In Sickness And In Health

The past few weeks have been challenging, to say the least. With the exception of me, the entire household fell sick, one after the other. Many forms of illnesses have been perpetrating Dohaites these days and quite a few colleagues and friends have also been under their influence.

But in all honesty, this happens every year, right after the long winter break. Residents who had gone abroad during this period return to Doha from all over the world, bearing a mélange of gifts, viruses including.

It has also been unusually cold these past few weeks. The thermostat may be hovering in the 60’and 70’s, but harsh, bone chilling winds have been sweeping throughout the city. It also manages to seep through the cracks in the windows and doors (construction here leaves a lot to be desired, to say the least); no matter how many newspapers we stuff into them.

So we residents of the Middle East, who are accustomed to bringing out our sweaters, comforters, space heaters and fur lined abaya’s (some even consider this a good time to break out the thermals and anoraks) when the temperature drops to the 80’s, are in a predicament which has left our sun drenched systems unbalanced. But, we find comfort in the fact that in just a few short weeks the temperatures will return to hot, hotter and scorching – up to tissaa wa arbaaeen (49 C / 120 F) and no, this is not a typo.

Of course the kids stayed home from school and K did not go to work. I also missed a few classes since I have been playing the part of Florence Nightingale. My job description had been modified to include dispenser of a variety of medicines – both allopathic and home made, shoulder provider (to moan on), dispenser of clean and disposer of snotty tissues, and maintaining the continuous flow of chicken soup.

Coughing and lightheadedness persists, but everyone is now out of the house and have gone back to their respective schedules

Now if you will excuse me, I am going to check myself into rehab for the next few days.

The Old Lightbulb Joke

We all know how the old joke goes:

Q.How many [insert target group here] does it take to change a light bulb?
A. N — one to replace the light bulb and N-1 to [behave in a fashion generally associated with a negative stereotype of that group].
(Thank you Wikipedia!)

This post, I must say, is not about stereotyping any group of people, it’s about how certain things are done here, in true Qatari fashion.

A few weeks ago our refrigerator decided to take break from its usual routine. It was working, but not to its full capacity. So until it was fixed, we could only open it in dire necessity. This bought quite a bit of frustration to the kids, since one of their favorite pastimes is to peer into the fridge for no apparent reason, I guess in hopeful anticipation something wonderful and delicious might have magically appeared since their last visit (they are almost always disappointed). Hmmm, come to think if it, maybe that’s why the fridge went on the blink in the first place.

The refrigerator is pretty new, less than 2 years old, and it was still under the manufactures warranty. We called the service company, and after a few days - yes days - and several runarounds later, 4 people showed up; one to actually do the job while the remaining 3 stood close by, seriously observing the prognosis. Seems the compressor was not functioning properly, and this was fixed on the spot.

The light bulb was also fused, so the foreman told us he will ‘soon’ be back with a new one. Over a week (and several frustrating calls) later he showed up again, this time with 2 extra men. The same scenario ensued, and work was completed in a matter of minutes.

Now a few days prior to this, a friend of mine had come by with a delectable and rather large chocolate cake. Due to its size we could not eat it all ourselves (well we could, but lets not go there). I had distributed parts of it to the neighbors, but about a ¼ of it still remained uneaten. There it sat, languishing on the top shelf, right in front on the diffused light bulb (yes, the compressor was fixed prior to this). K asked the men if they would like to take it with them and they cheerfully obliged.

So they left with the cake, a few plastic forks and a few riyals tip each. 10 riyals, or $2.74574 to be precise. Here, this amount can still buy you lunch, or even a couple of meals at small local restaurants.

So, how many _________'s does it take to fix a light bulb? Can't say.

By the way there is a shortage of 100 watt bulbs these days, can't find any in most stores. So I have to make do with 60 or 150 watts ...

Aw Shucks!

I have recently found out that my blog was selected as one of Qatar’s Top Blogs by a popular local web site called I Love Qatar. The owner of this site, known as Mr. Q (aka Kei & Amnesia), left me a wonderful comment a few months ago. I had no idea it would lead to this.

