December 5, 2007
My previous life is in a box, in a van, in Montana... the adventure begins.
Our last few weeks in Montana were filled with minutia of details that had to be attended to, lunches and dinners with as many friends as we could squeeze in, a few days with family up at the ranch, frantic last minute phone calls, and lots of tears and hugs. As we left Missoula at 6:40 AM on December 3rd it was cold and rainy making me think of the Stevie Ray Vaughn song "The Sky is Crying"... how appropriate.
My first full day in Doha was like an endurance event (you all know what a lazy bum I am). After getting RD off to work at 8 (breakfast at 4 due to jet lag…followed by rearranging all the living room and dining room furniture), I gathered up all of RD’s dry cleaning that he has apparently been saving since last March and drug it down to the dry cleaners (100 feet away) and tried to get “medium starch” across to the guy from Sri Lanka behind the counter…I hope RD will be able to bend his elbows when his shirts come back. I then tried to get operating manuals for all of our appliances, apparently they were supposed to be in the “Villa” so it may be days before I can figure out the washing machine. At 11 a driver picked me up to take me to a Mall (with a grocery store) so I could exchange some money and buy some necessities. Unfortunately there was no one to pick me up so I was left to my own devices to get home.
If today was an endurance event, grocery shopping was the marathon. I have never done anything more difficult in my life. Half the fruits and veggies were unrecognizable, the fish had names I had never seen before, and all the labels are in Arabic with some “small” print in English. I never realized before how dependent I’ve become on the appearance of a label, I don’t actually read the label when shopping I just grab what I always grab. Well let me tell you, when there are 20 brands of toilet paper, all different prices (Qatari Riyals of course) you can spend half an hour inspecting toilet paper!
Having no phone to call a taxi I flagged down a Mall security guard who told me where to hail a cab. Once outside the first cab refused to take me when I told him the address (I think we live too close and he wanted a bigger fare), the second one finally took me home. Man was I wishing for a glass of wine….
RD decided we needed to go back to the Mall because he had to buy a phone, which was good because we ripped the fitted sheet I had purchased trying to get it onto our “odd” sized King size bed. However, it was also bad because my blisters were now growing blisters of there own from all the previous walking (think airports, Mall and a grocery store the size of … dare I say it… Wal-Mart!). Long story short: no phone = no taxi. So back to the “Villa” to kick back and relax. A few minutes later a Swiss Anesthesiologist knocks on our door with two bottles of wine and two beers…I could have kissed him! I’m celebrating surviving my first day in Qatar with a nice French Merlot. Life is good.
December 7, 2007
Yesterday I had the maintenance guys take the furniture out of two of the extra bedrooms. I had them put the Armoire from one of those rooms into the Master Suite, at six feet wide and seven feet tall it is plenty big enough for RD’s clothes, which means, of course, that I get the whole closet to myself! One newly emptied room will be “my” domain with my treatment table and art supplies, the other will be our office.
I have learned to say two Arabic words: Al Fardan and Abu Hamour….the compound that we live in and the area of town. I have no idea what they mean but they are very handy when seated in the back seat of a taxi.
Now that RD has a cell phone through work, (I will have to wait 2-3 weeks, I feel very isolated not having my own) we decide to call a taxi (only a 30 minute wait) and make another pass at the Mall and grocery store in hopes of getting the rest of what we have deemed “bare necessities”. The store which sold me the sheet that was too small (a queen size come to find out) refuses to take it back, BIG mistake as I was about to drop another 2000 to 3000 Riyals on bed linens and towels. Unfortunately this means we still have no fitted sheet. Grocery store is no less daunting with two of us trying to find things. Two hours and we still only have ¼ cart full to show for our trouble. We spent a half hour looking for charcoal for a little Bar-B-Q that was sitting in our backyard…when we got home the Bar-B-Q was gone. I have a feeling the compound workmen were using our backyard as a “get-away” to cook lunch or dinner since our unit was sitting empty. We are still unable to find converters for 220v to 110v (we have one that we are sharing so we can keep the laptops going), the other electronic gadgets we brought from home will just have to wait.
I spent 230 Riyals on a bouquet of flowers and a vase just so I’d have something colorful, pretty and soft in the “villa”. Maybe having some of our own things around us will help it start to feel like home, can’t wait for our shipment to arrive.
