Studying the Middle East Firsthand

In Trip to Qatar, D.C. Teens Get Warm Welcome, Shot of Harsh Reality

Rock Creek International School eighth-grader Binta Toure, originally from Mali, basks in the warmth of the ancient Jordanian ruins of Petra. (Photos Courtesy Of Rock Creek International School)

More than 6,000 miles and many centuries of history, culture, religion and language separate a small, private middle school just off Dupont Circle from Doha, Qatar and Amman, Jordan.

Sixteen seventh- and eighth-graders from Rock Creek International School attempted to bridge that gap with a 10-day trip earlier this month to the Middle East. It was an unusual destination, even for a school dedicated to foreign language proficiency, with a student body that includes children of diplomats as well as children who have never left their D.C. hometown.

The students found that the differences between the Muslim and Judeo-Christian heritages were not as vast as they had heard.

"I'm never really going to think of the Middle East without thinking of the stereotypes I had, without seeing how much in common people in the world really have," said Caitlin Sneff, interviewed last week at the school.

Jeremiah Attachou, another student who made the trip, said he had concerns before arriving in the Middle East. "But they really lifted up their reputation, the way they treated us," he said. "I'll never forget it."

J. Daniel Hollinger, the founder and head of the school, decided early in the planning stages that no one who wanted to go would be left behind, despite the high cost of the trip. Funds were raised from parents, friends and Qatari businessman Hassan Ali bin Ali, whose $30,000 donation subsidized the trip for a number of less affluent students.

The students, who had studied the region's history, were required to keep field notes and write formal reports. They stayed with families and attended school in Qatar. They visited historic sites in Jordan, and they sand-skied. They met a falcon trainer and his bird -- "Very cool to see the falcons, they are so magnificent," Nick Jones noted in his journal. They swam in the highly salty waters of the Dead Sea -- "It hurts really bad when the water gets in your eyes," said Mallory MacRostie. They marveled at the wealth of Qatar. And they found out that both Jordanian and Qatari adolescents wore jeans, had cell phones and liked the same music they do.

Qatar and Jordan are both allies of the United States. Qatar, an energy-rich country with a population of about 800,000, is one of the wealthiest nations in the world per capita and is home to the U.S. Central Command's forward operations in the Middle East.

The students said they were surprised by how modern the cities in both countries were, how safe they felt and how friendly the residents were toward them. Their conversations with Arab students steered clear of politics. But they did discuss why and when the girls wore headscarves or other wraps, and they learned a bit more about religious and cultural traditions and freedoms.

"My host brother was playing basketball with two [American] guys and I wanted to play, but I was afraid to ask because I thought they might think girls shouldn't play," said Shivara ten Berge, who is at home on the court in the District. "But I asked and he was really welcoming."

She then scored on the guys, which surprised her host brother, but not her classmates.

"Here, it's normal for her to score on you," said Attachou.

In Qatar, the visiting Americans were thrown a party in Bedouin tents, with traditional music, dancing, weaving, a wedding re-enactment and a demonstration of how to search for a pearl in an oyster. The students also were given beautiful traditional Middle Eastern outfits.

One Qatari family refused to let a Rock Creek International student sleep on a cot and insisted she take one of their beds. Other families balked at letting their guests clear plates from the table.

"I have learned more on this trip than I ever could have learned in a month of school (maybe, not really)," ten Berge wrote in her journal, a sentiment echoed by other students without hesitation. The school trip "showed me that the Middle East does not only consist of what I see on the news and in the newspaper, but that mostly all of the Middle East is beautiful and full of joy."

Yet, while impressed by and appreciative of their hosts' hospitality, the students realized they may not have seen everything.

"I'd like to see a part of Qatar that isn't so beautiful and rich," Victoria Tucker said. "Everywhere in the world there are rich parts and poor parts, and we saw just the rich part." Her classmate, Yago Hunt-Laudi, wondered if their hosts told the students only what they wanted to hear.

The students, interviewed just before their spring break Friday, said they hoped to host a visit from the students they met, or set up an exchange student program, and were enthusiastic about returning to the Middle East. But on Saturday, a suicide bomber killed one of their new friends' teachers at a theater near a British school, in a rare terrorist attack in Doha. Twelve others, including six Qataris, a Briton, an Eritrean and a Somali, were injured.

Jonathan Adams, the Briton who died, was among those who greeted the District students less than two weeks earlier, said Carole Al-Kahouaji, Rock Creek International's primary and middle school director. The news erupted via instant messages on the students' computers and cell phones over the weekend, she said, and she's been fielding calls and messages ever since.

"The biggest thing for our kids is that their new friends have lost their teacher. They're very, very sad," she said. "What the children are saying to me is that's why it's important we did what we did; those people are not our enemy, and we need to keep establishing relationships."

The school has already sent its condolences overseas, Al-Kahouaji said, and is contemplating what else it can do in a world that is suddenly much, much closer to Dupont Circle.