When I had started this blog it was mainly a way to keep my family updated of our daily life, however mundane it might be. I had also intended it to be mainly a food blog (not enough of these you know!) focusing mainly on local cuisine, hence all the food related posts. But, lots of interesting things happened in between, so I decided I could not limit myself to a particular subject.

So Mr. Q if you are reading this, I am, to say the least, honored and humbled. And I will definitely try (fingers crossed) to post more often!

Gimme a Break

Gimme a break, break me off a piece of that ... uh … King Tat Bar?

This post is not about advertising jingles or odd candy finds - although there are plenty here - it is about change. And since this is not a political blog (although I have pretty strong opinions on many issues), it certainly is not about the change Obama/McCain are proselytizing either. It is about the good old chaching kind.

Coins - called dirham’s - are often not used much in our daily transactions. When purchasing an item, paper currency is used almost exclusively. Prices are rounded off to the nearest quarter. I don't know if dirham's come in any denominations besides .25 and .50 since I have never seen any. I have also never seen an item for QR 2.99, or QR 299.99 for that matter.

To give you an example of how this works, if your bill in any given store comes to 12.25 riyals and you hand 15.00 riyals to the cashier, most often you will receive 3 riyals back. If your total comes to 12.75 riyals most likely you will receive 2 riyals back. When your total comes to 12.50 you may be handed 2 riyals, and in lieu of .50 dirham’s, a mini King Tat bar or some other interesting and/or odd flavored chocolate, hard candy (mango-mint, tamarind) or gum (coffee, banana, cardamom). No one seems to mind this exchange.

Often these chocolates are loosely disguised reproductions of Western confections (of which we also get in great assortment). But none of my kids will eat them, so I keep them stashed away until they expire. Only then will my conscience allow me to throw them away.

Enough babbling for now, its time for some real change. Y’all go vote now ya hear!

Eid Saeed!

Kul aam wa antum bakhair (may you be blessed every year). A belated Eid Mubarak to all. The kids had 12 days off from school and K had 9, so for the past week or so we were busy among ourselves. The well deserved break went by peacefully and all too quickly.

We had initially planned on driving to Dubai then on to Oman (which is app. a 12 hours drive), but nixed the idea in its infancy due to the fact we have recently returned from a 2 month trip to the US. But it is definitely on our itinerary for next year.

We opted to stay home and visit with the few friends who chose to remain here as well. Eid is a time when many expats and locals alike decide to take a brief R&R, so Doha was relatively quiet for a while, which we greatly enjoyed. For a brief amount of time it appeared as if we had the city, most notably the roads, to ourselves. I know anyone who drives in Doha has sympathy with my sentiments.

Now life is also back on its predictable groove. K has is back on his usual long work schedule, which he loves, and which is the reason we are here of course. H & N are enjoying school, albeit with a heavier and longer schedule. H has joined volleyball, so I have become a volleyball mom. Next trimester I will be a basketball mom. God only knows what the third trimester will bring. The Greek Gods, particularly Zeus, smile upon me.

Even A has returned to his mini schedule and is back in preschool. I had decided to keep him home during Ramadan. This is the last year he will be home before his real education starts and we won’t have such flexibility. Kindergarten is a serious commitment; just ask any 5 year old!

Every one was elated to see him on the first day of school. There was plenty of Ahlan habibi (welcome sweetheart)!, Kaifa haluk ya A (how are you A), along with an abundance of hugs and kisses. A smugly soaked it all in. He was missed, and it’s nice to be missed.

Thank you’s are in order to my readers – translation: family & 4 others on a good day – for your patience during my sporadic comings and goings. A special thanks to Chis, who wrote a lovely comment welcoming me back. It is nice to be missed indeed!

Only Skin Deep

This posting is for my sisters, with the purpose of enticing them to visit me here. One of my infrequent indulgences in Doha, which amazingly is not related to food, is frequenting a beauty salon.

