Oktoberfest & Thanksgiving

Temperatures are back up (37 C today) & everyone is waiting for the cooler weather promised for late October. After that, it'll be May before we see the high 30s again. The past week has been festive to say the least. Last Wednesday, we went with Betty & Judy, to the Intercontinental Hotel where Oktoberfest was being celebrated (at 175 QR each or about $60). No expense had been spared to bring in huge amounts of German beer (& authentic beermats from Munich) as well as an "oompagh" band & singers (also from Bavaria). The event took place in a huge (permanent) tent in the hotel grounds, presumably to make the drinking more respectable! Not a Qatari to be seen, of course, but many Germans & other ex-pats of all (white) nationalities. The food was excellent, with sauerkraut, German sausages, & great desserts. Lots of singing & standing on benches arm-in-arm with complete strangers. We stayed until 10h.30 but spent the last hour sitting outside, enjoying the cooler breeze blowing in from the Arabian Gulf.

Then it was Thanksgiving & Betty decided that the Canadians should host a traditional turkey supper. So it was that 16 of us ended up at our place on Saturday evening, with roast turkey, stuffing, cranberries, sweet potatoes (with melted marshmallows), mashed potatoes, braised carrots, salad, & pumpkin pie. Pat added hellodollies, nanaimo bars, & an icebox cake, all made that afternoon. Now that some people have their achohol permits, we were able to have wine & beer as well. It was a wonderful evening & everyone talked about things that we feel grateful for. We really enjoyed it but also felt a little sad that we couldn't share it with everyone back home.