La vida es una sola...: February 2011

ASD Dragon Triathlon

Yesterday I was able to help out and volunteer at an amazing ASD event: The Dragon Triathlon -- Just Tri It 2011! One of the lower elementary P.E. teachers organized the event and with lots of wonderful help it was such an amazing success. I have to admit that I was even choked up as the last participant crossed the finishing line. I think it was a such a great opportunity for people of all ages. There were adults that participated as well as children as young as four and five. It was great seeing some of my students out there trying their best and having a great time. If this becomes an annual event, I hope to participate next year! Here are some pictures from this amazing day.

The t-shirts all the volunteers wore. The participants received white ones.

Preparing for the big day.

Some of the registration helpers.

The bike area.

The youngest age group in the pool (0-5 years).

Again, the youngest age group doing their laps.

Bikes of all shapes and sizes.

More registration help.

Ben (the teacher who organized the triathlon) starting the biking leg of the race.

More participants and their bikes.

The finish shoot.

I had the pleasure of being out on the run course to cheer the athletes on for the final stretch!

The track was used as part of both the bike and run course. We had a lot of help from the Air Force and Army volunteers!

Part of the run course.

Mawlid al-Nabi

Mawlid is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar.

The observance of Mawlid can be found in 8th century Mecca, when the house in which Prophet Muhammad was born was transformed into a place of prayer by Al-Khayzuran (mother of Harun al-Rashid, the fifth and most famous Abbasid caliph). Abu al-Abbas al-Azafi (1162–1236) established the custom of celebrating Mawlid in Morocco. His son Abu'l-Qasim propagated it throughout the Maghreb.

This year it was called on February 15. It was actually a great time to be out in the souq with my friend Hillary because there was so much going on. We were lucky enough to come upon some great concerts as well as other presentations as we were wandering around. Hillary took some great videos (that seem too big to post in blogger) and pictures of the sites and sounds.

I even returned to the souq last night and it was still hopping. There were still a great deal going on and many people out. I went a little early and I saw a lot of performers sitting down and enjoying a cup of coffee or tea and some dessert.

A music group performing in the souq.

There were carnival tents sent all over!

Watching a performance.

This guy was really good.

He had some moves and look at the great smile!

Busy place on a Thursday night!

These two guys were dancing along with the performers.

We watched this group preform on Saturday afternoon.

Watch out for that sword!

You can see the drummers in the background.

It is really neat and wonderful to be able to see these cultural events and performances!

Hillary's Adventures in Doha

It was great to have a wonderful friend visit last weekend. Hillary and I spent a year together in Peace Corps Honduras. She finished in August of 2010 and since then has been traveling around Southeast Asia. I was lucky enough to make her list of stops. She had to stop in Doha on her way to England and decided to extend the layover. We had a grand time bouncing around Doha and enjoying the wonderful weather! Here are some shots of our adventures. As always, I had difficulty picking out which pictures to post...