Finally I'm updating my blog!

Hi again everyone, sorry it's been so long since I've updated my blog!  We obviously have been very busy around here since the last time I posted.

We had a great Christmas break.  We were back in the US for about 2 weeks and even got to see some snow in North Carolina!  It was very strange to be back, driving was such a pleasure compared to here.  We really enjoyed seeing everyone and wished we could have spent longer seeing everyone that we missed.  After NC we flew up to Chicago for our annual get together with some of our UNC friends which was great.  It was very cold but that was refreshing after living here for almost 6 months, not that I'm complaining about 80 degree weather everyday.  All our flights to the US and from the US were very smooth, we were able to sleep just enough to be able to avoid too much jet lag which was a relief.

Coming back to Doha was a shock again. It's funny how quickly we got used to being back in the US!  Driving here is still such a chore and I think it always will be!  Rachel had to go back to work right away when we got back. I was lucky and had a day off! 

That first week back wasn't the most fun however... Due to forces outside of Cornell or Qatar Foundation I was forced to stop working at Cornell.  Luckily I had a week to transition everything, but needless to say it was a shock to me and Rachel as well as everyone at Cornell.  Luckily, I was able to step into a Teaching Associate position at Texas A&M so I'm not completely out of work!  I'm teaching the intro to chemistry lab twice a week which is obviously very entertaining but also exciting as I haven't ever taught a class like this before.  There is potential that I could go back to Cornell in 6 months, but we will see how that all pans out.  As of now, I'm happy and at least have something to fill my time.

On to happier subjects!  We had some more visitors in January.  Rachel was part of a Young Professionals Institute setup by QF.  Masters and Doctoral students from the University of San Diego and the University of Maryland came over to see how student affairs is applied here in the Middle East.  They were here for 2 weeks and got to experience all that Qatar has to offer.  Two of the students stayed with us for a few days which was a lot of fun.  It was really interesting to see their take on what Doha is like.

Well, that's about all that's going on here.  I feel like we're finally settling into a routine and really making this feel like home.

Again, let us know if you have any plans to travel outside the US, we're always interested in meeting people if they'll be near by!