The Big Tree

First, the name. I’m traveling to Doha, Qatar at the end of August, 2013 to complete a four-week clinical rotation in the cardiac /coronary critical care unit (CCU) at the Heart Hospital. Qatar is a tiny country sandwiched between several big ones: Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq (Kuwait and Bahrain are in there too). The trip is part of my final semester of nursing school at the University of Calgary. When I get back, I'll spend two months working in chronic disease management at a clinic in Calgary (also for school).

Doha literally means “The Big Tree,” but I'm not exactly sure what kind of tree the city is named after. I sort of assumed there weren't many trees in Qatar to begin with so this was probably a pretty special tree.  So, I did a little research and was surprised to learn that Qatar actually has a lot of trees. One of them is the Carob Tree or St. John’s Bread:

You can't really go wrong with a tree like that. Mighty, some might say. It's a type of flowering evergreen shrub or tree in the pea family, widely cultivated for its edible legumes. Delicious legumes. According to a recent article, Qatar recently launched an initiative to make the country greener by planting 160 saplings in two areas of the country: Lusail and West Bay.  Those trees were part of a pilot project and supposedly use 90% less water than those planted directly into the ground. But I digress…..

Maybe the city is named after the Floss Silk Tree:

Also a fine looking tree. Doha could also be named after a Palm Tree too as there seem to be plenty of those judging by the pictures I've seen.  Either way, the name is apt as “The Big Tree” is an important part of my (scary, anxiety-inducing and yet very rewarding) journey as a nurse. (Warning: nursing analogy coming up) Nursing is also like a big tree (hey, you were warned), with its solid foundation (the nurse?) and its branches (branches of knowledge? care branches?) forever extended, providing care, reaching upward, healing...blah blah blah. Can you tell I just finished writing a paper on caring? Back to trees. OK, so I assumed Qatar didn't have many but apparently it does. Well would you look at that! Most of the country is bordered by the Persian Gulf! (thank you Google maps). I wonder what other preconceptions I'll dispel during my four weeks abroad? I also wonder why kinds of birds I'll see? (dad = birdwatcher). Ok...time to start packing!