Originally Posted on Jan. 24, 2021

We sat with three other employees from my work at a table near the entrance to the hotel restaurant. To my back sat a young woman who appeared to be celebrating a special occasion with a friend. The balloons tied to her chair matched the magenta of her hijab, which she paired with a solid white, long sleeve dress.

Back at our table, Sameh explained that she’s from Tunisia, and her global travels began when she worked for an airways corporation. Back home, she grew up eating spicy foods—and I was surprised that she was surprised that I also like spicy foods. “Really? I didn’t realize that. I didn’t think that you would,” she said, given my cultural background. In her spare time, Sameh likes to cook seafood pasta, along with a spicy paste—her mom’s recipe. “The paste has garlic and red chili peppers,” she said.

After leaving the hotel restaurant, Sameh took us on a tour, from the two-bedroom apartments on the 24th floor to the gym and rooftop pool on the 46th floor. For the final stop, she took us to Havana—on the 55th and top floor of the hotel. Salsa-inspired music welcomed us out of the elevator, and I saw neon-lit palm trees, an ivy-adorned bar, and blue skies with sand beaches painted on the walls.

After “returning” to Qatar on the first floor, my coworkers and I parted ways as we headed to our apartments for the night. Though I should be sleeping (it’s 2 a.m.), my mind is still replaying the memories made today—the freedom of breathing in outside air following my seven-day quarantine, the anxiety of driving the rental car with a km/h speedometer, and the comfort of talking to my mama for over an hour this evening.

What I learned today is what every traveler has ever told me—visiting another country with a different culture will change your perspective of life. In the hotel restaurant sat the young woman with the magenta hijab, Sameh, and me. For a moment in time, a Qatari woman, a Tunisian woman, and an American woman shared the same space.

Looking out at the skyline tonight, I have never felt so small in this world.