Waqif Souq

What a great 1st week! I spent most of the first week in Doha because I am waiting for my RLC (Ras Laffin City-where the Pearl Project is) pass to be approved. Doha office is nice. I sit in an open area of HR folks so it is great for knowledge sharing. Plus we outlook to the bay with bright blue water. Definitely better than the scenery I am used to in Houston.

I was able to spend one day at site on Pearl GTL. There is a bus that picks those of us who live in Doha at our apartment building (only Shell employees live in this building) at 6:45am. We have an 1.5 hour bus ride to the site through the desert. Once we arrive, we have to go through government security. As it was explained to me, it is like a military zone in terms of security. We then have to pass through Shell security to enter the site. Once on site, safety takes a huge priority and there is a sense of pride people have about being there. Everyone is so nice and asks the same two questions; 1)Where are you from 2) how long are you here. You can walk down the hall and almost everyone you bump into is from a different country and have a varied story about they arrived on Pearl. VERY fun environment.

Wednesday night there was a group of 6 of us who went out for Lebanese food. It was very yummy. Kind of like Mediterranean food. We did a combo of hot and cold mettza (appetizers). I ate chicken liver accidentally. Very salty. Will not be doing that one again.

To top the week off, I went with two other colleagues to the Waqif Souq. We had a blast. We had Iranian food for dinner, which entitled us to sit on a carpet to eat dinner. No chairs! It was a blast. We had probably the best humus I have every had and some chicken dish. The souq was full of shops that sold everything from jewelry and fabric to fresh spices. It was a blast. Definitely my favorite spot in the city so far. For anyone who saw Sex and the City....I have overly excited to see shoes! Put in your orders now....give me an excuse to go back.

My saying on how to describe this place: A nice place (Qatar) in a bad neighborhood(Middle East)