Dazzled

Lois, Dave, and I went to a fancy schmancy restaurant in Souq Waqif before Dave went back to the Swick in early April. The restaurant is called the Isfahan, after a city in Iran. Apparently, the Emir of Qatar went to Isfahan and after seeing a resturant there, insisted on building a similar one in Doha. Well, it is a very glittery place and we were dazzled.

The food was very nice, although none of us knew enough about Iranian food to know what to order. The food was very fresh-tasting, I think in part because there was a lot of mint in it ... yogurt, as well. Oh, and yummy Turkish bread from a tandoor. So good. We sat on chairs at a table but we could also have sat on cushions on the floor, with a low table. Maybe next time, if the knees hold up:-) It really whetted my appetite for going to Iran ... Shiraz is only a 45 minute flight from Doha ... one day, Insha'Allah! And Isfahan would definitely be on my list of places to visit.

A Side Trip to Oman

A few months ago, when I heard that UC-Q hadn't spent all its PD money, I submitted a proposal to go to the English Language Conference at the Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat. Funnily enough, the end of the conference coincided with the beginning of an interterm week off, so it all worked out ...
The conference was quite nice. Especially nice that I didn't have to be involved in organizing it and that I wasn't presenting at it either. I just had to show up. Which I did ... I am such a goody two-shoes. There were two or three very interesting sessions and it is always good when presenters remind you to re-examine your teaching and see how you are doing.
Sultan Qaboos University is quite lovely ... established enough to be green and have lots of gardens with birds and flowers. It is also not so modern to be jarring and seem out of place. However, it is new enough to have all the amenities and several nice-sized lecture theatres as well as smaller classrooms. I was impressed by the attendees at this conference. True enough, numbers dropped hugely by the end of the second day (as in almost every conference), but people who attended sessions were mostly attentive and did not interrupt sessions terribly by coming and going constantly (as had been the case in Nepal and Qatar) and actually turned off their cell phones (unlike in Qatar, where it was really disturbing). Also, there did not seem to be feeding frenzies, where people were obsessed by food (Nepal and Qatar) and so people really did seem to be focussed on the presentations. At lunch one day I sat with a table of Indian elementary teachers (teaching in Muscat) and one of them was being very critical of a session I had also attended on teaching (or rather not teaching) grammar in a content-based language curriculum and it was quite a spirited conversation... critical or not, it indicated to me that the participant was at least paying attention and had an opinion. Plus he was really pretty funny.
After the conference, it was off to Shangri-la ... a resort that came highly recommended by colleagues at UC-Q. At first I thought I would travel around Oman and had really wanted to go to Salalah, in the south, but everyoneI talked to said Salalah is too hot by the end of April and that it is best to go after the monsoon rains, when the mountains are green. I quickly adapted and decided to stay near Muscat and just veg. I had a well-appointed room overlooking the Gulf of Oman, several swimming pools to choose from, a lovely beach, several novels, and a few day trips available, so I was happy enough. And the temperatures did soar to 40 on a couple of days.Muscat seems ever so normal in comparison to Doha. I only saw one Land Cruiser the whole time I was there and traffic, although heavy at times, was not oppressive. No reckless driving, no cutting in front of people to avoid queues, no driving across the desert because you can ... no honking ... no accidents (as opposed to three accidents I saw coming home from the airport at midnight last night - one had four ambulances in attendance).
People seemed very friendly in Oman ... I think I saw fewer women in Oman than I do in Qatar. The national dress is different. Men wear a long (usually white) dishdasha which differs from a thobe in that it has no collar or cuffs and has a tassel hanging from from the neckline. All men wear either a muzzar, a turban (often colourful and with an embroidered pattern) made of a finely woven wool or a cap called a kummar, which is made of embossed cloth. Women's clothing varies, with many women wearing abayas (and most of the young women at the conference wore black abayas, similar to Qatar), but some older women were wearing more colourful outfits that included pants, a loose dress over and a large shawl or headdress. Lots of gold and silver in the clothing and generally the women wore more jewellry and there were more pierced noses than I am used to seeing in Doha. I saw a few women wearing masks as well, but overall men were much more evident than women, which was somewhat surprising, because Omani society is thought to be more liberal than Qatari society.
So the hotel was very nice and I had a room with a view ... a luscious breakfast buffet every morning. I went on a few day trips ... to see the Muttrah Souq, to a shopping centre, and to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the palace, and a few museums. Plenty enough to keep me occupied.
A funny thing happened on the bus to the souq. We were all piling on and I was in line behind a couple of men. They started to sit in the first row of seats in order to see out the window, I guess, but the driver told them they couldn't sit there because it was for the old lady. As it was going to be my birthday the next day, I was feeling very sensitive and kind of insulted and thought he could have been much more delicate about the whole thing. So I obediently started to sit in the seat he had turfed the men out of and then he told me, "NO! For the old lady," so I obediently sat elsewhere, feeling much more kindly toward the driver. On our way into Muscat, we stopped at one of the other hotels in the resort and a woman with canes got on and she was allowed to sit in the front row.
The Grand Mosque was a pretty amazing place. Ahmed, my driver, had warned me to cover my arms to the wrists ... usually I make sure I have my elbows covered ... and I was glad I had a scarf and full-length sleeves because they were very strict about the dress code for women. The mosque is one of several buildings on the property and there is a women's prayer hall as well as ablution areas for both men and women. The mosque is open to tourists several days a week between 8 and 11. I can only imagine what it would be like with 10 or 15,000 worshippers. I am grateful I had a chance to visit there. I will post more pics on my flickr website ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/raven_chickOne very nice thing happened on my birthday. I was reading or doing sudoku on my balcomy when someone must have come into my room because when I went in from the balcony to get some water, there was a lovely birthday cake and a bouquet of pink roses on the table. So sweet.I guess they had noticed on my passport when my birthday was. The staff really was very nice at that hotel. My favourite observation was when one of the waiters at the restaurant near the pool took orders and delivered food for about half an hour with a 6-month-old baby in his arms so the baby's parents could eat in peace. They all seemed very happy with the arrangement, baby included:-) Lots of the staff came from the Phillipines, Indonesia, and Malaysia ... I guess the chain is mostly in eastern Asia, actually.
So ... back to work next week and I have lots to do to get ready. I am rested and feeling very good about the class I will be working with. Although it is a shortened semester (5 weeks ... very hard for writing. especially), I have great hopes that some of the students will complete the semester successfully. They are a high-functioning group and very ambitious and so if they are prepared to work hard, so am I.

