Oman

We just got back from Oman, a country just east of us, and had a great time. Oman is a great country, with a rich culture and friendly people. There were also lots of things to see! But first, we wanted to spend some time by the pool!! Max is getting better at swimming (at least he kicks his legs now). The floaties help.


The next day was a day reserved for siteseeing. First we hit the Grand Mosque, which was incredible. It was absolutely huge.



Incredibly, this carpet was made in one piece and loomed inside the actual room. You can see how big the room is by the tiny person in the back and to the left.


Next stop, the souq in Muscat (the capital of Oman). Gorgeous and full of people that really wanted to sell us stuff!



Lastly, we walked around the town, where I captured this photo of a lovely mosque.

Thanksgiving and Christmas in qatar

I totally forgot to post pictures of Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Here we are at a friend's house on Thanksgiving. Eating outside for all you people in Chicago!


One of the cool things about living here, is that we get to meet people from all different countries. Case in point....our Filipino Santa and Filipino Chorus for various Christmas celebrations!



Having nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas, I will close with an artistic shot of the Islamic Cultural Center....

The latest

Yes, I have not written in a long while, but I have so many photos that I have to share. The latest and greatest is our desert safari that we went on the other day. We were picked up and driven into the desert in a Land Cruiser and taken on quite a tour! Our driver was racing up sand dunes bigger than houses at 40 to 50 miles an hour and we had no idea what was on the other side!! There were many people out in cars, dunebuggies and ATVs so it was quite crowded. It was thrilling and scary at the same time!

After the dune bashing, we were driven to the Inland Sea, where we had a chance to rest, take pictures and see the coast line of Saudi Arabia. We also got to ride some camels! After that, we were taken to camp, fed BBQ and rested in a Beduoin style tent. It was a lovely time and now for the photos!

In case you are wondering what it looks like to be on the back of a camel


Keith and Margaret on camels

Max and I on a camel


The coastline of Saudi Arabia, a place I never thought I would ever see

The Inland Sea





And now for some interesting pictures that I have taken as I've observed my new home the last few weeks. First, can someone PLEASE tell me what in tarnation this is? it was in the fruit aisle at the grocery store....and it was about four times the size of my head.


Next, another question I have. What goes on in the Filipino Health House?


I'm sure I've mentioned that I think certain people are a little, um, shall, we say, arrogant in the city I live? Here is an example. Something tells me the driver of this vehicle is far from handicapped, but that's just me.


Last but not least, Keith and I managed to find a speakeasy in town, which shall remain nameless, but suffice it to say, it was full of Brits and Aussies and there was a LOT of beer.

A day out in Doha

Keith and I got a babysitter on Friday and spent the day out together and exploring Doha a bit. First, we went to Friday brunch at the Marriott. Friday brunch here is quite popular. It was excellent, with the exception of the fact that I had to repeatedly ask for coffee and never did get my champagne. We're still learning our patience.

Next, we went to the Corniche, which is on the water and a very relaxing, picturesque spot to spend time. People have picnics, play in playgrounds and take rides on the water Dhows. Here is a sampling of our day, taken with my iphone.

clouds

I saw clouds yesterday. The first time I've seen clouds since I arrived in Doha. And not only were there clouds, but they were big clouds. And slightly dark. It even seemed like it might rain. But no. It didn't. Today it's sunny again.

So yesterday we went to see Max's new pediatrician. Dr. Samer. What a nice man. We immediately felt comfortable (well, Max was too busy taking Dr. Samer's desk apart to notice really). Dr. Samer is at Al Ahli Hospital, which was basically like a hotel. Complete with a waterfall in the lobby. The waiting room for Pediatrics was a large colorful room with chairs that were straight out of a Dr. Suess book. While we waiting, a woman with a tray came up to me and asked me if I would like tea or coffee. I said, "Excuse me?" She said "Madame, would you like tea or coffee while you wait?" I declined and was totally amazed that they basically had a server in a pediatric waiting room. Talk about first class service. Max got a flu shot while we were there so hopefully we won't have a winter like last winter!!

So here is our new car!

I'm loving our license plate....it looks fancy

Here's a quick shot of our house

Okay if anyone has a clue why this palm tree in our front yard is tied up like this, please let me know....many of us in the compound are confounded by this.

And now I leave you with one of my favorite poses.

Doha--Week three

On Friday, I went out with "the girls" for a spa day and dinner. We all left our children at home with their fathers. We were all debating what time to leave for dinner and my friend Beth had only one question. "How long can we stay away from the children?" We all had the same question.

Anyway, we went to a lovely spa called Diva Lounge and got manicures and pedicures. After the spa, we went to "The Italian Job" restaurant and drank wine and talked about Doha and how we were settling in. It's so great to have other expats in the city because you can bond over so many things. Like how many times you've cried since you arrived. Just kidding. Kind of. Everyone seems to go through the same feelings of "have I made a mistake" and so forth, followed by days of really feeling comfortable. Everything just works differently here in Doha. A much slower, relaxed pace. And when you accomplish something normal, you feel a great sense of accomplishment. Example? I got gas at a gas station all by myself! What a feeling! And tomorrow, I plan to call a pediatrician and get Max an appointment! Yay!

It has been very nice having a backyard. I bought Max a backyard toy--half sandbox, half waterworks. He seemed to enjoy it and became a muddy mess within seconds. Hence, the clothes came off!

I think Max is still getting used to the whole outside thing...he's not used to just walking outside and playing--we used to have to go all the way to the city park for that!

Yesterday, we all went to Jungle Zone where Max played on some kiddie rides and we just walked around (which seems to be a poplular weekend activity). I bought the most expensive balloon ever made--$10. But the thing was too funny NOT to buy. Max loved it and "walked" him around for hours.


