No doubt you are all anxious about my fingerprints. I faithfully applied vaseline to my fingers and palms day and night for 10 days. Confidently, I was driven to the police station, this time sure I would pass the fingerprint test. The groove lines seemed to be distinct this time save for the tips of my fingers and the middle of my palms, but I was sure that did not matter. Two technicians worked with me and at the end, the technician smiled. Smiling means you passed - right? So, I went to the receptionist - the man who gave me the bad news last time and remembered me this time around!-- and he began to explain that I would have to return next week and try again. This time I should bring my husband. Oh, my gosh, I thought. How could this be? I told him that I was sure he was mistaken. I was sure I had passed. He had me identify the technician who then printed out my fingerprints --- which again, I thought, meant I had passed. Alas, no, that's not what it meant. Instead, I think he decided that delaying everything another week just meant he would have to deal with me again and disppointing me a third time must not have seemed worth the trouble. The receptionist took the fingerprints and told me to follow him. I was ushered into another room with 3 men that spoke loudly and were in police uniforms. One asked me questions and told me to sit down and he put something in the computer. Finally, he asked me where I was working at the University. Stretching matters a bit, I told him the law school. He said he knew the Dean. With that he smiled, ripped up my fingerprints and told me that I passed. I returned to the receptionist to thank him. Instead, he told me to wait until he double checked on me. Then he entered something in the computer, smiled and told me "All done".
I celebrated by having my driver drop me off at Villagio - a huge Qatar mall. Doha was experiencing a huge dust storm at the time, so visibility was almost nothing. I decided walking a mall was just what I needed. This mall is amazing. There is a full ice skaking rink, an amusement park at one end (indoors) and boat rides available down the middle canal that runs thru the mall. The disappointment is that most shops are American shops or British or European shops. After lapping it a couple times, I took a cab home - glad I at least saw it!
The real celebration came in the evening when a friend took us to Katara along the Persian Gulf, not far from where we live. This is a new development with a walkway along the beach, a huge outdoor amphitheatre, unique artistic shops with handmade jewelry, clothes, and rugs as well as a wonderful book shop with arabic and english travel and art books. There are some first class restaurants along the beach - Turkish, Lebanese, seafood, Egyptian, Indian. We chose the Turkish and had a delightful meal served in a setting that was lovely with traditionally dressed staff. We tried 4 different cold dishes to share - salad, a yogurt spread, a potato based salad with the most delicious warm bread I have tasted! The main dish was chicken and lamb. We splurged on this meal, but it was worth it. We will no doubt return and try another restaurant ---- or decide we really like Turkish food!
I find myself at the univesity this morning. I had a lovely long conversation with the ABA sponsored representative at Qatar University. I agreed to co-teach a clinic at the law school on Domestic Violence. More on that later. I have some work to do! There are 25 professors at the law school. All 25 are men. So, I wonder how I will fit in? That question is yet to be answered.
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