Recent Activity

It seems forever ago that I came back from Nepal. At first I was quite sick with a cold and then bronchitis and so all I could do was go to work and come home. But now I am all better and so have become a bit more active.
So, the president of the university, Dr Harvey Weingarten came to Qatar, along with a few other folks from Calgary, including the head of the Board of Governors. Our students loved meeting President Weingarten and he, in turn, seemed to really enjoy meeting them. One of my students, Wahiba, asked him to remember her name, so it would motivate her to do well in school. I thought that was very sweet and I gave her a lot of positive feedback for asking a question during the general assembly. Very scary.
Then we have also been to the souq to buy souvenirs for Dave to take home with him when he returns to Canada in a week or 10 days. Lois will really miss him, but I am sure she will be fine. We have decided that one can really never have too many pashminas ... oops, have I given my Christmas present strategy away?
We also went to a lecture by an archeologist who has been examining some ruins in the NW part of Qatar, on the coast - Al Ruweda. The Natural History group is really a good one. I can't make it to the ramble this week (a visit to a movie set and the man-eating ostriches that live there ... well, maybe I exaggerate, but they are known to be very vicious!) because a professor from Japan (an American I met in Nepal) is coming to do some training with us this weekend on Content Language Integrated Learning. That should be interesting, but it really will interfere with my social life! We have a new faculty admin person, Marisol, who did an amazing job of arranging everything for his trip from Miyazaki. Thank you, Sol!! I have been driven almost batty by the challenges of getting textbooks here ... e-versions don't work, shipments are delayed by the Supreme Council, Amazon's expedited service is slow, and on it goes. In the end I prevailed upon my long-suffering Cait to purcase an e-version and scan it and send me the files ... just so we will have some content to learn how to do content-based lessons. Oy.
What else? Well, I have been swimming a few times and so that has been nice. By swimming, I mean doing my version of aquafit ... but it is better than nothing and that is the story I am sticking with:-) I have developed a love of Arabic pastries .. I found a mamoul cookie that tastes almost like vinerterta, so I am a goner. Today one of my students told me I had gained weight, so I guess I'd better swear off the sweets now.

Speaking of students, I got a lovely surprise from some students when I found an incredible arrangement on my desk after class on Sunday. March 21 was Mother's Day here ... and they very sweetly gave me a floral arrangement and a necklace and earrings. I was very surprised, to say the least. They are so thoughtful ... always asking if I am okay to be alone and wondering how Errol is doing.

