Last Friday was a fascinating day. Gary and I attended the 1st Annual Al Shaqab Independent Schools Conference. Gary gave the key note speech. He spoke about the importance of oral reading instruction and demonstrated Reader's Theater using 8 of the Al Shaqab teachers as his pretend 2nd graders. One of the Qatar professors from Egypt translated into Arabic. Today one of the teachers told me she used some of his ideas already. I was thrilled! I really enjoyed relating with the teachers in this more relaxed atmosphere.
Friday night we were invited to a friend's home for dinner with 8 other friends of hers. What an international table. The hostess was originally from Japan, but is now a citizen of the U.S. living in Atlanta. One gentleman is from Palestine, but now lives in Oklahoma. There was another British man who was raised in Bahrain. There was a young woman of Lebanese-Irish-Mexican descent who now lives in Texas. Most of these people are teaching or doing administrative duties at Qatar University. Our friend Hans is from Cologne, Germany, but has spent the last 7 years as a construction engineer in various countries in the Middle East. Everyone there was well travelled. Some had spent time in countries I hadn't even heard of. I think the way to bring peace to the world is to sit down to a meal, converse, and laugh. What a treasured memory this will be.