Blogs from Doha, Qatar, Middle East - page 9

I know - it's been weeks since I've written and now I'm going on yet another driving rampage... but there are some good photos at least, right? This morning was just difficult. I can't stand when people call the type of driving in Qatar Aggressive Driving. It is not Aggressive Driving, which is driving so that you can get where you need to be without standing aside and letting people (literally) run all over you. No. Here in Qatar, I call this driving Complete Disregard For The Lives of Others. Harsh? Maybe. But oh so true. People here use their land cruisers or lexus SUV's to shovel you aside into a guardrail, tailgate you at 100kph while flashing their lights, speed up when you try to pull out of side road, and straddle lanes until they ... read more

Most of Saturday I lazed about, cleaning off an on. I really need to hire a maid - I hate mopping. That evening, I picked up Jeff to head to the Museum of Islamic Art. I'd been there once before with Matt, but it is such a nice, peaceful, beautiful place it is worth going back to (and it's free). We took some nice photos and wandered about, but the place closed promptly at 8pm. Actually they started herding us to the elevator at 7:45 sharp, even though we wanted to take the stairs... Outside, we wandered down the walkway and took some pictures of the building and West Bay across the water. Waiting on Jeff's more professional photos. Until then, enjoy mine!... read more

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 ... read more

Saturday I set up an appointment and looked at two apartments, and I was good with either. They were set up nice and included everything. Everything. All utilities, furniture, appliances... even a full set of kitchen knives! They said with a one year contract, they would even replace my bed if I didn't like it. The second apartment's layout was a bit more homey so that was the one I went with. They sent me my contract and now it is up to my company to get this to move forward. I truly hope to get out of this crap hotel by the end of the week! Keep your fingers crossed for me! I came back to my hotel, took a nap and had some crazy dreams.... Then I headed out with my coworkers who'd just ... read more

I know you are probably sick of me saying "there is nothing to do here" in Qatar - but it is fairly true. Fortunately, I just LOVE the work I'm doing. Like, seriously love it. The geology is interesting, the projects are unique, and we have a good crew working here that I get along with quite well. It is just sad that it is located where it is. I would love to blog about my actual work experiences day to day, but a) you probably won't find them as interesting as I do and b) they are mostly confidential anyway. One thing is that I have dived head first into the project. There are no engineers here and the whole of the middle east fugro offices are short on engineers as it is. Add on ... read more