YVR -> DOH = 11729 kilometers or 7288 miles

After so much uncertainty with visas and flights before we left Canada, our experience so far in Doha has been fantastic. Our flights were great and the boys did really well; Benjy kept saying we were in “space” and he entertained the other passengers saying this was the “greatest day of his life.” He’s been on quite a few planes, but you never would’ve guessed it! We were met by a meet-and-greet service (highly recommended if flying into Doha), as the line ups are very long at the airport.

We had two nights in a hotel with an incredible buffet (Andy was happy!), but my favourite moment from the hotel is the boys being so tired and jet lagged that when they watched Disney Fairies (the only choice!), it took about 10 minutes before they realized it was in Arabic! After all the disappointment of late visas and flights, we were very pleasantly surprised by our villa on the Canadian compound. It's a big house with lots of living space, three big bedrooms, three bathrooms and nice furniture. We have a big outside courtyard area and we even have a tree! The clubhouse, playground, gym and pool are all excellent. There's even a little shop. Our compound is for families so there are lots of children, many of whom attend the same school as the Will and Ben. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming; there have already been several parties and dinners. The boys feel settled in their room especially now that our “soupcases” (Benjy) are all unpacked. 

                                                       The pool at our compound

Will loves his class and his Grade 1 teacher. His favourite subjects are art, music and Arabic. There is a great playground (although they can’t go on it after about 10am when it hits 40 degrees). Ben loves his Kindergarten teacher too and he has adjusted very well to school life. Andy and I have had a week at school and it has been challenging for us. We knew there had been a lot of recent upheaval in the administration offices, but the changes that have happened in the five days we’ve been at work are major. Andy’s timetable has changed several times, teaching assignments have changed, but I suppose my changes are most significant. Without going into the details, the school was not given approval to hire a second Kindergarten teacher which was needed. The class size was 20, which isn’t huge, but the classrooms are very small (about half the size of a regular classroom). The teacher had trouble moving around the tables and chairs to be able to help all of the kids. Obviously, this isn’t ideal for Ben, his classmates or the teacher....so....I volunteered to teach Kindergarten. Back to my primary training! My first day is tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it.  

                                                                      First day of school 

Lots to come in my next blog: the heat, the shopping experience, the rugby club, the souq, the driving, and of course how I am surviving in Kindergarten!