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Repatriot
A month ago I referred to myself as being in the "honeymoon stage" of reentry, which drew objections from a friend who said that it's entirely unnotable that I'm happy to return home and find value in my own culture.
However, it seemed notable to me because people who are repatriating often do experience reverse culture shock. Many of my friends ( Read more... ) -
Zoe's blog
We have set up a blog for Zoë's birth and early days over at zoecarlson.com. (Why yes, we did check that that domain was available before finalizing our name choice ( Read more... ) -
suggest books!
I'm in the library, surrounded by books, which is a bit overwhelming after six years in a country where the best places to acquire books are a record store and an office supply store.
So... what should I be reading? -
Identity crisis
My CMU accounts are getting deactivated this week. No more qatar.cmu.edu email address! No more OED access! Alas.
A former student pointed out on Twitter yesterday that I'm still using the username qatarperegrine everywhere. I guess it's time to come up with a new username ( Read more... ) -
Censorship in action
Props to Nigel for pointing out a glorious example of Qatari self-censorship in action. Here, side by side, are a Reuters article and its redactions in the Gulf Times and Peninsula, with significant differences in red:
REUTERSGULF TIMESPENINSULA
A long-planned $3 billion bridge linking Bahrain and Qatar has been put on hold and the project team ( Read more... ) -
Repatriation, day 3
People know to expect culture shock when they move abroad. They're generally less prepared to experience it when they move back home, because home is home, right? Only when you experience something that changes you, like living abroad (or going to college) then you can't just come back home and expect everything to be the same as it was ( Read more... ) -
Things I'll miss, things I won't
I started a list a couple weeks ago of things I imagined I'd really miss about Doha -- and things I was looking forward to about the US. I never finished cleaning it up, but I figure I should post it now so I can see in a few weeks how accurate it was.
Things I'll miss about Doha:- Getting to know awesome new CMU-Q employees every semester; this ( Read more... )
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Repatriating
I'm in the Doha airport, waiting for my one-way flight to Pittsburgh. Ever since I printed our etickets, I've been flipping over the sheet of paper looking for the return flights; I can't quite get my mind around the idea that there aren't any ( Read more... ) -
Coin quiz!
While sorting through our change jar, I found coins in 12 different currencies. How many of the countries can you identify? (Click for full size.)
( Read more... ) -
"Pittsburgh is kind of like Newark without the cultural advantages." -Johnny Carson
WE'RE MOVING TO PITTSBURGH!!!!!
In, like, a week. Eek.
I'm ridiculously excited.
Questions for Pittsburghy people:- Do you know anyone who's subletting for the summer? We're looking for somewhere to stay while we house-hunt (preferably furnished, and definitely in Squirrel Hill, Shadyside or Oakland).
- Comcast or Verizon FiOS? Or are there other ( Read more... )
- Do you know anyone who's subletting for the summer? We're looking for somewhere to stay while we house-hunt (preferably furnished, and definitely in Squirrel Hill, Shadyside or Oakland).