December 8, 2007
More shopping…never thought I’d get sick of shopping but my ankles are swollen, my back is killing me and I’m frustrated by how difficult it is to find what seems like the simplest things. I did, however, find the most fabulous handmade linen placemats and napkins from Afghanistan. They’re called “boumi” and the proceeds go to support the education of women in that country. The woman I bought them from is an American married to an Afghani and she told me that her husband confirms that the plot’s of “Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by the author Khalad Hosseini are very true to real life in Afghanistan at that time. If you haven’t read them yet I highly recommend them. I found them fascinating in that “you just have to slow down and look at that car wreck” kind of way, especially considering my current location. I hope to go to Kabul someday if things ever “cool down” enough.
The social “etiquette” (for lack of a better word) around here is both fascinating and appalling. It is a very class and race oriented culture as well as what we think of as the obvious male/female differences. Today a man in front of me at the checkout was talking on his cell phone completely ignoring the cashier. (Not altogether uncommon in the US but this was more flagrant.) After making his purchases he walked away leaving all of his packages on the counter. The girl called out to him, trying to hand a bag to him but he just continued to ignore her. Finally she left his bags where they lay and motioned me to come forward. As I was making my purchase he returned with a shopping cart. He very politely said “excuse me” to RD to get around him but then when he saw me in his way he backed off and went another way. Of course the other way was through a darker skinned “working man” and there was no “excuse me” offered, he just rudely pushed around him.
At home a new twist has emerged. In our previous lives RD was always the neat one, complaining that I didn’t help enough around the house, and I’m the first to admit that I’m a bit lazy when it comes to housework (right Mom?). In our new “villa” I’m the neat one and RD has gone a bit messy (grumbling that I’m chewing on his “arse” to pick up his stuff). I may not have picked the pathetically beige furniture in this sea of beige and off-white, but keeping it neat, tidy and picked up is the only thing I can do right now to improve it’s appearance. Dad, could you pick Mom up off the floor? I’m sure she’s fallen off her chair by now….
December 9, 2007
OK, I was wrong…RD was up at 6AM excited about how innovative the mop and bucket system is over here…he’s still the clean freak. I, on the other hand, was planning on hiring the housekeeper today.
This morning after RD left for work I was filled with a desire that bordered on craving, to pick up a phone and call someone. No one in particular, but without a phone I couldn’t even call RD. We’ve only been here five days…I have a feeling this is going to get a lot more intense before it gets easier.
After spending most of the morning waiting for a maintenance guy to fix two air conditioning units (which mostly entailed him looking at them and saying they were running fine and the reason they were blowing hot air was because I didn’t have curtains on the kitchen window) I walked over to the “Clubhouse” to get the receptionist to call me a taxi. The soonest one could be reserved was 5:30 tonight. So much for running errands…
No phone, no TV, no car, no internet…no fun. I put in a load of clothes last night to wash and dry (it’s one of those little units that first washes then switches to dry)…the machine is still running and the clothes are still wet. Argh! I obviously can’t figure this machine out or else it’s broken. I have a maintenance guy come look at it, he just stares at it like it’s going to miraculously start working. Twenty minutes later he says that a rep from the company would need to come and look at it and that I might need a new machine.
I’m not having a good day. Can you tell?
December 11, 2007
Yesterday was decidedly better. I got a Limo instead of a taxi (at 7:30 AM all the taxi’s were booked until 3:30 PM), a bit more expensive but well worth it. I’ve got to start thinking in Riyals instead of dollars! One hour of Limo service is 40 Riyal. Now my brain thinks that’s expensive because it’s stuck in $’s but it’s actually only $11.06! A taxi is 16 Riyals (or $4.42) each way. I went back to the two Malls I needed to hit and dismissed my Limo after one hour. I got all my bedding (a wonderful coverlet from India, a 3” thick mattress pad that sits on top of the mattress, a 600 thread count flat sheet to wrap around the mattress pad and another lower thread count flat sheet to wrap around the mattress, apparently fitted sheets are as rare as hens teeth), had a wonderful Thai meal, drank a cup of coffee in the afternoon while reading the paper (they are amazed we are not screaming for gun control after the recent shootings in the US) and hailed a cab to bring me home…so much more civilized than pounding my head against the wall like I was on the 9th!
I’ve started back on an exercise routine and have lost 1.2 Kg (2.65 lbs.!!!!). I suspect it’s mainly due to the fact that I’ve quit stuffing myself with pork…speaking of pork, I found beef “bacon”. I will let you know if it’s any good. For those of you who don’t know, pork is not allowed in the country (it’s on the same list as nuclear waste, alcohol and weapons). So in my brilliance I decided to make myself sick of pork before I left so I wouldn’t miss it as much. Never got sick of pork but I did succeed in gaining 20 pounds and probably raising my cholesterol level as well (pork belly is not for those timid souls concerned about silly things like calories and clogged arteries).
