La vida es una sola...

Friday, March 23, 2012

Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens

Photo courtesy of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA).

On February 16, I had the great pleasure of being able to see Yusuf Islam in concert. Many of you may know him has Cat Stevens! My mom has always been a big fan and I have many memories of listening to his music in our house. What a fantastic concert and venue! The weather was beautiful and it was such a great way to kick off the weekend. Yusuf is such a great story teller and wonderful performer. His voice still sounds the same after all these years. I have many videos from this concert (as I was using it as a way to experiment with the video function on my new camera), but I have had trouble uploading them. I hope to be able to add them into this post later, but for now here are a few pictures and videos from a fantastic evening with Yusuf Islam! Enjoy!

The Musuem of Islamic Art is one of my favorite places in Doha. What better place to have a concert?!?!

Intermission time.

Like I said, it was a very nice venue. Don't you think so?

Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world...

And it's hard to get by just upon a smile...

ASD Dragon Triathlon...take two...

I think this is one of my favorite events at ASD! Last year was the first ASD Just Tri it Dragon Triathlon. I remember being so tired and exhausted afterwards both physically and emotionally. This year was just the same. This year the triathlon happened on March 9 and we could not have asked for better weather for the participants. I mean, I was still cold, but I think that goes without saying. I still volunteered out on the run course and I loved being able to cheer the adults and kids on as they were about to finish the triathlon. I think I am going to have to be a racer next year and see what all this triathlon fuss is about... :)

Here you can see what happened last year: http://katiehouston.blogspot.com/2011/02/asd-dragon-triathlon.html

Here are a few of the shots from the big day this year...

The many volunteers and participants starting to arrive. We had to be at school by 6:30 AM on a Friday! (That's our weekend for all of you North Americans.)

Dropping their bikes and other gear off in the transition area...

Even the big puppy dog came to cheer on his friends...

A few of the great volunteers for the day!

Tasty treats at the finish line...

Speaking of the finish line, here is the new banner for the triathlon! Doesn't it look great?!?!

And the swimmers for the 15+ age group are off!

They had to swim 300 meters.

Mr. Manley was the first out of the pool...

Sitting on my perch and waiting for the first runners to come by.

Mr. Manley is still in the lead and he won the whole thing!

Renee about to finish her first triathlon. Her two kids also participated!

One of my 5th grade students about to finish! Good job!

Smile...

One of my old students finishing up the race with his mom cheering and helping him on!

Another one of my 5th grade students! Way to go!

Nash wants a turn too...

Baby Nash running away with the helmet...

What a great day! Go Dragons!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Una sola basta..

After all, this is the name of my blog. Nevertheless, I always enjoy reading this quote as it is a nice reminder of how to live life...

My dear friend Angela made this while we were still in college in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. It has been all over the world with me as I tend to carry it with me to every new place that I choose to live...

We have but one life, but if we live this one life well, one is enough...

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Qatar Sports Day 2012

Qatar Sports Day, formally known as Action Unlimited Day (you can click on the link to see what happened last year), happened this year on February 7. In the past, Action Unlimited Day occurred during the weekend. However, this year with new decrees from the Emir of Qatar, Action Unlimited Day was transformed into Qatar Sports Day and we were able to hold it during the week! Seeing the need for people to be more active, the Emir said that all schools in Qatar needed to have a special day set aside dedicated to being active and healthy. This was quite easy for us here at ASD, since we already celebrate a day like this. We just had to move the day, change the name, and there you have it! Furthermore, the Emir also deemed the second Tuesday in February National Sports Day. We got an unexpected day off school! I'll take it!

This year for Qatar Sports Day, I was in charge of Japanese Chopsticks. I had a great helper from the military base and the kids had a blast too! In all, there were 21 different stations of a huge variety of games and activities! Here are some photos from our fun with rubber chickens and chopsticks...

Our first class of the day.

There is some great chopstick action.

They had to pass the rubber chickens without touching them with their hands. They could only use the chopsticks to pass the chickens over and under...

We eventually gave the chickens different names according to their color.

For example, there was curry chicken...

The purple chicken was frozen chicken...

The chicken goes over the head and then under the legs...

We even did Japanese Chopsticks in a circle (to promote teamwork of course)!

The 3rd graders are ready to pass the chicken around the circle. We timed them...

More chicken action...

Sit down after you are all done!

Some were very good at this...

Others not so much...

Heading into the gym to watch the slideshow from the day!

The entire elementary together (PK-5) watching the slideshow! It was a fun day with great weather!

Run for the Ring 5K @ Texas A&M Qatar

One reason why I have liked living in Doha this year: I can win races! ;)

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of running in another race at Education City in Doha. It was sponsored by Texas A&M Qatar and ASD was well represented. It was only a 5K, but I had not raced a 5K in a very long time. I had also stayed up quite late the night before and I was anxious to see how long it would take me. I was pleasantly surprised as I ran a 20:46. This was only about 10 seconds slower than my fastest 5K time, which I ran when I was 18 years old. I guess these older legs can still move from time to time. I did come in first for the women and fourth overall. I think it was said that about 100 people ran the race. Again, it was a great day to share with some great friends from work. There were many people that ran PRs for the day and a hand full that were running in their first race ever! I have always enjoyed the environment and vibe of races such as these. After the race a few of us enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Bread and Bagels.

Photos are courtesy of Kari Detwiler and Stephan Beck...

The ASD group!

Another shot of the ASD crowd. Like I said, well represented.

I really like this photo of the start.

And we are off...

Kari and Karli running the race.

My friend Aaron finished first.

Katie crossing the finish line...

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

My first trip to Dubai seemed like a whirlwind. I was, of course, very busy with the soccer team. However, we did have one night out at the Dubai Mall. The Dubai Mall is the largest mall in the world and it is also right next to the Burj Khalifa. Dubai is certainly a city based on glitz and glamor. I would say that Doha is maybe 20 years behind. Dubai has some lovely green parks as well as some nice public beaches. I most certainly would like to visit again in order to explore more and do some shopping. I did not have a chance to go up in the Burj Khalifa, which is another thing that I would like to do. Here are a few of the pictures that I took while at the Dubai Mall, riding in the buses to and from places, and our view from the hotel.