Isn't it Dangerous Over There?-Part II

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You "say" it's safe over there now, but what about down the road?"

I know what you are thinking. I know what is going through your head when I tell you where we are going and you are trying to be polite and not tell me that I am certifiably crazy to send my family to the Middle East. Our family may be a little unconventional but we do our homework. The biggest research that we have had is our test subject, one of my best friends from college, who has been living there for 3 years. If it were not for him, we would not be making this move.

My friend also shared with us a report that was helpful in deciding to make the leap. Follow the article below and the video about unrest in the Middle East and notice where Qatar falls in the list. I hope this puts your mind to rest as much it did ours.

The Shoe Throwers Guide to The Middle East

http://www.economist.com/node/21016164

Now, It's Real!!

Well, today was a significant day in our process of moving to Doha. After filling out paperwork, sending documents to be authenticated, getting our plane tickets, and arranging for the remainder of personal belongings to be somewhere else (sold, donated, trashed), we had the shipping agency come today to ship our 500lbs of "stuff" we want to be there when we arrive. We knew it was going to be therapeutic paring all of our things down to the essentials and extricating all the junk that has been hanging on all these years. But I don't think we realized how much "junk" we had. After the shippers came and went, and we waved goodbye to our things in hope we would see them on the other side of the world, we still had a house full of crap. So begins the next phase of the plan. Tossing, donating, and selling the leftovers.

The most significant thing about today was the reality of our move overseas. It has been very exciting reading other people's blogs, getting answers to our questions from people already there, and receiving info from the school about the intricacies of living in Doha. We even had a video sent to us from the family that is moving out of our villa so that we can better plan what to bring. Nothing can probably prepare us for a 13 hour flight to somewhere we have never been to live and work for the foreseeable future. Let's just say it's a bit surreal.

Our family has never done things conventionally and thus continues the trend...and I wouldn't have it any other way. Life is too short to be bored and uninspired. There is so much to see and learn and we want to be able to take it all in, not when we are 65 - but now, and to expose our family to the diverse world in which we live.

So another step to the day we make the next leap in our family's life!! Exciting!!