFFE! "It's real, Mom! A giraffe!! A giraffe!" (Real discreet, right?) Then, we were off to zebras and several others. Hungry anyone? Gabrielle was very intrigued by the fact that a lot of these animals mostly ate green "grass". (See picture below where she was willing to give it a try for herself - not really!)

We had heard many stories about how interesting the Doha Zoo here is. Some people were said to have loved it because of the types of animals you are able to see there, different from those in the zoo's back in the States. Others from the opposite end say it is extremely sad to visit it and see the horrible conditions these animals shelter's are in. Also, seeing beautiful tigers and jaguars, etc. in captivity can be a lot to handle for some animal lovers. Well, as for the two of us, we seemed to give our sympathy more so to the little mice that were being sacrificed for the sake of the SNAKES at the zoo. You know, in the back of your mind you know that these things have to happen since it is the whole CIRCLE OF LIFE thing, but to actually see it live and in person alongside several FIRST GRADERS was another thing! If only us mothers had been warned about this, we probably would have been more prepared!! LOL~

Nonetheless, I believe the children had a wonderful time at the zoo and are better off for having this experience behind them. None of them seemed to be traumatized one bit - how resilient! Truly, from a kid's perspective, it was a great learning experience as Gabrielle and her class were requested to walk around the zoo with notepads and pencil in hand, identifying the differences amongst all the groups of animals located there. A GOOD PLAN CAN CERTAINLY TAKE YOU FAR. Great idea, Mrs. Shahen! As for me and my fellow parent volunteer, we had so much fun that we came up with a name for our little group of kids: The Fantastic Four! And they were truly fantastic kids! We hope the true adventurousness of our trip comes to life in these pictures; and hope you agree that this trip was well worth it for the two of us as well as worth sharing with you all!

BTW - If you're wondering why there aren't any pictures of camels within this zoo's walls, well, it is simply because they are free to roam pretty much everywhere else OUTSIDE of these walls!!