Now is all

 Hey Y'all. IDK if you know about this, but THE WORLD CUP IS HAPPENING IN THE CITY WHERE I LIVE.

We've been watching the infrastructure construction happen since we got here three years ago. This summer, all of the branded advertisement started going up. The sports center near our school, which is a training area for some of the teams, started installing security gates. The school day was shortened in November to keep the streets clear as they tested the new bus system. Empty lots filled with RV trailers overnight, and cruise ships pulled into harbor to house fans. 

My parents visited in early November. Even though there were no matches happening at that time, they needed tickets to get a visa! We had fun seeing sights in Education City, downtown at the Souk, and the national museum. Rani and Dad baked me a cake for my 44th birthday, which we spent with some friends on the compound

Some neighborhood eccentrics built some metal sculptures with soccer balls on them. 

And then it was time.

In many places around the world, you might go to the neighborhood bar to view the first game of the World Cup. We have a neighborhood luxury resort, so that's where we went.

On the way home we caught the first of the nightly fireworks-and-drones shows. Nice accompaniment to the skyline.

The city, along with various hotels, set up fan zones as places to gather and watch games. Various activities, varieties of food and drink, and fans from all over the place. Fun to see this kind of thing going on in Doha.

We ended up attending three games: Wales/Iran, Tunisia/Australia, and Belgium/Croatia. Pretty exciting to see the fans and the new stadia.  

We did virtual school for two and a half weeks while the tournament was going on. It was exhausting, but it's over and we headed out to Thailand earlier this week for our extended December break. Games in this time zone are very late at night, so we haven't been keeping up; hope everyone is enjoying the Cup!

Peace,

Jon