BTW, Errol is in Oklahoma with Ezell and Joe - he has been there for about 10 days and he is likely to be there for another week or so. Everyone seems quite well,except Ezell has lost the vision in her right eye. Her resonse was, "That's okay, honey. I can still hear you." That's our Zellie!
Several of us also went to a dance put on by a nursing instructor from CNA-Q to raise money for tuition for several Nepali nursing students. She volunteers at the nursing school in Chitwan ... so it was a lovely event and I think and hope they raised lots of money via ticket sales and through the silent auction. Such a great cause!
Then there are the sporting events! We went to the FINA World Series Diving Competition last weekend. Everyone thought Alexandre Despatie would compete but he stayed in Quebec. There were two Canadian divers - Meghan Benfeito and Rosaline Filion (below). They seemed happy for our support ... such a small contingent compared to the Chinese and German crews.

Other countries represented were Great Britain, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Australia, Kuwait, Qatar, and China. There were tons of great Chinese divers, including several Olympic gold medal winners and world champions. They won all 8 gold medals, and were truly amazing divers.

The Hamad Aquatic Center was a spectacular facility. I went for a morning and an evening event and really enjoyed my time watching the events. The best part was when the Canadian divers won the silver medal in the 10 meter platform synchronized dive. They did a great job. Our colleagues, Colette and Tam, came with me the second day and they caught a winner's bouquet... good for them.!

Now I have just come back from watching an Arabian horse show. Dave, Lois and several others from UCQ went. What a lovely event ... beautiful, delicate, feisty animals and the weather was very pleasant to watch the judging. We happened to sit in front of some Qatari men and it turned out they were owners of horses and one of them won about 15 trophies. Mabrouk! As well there were a few side events to partake in ... henna tattoos, spinners, weavers, various kinds of Qatari food, some antique cars. tomorrow and the next day ther will be horse races, so we may go to one of those as well. We have to fill up Dave's dance card before he goes back to Perth-Andover to get a little rest.
School is going well ... trying hard to finish all the curriculum in time for the final week and the students are looking a little glassy-eyed, as all students do at this time of year. We have a week off before the start of the next semester. I am going to Muscat, in Oman, and hoping to go to Salalah in the south for a couple of days and possibly to the tip of the point where the Strait of Hormuz is its narrowest. We shall see how it all works out. Then we have a short semester and I should be home in July .. not sure when I can work in a trip to Oklahoma, but that is definitely in the plan.
It seems hard to belive that soon Easter will be upon us. Easter is not a holiday here, but it may be more than a coincidence that Student Revision Day falls on April 12:-) Happy Easter wishes to all. I certainly hope all is well with friends and family ... I love to hear from you and find out what is going on for you and your families. Please stay in touch and take care.

Nepal Redux

Well what to say about Nepal, Part II? It was quite the experience:-) I went to the Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA) conference which was held in Kathmandu. On the way to Administrative Staff College, the venue, on the first day, I got a taxi driver who didn't speak too much En glish. I asked to go to the Administrative Staff College, in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, Patan ... which is what I had on my information sheet. Who knew there was an area adjacent called something almost the same but in a totally different direction. After going down numerous wrong roads and chowks and talking t many many people, we finally came across two retired men who could read my writing and discerned JAWALAKHEL ... which is really what I thought I had said. At any rate the driver cheerfully told me I sorry, you sorry, and we had a good laugh over our shared blame. I still got there in plenty of time.

The conference was plenty amazing ... 700 people showed up instead of the 400 they were expecting. My session, which was on teaching portfolios had 125 attendees instead of 30. I was in the big lecture hall and so people came and went and I had a tiny little flip chart ... oy! it will not go down in the annals of great presentations. But many people came to say they appreciated it and so ... I hope it was useful.

I got to see Thaman and go for a ride on his motorbike. it was lovely ... and I was able to see so many more things than if I had been in a car. Thank you Thaman!! And I dropped in on the kids at the orphanage a couple of times and meet a couple of Sonrisa's current volunteers, Anna from Sweden and Francesca, from Italy. Thaman and his friend Bill took us to the Hindu temple, Pashupati, for the celebration of Shivaratri. It was very exciting ... lots of people (like 200,000)and there were supposed to be a lot of sadhus, or babas, there to celebrate Shiva's birthday. I guess a lot of them didn't come, as their allowances had been reduced or something. It would be hard to tell how many there were because there were so many people. The babas seem to smoke a lot of gaza (pot/hashish) and sell it to people. I question their holiness ... but then again who am I to do that??? Ms Judgemental ... that's who:-)

After the conference was over, I went to Pokhara. I went by car and it was so reminiscent of Oaxaca ... minus the valleys of agave. Instead there were so many lovely terraced valleys of farmland ... but they badly need rainfall. Climate change has really affected Nepal and they are getting far less sno and rain than in the past. Very serious situation, that.

