Friday. Last day in Doha. I get the very strong feeling it won’t be the last time I’m here. I haven’t explored as much as I wanted to due to the jet-lag. Thinking I might fly back the way I came and do another stopover here so I can actually see everything I want to see. This is why I bought the one-way ticket. Always gotta keep my options open.

Walked through the market today. All the shops were closed. The only people I saw anywhere were tourists and a handful of Muslim families on their way to Mosque. The city looks so different in the daylight. I can’t decide if I like it better during the day or night. I do know that I can easily imagine myself living here for a year. I think it would be a very interesting experience. I know the bar is higher for teachers here, as opposed to Southeast Asia where they’ll take any random person off the street. I guess I will just have to figure out how to navigate that. Maybe I can make up for my lack of experience with my knowledge of literature, history, languages, and soon yoga? Tell them I’ve been here and love it and specifically want to be here? That helps a lot, I’m sure.

Breaking News from Al Jazeera: Netanyahu just did an interview with Dr. Phil of all the fucking people. REALLY!!!!! Are you fucking kidding me right now?! What the fuck is that? Dr. Phil is not… like… wow. First of all, he’s not a journalist, let alone an actual doctor. Like, um… maybe this is Netanyahu’s way of saying, “Maybe what I’m doing *is* crazy. Let’s ask an American expert in crazy!” That’s the only explanation I can think of. Dude knows he needs to get his head checked, so he called up Dr. Phil. It’s better than nothing, I guess. At least he’s informally admitting he needs help?

Al Jazeera is rightfully asking, “Why is he refusing to do a real interview with anyone who knows anything about anything? Why is he so afraid of hardball questions? Is he just trying to avoid taking accountability for his actions?” Uhhhh, yeah, that’s what I’m saying! Why is the Prime Minister of Israel talking to a fake TV guru during an active genocide campaign? WTF is that? That is a man who definitely cannot and does not want to take accountability for his actions. He found the only person who was willing to entertain his bullshit and got on TV to do an interview. It’s nighttime in the US right now, so this hasn’t gone viral yet. Personally, I can’t wait for the “Cashhhh me outside” memes to start. It will be extremely cathartic in a small, insignificant way.

I need to know what the process of getting this interview was. Did his PR people call everyone in the biz and Dr. Phil was the only one available? Did he choose Dr. Phil specifically, on purpose? Did everyone in the US media turn him down? I can’t imagine that scenario. I just know Anderson Cooper would have been all over that shit immediately. Why didn’t Bibi go to Fox News? Fox News would give anyone a platform to spew Islamophobia. Was Oprah not available? Did Oprah say no? Did she tell him to go fuck himself in protest of the genocide? Would she even do that? I need to know the answers to these questions!!!!

Truly a bizarre choice. I did not see that coming. Did anyone? Oh man. I need to see this interview in full. I bet he sounds like the total fucking nutjob he is. At least we know he’s getting some kind of help?

So tired. Gonna take a quick nap before I do anything else. I’m definitely coming back to this city. I love it! I haven’t even scratched the surface yet. I just love the old-new world vibe. I love the cafes. I love the architecture. I love feeling safe.

Also here to say that I haven’t seen any rats anywhere! I always see rats when I travel. It’s probably because the street cats and falcons take care of them. Personally, I would rather see street cats than rats. I respect rats as intelligent creatures, but I don’t enjoy seeing them hanging around the restaurants I’m eating at because they also carry diseases. Unfortunately, I have had close encounters with rats of unusual size in DC, NYC, New Orleans, LA, Paris, Chicago, London, and Boston. The ones in New Orleans were literally the size of cats! Not cool! Not a fan! I feel better knowing these streets are patrolled by cats and falcons. It looks and feels much cleaner that way.

I hope you’re enjoying my daily observation log. This has been really helpful for me to keep. I know what style I’m going for, so it’s good to have some blogs like this to pull from. I’m not there yet. Just give me a little bit more time…

Thank you for reading! Have a good day!

#FreePalestine