Author:
Maha Alhendawi, Qatar

Purpose
To prepare participants for interactions with people from Qatar

Objectives
1. Culture is communication. By learning about another culture we can communicate effectively with ease on both parties
2. Building cultural understanding
3. Increase awareness of how people encode messages and how cultures influence people’s behavior and thinking
4. Creating a space in the human mind for acceptance as well as enhancing awareness of our biases and the assumptions that we make.
5. To instruct participants in Qatari customs and culture
6. To inform participants of potential pitfalls to be avoided when visiting Qatar
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Participants
2 observers and 3 players; 2 play, one facilitator (draw cards, ask questions and give directions where to go).

Time Required
7- 10 minutes

Materials
The Road for Success board, drawing cards.

Introduction
This activity will expose the players to questions about another country culture and customs. For this play the country is Qatar. Before playing the game, players should be instructed in the location of Qatar and the spelling of the country’s name.

Game Board
The players will draw a card and give it to the facilitator without looking at it. The facilitator reads the multiple choice question on the card for player #1, and scores his answer. The points for each correct answer is 3 points which means moving 3 places on the Game Board. If player #1 offers a wrong answer, then the facilitator directs the question to player #2. Each correct answer enables the player to move 3 places on the board. An incorrect answer causes the player to stay on his place without moving any further. Landing on the space marked “Fired!” Cancel all your progress and makes you start over” must return to the beginning of the game and try again. In addition any player landing on the space marked “Fired” Must go back and start over again.

This game could be adapted to any other country or culture by making a new list of questions and answers.

Drawing Cards
Your clients (or you) can make new "Drawing Cards" (7 questions and 3 alternative answers to each question) to apply to their/your situation.

Road To Success Instructions
Update #5 under "Objectives" and replace "Qatar" under "Actvity" with your clients' or your country (or your/their ancestors' country or specific region of a country) of origin.

This game is not only helpful for understanding cultural biases (Unit 2: Using Your Helping Skills with Diverse Populations), but also is an example of an informal assessment tool that you can adapt for your own use or to use for your clients (Unit 5: The Role of Assessment in Career Planning). The game can be used with several players (Unit 9: Working with Groups). If the players are searching for a job that involves diverse populations, then the game could be helpful to prepare for the interview or for the job (Unit 8: Job-seeking and Employability Skills).

IN A RESPONSE TO THIS POST, share your experience of adapting this game with your clients to their background or to your own cultural background. Present your clients' or your "Drawing Cards" and note their/your country (and other cultural influences) of origin.

Maha Al-hendawi Bio
I'm from Qatar. My BA was in Education, I taught high school students in Qatar. Then I decided to pursue an MA in counseling (MFC). I came to the US in 1999 and earned an MA from the University of San Francisco. During this time, I had a chance to meet with Dr. Sally Gelardin who opened my eyes to the world of "career counseling & development field" I became very interested and earned a CDF certificate in conjunction with the Masters in Counseling Program. Upon completing my Masters degree, I went back home (Qatar), worked for 5 years in counseling both as a Marriage and Family Counselor and as a Career Counselor. One of my accomplishment is that I published four children's stories in Arabic. Now, I'm working on writing another story (bilingual). In 2006, I returned to the US to pursue a PhD. Here I am studying at Virginia Commonwealth University so that I can experience both the West and the East Coasts of the US.