Pokhara was quite different than I expected. It is so much bigger than I had realized and is a little Kathmandu in many ways ... minus the temples and historical buildings. The Lakeside area, where most tourists stay, is like many resort places, with the hotels and vendors. But some of the vendors were fun to talk to ... most of them were Indian, Kashmiri or Tibetan. The Kashmiri guys were very charming and fun to talk to. Even if I didn't buy anything they were still very friendly. The last night I was in Pokhara, I spent about an hour talking and laughing with a Kashmiri shopkeeper and a Japanese tourist and we had so much fun. The Japanese guy, Kotoro, couldn't speak much English and he had diarreah; every time he said diarreah, he would point to his bum. Shahi, the shopkeeper was so much fun ... It was a very nice way to end my time in Pokhara ... just laughing and being silly. And the children! So beautiful!!!

I quite liked my hotel and I think the owner, Rajandra, was really nice. He was very helpful. The visibility was a bit of a problem and we could only see the mountains (Annapurna Range) on a couple of occasions. We went up to Sarangkot one day (an Australian woman and a guy from the UK and I with Rajanadra) to see the sunrise and it was quite lovely ... lots of clouds, but it was very soft and mystical to see the mountains glowing and the valley with terraces below. Rajandra is from Sarangkot and we went on a little ledge below a hundred Japanese tourists with their tripods and fliters and fancy SLR cameras ... his friend brought us Nepali tea and we had just the most amazing view. Another day we went up to the top of a hill to see the World Peace Pagoda .I guess we climbed about 3 km up and then went down maybe 4 km to the lake and crossed back to Pokhara in the boat. My legs are still sore! I went with a guide from my hotel and Buddhi, the cousin-brother of one of the security guards at my university. He is also a lecturer at a university in Pokhara and teaches at a school called the Fishtail Academy in Pokhara. I went on his motorbike as well when we went to buy some magazines and books for Bhojraj, Rajesh, Danraj, and Prem back in Qatar. I also went to the Gurkha Museum and saw lots of Gurungs, Rais and Lumbis as well as Thapas, which is Thaman's surname.

Another highlight was a trip to Begnas and Rupa lakes. It is really nice that none of these lakes allow powered boats ... much better to preserve the calm and quiet setting. We saw quite a few birds on that little trek and I saw a rodent that looked like a weasel. In the late afternoon it was lovely to sit on the balcony of my hotel and watch large flocks of white egrets fly over the lake.
I took a plane from Pokhara to Kathmandu and had wonderful views of the Himalayas on the way. I had started to come down with a cold and spent the time before my flight to Doha spreading my germs ... OMG .... so many sneezes.

So I am now back in Doha and had midterms and am immersed in marking. It was very nice to see my students again and sort of nice to get back into a semblance of a routine. I was not so fond of finding cockroach carcasses littering several rooms of my downstairs. Yucko-bucko.

Now I am looking forward to feeling better so I can go swimming. I think it is almost warm enough. For those in forever-winter Canada, I am not rubbing it in ... truly. I hope you have a respite soon and daffodils before you know it!

