Holidays

We slept in until 6:00 this morning....and we're going out to the Sheraton for breakfast around 8:30...days start early here but usually end early too. (I just got my first phone call of the day to arrange drives for breakfast and it's only 7:15 am)!!! Last night we got a driver and 5 of us went down to the "New Old Souq" (Souq Waqif) ... a new market filled with shops along tunnels and alleyways which has been completely rebuilt just like the old souq. The original souq had been on this same site for centuries and was the place where the Bedu (plural of Bedouin) came to trade. Using thousands of old photos the government has recreated the market in an amazingly successful way. It looks very old, has many great restaurants (we ate at a delicious Iraqi one) of all kinds, Haagen-Dazs, Second Cup, French, Turkish, ..... The shops are full of material from around the world, clothing (Arabic), dishes, paintings, toys (like Dollarama and Walmart), touristy (more expensive) stuff, carpets, and on and on. We didn't buy anything last night. The place only really comes alive after 6 pm and goes late. We had our driver pick us up at 9 pm and were very ready to get home.We found a mall the other night (Villagio) that is bigger and nicer than any mall I've ever seen. It has stores like the Gap and H & M etc but it also has stores that are so out of my price range that I'm nervous walking past them! There is a canal inside the mall and you can have a gondola ride and there is a skating rink also...and at least two food courts with Pizza Express...etc places. There is one bakery/cafe that has wonderful bread so we'll make trips there for the bread. There is also a book store (Virgin) with English books, music, movies, computers ...huge. The ceilings are domes painted almost as ornately as the Sistine Chapel. Some of the aisles have clouds painted above that seem to move as you walk. There's a roller coaster outside too. Roger and I are going to the SEALINE resort tomorrow for 2 days. It's down near the border with Saudi Arabia. There we will finally see real sand dunes and have trips out to see them. They use dune buggys and 4x4 cars. My students say that on Friday nights a lot of the young people have races on the dunes in which people are actually killed. They play 'chicken and rooster' by driving at top speed into each other and knocking each other off the dune. Cars roll over, people are thrown out of the cars and sometimes crushed by the car rolling down over them. They suggested we not go to the Sealine Friday nights! It is illegal but.....

Last Saturday we went for a road trip with Betty C. & headed west to Dukhan ... basically a vast oilfield in the desert, ending at the coast. Much of the area is owned & controlled by Qatar Petroleum, with no photos or videos allowed. There was one great roadside sign which read: "If not safe don't do it".

Here's a little of what we saw on the way:

Birding continues

Yesterday (Tuesday), went with Gord Saunders back to the West Doha Sewage Lagoons. Quite good (total of 29 species, 7 new for my Qatar list & a grand total of 43 since 12 September). We were there between 15h.30 & 17h..30. This is what it looks like:

Driver's licence (footnote)

All is well. It took less than twenty minutes this morning to get my temporary Qatar driver's licence. Just needed the right magic document. Now we should be able to rent a car & plan some trips during the upcoming holiday (26 September to 6 October). As we do not have our exit visas yet, we have to stay inside the country. But there will be plenty to see & do.

Thursday, 18 September

We’re more than halfway through Ramadan, but it still surprises us to find out that stores are closed (except for a few hours in the morning & in the evening). We try to avoid driving after 8 p.m. when everyone comes out & things get a little crazy. One of Pat’s students has invited us to visit his family tomorrow for games & a meal. This will be our first experience of Qatari domestic life & we are excited to find out more. This will be a particularly wealthy example. Today marks the end of the week & so we’ll be going out to eat this evening with some of the teachers. I still am without a Qatari driver’s licence although the prospects are brighter &, by next week, we should be able to rent a car for the rest of the year. The thought of driving the roads of Doha is still rather daunting. I had my first birding trip on Tuesday & am up around 40 species (out of a possible 250). Birding in 38 degrees in the vicinity of the West Doha sewage lagoons has a charm of its own.

Saturday, 20 September

We were invited to one of my student's homes yesterday (Friday, which is their Sunday sort of), for games and a meal called Iftar. This is the meal they have when they break fast in the evening. It's hard to describe how luxurious it was. We were picked up at the school in 2 cars: one was a BMW sport car, the other a Mercedes SUV. We were welcomed by Aziz's father Mohammed and then taken into the majilis (basically a place to meet & relax; some are formal, others not ... they have at least four of them in their home) with the games, computer "lab", swimming pool, fuzzball, pool table, table tennis, fitness room, well-appointed games table (cards etc), and 4 big screen tv's (that we saw!) We played pool, blackjack, etc for a couple of hours, sat and talked to the family and other guests who arrived all through the afternoon. We also had cakes and drinks ordered (on Aziz' mobile) for us (even though they were fasting!). My friends Betty C. and Judy Higgins and I were the only women there. People arrived all afternoon...at least 20 others. About 5:30 we were all directed into their home where we sat down at 2 beautiful tables set in a huge dining room.

Before that we had waited in a 'formal majilis', a room about 50x20 feet, with chairs and sofas on all the walls, a carpet made of silk and wool on the floor, walls and ceiling covered in materials rich in colour, another big screen TV, gold and crystal goblets on a table in the middle of the room...we had to remove our shoes for this room! The carpet was shades of pink, blue, yellow, in a design that started at the outside and continued through the whole thing. We were invited to the kitchen to see the platters of food and take pictures....two huge platters were covered with saffron/lemon rice and roasted lamb on top.