Turns out a big Islamic holiday is just around the corner and RD is off work 12/17 thru 12/25, unfortunately his paperwork is still in process so we won’t be able to leave the country. It also means that our shipment, which is due to arrive 12/19 may not clear customs by 12/26 as we previously thought…I’m going to have to get creative regarding Christmas décor this year. I’m thinking a bouquet of red roses and some white candles… It also means that unless the washing machine guy comes in the next day or two I will not have any way to do laundry until after the first of the year…now I know why there are all those countertop clothes drying racks at the grocery store. I guess I’m going to have to resort to hand washing. The Souq’s (an Arabic version of a Farmers Market) I’ve been wanting to visit will also be closed so I plan on spending the next two days visiting a few of them. There are >20 but many of them are in one area so I ought to be able to get to several. Since I’ll be alone I will have to dress ULTRA conservative. So far the clothing issue has not been as bad as I had envisioned, of course it’s not 120 degrees, and I’ve been going to Malls frequented by a lot of Westerners.
December 12, 2007
Wow, was last night ever an experience! We decided to go downtown to Souq Waqif. After looking at our “hotel style” map of the city it appeared to us to be a straight shot down one of the main thoroughfares … no problem … about 37 turns later we finally arrived at the oldest Souq in Doha. (It will be quite a while before I attempt to make that drive on my own!) As we pulled up a gentleman was leading a child around an open courtyard on a donkey, I had the camera but since you have to ask before you can take anyone’s picture the moment was lost. The area is partially open to the sky with cobblestone streets but mostly it is under cover. On our little map it “appears” to be about 8 different areas, and I’m sure if you read Arabic you would be able to distinguish those areas. To our Western eyes it was a rat’s maze of narrow hallways, branching off of narrow hallways, some coming to complete dead ends. Small little shops lined these hallways, as small as 5’ x 5’ for the jewelers who were literally soldering the gold jewelry pieces together as we walked by, and ranging up to maybe 15’ x 25’ for the shops with rugs, safes, or larger appliances. The visual and olfactory stimulation was overwhelming. Your eyes are assaulted with a multi-ethnic mix of people in all manner of dress from strict Islamic to discreet western, and the shops are packed to the ceilings with an array of wares from small electronics, to spices, fabric, clothing and jewelry. There are coffee shops, small eating establishments (some of the smells coming from these were quite tantalizing), and smoking shops (I believe it’s called “hubbly bubbly”, to me they just look like ornate, elaborate bongs!) I found the most fabulous cashmere pashima with hand embroidery from India…It was only $66. It’s “winter” time here but some of the shops were still warm and claustrophobic. The combination of heat with body odors, perfume, food, spices and cigarette smoke was at times intense (I’m being polite). We had a momentary “uh-oh” when we tried to find our way back through the maze to our Limo but I just started back-tracking past shops that I recognized and was very grateful when we hit the open air of the courtyard. I am also quite grateful that RD was with me on this first “expedition”, I think it would have been quite frightening to have gone there alone the first time.
Afterwards we had a wonderful Indian dinner at the Ramada (if you want a cocktail with dinner you have to go to a restaurant at a hotel). Besides, I’m not quite up to “finding” a restaurant that isn’t listed on a hotel website…Thank God for the internet. After dinner I stepped into the hair salon at the hotel to see if anyone there was familiar with cutting blonde hair (every cut shows so it’s real easy to get a butcher job by someone who doesn’t understand this). On the door it said “Women Only”, but when I walked in all the hairdressers were men (some stereotypes are obviously multi-cultural). Of course the first thing they wanted to know was why I wanted a haircut, “it’s so short already!” When I asked if they knew how to cut blonde hair they said “of course”. I was not convinced. When I asked why cutting blonde hair was different the oldest one immediately said “because every cut shows”. I took their pamphlet for future reference.
December 17, 2007
“When one’s expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have.”
-Stephen Hawking, British physicist
I’ve decided these are words to live by over here. Now that I’ve realized that the taxi’s are not going to be an option (there was an article in the paper saying they plan on hiring 3000 new drivers in the next few months because the city is growing so fast) I have settled on Limo’s as the way to go. Did I tell you that many of them have upholstery that sparkles? Everything here seems to have sparkles on it. I am slowly starting to figure out where things are, which Malls are the best, and I now have a cell phone (not that I know anyone to call, but I can call a Limo all by myself).
