Its Hot Doha!

For anyone who grew up in the Evansville or Owensboro area in the late 80s, you remember the car commercials for Don Moore.  The ad started with a man floating in a pool saying "Its hot Don!" Another person would then say - "You can say that again".. To which the man in the floaty would say - "Its hot Don!" (The commercial isn't online but here is a youtube parody of it)

As I reflect on my first week in Doha - the term that comes to mind is "Its Hot! Doha!"

The Gulf region is known for having some of the hottest temperatures in the world. Summer temperatures range from a high of 110 to a low of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. With humidity, the temperature feels like 120+ degrees Fahrenheit. 

I knew about the temperature before coming. People who had lived in Qatar before had warned me what is was like - so hot that you cant even cross the street.  Humidity so high that you never have a chance to sweat - your body literally can not cool down. I heard about this and dreaded it. 

I prepared by buying lightweight cotton and linen clothing. I exercised outside in the heat of the Seattle afternoon (which maxed out at 90 degrees) in an attempt to acclimate. But I learned that nothing prepares you for the steam room that is Qatar in summer - unless you spend your time exercising in a steam room. 

The problem with this extreme heat is that you can not go outside. Its hard to exercise outside, hard to even walk between buildings. Even though my office and home are less than 1 mile apart, the heat makes it unsafe to walk between the two. I tried to last week and ended up at home just lying on the cold tile floor for 20 minutes to cool down. 

The best time to go out is either 4-6am in the morning or late at night - neither are an ideal option. I attempted two runs in the early morning last week, only making it 1.5 miles and collapsing into an ice pack at the end. This morning I did a 5 Kilometer walk to explore campus before students arrive. After just 2 km - I was dripping in sweat! At 6am it was already 95 degrees with a real feel of 100! 

Further complicating the heat is the conservative dress code. Shorts and tank tops are very much frowned upon - for men and women. Short sleeves are somewhat acceptable. When I exercise outside, I wear loose fitting long pants. One day when it cools down, I may try leggings but I'm not there yet.

Its so hot that it is nearly impossible to walk around campus - especially in the middle of the day. The campus provides bus shuttles that take us from building to building, and umbrellas when we have to walk through expansive courtyards like the one below. 

The bus stops are outdoors but they are air conditioned - which is an absolute necessity here! During the day, you hide in the bus stop until the bus arrives..then walk slowly (so as not to generate more heat) to the air conditioned bus. 

I'm learning to stay inside during the hottest part of the day (which is basically all day) and accept that I will sweat as a way of life. Thankfully with the interior air conditioning, it is quite comfortable, and water is never very far away. 

I've been told that the weather starts to cool in October and becomes quite pleasant in November- February - sometimes even cold! I look forward to that time. 

In the mean time - Its Hot Doha! (You can say that again!) 

Radically Accepting Dis-orientation

Its 3am in Doha as I write this blog post. Its my third night in Doha and my body keeps waking up at 1 or 2am. My stomach wants to eat at 9pm , 3am, and 10am Doha time. I feel dizzy and have no sense of date or time. I struggle to stay awake in the middle of the day. I'm not sick, I am just dis-oriented in the new travel, location, and culture. 

Today was new faculty orientation. When you start a new position or new school year - the academy sets up 1-2 weeks of meetings and social gatherings to help you adjust. The firehose of information and new people is overwhelming -even when you've taught higher ed for 20 years - so I refer to orientation weeks as dis-orientation week. 

Qatar University asks faculty to return 1 week before the students. In a university with a global faculty, this means that faculty come from all over the world. Today's orientation group contained faculty from Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. The first session included check-in and small gifts (a notebook with a built in wireless charger and a nice travel mug). Then a 45 minute session introducing us to the university, student body, and general policies. The session and slides were entirely in Arabic.

I don't speak Arabic (despite studying for 1 and half years on Duolingo) so the university supplied translators for us - leading to a new experience of live translation through a headset.

After the session - they supplied us with coffee and an amazing spread of treats like bit size tomato cheese sandwiches, fresh fruit, and Arabic pastries (Sorry - I forgot to take a photo).

The university did an excellent job setting up the orientation - scheduling one morning session, then asking all of the important services like HR, IT, Immigration, Health Services, and transportation to sit in one hall. They then gave us a checklist of all the services we need to visit and 4 hours to visit them all. The orientation took place in a large bright room with chairs in the middle for new faculty to sit in while waiting for services to open. Most importantly, they supplied us with coffee and snacks` - including fresh arabic coffee and dates (Yum).

Everyone here has been incredibly kind and welcoming. But despite the organization - the coffee and the dates - I felt lost and overwhelmed for much of the day. People had to restate things 3 or 4 times before I understood them.  For someone who spent the last 4 years directing start of the year orientations - this loss of control can make me feel like a failure.

Thankfully, in the weeks before I left, my therapist helped me practice Radical Acceptance - accepting situations that are out of your control and the emotions that come along - without judging them. I accept the emotions that come along with the situation - I am frustrated that my body wants to fall asleep, I am angry that I woke up at 2am and could not fall asleep, and I sad when I miss family/friends. These negative emotions are natural - I accept them as being present.  Then I use those emotions to guide me to what I need to do next. 

I can't change jet lag but I can accept that I will be out of sync for a while - then adapt my routine to accommodate it. This meant that I embrace that I fall asleep at 8pm, and will wake up at 2am. I can be angry, or use the time for bonus yoga and mindfulness sessions on the Calm app or write a blog post at 3 in the morning. I can't change the heat, but I can commiserate with other faculty about the heat - which helps us bond. I miss family and friends, so I call or text them every day - keeping in contact better than when we share the same continent. I can be frustrated that I don't understand Arabic - and use that frustration to ask for help. I asked Arabic speakers to help me practice saying things like my university id number in Arabic. This helps me build a connection with the people around me which help reduce loneliness. Dis-orientation is my guide as I orient to a new culture.

Generally, it takes the body 1 day to adjust for each hour of change, so I hope my body adjusts by the weekend or middle of next week. The cultural and language dis-orientation will continue as long as I embrace it.