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Published: February 16th 2006
Hello from the land of the rooster and marble! Oh yes, that's right, I said rooster and marble. An odd combination, yes, but these are the two points of highlight thus far in my new home. Let's back it up a bit and start with the trip over. The flight was a wee bit long, but I slept most of the way, so it was all good. However, I experienced the "Susan Syndrome" (sorry, cuz!) and had the puffiest feet in the world getting off the 9 1/2 hour flight from Calgary to Frankfurt. It was a struggle to put my shoes on! Luckily, I found the most comfy airport chairs around to rest my poor soles. These were full lounge chairs--they were amazing. However, as I didn't have a watch or an alarm, I couldn't truly enjoy the chair for fear that I would miss my connection to Doha. The flight to Doha was quite nice, as it was on Qatar Airways. This airline still believes in handing out candy as the flight leaves and arrives to deal better with the dreaded ear popping and believes all meals should be preceded with warm towels to wash your hands and face. Ahh, the luxuries that Canadian airlines haven't seen since the early 90s!
I arrived safely in Doha. I had to wait in the customs line for over an hour. There were probably three or four flights that came in at the same time with 2 or 3 customs officials on duty. As I scanned the hundreds of people waiting in line, I noticed something quite peculiar: I was one of maybe seven or eight women! That's it. It didn't take me long to notice the skewed demographics (5+ men to every woman). I got to the flat around midnight. My flatmate was already asleep as our workday starts at 7:30 a.m. (fun, fun--don't fear, though, the rooster, who will appear later in the entry, helps to ensure I don't sleep in). The flat is quite large and nice. All of the flooring and walls are marble (ahh, the second highlight reveals itself) and the whole apartment building is brand new. Speaking of marble, it's everywhere! The company's warehouse is 50,000 sq. ft. and it's all marble flooring. How crazy is that? Okay, back to my flat. There are two bedrooms, a full bath and half bath, kitchen, and family room. We also have a little patio, which is nice (especially since my flatmate smokes). An aside: I took over the half bathroom, as Koren (my flatmate) had already claimed the main bathroom. I spent most of my first day here (okay, slight exaggeration) trying to figure out why there was a shower hose in the half bathroom. I could not figure it out for the life of me. Well, lo and behold, I soon realized that we are in the Middle East and our flat lacks a beday (sp?)--yup, I figured out what that hose was for. Oh, the little things I will discover during my time here. I feel like a toddler discovering small, little wonders such as worms, flowers, and boogers.
Anyway, I digress. I tried to get to sleep even though I had slept most of the plane ride over and it was daytime in Edmonton. I was actually enjoying a nice little slumber when I was awoken by a loud, blaring noise that sounded like a mixture between talking and singing. Lucky us, we get to hear the morning call to prayer at 5:00 a.m. EVERY morning. I've heard that eventually you can just tune it out, but imagine how crazy that would be to hear it for the first time (I was warned, but it still threw me for a loop). Following the call to prayer, someone somewhere has taken it upon himself/herself to also awaken us with a rooster. This comes at about 5:30 or 6:00. A rooster! Seriously. (Hey, Shem and Stef, that's my first "seriously”--aren't you proud?). Luckily, I was able to fall back asleep and thought that I had slept in, but I was greeted by my new flatmate when I was brushing my teeth. I was thoroughly confused, as I was sure she would have been downstairs working already, but, after introducing herself, she informed me that it wasn't even 7:30 a.m. I think my timing is going to be a little screwed up for awhile. Anyway, my flatmate's name is Koren (as already mentioned). She originally hails from Newfoundland (I love her Newfie accent), but she lived in New Zealand for the past year. She's a semi-vegan (just like I'm a semi-vegetarian who doesn't eat vegetables), which makes for an interesting diet in our household. She is also a fitness freak and we have a huge elliptical sitting in our family room. I wonder if this is what I'll need to start working out. Umm, doubt it. We do have $2000 US to get a membership to a gym here though, so that might motivate me. Most people have joined gyms at the hotels (Ritz Carleton, Sheraton, Four Seasons, etc.), which also comes with a membership to their pools and beaches. I'm sold! I might use the rest of my budget to take lessons of some kind (sailing or something). I've been told there's not much to do here, so I might try to get into sports of some kind (actually, when asking people what they think of Doha, most respond with "meh, it's okay”--way to sell it to the new girl!).
Yesterday, Koren took me to the grocery store and mall. I was surprised at how many different types of western foods I was able to get. So, those who thought I was going to waste away in this foreign land, you have nothing to fear. Actually, I discovered the deliciousness of middle eastern pastries (thanks a lot, Amin!), so it's possible that I may gain a few pounds. You'll all be happy to note that I have also scouted out the closest Starbucks and it has my beloved Awake tea. However, its version of the oatmeal raisin cookies leaves much to be desired. Basically, it's a sugar cookie with a few raisins tossed in it. Um, no. I might have to give up eating cookies when I'm here. C'mon, it's been 9 whole months since I quit something!
Hmm, this is getting to be quite long (don't worry, this is not going to be a normal sized entry), but I'm just trying to give you all a taste of my first few days here. What else can I mention? Oh, unfortunately, our building is not equipped with high speed internet yet, so VOIP phones and Skype are not available. Boo. On the flipside, though, I get 3 weeks vacation, so chances are quite good that some of you will be able to see my cute, little face sometime this summer! I'm also getting spoiled in many other ways. Coming back to Canada is going to be tough 😉 We have housecleaners who come in once a week and even make our beds! We also have free dry cleaning services, so we don't have to do our laundry! Now, before you all hate me, realize that they're providing these extras so we are able to work non-stop. I'm sure I'll find some time for play though. There's been talk of going to Formula 1 in Bahrain in March (John, are you frothing at the mouth yet?) and Koren and I have talked about going to Egypt for a weekend. Amin, you better come to Lebanon this summer, so I can also do another mini-holiday!
Well, there's still quite a bit I could go on about, but I'll try to save some of it until my next entry. I miss everyone already! Looking forward to hearing from all of you.
C.
PS - I promise to post photos soon. I haven't had a chance to take any yet!
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Joanna
non-member comment
Craziness
That is so crazy that everything is marble! Sounds swanky. Glad to hear you're doing well----even if the Starbucks cookie isn't quite right. And it's awesome that you like your flatmate!--could be horrible otherwise. ;) Keep posting------love to hear about other places and great adventures! Take care, Christine!!!!! (BTW, it's spelled 'bidet'. :) )