Well, that is the news to report for the last two days. I leave you with another funny, Doha fact.....when was the last time you saw one of these babys?

Yep, its a pull tab. That's how the soda comes here folks.

We've made it

We arrived in Doha, Qatar on the 25th. Amazingly, Max slept almost the entire flight. Mom even got a chance to watch Sex and the City the Movie and take a nap!

Enjoying the flight


As soon as we arrived, we went to our new home. We are living in Education City Community Housing Compound Number 1. Which was built after Education City Community Housing Compound Number 2. This is just one of many things that makes no sense to me whatsoever in Doha. We will go over more of those later!

We showered and went to the Ritz Carlton, which was having a big Ramadan Suhour. This is a large, opulent tent set up with large buffets, beautiful flowers and decorations and entertainment. It was beautiful. Exactly what you picture when you think of Arabia.

We only made it a couple of hours at the party before we had to go home and go to sleep!

Luckily Keith had the next two days off to help Max and I acclimate to the new atmosphere. On our first day, we went shopping at Carrefore.....a large "everything" market kind of like a Super Target. Almost everything is closed due to Ramadan but these food shops are open. Finding things were quite a challenge--cereal in aisle 1 and then some more cereal in aisle 10. We couldn't fine Max's favorite--Cherrios. So we settled on "Honey Roundies". Which have been rejected by Max. So we are now trying out some cornflakes as a favorite snack!

It's been a whirlwind with some days being great and others being not so great. The great thing is, there are so many expats here that it's a cinch to meet people from all over the world. And Doha is fairly small (at least by Chicago standards) so I've already started running into people I know.

One our first weekend here, Keith had several days off for the Eid holiday so we spent some time at the beach--Sealine Beach Resort. It was very fun because there were so many families and things to look at.

Just your typical day at the beach!


The Persian Gulf pretty much looks like every other sea!

Max had a few issues with the Bouncy House


Keith has been working very hard trying to get a staff for his department and I've immersed myself in being a stay at home mom, which has been quite the shock to the system. There are so many families and children here that it's almost overwhelming how much there is to do. My schedule for the week?

Sunday (the work week is Sunday through Thursday here): Playgroup at Angela's House in the morning, home for lunch and then nap and playground in the afternoon

Monday: medical tests in the morning (to live in Qatar you have to test negative for HIV and TB), playground, lunch and then Music 4 Me Mom and Tots group in the afternoon.

Tuesday: Swimming lesson for Max in the morning, home for lunch, nap and playground with friends in the afternoon

Wednesday: Expat Women Coffee Group meeting in the morning, Circus land bouncy house and rides, home for lunch and nap and playground in the afternoon.

Thursday: Painting class with Elisa and her kids in the morning, playground in the afternoon

friday --the weekend begins!

Sound exhausting? It is. There are times I feel being an investment banker would be easier and certainly more relaxing.

Okay I promised some fun facts about Doha that are so different than our culture.

1) As mentioned, the work week is Sunday through Thursday. The holy day is friday and many things are closed. It is a good time to practice driving if you are new to the roads because they are empty for much of the morning.

2) Muslims pray 5 times per day. When it is prayer time, mosques typically broadcast prayer time via loudspeakers--called the call to prayer. Most of the time you don't notice, but every afternoon at sundown, max and I hear a nearby mosque's music and arabic singing. I've grown to like the sound. Similarly, if you are listening to the radio, the prayer time will be broadcast.

3) The radio stations come from Dubai so depending on the wind, sometimes the signal is quite strong, sometimes it is faint and staticy. The stations seem to change at the drop of a hat, as well. One minute you will be listening to Micheal Jackson's Thriller, the next minute it's Jessica Simpson singing "These boots are made for walkin'" or some other country western song and a minute later it is a French song. There is no sense to this.

4) I have yet to EVER call anywhere (i.e. a swimming pool or activity center or doctor) and had someone answer it the first 3 times I call. And there is no voicemail anywhere. Including my husband's office.

5) Every single local Qatari seems to have a Land Cruiser. Every time I drive, I have a large, white Land Cruiser behind me, flashing the brights and banging the horn, telling me to move over.

6) Going through a yellow light can result in a 2000 QR ticket (roughly $600).

5) No one knows street names or directions like we think of directions. It's all based on landmarks (which is pretty difficult considering everything is beige). A sampling of some directions that I got recently...."go straight and cross three speed bumps, take a left after the 3rd speed bump, pass through two roundabouts and make a left after passing the dumpster on the right". A literally every single road looks the same, beige. Some of the roads are dirt roads with no signs whatsoever!

6) Shops are grouped together based on what they sell or service the offer. There is a street not too far from us that has at least 30 car washes lined up in a row.

7) When you park at one of the many malls, you can pay a man to wash your car for you while you shop.

8) Traffic makes no sense. Sometimes it's bad at 8am, sometimes, noon, sometimes 3pm, sometimes at 6. No one ever knows when it will be bad, hence people are late all the time.

9) When you buy a car, there is no negotiating and no test driving. the price is the price.

10) The sun sets at 5:30 for most of the year. This was a bummer to find out, since I am used to Chicago summer setting of 9pm!

11) It gets so humid that water runs down your living room windows

12) There is a HUGE stray cat problem. In the past week, I have hit and killed two kittens. Well, to be fair, keith hit the first one.

13) They love children here. Max has been followed and touched by hundreds of people, all ready to pinch his cheeks!

More to come. I leave you with this. max in dad's office. Looks like he is upset that there is so much work to do!