So far I have been unable to find any clothing that I would buy. It’s either too young (short skirts, low scooped tops and lots of sparkle, yes, even too much sparkle for me), too Islamic, or too expensive (think high end designers). The few things I have found are very European which stills looks odd to my western eye. I’m sure as time passes I will be assimilated.
We were invited to a dinner party on Friday night, kind of an early Christmas party. They had an entire roasted lamb! I was in heaven…RD’s main question was “where’s the beef”? What an incredible mix of people…Lebanese, Tunisian, Swedish, Ukraine, Swiss, Australian, New Zealanders, Canadian and us…thank God everyone speaks English. We Americans are so incredibly spoiled when it comes to language!
In an ironic twist of fate RD brought home a flyer from the hospital from a Canadian couple selling a 2005 Chevy Trail Blazer, turns out the wife is an “Independent” PT who has been treating patients at her home. She has been looking for someone to pick up these patients as they are moving back to Canada on January 1. She treats very similarly to me (CST, etc.) so it should be an easy transition. She’s seeing about 20 patients a week so I’m thinking it will leave time for me to do other things as well. Such as … RD got a lead on an Interior Decorator who needs an assistant, wouldn’t that be fun … I’m hoping I can combine the two! We will be meeting with the Canadians tomorrow to talk about buying the Trail Blazer and taking over her practice. Almost feels like fate!
I received an e-mail from the COO’s wife about a Tuesday morning women’s coffee club (the nurse’s call them the Doha Darlings…the spouses who don’t work), not sure it will be my “cup of tea” (pardon the pun) but I figure I should check out all my options. I am in desperate need of a girlfriend!
RD got his first paycheck and we have a bank account set up…I of course have new furniture all picked out! They had all the major pieces in the “Villa” already but if you want any decorative items, like a console table in the entryway, or a desk and chair, you have to buy them yourself. I am still looking for rugs … with all the tile floors this place is like an echo chamber. I want to buy a good Persian rug while here so I am going to take my time on the main rug purchase (for under the dining room table).
Friday night we drove through an area near by with 5 or 6 Garden Nurseries. I hope to get over there in the next day or two, if they are open during this holiday period (12/17 – 12/25), and get a few potted plants for the front porch and some flowers for the window boxes. RD said he was going to rent a car today…should be “invigorating” trying to find our way around town while simultaneously avoiding other drivers, trying to remember the names of streets (all in Arabic of course) and maneuvering around a plethora of construction sites. Oh, another unofficial “law”…if you are caught flipping someone “the bird” you are kicked out of the country. As a result there are a lot of horns blaring.
It’s early Monday afternoon and I just finished watching Jacksonville beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in a blizzard. It’s quite amusing when they break for a “message from your local station” and all the commercials are in Arabic! Also, there were fewer of them and they were much less annoying in an unintelligible foreign language. We do not have access to TV in our “villa” yet but there is one in the lobby of the club house we can use until we get set up. That is my only access to football…I’m in the end stages of withdrawal…
December 18, 2007
Holy Christmas! We picked up a rental car last night and RD did an amazing job of driving (show no fear or hesitation, they will take advantage of you) while I navigated with the pitiful excuse for a map that I’ve been carrying with me ever since our stay at the Four Seasons in August. I’d guess less than 25% of the streets are on the map and of those probably 5% are closed due to construction. When we picked up the car it was supposed to be full of fuel…the empty light blinked on two minutes after we drove away (we had been so nervous we hadn’t bothered to notice the fuel gage was sitting on empty). So here we are, driving in the dark, not sure where we are going exactly, with an empty tank. I did not relax until we spotted a “Petrol” as they call them. Unfortunately we had passed it and had to back track the wrong way on a one way street to get there. RD was masterful. Try not to sob…it cost 44 QR or about $12 to fill the tank. No such thing as self-serve in this country either. RD offered to let me drive the rest of the way home but I told him I choose to experience that particular “terror” without a witness.
To make things more interesting here there are no addresses, so finding places is a bit like a treasure hunt. For example, this is the beginning of directions to a place to go BloKarting: Continue 12km from the last roundabout in Wakra towards Masaieed. Take the second u-turn after the new petrol station. Continue for about 2km, turn right about 500m past the single tree…I’m not kidding, this is verbatim. How does a newbie know which petrol station is the “new” one? What if the tree dies?