The beauty business is booming here. You see a multitude of beauty salons in every neighborhood. In high end precincts they are exclusive and elaborate, extremely well staffed, and of course, expensive. The mid to lower end neighborhoods have slightly lower priced ones. The services offered are also varied. In the areas dominated by expats, the services are according to their needs, while mainly Arab areas have their own specialties. But basic services are the same, with something for everyone. Price wise, when I compare them to the salons in the US, they are much more affordable, hence my penchant for patronizing them on an occasional basis.

So my dear sisters, I have it all planned out. We will start off with a facial, then get a relaxing foot massage, then a manicure and pedicure, afterwards we may move on to a head massage complete with shampoo, blow dry and styling … The services offered are numerous, but I will not divulge any more secrets. But rest assured, I have not turned into Miss Universe – yet.

These beauty salons are also, similar to their counterparts throughout the world, a place to socialize. I have often seen groups of women coming in with the intention of spending the greater part of the day there. After settling in, they may also order food from nearby restaurants as well. These salons are mainly owned, managed and exclusively staffed by women and are strictly off limits to men. They are very private, often with curtains at the doors and windows, along with ‘No Men” signs posted at the entrance. Therefore it is a place where women, especially Arab and other Muslim women who observe purdah and wear the abaya (black robes) and specifically the naqaab (veil), feel comfortable.

Having said all this, I do however wish to discuss a little about the women who work there. They are all expats, primarily from India, Nepal, and the Philippines, with a few Arabs, mainly from Lebanon. There is also a hierarchy system in place; the Indian and Nepali women have their specialties, the Filipinos theirs, while the Arabs have their own set of skills.

I have befriended a few of these women. All have left their families and loved ones back in their countries and have come to work, solely with the purpose of sending money back home to support them. Many have children who they have not seen in a long time, often years. Many are also the single bread winner in their family. They usually come on a 2 year work visa, which often gets extended. They are paid low wages and work 7 days a week, 13-14 hours a day. These hours are even longer during the holidays and wedding seasons. So, anyone reading this post who frequents these salons please do try to tip these women if you can. It will stretch their earnings a bit farther and make their day a little brighter, as they are making ours.

A Brief Introduction

I have noticed that I am getting a little more traffic to my blog than the 3 people (my beloved mother and sisters), for whom I had initially created it. So a bit of an introduction is in order. As some of you must have gathered from my previous posts, we are an American family, and have recently moved to Doha, Qatar a little over a year ago. We are a family of 5. We are conservative Muslims, and keeping with the spirit of an election year, liberal Democrats.

Although there were several reasons for this life changing move, the first and foremost was job security. Both my husband and I are professionals in the technology industry. Gone are the days when one would join a company at the onset of their careers, and leave at retirement with a pension or a company contributed 401K, and adequate health insurance to live their retirement in peace. Sadly, laying employees off, no matter how loyal and hard working they may be, has become extremely common in corporate America. Just a few weeks ago the tech giant Yahoo had announced it would lay off 1,000 employees, for ‘the stability of the company’. I am sure the vast majority of these workers are holding their pink slips and worrying about their own stability. So, after much deliberation, we decided to move abroad.

Moving is never an easy task; moving halfway around the world and leaving everything, and most importantly loved ones behind is even more difficult. My eldest child was initially like a fish out of water. But we try to keep him busy and he is settling in, though he has made it very clear he will move back upon completion of high school. We have also adjusted to our lives here and find many things endearing. Though life here, like anywhere else in the world, is not perfect, I prefer to focus on the positive. Here we have attained peace, something which had eluded us for years. Qatar is a rapidly growing country, yet it retains a balance between western style modernization, and its moderate religious and rich cultural roots. It also pays a tremendous amount of importance towards education, which will ensure its future success (here is a recent New York Times article on the Education City). It is also a family oriented country and has much to offer, some of which l try to incorporate in my entries.

The main reason I began to write this blog is to keep my immediate family informed of the many new, interesting, and quirky things unique to Qatar which are a part of our daily lives. By writing this blog I am also documenting my life here, something which I can reflect upon in my later years. So ahlan bikum! I do hope you enjoy what you read here. If you have any suggestions or topics you would like to see, please drop me a line.