Driving Miss Darbi

Ladies and Gentleman, start your laughter!

I am driving. Every day. And not only am I driving every day, but I survived my first car accident while I was driving.

To begin with, I'm driving now because Darbi, my friend and coworker who I share my car with, dislocated her shoulder playing rugby. Turns out its tough to drive with one arm. I think she's just lucky we don't have a stick shift.

As for the accident, I got rear-ended while waiting to turn onto a busy road. The driver behind me was watching the traffic and not me, so he simply accelerated right into me. My car was perfectly fine (one of the very very few benefits of driving a tank) and his was good and messed up. This was the first time that I've been driving during an accident involving another car. I spun off the road one time trying to drive to pick up my mom during a blizzard, but nobody hit me or vice versa. I've also been in a number of other accidents while being a passenger, including one last week.

So yes, after all of this accident fun, I am driving more than ever before. Did I ever mention that I hate cars. My appreciation for efficient public transit is rising by the minute.

I guess the good thing about all the driving is that I'm learning the roads much faster now. I'll probably get those all down by the time it's time to leave.

We Are The Champions!

*****Boston Red Sox - 2007 World Champions*****

Poverty

My recent visit to India was incredible. It was a vacation like no other I have ever been on. I saw amazing sites, ate delicious food, and met fascinating people. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. But, the experience itself was not always enjoyable.

Forget the rats crawling over my legs, the lying taxi drivers, or the filthy conditions, what truly upset me was the overwhelming crush of poverty that is so unavoidably present in Indian life. From the minute we arrived in Mumbai, it was obvious that wealth was not pervasive in this society. This was expected from all that I had heard of the place beforehand. What I was not prepared for was the omnipresent destitution.

It was nearly impossible to glance around Mumbai (or frankly, many of the other cities in India) without seeing at least one homeless person. It was truly impossible to stop on a street, whether in a car or on foot, and not be accosted by beggars. Tiny children wandered around without clothing and full of vacant stares, yearning for loose change. Shifty adults eyed the children, collecting their earnings before they could be spent or lost. Cripples abounded, twisted by deformities that surely would have been corrected in childhood had they been born in a more affluent country.

Perhaps most disturbing, though, was my gut reaction to pull away and act niggardly with my money. I repeatedly turned down beggars whose demands represented minuscule fractions of not only my own accounts, but even what I had in my pockets. I was able to mollify myself partially by making a point of buying handmade crafts when I could, thereby seeing the money go where I wanted it. But there was still a pressing sadness, and more so, a sense of futility. No amount of charity could 'solve' the poverty in India. Only a true, top to bottom vitalization of the economy could.

I am not a socialist. I do not think that this is the role of the government, entirely. Rather, I find hope in a cross of government subsidized assistance (such as medical care) and the encouragement of an open and fair market economy. This is why I believe in the work of microfinance organizations such as Kiva.org. They offer an opportunity to support the base of an economy, not charity. If this interests you, and you like the idea of donating money and being repaid, please take a look at the link on the side of the page.

India Trip Photos

I'm back from India, had an incredible time, and am exhausted. Here are my pictures, enjoy. I'll fill in the textual blanks asap.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gregory.smith44/IndiaTrip

Oh, and please feel free to comment on the photos, I enjoy feedback!

Have No Fear Friends!

I just need to clear the air on one topic, I am not endorsing Mitt Romney.

As a matter of fact, I have yet to settle on endorsing any candidate. There is simply no point in doing so now when there is so much more to be heard.

What I was saying was that Mitt Romney made some good points in his essay. Sure, he has plenty of douchebag propagandist jargon, but hidden in between were a couple valuable ideas for our foreign policy. It just goes to show that people can be flat offensively wrong in some areas, and surprisingly inciteful in others. I don't want to discount anyone's ideas.

On the Democratic side, I just finished reading Edwards' essay on foreign policy. I still don't like a lot of his domestic policy choices, but he had a very good essay and several useful ideas on how to improve humanitarian aid. I definitely gained some respect for him.

So here are the current rankings based on the foreign policy essays published so far, in my opinion:

1) John Edwards - Plenty of substantial ideas, some very good, minimal rhetoric.
2) Mitt Romney - Kept idiotic rhetoric reasonably well down, a couple very good ideas.
3) Rudy Giuliani - Actually presented policies, but policies are damaging and offensive, please shut up.
4) Barack Obama - Oh Barack, you sucked so bad on this test. When writing a foreign policy essay, TRY PROPOSING A POLICY! Pie in the sky rhetoric is useless on its own.

سوق واقف جميل الان

So, when I visited Doha two years ago with my study-abroad group, the first thing that we did was visit Souq Waqif. At the time, it was basically one main street with shops only on one side, and a couple tiny twisting covered areas boasting about 20-30 shops selling candies, spices, and homewares. After spending weeks exploring the fabulous Mutrah souq in Oman, Waqif was drab, empty and disappointing. The only worthwile part was the falconry section, highlighted by rows of gorgeous birds on display on posts.

Needless to say, I was not exactly chomping at the bit to return to Waqif once I had moved to Doha. But last night, several of my friends decided that they needed to go abaya shoping, and Waqif certainly is the best place to buy the long black dresses at a reasonable price. I tagged along as an opportunity to get out of my apartment and be with the people I enjoy spending time with. It turned out to be a great decision.

Driving up to Waqif, everything seemed the same. But as I entered what is now referred to as the "New Old Souq" I realized that 19 months had seen as much change in the souq as had changed the rest of Doha. Waqif is now completely renovated so that there are about 3-4 times as many shops ranging from nice restaurants, traditional craft shops, fabric stores, and all of the original ones. On top of that, the expanded souq has been completely redecorated so as to look like an authentic old Arab souq. We began the night strolling down the street that had held only one side of shops before. Now it is teeming with activity on both sides with street coffee shops and the pulsating beat of Gulf music.

It had been recommended to us that we eat dinner at Tajine, a Moroccan restaurant on the main drag of the souq. While they sadly were out of the baby camel that I ordered, I was thrilled by the lamb stew that I ended up with. The strong Moroccan spices and sweet cinnamon sugar glaze on the onions and tomatoes scintillated and the moist, fall straight off the bone, meat was succulent. Most of the rest of the group was thrilled by their "Couscous with Seven Vegetables" and even the drab looking kofta with french fries were delicious. A suggestion to any planning on trying Tagine out, the appetizers are delicious, but the Lbranya (a blend of eggplant and moroccan spices) is to die for.

Fully sated by our dinner, we wandered the souq. The girls all found abayas to purchase, and I was greatly amused by the rock lobster I found. Cute, isn't it? And for a coll 6,000 Qatari Riyal, it too can be yours! Enchanted by the surroundings, we ended up simply wandering the souq for a couple hours. Finally, weighted down with sweet halwa, new stone prayer beads, and reams of fabric, we headed back home.

Souq Waqif is still not the same cultural experience as Mutrah Souq, but it is now a lot of fun and a great place to relax and walk around. I strongly recommend for anyone visiting Doha, or for any of you who live here and need to relax a bit, take a couple hours at the Souq. You won't regret it.

Want to know more? Check out the souq at: http://www.soukwaqif.com