The Booze Souk

If you were to ask what the hardest part about living in a foreign country is, you might hear a various list of things: the language barrier, the culture shock, the time difference, etc. Some might even mention the fact that living in the middle east especially hard because in some places, you cannot have a nice glass of wine after a long day at work. But not in Qatar! Qatar is not entirely dry; if you are not Muslim, you are able to (with the consent of your sponsor), obtain a license to purchase alcohol. 

So, I introduce to you the Qatar Distribution Company, or more fondly known as The Booze Souk. Read More...

Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea

After meeting up with Wael after Petra, he began to tell us stories and historical facts about our next destination: Wadi Rum! 

I promptly fell asleep. 

Read More...

A Weekend in Jordan

What did you do last weekend? 

On a normal weekend, if I am lucky, I will go out to breakfast (my favorite meal) and then lay on my couch the rest of the time. Sometimes I will go out to get drinks or see other people, but I am 100% content with reading my book all weekend. After spending the week with a bunch of five year olds, I want to spend as much time by myself with no questions. 

Miss, what we do? 

Miss, when lunch? 

Miss, I go bathroom?

Although I have hit most of the places on the top of my "places to visit" list, I could not possibly go to every place in my two years of living in Qatar (This list pretty much includes every country in the world). So, instead of spending a whole week in some places, a quick weekend trip was going to have to be sufficient. So, once again, I packed up my backpack and headed to the airport after work on Thursday. This weekend's destination? Jordan! Read More...

Land of Elephants and Water

I have been to a lot of places, but Southeast Asia was not one of them. It is a popular destination, especially from the west coast, and I know people that spend months wandering through the countries and that there is a plethora of things to see and do. But when I think of this region, I think of one thing- elephants! Read More...

Bangkok

When I found out my younger cousin, Michael, would be studying abroad in Thailand this year, I knew that a trip would be necessary. So very early on, I told him there was a week in April that I would be coming, and he had no choice in the matter. He was going to study in Bangkok, so we arranged to meet there and then decide where else to visit. Luckily my other cousin, his sister, was able to meet up as well. So for one week in April, three Kridl grandchildren explored their way through Thailand. Read More...

Kuwait-ing For The End

Another weekend- another country! I know that Kuwait doesn't exactly scream luxurious weekend trip, but when in Rome (or the Middle East)... Read More...

Happy Belated Women's Day

Obviously I have procrastinated enough to miss both International Women's Day and the entirety of Women's History Month- whoops! Although these days are reserved to talk about a variety of topics- from the contributions of women in a multitude of fields to the suffering of women across the globe. HUGELY important topics.
But let's talk for a minute about something else I feel very strongly about- Female Friendship.
Best Friends.

Squad Goals.

Girl Crush.

You name it, it's important to me. 

It's not a new phenomenon but I think we can agree that it's being talked about now a lot more than before. Female friendships as empowering and uplifting instead of being used to bring each other down. 

As funny as Mean Girls was, no one actually wants to be in the Plastics. You want to surround yourself with friends that support you and listen to you when you are down.

And I feel I am lucky enough to have those. Read More...

Zanzibar

Almost 9 years ago, I spent the summer romping around the South Pacific. Included in this was an Open Water Padi course on a Fijian island. I spent a few days exploring the underwater world, but when I got back home, I never took out my card again. I kept thinking I would run into the opportunity again, but somehow it never presented itself until my recent trip to Africa. Read More...

The Lion and Some Other Animals

I really couldn't title this post any other way. On this day, I may or may not have spent close to an hour taking hundreds of pictures of a single lion. A very hot and fly infested lion. Read More...

Serengeti

We passed straight from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the world famous Serengeti National Park. 

Jambo! Read More...

Ngorongoro Crater

Christmas (Winter) Break is a pretty big thing in the teaching community. You get two weeks to be away from 20 needy (or more) children and time to catch up on your sleep. In the international community it's an even bigger deal because two weeks is enough time to jump on a plane and see your family that lives 18 hours away. Or (much to my mother's dismay) you could jump on a plane heading south and go on your second safari in two years and not go home. Read More...

Banana Island

Doha can get pretty fancy. Living in the wealthiest country in the world has its perks. 

All along the corniche are strange signs pointing towards an elusive "Banana Island." It took me quite a while to figure out exactly what they were referring to and where they were actually pointing. After being reassured by my students that it was not, in fact, made of bananas, it became a part of my bucket list to visit this banana island. Read More...

Hop, Skip, and a Jump

It's official... I'm coming home!!

In June, I will be saying goodbye to Doha and hello to California!

So my new goal is to rack up as many stamps in my passport as possible. 

Ready, set, go! Read More...