Happenings

The most significant happening this week was Errol's departure ... he's gone back to Canada! Well, he should be arriving in London in about 30 minutes:-) I hope he had a safe and comfortable (albeit very long) trip. I know he will be happy to be back in London (he was packed on Sunday) and see Cait and friends ... not to mention Mr Bill, Max, and sweet Molly ... but I think he will miss some parts of being in Doha. Well, he can just come back next year!
Errol's last week was a busy (and maybe memorable) one. We had a good-bye dinner with folks who arrived at the same time as I did and that was very nice. A Chinese restaurant ... not too bad. And it certainly was a welcomed change of pace from my own boring cooking!
We went on a very interesting birding trip on the grounds of Qatar University with the Qatar Natural History Group. The campus is large and the buildings are beautifully done ... very coordinated and seem to suit the desert surroundings very well. We had a modest goal of sighting 10 species but I think we saw 12 or so. I personally saw 10. I had been hoping to see a hoopoe, as I have never seen one. But the most spectacular sighting was a group of rose-ringed parakeets ... just lovely with the sun shining through their wing feathers. The grey francolins were very cute and reminded me a lot of quail in Arizona. But my favourite is the white wagtail ... so cheery and optimistic! I got the images of the birds from commons.wikimedia.org. QU has started some environmental initiatives that will see some of the stoney desert left natural, which is important as so much of Doha's natural state will be beautified/landscaped/meddled with ... therefore, indigenous plants and animals will be increasingly stressed. It was very interesting to note that several of the birds species we saw were either migratory (from Siberia or Lapland .. brrr) or imorted from India. One man in the group told us about Crawford Market, a very famous bird and pet market in Mumbai where people from the Arabian Peninsula would buy caged birds when they were on holiday ... once they arrived back in what is now Qatar, they often were released (accidentally or intentionally) and have become part of the local fauna ... or would that be feathera?
Another very interesting thing we did was to attend the opening night of the Doha Jazz Festival. I am not a huge jazz fan, but the performances were great and the whole evening was really enjoyable. At first, I thought it would be a bit weird because members of the Qatar Philharmonic (strings and flute) were playing behind five jazz musicans, but it was a kind of mild jazz and it all worked out. The music was all by Charles Trenet and Michel Legrand and it was at the Qatar National Theatre , so I was very glad Errol had a chance to see that. The leader of the jazz quintet was a very charming guy by the name of Alain Brunet ... he was very cute. One of the highlights for me was the intermission ... as the Movenpick was a major sponsor, they did put on a bit of a spread ... appetizers, sweets, juice, water, Arabic coffee ... yummy! It was a great evening and especially nice because we went with our friends, Dave and Lois Thornton, and their daughter Caitlin, who is visiting from Toronto.
Well, Lois and I didn't make it to our early morning workout the next day, but Errol went with Dave and Caitlin T (as opposed to Caitie C-C) to see the camel race track (which has now become a must-see event on any visit to Qatar). It started out as a beautiful sunny day and by the time they got to Shahaniya it was a full-fledged sandstorm ... almost whiteout (beigeout) conditions and very tricky driving. Errol said it was very neat seeing the camels coming right out of the sand. And the riders/trainers were glad to see folks (especially Caitlin, I think) and jumped off their camels and shook hands and offered rides and all the rest. The sandstorm lasted for 2 days ... the winds were not too bad when I was outside, but a very fine dust just hovered in the air. Everything inside our houses was pretty much covered with the very fine sand and the poor folks with asthmatic kids ... even a mask wouldn't trap all those particles. However, it is fine now ... people say warmer weather will come. Errol got out just in time, because it can get very warm here!
Thursday, which is the last day of the work week was an interesting one this week. During the Christmas holiday, the Gaza War took place and I have been wondering what UC-Q would do. While the university cannot become involved in political issues, the student council arranged a very interesting event ... it was a souq and food with some music and dancing. We have several Palestinian students, a couple of whom had lived in Gaza, and so most of the staff showed up to support the event. It was a bit disorganized (apparently there was someone doing henna tattoos but I never saw that or heard where it was), but you could tell an enormous amount of effort went into the event ... In the end, they raised some money for displaced and injured persons in Gaza and more importantly, felt they had done something to support a situation that is so painful for them ... especially the Palestinian students who are far away from family and friends in Gaza.

Errol came and had a chance to meet some of my students and they were all happy to say hello. I was happy he had a chance to get to see some of the students because I doubt that I would ever be able to invite people over for lunch and that sort of stuff like I did in Canada; he met so many students over the years when they came for lunch or dinner or Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Also, several people from UC-Q came over to wish Errol 'bon voyage' and so that was very nice.
Back at home we had tea with friends and tried to go to bed early as we needed to be at the airport at 5 a.m. And we got there! No traffic. No lineups at the airport. Quite different from when Cait went home ... guess you can never tell.
So ... Errol should be in London now ... exhausted I am sure. In fact they just called and his 24-hour journey (almost 28 if you consider arriving at the airport 3 hours early and driving home), so alhumdulillah! He will be around London for a while but will continue his travelling ways and go to Oklahoma at some point. You might have to be quick to catch him at home:-)
As for me ... midterm exams to prepare, marking, marking, marking, and a presentation, so I can immerse myself in work. But I'll keep my eye out for white wagtails, bulbuls, and even the hoopoe .... never fear, I will make the most of my time here:-)

Xiao Xin!

