Page four

Doha Qatar was one of my first out of Africa experiences. My first memory is of the suffocating heat and humidity. I remember stepping off the plane and it was really late in the evening, and this blanket of heat infused suffocation, grabbed my lungs aggressively, to the point that I had to mentally remind myself to breathe. 

We took the bus and were on our way to the compound. Training began the moment we arrived. This was the Doha 2006 Olympics, there would be nothing but training and hard work for the next month and a half. Despite all that, I had never felt more excited or passionate as I had in that moment of arrival.

I was a first year student at IHS and this was everything I had dreamed about. THIS was my reason to study hospitality and travelling was my dream. What seemed unreachable and almost impossible became the very real then and now.  It was exulirating.

After a short dinner in the staff canteen and a brief welcome and introduction, we all made our way upstairs to find our assigned beds and dorms. Some of us had arrived before others and some of us were still on their way to join the grand adventure in Doha.

Upon passing all the dorms filled with buz and chatter I came across my assigned room.  On each bed was a little kit with basic necessities, why this made me dileriously happy I have yet to understand, but the gesture filled my whole body with gushing joy. I am not sure if it was because at that exact moment my surroundings became a reality, and the feeling of living a dream and goal became so suddenly real, or because the little gifts were new, foreign and exciting. No, I am not certain, but that happiness is a feeling I get each and every time I explore a new place.

I fall in love with countries as often as I fall in love with men. Although the end result is different, because I remain in love with the countries and my passion just grows deeper.

Waking up the first time in Doha is a memory etched into the files in my mind. The sun rays that broke through my Window and drew patterns on my cement floor were so yellow with a dusty haze that it took me more than an instant to hear the morning prayers being sung in the local mosque. I just lay back and closed my eyes, envisioning the locals in their colourful robes praying inside while Doha came to life, and a new day had just begun.