I had a bit of an unpleasant job to do today. As I was working through this task I went into a room with a group of men who would be affected greatly by this process. It was sort of funny situation as I was part of that process yet culturally it was important for me to greet them as I entered the room and for them to greet and host me. So I was given a seat and offered some Shey (tea). One or two spoke a little English so with their English and my very little Arabic we sat and shared a drink and conversation. One of them said “ana mutaassif marfi englesi” He was wanting to tell a joke but was apologizing to me as he couldn’t speak English and didn’t want me to feel excluded. So I told him “marfi mishkala” no problem, carry on. His friend decided that he would translate the joke for me into English. Now some things don’t translate well. Jokes I have decided don’t. He gave me the punch line which I didn’t get, but smiled anyway. This encouraged several more like this. The last one I completely missed the punch line to which this dear man replied. Ah, it is an old saying and very funny if you are Qatari, never mind. I was thinking that in a similar situation back home I would not have been shown such hospitality given what I was doing. This was very much how things were going to be inshallah (god willing) and it was accepted.