Miriam and the libraaaaaaar...ian

After we finished with our school work, we took the metro to the Qatar National Library. I really like the metro (I just wish it went more places). It's very clean, riding in the family car was perfectly chill (though Andrew really felt like a duck out of water because he was the only man in the car; without us he would have to ride in the "standard" cars, which he reports are also just fine). 

Here we are ready to hop on once the doors open:

Every station seemed to be enclosed, so there wasn't a huge concern about falling onto the open tracks. I suppose the stations would get awfully hot if they were open tunnels... 

One trip costs 2 QAR (55¢ in USD) and you are only charged for a maximum of three trips per day (if you take more trips you still tap your card to get in and out, but won't be charged). So it can be a rather cost-effective way to travel...if there is a stop near where you would like to go. But, as I said, the metro system is rather limited geographically so we will still be doing a lot of taxiing for the next little while.

It's only a short walk from the metro station to the library, but it was a hot walk. You can see how flushed Phoebe is from being outside for only a short time (also, we found another cat):

It was around 110°F (43°C), with a feels-like temperature of 116°F (46°C) and there was a rather steady wind, making us feel like we were walking through a convection oven. 

I need to start carrying around a bottle of hand sanitizer because while these kitties sure are friendly...but I imagine not always the cleanest.

We had such a wonderful visit with Andrew's colleague Nandini and her family! Their oldest son took Benjamin to a game store yesterday (where they played Carcassone) and then came home with us after the library and just hung out for a bit. It's been fun for Benjamin to dive right in to social life here! 

Andrew left early to take the metro to the airport to pick up Miriam, but here are the rest of us exiting the library (picture by Nandini):

Between me, Benjamin, and Nandini's son G., (who has lived in Qatar a while longer than we have, so was tasked with showing us the ropes), we managed to make it back to our hotel without Andrew (my trusty navigator these past 20 years...because my sense of direction is fairly nonexistent). The boys hung out while I prepped dinner. 

Then just as Benjamin was taking G. down to the lobby to meet G's dad to go home, Andrew and Miriam walked in the front door!

We were so happy to see her after not seeing her for so long—it's been almost a month!

She flew out to Utah by herself on July 17, attended the Provo Pipe Organ Encounter (from July 20–25),  then took a week off (and auditioned for BYU's organ performance program), then attended the BYU Organ Workshop (from August 3–7), and hung out for a few days before flying by herself from the Salt Lake City airport to Seattle and then from Seattle all the way to Doha! 

That takes a lot of independence and bravery! 

We did book a "meet & greet" service for her, so she was met at the airplane door with a sign and then escorted through all the border and customs area. That way she didn't have to figure out where to go and how to get through customs (because that can be confusing). Perhaps next time she flies alone we'll let her figure stuff out, but this time we thought that as an unaccompanied minor (kind of, I guess that particular distinction ends at age 15...and Miriam is 16) we could help her out a little bit. 

Everyone who interacted with her in any sort of official capacity was shocked that she was flying halfway around the world by herself, but she handled the whole trip just fine!

My mom (and my sister Josie, as well as Rachel) also deserve/s a special mention for hosting Miriam so wonderfully while she was out in Utah. They shuttled her around to where she needed to be, they fed her, they gave her a place to sleep...and I hope had a good time visiting with her a little bit! I know Josie took the girls to a couple of shows (both live shows and movies) and I know that a lot of ice cream and concerts happened. 

We couldn't have made the summer work without their help, and it will surely be a memorable summer for Miriam!