Opening Day!

What a day! Woke up totally bleary eyed and had to get right to work. As soon as we walked into the opening session, we learned about the situation with the aid boat in Gaza. Discussion of this tragedy colored the presentations for the entire day. But surprisingly, even though we are in an Arab country with primarily Arab participants, many advised that the peace process cannot be derailed. Many panelists said that they are sick of talking about the "peace process" and want to finally see peace.

To my satisfaction, the President of Finland spoke adamantly about the need to include women in the plans about enriching the Middle East's economic future. Several others spoke of the future as being one that will embrace a "bottom up" approach. More reinforcement that the School of Peace Studies is on the right track with its focus on community and civil society.

Queen Rania of Jordan attended the opening session. Far be it from me to be totally superficial, but she is GORGEOUS! Check out below:

Okay, I barely know my name. Off to bed...

Arrived!

Here I am in Doha! It feels like a week later, but it's only a couple of days since I left San Diego. That was one long, miserable flight! Crammed in like a sardine and hardly slept. Now, thankfully, I am in a deliciously comfortable bed and ready to pass out for awhile. It's exciting though, because in conjunction with the conference I am attending, the Doha Economic Forum is taking place at the same hotel! More tomorrow. Night -night...

Bags are packed and I'm ready to go

Passport? Check! Appropriate clothing that comes up to my neck and at least below my knees? Check! Bill Clinton's phone number in case I need to call him to come rescue me? Still working on it.

Fun facts about Qatar

In preparation for my trip, I have discovered a couple of relatively useless but nonetheless entertaining facts about Qatar:

1. The national carrier Qatar Airways allows you to buy liquor on its planes but does not allow you to bring it into the country so you end up drunk even before you set foot.

2. It's probably a good thing that I haven't yet been fortunate enough to visit Israel, because if I had an Israeli stamp in my passport, I would not be allowed to enter Qatar.

3. Under a section called, "Annoyances" on a website about Qatar, it reads: "There are really very little annoyances in Qatar besides the heat in the summer, which many people enjoy."


Good to know!

It's a dry heat

Looks like the high in Doha for the entire week that I will be there will remain at about 107 degrees. But hey, it's a dry heat so I probably won't notice, right?

3 Days and Counting

Getting very excited to embark on the trip to Doha to attend the conference "Enriching the Middle East's Economic Future V", sponsored by the Qatari government. To check out the agenda as it currently stands, please click here:

http://www.qatar-conferences.org/enriching2010/

So far they don't seem to have a keynote speaker! We shall see...