The end is near

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Well, my time has arrived. I have given it a good three years and I look back at my time here fondly. Despite my gripes, time flew by and I will always treasure my experiences here. I have made many new friends from different places and different walks of life, I gained very valuable experience, and I earned some good money. There are, of course, positives and negatives about Qatar and the Middle East in general, but that is true of any place.

When I returned from my annual leave, I had already had it in my mind to go back to the US, but I wanted to go to work and think about it over the weekend before I made up my mind. Well, I guess I was already in the mindset of going home. So, at the end of May, I put in my month's notice. My boss was incredibly understanding, as has been everyone else. I think most people know that this is not a home and is simply a short term experience. Still, I am sad to say goodbye to my work and my new friends. My last day of work is June 30th, then I will I will go to Dubai to say my goodbyes to friends there. Afterwards, I will travel throughout the month of July to Thailand, Budapest, and Croatia. I return to the US in August, first visiting my parents and then moving to my sister's for a couple of months to nanny and bond with my niece and nephew. The end of October is when I have my engineering exam, so I hope to study during the next few months and get this done. I also have a couple of side projects I hope to finally attempt. For the last couple months of the year, I may do some more traveling. Then, who knows?

It has been very slow in Qatar lately - very shocking after the crush of work we had last year that seemed endless. Many people throughout the country in various sectors have been laid off or asked to take unpaid leave. For us, I was trying very hard to hold my team together, but I let go of my first guy last week. We have many people voluntarily leaving at this point too. My coworker from South Africa left last week and maybe he will be replaced, maybe not. His last requests included time at the beach when the water and temperature was absolutely perfect. We took my Fortuner and it handles the sands perfectly, so we were set up all alone for most of the morning. Afterwards, we went to our last brunch, as Ramadan was near, at the Oryx Rotana followed by a night at the Admiral's Club, near the marina at the Pearl area. Very fun day all around.

Now it is Ramadan. This means no alcohol at all for the whole month - all bars and the sole liquor store are closed the entire time. It is also difficult to get food during the day, so you have to prepare. Most grocery stores are open at this time, so I usually just pick up a salad and drink and eat at my room after work. Work generally gets done at 2pm; you are only supposed to work for six hours each day and since it is also summer, summer working hours are in effect, meaning no outside work from 11:30am to 3pm. This, in turn, means that the roads are wonderfully free and clear for most of the weekday afternoons. This is my favorite part about Ramadan. I get home in 15 minutes.

I guess I should mention, that when I returned to Qatar in May, I moved out of my apartment and into a temporary living situation at Garvey's compound. They own many villas in a specific area near my old place and you get your own room and bathroom in each villa. It is about 2,000 QAR less than my apartment, but you get daily cleaning service with water, orange juice, and bread each morning as well as super fast internet. I really should have done this a long time ago. I will be here until it is time to go. I had to seriously downsize my apartment; fortunately, my neighbors were moving into an unfurnished apartment the same time I was leaving so I was able to sell them quite a few things.

This last month has just flown by and now is the time to say my goodbyes to everyone. I am seriously sad to leave my wonderful team of geologists, engineers and assistants. I have hand picked most of them and the others have been with me since close to the beginning. It is amazing to see how each of them has grown and developed, and the best part is that they all seem to get along really well with each other. I could not ask for a better group of people. I also love the cultural diversity of the group; there are people from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, US, UK, Jordan, Malaysia and South Africa, with a mix of Hindi, Muslim and Christian (all three of which also come from India alone!). So, it has been an education for me regarding these cultural differences as well.

Last night, my team took me out to Iftar as a last dinner. We ate at this place called Zaoq in the Ezdan Mall; I guess it is a Pakistani restaurant. It also served as a birthday dinner too! I was so touched and surprised when they provided me with gifts and a huge card they had all signed for me. As well as an ice cream birthday cake! I think they will miss me as their boss; I tried to be laid back and encourage them to develop, which is something you do not really get a lot of here in the Middle East as most managers are focused only on schedule and budget. Picking up from my former mentor, Lauren, I think development of your staff is the biggest contribution a manager can make to the organization and one that is often over looked. I have a lot to learn myself, but I also have a lot to give and I want to see them succeed.

Three more days of work and I have many more goodbyes to see through. It will be tough...

Things I will miss about Qatar and the Middle East: the yummy food, the safety, accessibility to domestic help, chivalric behavior, traveling, my friends, my work, and the money. Plus it was just so exciting to live and work in a place that is developing so quickly. Things I will not miss: the driving (Obviously!), mean spirited behavior, demanding and unrealistic clients, the work ethic, the dust, the accommodations, and the driving (!!!).

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Photos

Beautiful Skies over Doha
Quarter moon, Jupiter and Venus

Brunch at the Oryx Rotana
delicious peach mojitos!

Comments

[Home and Away]

The time has flown by so quickly...
I've enjoyed reading your blogs about life in the UAE and travels from there over the last three years. I look forward to reading about your travels in Thailand, Hungary, and Croatia. And then welcome home. Enjoy your family. Good luck on your exam...the PE? And best wishes for your future, which I hope includes more travel.

[lexispence10]

Thank you!
Yes, it is has flown by - I can't believe it has been three years already. Yesterday was my last day at work and I was quite sad. Yes, it is the PE; it is very difficult, so I am going to put forth the extra effort now that I finally have time to study. I will probably take it easy for the rest of the year too. And keep on traveling! Thanks as always for following me! There is much more to come….