All the food comes from their farm...the lamb at least. Then the dining room! The napkins might have had gold thread on them... we aren't sure but think it must have been. The guests pull the meat off with their hands (not the left hand which I did!!) and just eat and talk. During the meal the host wandered around giving us more meat and making sure all was done properly by the servants. Then we went back to the 'formal majilis' for desserts and coffee and tea. The desserts were again, unbelievably good. There was creme carmel, cheesecake, different cakes, pomegranate jelly, candies of all sorts all served on a beautiful and delicate dishes with gold designs. We sat and talked to their guests and then they drove us home in another of their 26 cars. I asked if I could have a nougat candy from one of the trays in the room and Aziz decided that I should take some home. We could barely carry it home!

The first 3 weeks of teaching have been challenging in many ways...finding the levels of the kids, figuring out what they need and how to help them. Their reading and writing skills are quite low (very low) and we aren't sure if that's the same in their first language (Arabic). The students are very very sweet and as I have only 5 students in each class it's easy to get to know them. Aziz' family is apparently one of the very old families and are considered extremely generous people (to which we can attest!). School starts at 8 am during Ramadan (7 am after Eid). The classes are short (30 mins now), 40 mins after...1st week of October. The other teachers are very nice...mostly American but a lot of Canadians! The librarian (Judy) who has been here 7 years has a Thursday morning donut and coffee club. We seem to do something every Thursday night ... like our Friday night!

I haven't seen a cloud yet! The sky is white with a slight bluish tint all day. The sunsets are lovely, pinkish-blueish...sort of what my mother would have called 'sky-blue pink'. We live in a compound built just for people working for the Qatar Foundation which is the royal family. We are in Lot 1 and our friends are in Lot 2 but they have built the most beautiful, graceful bridge to connect the lots. I walk over to meet Betty in the mornings at 6 am (4 minutes) when it's not too hot (high 30s) and when I come home (between 3 and 6 pm) it's really hot. But I walk slowly and I survive.

This week we have to get a car because next week all our friends are going away..Spain, Europe, Oman, etc. We still can't leave because we don't have exit visas yet, which we can't get until all our medical tests are done. I have had most of them done...for the medical tests, we are picked up at Education City in a bus (everyone on the bus works or is associated with the Foundation). There are about 25 people on a bus. Many of the people I went with worked at Texas A & M or Weill Cornell Medical College or Georgetown University (School of Foreign Affairs). It's a long drive in an air-conditioned bus. When we got there we each had to register. The people there don't speak English and are quite unforgiving of people who are confused and mess up their system (which is not apparent to anyone but them!). Then we are sent for blood tests...again an incomprehensible system without lines. People who push get through faster. The taking of the blood is not very gentle! Liz would be shocked. Then all the women (who have been separated from the men for a while) have to find their way to the X-ray room. There we waited in a large room on rows of chairs and watched people walk up to the front and through a door before us. So, we did the same. Behind the door is a very small room filled with many women. In that little room we have to remove our clothes, put on a suspicious- looking gown, and sort of line up to go into a much larger room with ONE x-ray machine!!! Again....much shoving...much cutting in line, much anger. I actually had to shout at a woman behind me to stop her pushing me. I felt bad doing it as she was probably coming from Sri Lanka or Nepal to be a servant and looked very sad. We actually got through it by laughing together. We met each other and have formed friendships....one woman who is from Cambridge, Ont. (her husband is doing research here) and I will get together soon.

We don't know what we'll do today...maybe go to one of the big malls because the big stores are open during the day...Carrefour etc. Most only open after 8 pm during Ramadan. Only restaurants in big hotels are open during the day...Ritz, Ramada, marriot, etc. It's still too hot to go for long walks! Bye for now. We miss the trees and clouds!

Driving in the labyrinth

This evening we head off to the Traffic Department, where I obtain my temporary Qatar driver's licence. This has to be done within seven days of my arrival, otherwise I may be required to takes a driver's test. Pat has to be there to sign a letter of permission, since she is my "sponsor". Without the temporary licence, it would be impossible for me to drive & we certainly need a car. Later, when Pat has her residency status, I can apply for a permanent licence. We have a rented car (Mitsubishi Lancer) for four days (allowed under my Canadian licence). That's another story, but it took about four hours to get it sorted out. Tonight we will have the help of Mr. Mohammed, who is a "specialist" in guiding people like us through the complexities of the system. He comes highly recommended by a friend that Pat made this morning while on her way to be finger-printed (part of the residency process). We're thinking of renting a car for the year. Another friend said that when (not "if") you are involved in an accident, it's much better to have a rental car. That certainly put us off buying & later selling a second-hand vehicle, which was the way we did it in Trinidad. The driving itself is another challenge. Fast, unpredictable, & surprising are all words I'd use to describe it. Street names are difficult to see (when they are there) & the easiest way to find directions is by getting to know some of the individual roundabouts, of which there are literally hundreds. Key ones are: "Oryx Roundabout", "Burger King R/A", "Sports R/A", "Arch R/A", & many others. The best advice we were given was to head for the sea whenever we get lost. The "Corniche" is a beautiful 7 km seafront that curves around the main part of Doha & is home to some of the world's most incredible office towers (photos in a later blog). From Al Corniche, it is a relatively easy matter to find the main road you were looking for half an hour earlier, & if you're in the right lane you stand a chance of getting home.

Now we are two!

It was a joy to find Pat waiting for me at Doha airport, after a twelve-hour flight from Washington with Qatar Airways. As we approached I just finished a chapter from T. E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" & one phrase really stuck in my mind: "... then the heat of Arabia came out like a drawn sword and struck us speechless." And so it proved. So the past two days have been spent recovering from jet lag, meeting new friends, & struggling with the challenges of settling into our new home. Pat has already come through her first two weeks of teaching &, thanks to her old friend, Betty (with whom she taught in Ottawa), was finding her way around very well. More on all this later. Meanwhile, double click on the slide show on the right & see the photos with their titles.