Came home the other day to see a trailer from a tractor-trailer upended just at the end of my street. Al Zahoor is right beside a busy highway, Al Shamal, that runs all the way to the north end of the peninsula. A couple of months ago I asked to move from #4, which is about 20 metres from Al Shamal Highway to the other the corner, #11, which backs onto another residential compound ... one with trees. Such nicer noises ... children playing, bulbuls chirping, with just a muted hum of traffic floating on the breeze. In addition to the noise, I was concerned by several accidents that had occurred on the highway ... and this one was a doozie.
Apparently a trucker lost his brakes and ended up losing control of his truck as well, crashing into the wall/barrier that surrounds a cell tower for Q-Tel. The accident happened at 9:30 and it was 4:30-5 when I arrived home. People were just extricating the trailer as I arrived on the scene ... it was pretty interesting. Although all the helpers were scrambling all over the trailer and crane without any form of PPE and they had not diverted traffic at all, the crane operator was skillful and it all worked out.

I inquired about the driver and was told he had survived ...lucky man! I was really reminded of one of my first classes in Wuxi ... I had the students describing processes and I remember my students Kobe (and maybe James) teaching me how to write 小 心 - Xiao Xin! - Be Careful! That's what I want to say to the folks speeding down the highway ... 小 心 ... or maybe that is entabeh.Today, as we were leaving the compound on our way to a birding ramble at Qatar University, we noticed another truck with its front all smashed in ... just outside the compound gates. Another victim of Al Shamal. Xiao Xin!!

Nursing

From a recent edition of the Gulf Times, which is an English-language newspaper here in Qatar is a brief about UC-Q's new acting associate dean academic, Dr. Marlene Smadu.
New Acting Associate Dean at UCQ
Dr. Marlene Smadu has been appointed the acting associate dean at the University of Calgary-Qatar. Dr Smadu agreed to take up the second highest position at UCQ at the request of interim dean & CEO, Dr Sheila Evans.“I value Marlene’s experience as a nurse, as an academic and as a nursing leader. I know she will be a tremendous asset to our organisation,” Dr Evans said.Dr Smadu arrived in Qatar only two weeks ago to help establish official registration credentials for UCQ graduates and accreditation for UCQ. She is on administrative leave from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada where she serves as associate dean for the College of Nursing in Regina. Dr Smadu is also the past president of the Canadian Nurses Association.
On the same page as Dr. Smadu's announcement was a rather large ad:

URGENTLY REQUIRED
NURSES
2 years experience
Good looking
Smart/active
Single preferred
Working hours: split shift

Please send your CV along with a recent photo to ...

For a variety of reasons it is difficult to promote nursing education in the Gulf (Could ads like the above have anything to do with that???) and UC-Q has its work cut out to prepare, promote, and develop a local nursing workforce, especially if Qatar wants to position itself as a leader in health care delivery. Around the world, nurses are striving to prove themselves and be recognized as highly-trained health care practitioners who use evidence-based practice to provide the best quality care for their patients, so ads like the above are rather disheartening, to say the least.
And yet, nursing has a long and honourable history in the Muslim world. Consider Rufaidah bint Sa'ad founder of the nursing profession in Islam. This brief bio is from http://www.nurses.info/personalities_rufaidah.htm
Rufaidah bint Sa'ad, is recognized as the first Muslim nurse. Her full name was Rufaidah bint Sa'ad of the Bani Aslam tribe of the Khazraj tribal confederation in Madinah. She was born in Yathrib before the migration of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). She was among the first people in Madina to accept Islam and was one of the Ansar women who welcomed the Prophet on arrival in Madina.
Rufaidah's father was a physician. She learned medical care by working as his assistant. Her history illustrates all the attributes expected of a good nurse. She was kind and empathetic. She was a capable leader and organizer, able to mobilize and get others to produce good work. She had clinical skills that she shared with the other nurses whom she trained and worked with. She did not confine her nursing to the clinical situation. She went out to the community and tried to solve the social problems that lead to disease. She was both a public health nurse and a social worker.
Information by Prof. Dr. Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr. from a Paper Presented at the 3rd International Nursing Conference "Empowerment and Health: An Agenda for Nurses in the 21st Century" held in Brunei Dar as Salam 1st-4th November 1998

And yet, the burning question remains ... was she good-looking?