Home life

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Another blog of my daily life... Sorry - Qatar is not nearly as exciting as Dubai. I have no friends, no public transportation, no delivery, no gym... nothing. It is a bit of an adjustment. Fortunately, it has been a good week because I still love my job and I am so happy in my new apartment. I've been able to cook and relax. No more driving all the way to West Bay everyday - a 15 minute commute as opposed to an hour each way is so much better!

So, since there is nothing specifically interesting to report, here are some general observations.

I live next to about 4 mosques, no exaggeration. The call to prayer goes off sometime around just before 5am. It usually wakes me up, but it is fairly easy to go back to sleep and I guess I still think it is a pretty sound, something that reminds me of where I am and what I've done with my life. (See my post in late September at the Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque to hear what it sounds like). The only annoying part of it is that when prayer is over, people pour out of the buildings and into the streets. Which brings me to my next observation...

People just walk in the streets here! It is very frustrating especially because one thing Doha has gotten right is that almost everywhere has a sidewalk, usually in good condition, unless you're in the industrial area which just has wide shoulders. But these guys just walk in and along the streets, not caring about traffic, or cross without looking. They even cross major highways! It is really insane and I dread the day that I hit one of these guys. In theory, I am ok with the walking in the streets as I've always given pedestrians the right-of-way and the fact that half the population here can't afford a car encourages me to be patient. But what bothers me is the way people drive here - it is definitely a dog-eat-dog mentality and I can't help but wonder if these walkers have a death wish.

There are two radio stations that are in English. One is pretty good and seems to have a different dj every hour. They have a Latin hour on Friday mornings at 9 and a Big Band hour at 4pm on Tuesdays (I think). I like the variety of music, and even the wacky british dj's keep me entertained. They always, always pause for the call to prayer and report the news every two hours. The other english station is on a repeat and has been since early December when I first discovered it. The first week I listened to it had a different playlist and it changed the next week, which made me think they changed it weekly. Nope!!! It's like a two-hour playlist that has been repeating since early December and while I do like some of the songs, the others are the ones that will give me fingernails-on-the-chalkboard chills for the rest of my life. ("Give me just a little more time...Prrrrr-dup-dup" - *shiver*)

The constant construction here can be such a pain, especially at nighttime when it's hard to see the barriers which seem to change each and every day. Not to mention, it is impossible for the town maps to keep up with the construction, and if you make a wrong turn you are screwed because of the roundabouts and one way streets and traffic; I had to pick up my cowokers at a hotel in town last week and didn't realize they'd shut down an entire area of streets, so we were re-directed and it took twice as long as I anticipated to get there. Another example is that I live just off a main road here, Salwa, which is undergoing some major renovations. I tried a different way home the other night and was surprised how easy it was; when I tried it the next day, I couldn't even move without almost getting hit as they had closed off a portion of the road. The day after, it was back to the original. However, when Salwa is done, it is going to be a MAJOR improvement and it does not look like it is too far off. Yippee!

I won't go much more into the crazy drivers because that is hands-down an everyday occurrence. It is very frustrating and even upsetting how little regard the people here have for other drivers. It is a ME-ME-ME mentality. Where I have to go is more important than where YOU have to go. And the funny thing is, with all the traffic, roundabouts and construction, it takes forever to go anywhere anyway, so what is the rush???? Whoopee - you got there 17 seconds faster.

Today I almost cried because I waited at a light with four lanes of traffic, plus another right turn only separate lane. I was in the second lane from the right - the two right lanes went straight and the two left lanes turned (shocking!) LEFT. It was not even noon on a friday yet, which meant the traffic was incredibly light and I was the first one waiting. I think the cars waiting by the time light changed was a whopping three deep. When it changed, I moved to go straight and was halfway across the intersection when the local driving in the typical white SUV next to me cut across me to turn left!!! Literally inches from creaming him - I almost wished I would have! I continued on, and when my anger simmered down, I was in total shock that that a-hole did that and for some reason it just really upset me. I can't really explain why except that I hate jerks and this is basically a daily occurrence. He just had to be the first one waiting at the light, couldn't be bothered to be the second or third car in line for a long light. It is just a weird mentality that I'm usually used to but for some reason it hit me today. Oh well.

And finally: the Doha Zoo. The city advertises this as a tourist attraction, but apparently they made a recent decision to close the zoo down for renovations. Some people are upset, but I'm relieved. The few glimpses i've got of the zoo made me wince at the animals' living conditions. Their plan is to make it into more of a safari park, which sounds pretty cool and I hope it works out. The location is very nice and the surrounding walls of the park are gorgeous. I was hoping to get to see it, but it is supposed to take 2-3 years (which really probably means at least 4). Maybe one day...

I've mostly been happy to be able to finally cook for myself. I don't even do it when I go visit Dubai because there is no point buying groceries for two days and delivery of any type of food is so easy there. I've made some spaghetti boulagnese, thai curry, scrambled eggs with green chillies (best idea ever!) and my favorite so far: tonight's mushroom and garlic pasta. Quick, easy, and absolutely delish! I've also bought supplies for fresh juice or flavored water, pies, cookies, pot roast... I want to do some arabic cooking as well. Plenty of time I guess! 😊

I need to be careful. I am happy to report that I've lost 4lbs since moving into my Doha place (8 days!). I need to keep up with it and continue being good. I also bought a Wii Fit system to keep me entertained and motivated. Working so far I guess. I am slowly getting my apartment together how I want and when it's done, I'll post pictures. Oh, and I finally, finally found a slow cooker! So excited - pot roast for Sunday!

Anyway, enjoy the photos!

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Photos

Doha Zoo
internal construction

The Torch
I live near the Torch/Aspire Zone area. Hard to get lost at least!

Blackberry and Lemon water
Making Blackberry, Lemon and Mint flavored water

Blackberry and Lemon Water
not bad for my first try

Making dinner
I love mushrooms!

Mushroom and Garlic pasta
Seriously, one of my best dishes. I had to make myself stop eating