After working out this morning we went to lay by the pool and have lunch…it’s a bit like living in a resort, minus the alcohol of course. Very affordable as well, RD had a double cheeseburger with fries and two ice teas, I had a Greek salad and water (which costs more than gas over here) and our total was 38 QR…about $10.50!
Well, we just met the Canadian couple, Dave and Glenda, really nice people, I’m sorry that they are leaving (they brought us a bottle of wine and a six pack of beer). On the upside, however, we are buying their Chevy Trail Blazer and she is going to hand over all of her patients to me. They have also offered to show us the best places to shop for food and will introduce me to a small specialty butcher that gets good beef. Glenda confirmed my suspicion that there really is nowhere to buy clothing in this town. I have a feeling we will be staying in touch as they are from Kelona, BC…very close to Montana…and are avid skiers.
After they left we drove one block (you don’t walk anywhere here or you get run over) to a little strip mall and had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. The owner was very helpful, explaining what things were and even bringing us little tastes of things we asked questions about. They even have “baby” Camel on the menu. They were out of it tonight but he promised to have it in again on Saturday. I can’t wait… We had Chicken Shawarma, Hummus, Baba Ghannuj, Falafel and Labnah for desert…35 QR…less than $10. I may skip this whole grocery shopping and cooking business and just eat out!
December 20, 2007
It’s interesting, I’ve never lived in a tropical climate before so I didn’t realize how much of my “Christmas Spirit” was wrapped up in the falling snow, the warm cozy sweaters and sitting in front of a roaring fire. Or was it all the hype, bombarding me from Thanksgiving on? There are Christmas decorations up, here in the compound, but they look a bit silly. I did buy a Poinsettia for a center piece on the dining room table but it just looks lonely. I guess that’s more likely the problem. Christmas is a time for family and we are all alone over here.
On Christmas Eve RD and I are checking into the Four Seasons hotel and doing a 3 hour spa extravaganza in a dual room (two treatment tables) with our own pool, hot tub, steam room and sauna. After that we will be joining another Physician and his wife for dinner (his English is difficult to understand and she doesn’t speak any so it should be interesting). In the morning they have a fabulous Christmas brunch and then in the evening we will meet up with a large group from our compound for a Bar-B-Q and cocktails. So much for those few kilo’s I lost!
Despite the fact that it is Hajj (a ten day holiday for their pilgrimage to mecca) a few stores are open here and there. I managed to find a nursery open yesterday and bought a Ficus tree for the front porch and some flowers for the front window box, it’s starting to look like someone lives here. Our shipment was due to arrive yesterday but I’ve been told that during these major holidays like this they don’t even let the ships dock, they are anchored off shore somewhere waiting until the 26th…it will probably be at least a week after that before we receive our stuff. I really need my treatment table now that I have this possibility of having patients as soon as the first week of January and getting some art work on the walls wouldn’t hurt either.
RD is doing a superb job with the driving…I am a fabulous navigator…what a team! We went to three malls today. The second one was way across town so we hadn’t been there before. Their big grocery stores are all located in the malls. This mall had a different grocery store with more western foods (read more expensive). I did, however, nearly have a religious experience when I rounded a corner and came face to face with half an aisle of honest to goodness Ziploc bags (as many of you are aware I am the Ziploc Queen…I use them for everything). I had found some cheap imitations but these were the real thing. They also had salad dressing! It’s amazing how excited you get over little things “when one’s expectations are reduced to zero”. They have ‘LAYS’ potato chips over here but with weird flavors like Balsamic Vinegar with Oriental Spices or Salt and Crushed Black Peppercorn. There are very few “diet” foods to be found. Notice that comment came after the one about potato chips…that would be why I have 13 kilos to lose. Look at me…I’m starting to talk metric!
I bought a pair of shoes today (God help me they’re “Hush Puppies”, in the land of rhinestones I’m suddenly all about comfort). Apparently over here I wear a size 4 (size 36 European), and most of them were too big, not in length, in width…they just fell off my feet. Size 3 was the smallest I saw so these women must have big feet!
December 21, 2007
The first day of Winter in Qatar…it’s 24C (75F) and 57% humidity, more like a nice Summer’s day in Missoula! RD has spent the morning printing Mapquest maps of Doha, cutting them out and piecing them together with scotch tape in an attempt to get a viable map.
At 2:00 this afternoon a driver is picking us up for a “surprise” Christmas present for RD. I will fill you in on all the details tomorrow…
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