The girls and I have been having lots of fun following the Socceroos in the 2011 Asian Cup. We have been to 3 of the 5 stadiums here which are all coloured according to the brightly coloured "desert rat" mascots. So, Doha is suddenly very colourful with flags around the city highlighting the various venues. We started with Australia vs India, then Korea, Bahrain, Iraq and finally Uzbekistan in last night's semi final. We drew one match (Korea) but the girls have become very patriotic as we have won all our other matches. We particularly have enjoyed the dynamic and interesting crowds and the girls have loved feeling special as they interact with many spectators from around the world. I've discovered it's a great activity for kids here in the Middle East because no whinging or whining or screaming can be heard above the sound of the drums which are played every minute of the match. We have felt like celebrities as people have asked to photograph us. We have also been interviewed for several Arabic news networks - you can imagine my insightful and informed answers to the various commentatators' questions about my advice for the team! Thankfully, as the matches have progressed I have tried to have a few sayings up my sleeve that I picked up from A! A few of the stadiums even have their own mosques attached and some spectators and staff leave the match for prayer time. We were also amused by the Australian inspired thobe. Security is tight as you can see from the photos and it is frustrating that out of 10 aisles with several security guards I have to wait for the "ladies and families" aisle to get in. But we are all looking forward to the final against Japan on Saturday.
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