Good Bye Doha......HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLO Houston

Its official-Good bye Doha!  I have spent the last week packing up my apartment while my husband has spent the entire week getting our Houston home in prepartion for my return (this is the end to the "man cave").  I have successfully packed all of my stuff in 5...no wait...6 bags. 

I am now sitting in the Qatar Airways Premium terminal where there is a chef preparing scrambled eggs and waffles. I am in Heaven!! Will I miss Doha?  Sure, I will miss Souq Waqif, the poshness of the Pearl, the GREAT Lebanese food, high tea at the Ritz, the expat lifestyle, running along the gulf every morning, and the fresh fruit juices.  There are a few things I glady bid-adeu; the 1.5 hour bus rides one way to work, playing the game of chicken while walking on the Pearl, having Friday and Saturdays as weekends, Carrefour (and the random dead carcus), and not being able to drive myself.

This has been a wonderful experience and I have met amazing people that I hope to remain in contact in the future. Good bye Doha...........Hello Houston!

On more thing before I go....Sybil this is for you....I tipped my waiter in the Qatar Airways Lounge 10QR.  You have taught me well. See you Stateside.....

Happy Valentines Day!

How do you celebrate Valentines day in the Middle East?  Well, I think it depends where you are. I saw an article on how Malaysia was thinking about banning the holiday in the country because the typical celebrations of flowers, chocolates, and going out to dinner can lead to pre-marital "relations".  Really?! I think for Qatar, the restaurants have taken down the Valentines day decorations and there is no special menu.  Wait-no cheesy hearts on the windows and I do not have pay a higher price for the same food because its Valentines day?  Yep, definitely not romantic anymore.  Good thing Rics Kountry Kitchen helped me ring in the holiday early by serving my "Death by Omelet" with a heart shaped sausage.....

Toto...We are (still) not in US.

The more time I spend here, the more I realize I am not in the US anymore (the good, the bad, and the ugly)....

• Humus is a regular condiment
• Chocolate Chips are a commodity
• You can go days without seeing anyone who has blonde hair
• Sharing a sidewalk is unheard of. Instead you just keep on walking like the other person does not exist.
• Woman wear expensive designer sparkly pumps at 10am
• Children in strollers are crying because thier I-phones are not working
• For every child thier is a nanny wearing a toss between a house coat and a bowling uniform
• You are lucky if anyone speaks English (and by Engish I mean "American"). Amazing how many conversations I have had where all parties are speaking English but no one knows what that other is saying.

Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

During last weeks excursion to Abu Dhabi, Katie, Candy and I visited the grand mosque.  It was spectacular. The beautiful white domes are the capstone to the marvelous architecture below.

We were given a tour by an Emirati who told us all about the 80+ columns that exist in the mosque, the longest single carpet in the world which lines the main prayer room, why there are lines in the carpet (so the worshipers know where to stand and towards the direction of Mecca), the 3 sparkling chandeliers, and when women start to wear their abayas ("when they reach the age of maturity").

The best part of the adventure was wearing the abaya...

Rain, Rain, Rain

When I moved to Qatar, they told me it only rains 2x year, once in March which brings the heat and once in September which eliminates the heat.  Well if that holds true and Qatar is only warranted 2 rains per year, we have used-up our yearly allotment before the end of January.  While Katie and Candy were here last week, it rained for nearly 3 straight days. Since the rain never seemed to stop, I will count this as one loooooooooooong rain.  Then while riding the loser cruiser (aka the bus we are required to ride all the way to Ras Laffan Industrial City each day), it was pouring down rain. 

So the bad news is....Qatar could be in for a long dry 2011 from here on out.  The good news is .....Katie and Candy, you are no longer being blamed for bringing the rain.  Wonder where I can get a designer umbrella on the Pearl...Hermes, Galliano, Feragamo, or Vera??

The "Lo-bee", "cot" and "pillow"

Just spent the weekend in Abu Dhabi with my good friend and MIL (mother-in-law). As anyone knows who has traveled internationally, part of the fun is the language barrier. Even though we are in the Middle East, English is widely spoke.  So you would think we would have no problems communicating.....

"Lo-Bee"-Aka "lobby"

"Pillow"-Katie-"Yes, hello, can I get an extra pillow to room 306". 

             Man on the other end-"Pillow????"

             Katie-"Yes, a pillow"

             Man on the other end-"Pillow??"

             Katie-"Yes, a head cloud"

"Cot"-Katie "Can we get a roll-away or a cot to room 306?"
           Lady at the desk-"Sure, no problem".

           5 min later in the room-Much to our amazement.....

