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?