Happy National Day, Qatar

Today, December 18th, is National Day in Qatar.  It is celebrated with a military parade in the morning and fireworks in the evening.  The big question of the day was what time does all of the events start. My friend and I tried for several days to clear-up the event schedule.  Every Qatari we asked gave us a different answer.  So when in doubt, solicit the advise of the Internet. In most cases, this would be acceptable, except in Qatar!  The only information I found on the Internet was other expats asking the same question, "what time does everything start".  Between 3 people with graduate degrees, we decided to towards the corniche around 8am to the start of National Day.  The best part of the parade was the cars after.  They were decorated in the national flag with young children hanging out of the sunroofs and endless honking.  Sometime to consider for next 4th of July. Enjoy the pics....

Blake tie + complimentary drinks + Lady Gaga=Year End Gala

That right, last night was the company Year End Gala. Black tie attire was required, complimentary beer and wine was served, and music was played into the wee hours of the morning.  This was like any company end of year event I have ever been to before.  It was held at the Grand Hyatt in Doha. We all loaded the same buses we load every morning to take us to site, only this time we were not in red coveralls but in suits and gowns.  The drive was much shorter, just around the corner in fact.  Once at the Hyatt, all ladies were greeted with a red rose and the men rushed to the large oval bar serving wine and beer.  There was an endless flow of food/drink, dance hits, and thoughts of "Toto, I am not in Kansas anymore"

Here are the highlights....

• The Americans could only fill one whole table!  Good thing the tables fit 10 and not 12.
• Towards 10:30pm, bottles of wine started to become the table center pieces
• There were 3 carving stations; beef, duck, and turkey
• DJ was a Qatari in a kilt
• The desert station was to DIE for  (In retrospect, I should have started there)
• Scottish men in kilts dancing to Lady Gaga "Poker Face" and Shania Twain "Man I feel like a woman"
• Watching the leadership team cut a rug on the dance floor to "Like a Virgin"
• Being swung and twirled from line leader to line leader. Totally out of control! 
• 10+ nationalities singing Bon Jovi "Living on a Prayer" 
• Can-can line for "Come-On Eileen" (yes, I participated)

Chrimas in Qatar

Yes, there is such a thing! Thanks to the management at the Pearl (which a local billboard calls "Qatar's Heart") has put up fake Santas, a huge Christmas tree, and giant presents. For a country that does not celebrate Christmas, I am impressed!

There are even end-of-year sales. Galliano, Alexander McQueen, and Armani are up to 50% off.  My wallet still hurts, but the pain is just a little bit less.

 Happy Holidays to all!

Qatari Wedding

This past Thursday, I attended my 1st Qatari wedding.  It was held at the Four Seasons hotel in Doha.  The woman's entrance (the women and men are separate) was adorned with a red carpet. Once inside,  my camera was taken.  No pictures allowed, except the professional photography, which only took pics of the bride.  Once inside, there was  a gold bench/thrown decorated with flowers at the front of the room with a runway running all the way to the back.  There were decorated tables and couches around the room for guests.  I went with a fellow American. We were the only two non-Qataris there.  Some of the Qatari women arrived without their abaya's. Instead they wore beautiful colorful gowns.  Their hair was done up in an 1905's style up-do.  The shoes! Oh, the shoes! I was so jealous. All I can say is WOW! 

We sat down at one of the tables to the side of the stage/runway.  When we sat down, nearly 1.5 hours after the wedding started, there was virtually no one else there. Another 2 hours goes by with being offered fresh squeezed juices (I had strawberry guava) and Arabic sweets before the room fills up.  Interestingly enough, no one sat by us the entire night.  The Qatari women passed the time until the bride arrived by dancing (no running man, chicken dance, electric slide or macarena here) on the runway to the VERY loud Arabic music playing. My understanding is that the women dance in front of the elder women in hopes to swoon a mom in anticipation of an arranged marriage.

Once the bride arrived, she was wearing a huge white wedding gown with a large headpiece.  She looked stunning. She stood in the middle of the runway as the women came up to congratulate by showing her with money. The sprinkled money from the top of her head and let it float to the floor. My understanding is all of the money is given to charity.  After several minutes of standing, the bride sat on the thrown/couch at the end of the stage.  From there, it was time for all the guests to start eating.  The bride does not eat. She says stoic on the stage. Once done eating dinner, the guests start to dance again on the runway.

This was the end of the night...no groom, no cutting of the cake, no 1st dance, no father daughter dance. Very different, great experience!

oh...I did get a ride home in Jaguar.  Very nice car, but not sure it was the worth the 2X Karwa price. 

And the winner is.....

Qatar for 2022!  The announcement was made by FIFA yesterday afternoon around 6:30.  In anticipation of the announcement, the Pearl (upscale shopping area where I live) had set-up jumbo TV screens and huge speakers. As soon as it was declared Qatar for 2022, "We are the champions" played loudly over the speakers and cheers erupted.  I had plans to go out last night. The streets of Doha were backed-up in grid locked traffic with everyone honking horns, Qataris sitting on top of their SUVs, and kids hanging out the windows. One word-chaos!  You could not help get goose bumps over the pride of Qataris that their beloved growing country won the bid.  What to do now?  Rumor has it-build air conditioned out door stadiums and an "out of limits" underground city for non-Muslims activities.

Congrats Qatar!