Saudi Arabian Riyals

Want a creative way to skirt the bill when you are splitting with friends? You offer to pay and then get out the wrong currency. That is exactly what my mother in law (MIL) did when she offered to split the check at lunch yesterday. (She visiting from the US with a good friend of mine).  She whips out her wallet which contains Saudi Arabian Riyals.  Thanks for nothing! We are in Qatar, not Saudi.  What am I suppose to do with that?  Keep your money...I will get the bill.

(So the story behind the wrong currency-In preparation for the trip, my MIL tried to exchange US dollars at a bank in Indiana. What they gave her was Saudi Arabian Riyals, not QR)

Yesterday was frustrating....today, we can not stop laughing about it. 

Qatari Baby Shower

This past week, I was invited to a colleague's baby shower. Very similar to what one would experience in the States, with the big difference that the baby shower occurs AFTER the baby is born. Little Essa was born 3 weeks early, and only about 2 KG.  A gaggle of girls were invited over to her parents house (it is customary that Qatari women spend the first 40 days at their parents house after giving birth).  We were welcomed into the front room of the home which is dedicated to entertaining.  We were offered fresh juices and small Arabic sweets until dinner.  Just before dinner was served, the new mom opened her gifts, which consisted of cute outfits for her little boy.  Dinner (Serbian cuisine) was served and followed by a warm Islamic oatmeal dessert.  The woman who arrived in their abays quickly took them off right after dinner. We spent the last hour chatting like a bunch of girlfriends who just happened to come from all over the world. Very cool!e

Happy (belated) New Year

I heard today from an English colleague (and I only point this out because I have never heard this in the States), but apparently you are not suppose to wish anyone a "Happy New Year" after January 6th. News to me, so I will break the rule just once.

 

I can not believe New Years was a week ago.  Tim and I celebrated by spending 6 nights in the Maldives. We stayed on Paradise Island.  I am sure that is not the island's original name. It was about a 10 min speed boat ride from the main island of Male.  (side note-loved the speed boat.  We felt very James Bond) The vacation was amazing! We had a nice little water bungalow equipped with a small bathtub outside and a semi-private lagoon to swim in on the backside. We were 10 hour ahead of the US or a 20 hour plane ride so we knew there was a high probability of being the only Americans. Needless to say we played "guess the American" game.  We were wrong 100% of the time.  However when we were least expecting it, we ran into another American couple (who were just as excited to meet us) that is working in the International school in Saudi Arabia.  We had a great time swapping Qatar vs SA stories. 

Tim and I spent our days sunning on our private deck, swimming, and walking on the beach. We did go on a submarine ride, which gave us an amazing view of the coral and marine life.The water was so clear by our bungalow, we were able to see small reef sharks and stingrays.

During our time in the Maldives we did manage to do a few things beside sunning and walking;

• Submarine ride
• Happy Hour (3 times)
• Had a drink out of a coconut
• Romantic lobster dinner on the beach
• Watched 1 movie
• Took several naps (one day we were napping by 10:30am-awesome!)
• Read a few books and magazines  
• Played Family Feud on the computer
• Took a handful of silly pictures
• Watched a crab race (this is with live crabs)
• Watched Paradise Idol (a spin of American idol with island guests as participants in a Karaoke contest)
• Played on the kids playground
• Took a ton of pictures
• Watched the sunset (every night)

All-in-all, it was a hard week. Great way to start the new year....

Dear Santa...

The big jolly old man found me all the way in Qatar, a country that does not celebrate Christmas.  Although, having holiday tunes on the elevator and the decorations at the Pearl certainly helped to get in the Christmas spirit.  If I was going to write a wish list to Mr. S. Clause, I would put 3 things on there....#1. spend the holiday with my husband

 #2. chocolate #3. more workout stuff.  I was lucky Santa thought I was a good girl this year, because I got all 3!  Tim arrived on December 23rd.  Christmas morning I found the following stuffed in my stocking that traveled all the way from Houston to Doha just in the nick of time for Christmas.  Santa brought me several different types of chocolate to feed my sweet tooth.  And to feed my other obsession, working out, he also brought me a jump rope and a resistance band. Thanks Santa!

For Christmas dinner, my English co-worker graciously hosted.  We celebrated with at least 5 different nationalities, learned about each others customs, and commemorated the English way. After the 1st course, we popped open these pop things, which contained a red crown, a small prize, and a cheeky Christmas joke.  We went around the table telling our not-so-funny jokes and wore our crowns with pride. We filled our bellys with turkey, vegetable tart, stuffing balls, roasted vegetables, homemade cheesecake, and traditional English bread pudding. Delicious!