Qatar Study Tour Day 9

Today in Doha was an amazing day. In school, they celebrated Qatar National Day, which is on the 18th of December. To celebrate it, some classes put on presentations teaching the other students about Qatari customs, which included everything from women’s daily lives to football (soccer). There was a ton of food, which was all traditional Qatari food ranging from chicken and rice to cake. There were also activities, such as quizzes on Qatar’s history. Additionally, all of the students wore maroon or white as those are the colors on the Qatari flag. 
In the middle of the school day, we all had lunch from the school cafeteria for the first time. The cafeteria had several options for lunches, desserts, and drinks. My host bought me chicken and rice, a muffin, and a mango juice, and after we finished we played volleyball and badminton until the break was done. 
After school finished, all of the students from CGS, their hosts, and a few other students got onto the bus that would take them to Arabian nights, the activity for the evening. However, after a mostly uneventful bus ride, the bus got stuck in the middle of the sand. It was later explained that because it had rained so much the night before, the sand was still wet and unstable, which is why the bus couldn’t go any further. Because of that, the students and adults were transported in small groups by truck to the area that we would spend the next few hours in, for the Arabian night. 
The area was right on the water and was a beautiful view, and thankfully we arrived before sunset so we were able to enjoy that too, as well as take some great pictures. 
When we had all settled in, the chef who worked with the program explained how he made the dinner that we would eat. He passed around the spices, and explained how he dug a hole for the lamb to be cooked in. We then gathered around and watched in amazement as he dug the meal out of the hole in the sand.
The meat was served with rice and salad, and was delicious. We all gathered around tables in the tents that were set up and enjoyed the food. 
After the dinner, it was time to go back. This time there were lots more pickup trucks to bring us back to the bus, but unfortunately, it was still stuck in the sand. Although the drivers tried their best to tether and pull the bus out, it still didn’t budge. Eventually, they had no choice but to call us another bus, which arrived shortly. 

After a quiet bus ride back home, everybody said their goodbyes and headed back to another night with their host families. Overall, it was an excellent day and a great experience in Qatar. 

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