Thoughts on life in Qatar

I have been in Qatar for 16 months now and some days I really like it and others I wonder what the heck I am still doing here.

I started to list what I like and don't like but then realized, they are the same thing!

Here are some of my thoughts/observations on living in this country, its a mix of living in 2009 and 1809...most days are a combination of both.

1. I like I am seeing Qatar being built up for the first time, this country is roughly 20 years behind most developed places I have been
2. I like that you can stay in a 5 star hotel but be served camel foot for dinner
3. I like that its part old world and part new world, often in the same buildings/businesses. However I don't understand why government offices are still using typewriters!!!
4. I don't like the driving, traffic, drivers...all that goes with that
5. I dont like the summer heat & humidity, May-October is INTENSE!
6. I don't understand what to me seems like arrogance in some of the locals. If they have to wait for something forget it! It drives me crazy when you see them pull up in their land cruisers to a fast food restaurant that does NOT have a drive through. They will sit in their air conditioned cars and blare the horn until somebody comes out to serve them. I don't get it!
7. I don't like that my apartment does not have an address and if I want something delivered it takes hours of trying to navigate the non English speaking driver through a series of landmarks to my apartment.
8. I also don't understand why some of the streets have a name but not all of them. Seems to be about half and half.
9. I don't understand how the answer "Inshallah" is ok for everything.....like is the plumber going to fix the sink? Inshallah.
10. I don't understand the sponsorship system...it seems like slavery in many ways and your employers really own you and even keep your passports!
11. The price of gas is cheap but laundry detergent is super duper expensive...I guess just because we are sitting on a mountain of gas and not detergent.
12. Its funny that there is a Baskin Robbins on every single corner!
13. I like that there are the old fashioned jobs, the people that ride the elevators with you, deliver groceries (if you have an address), make photocopies for you, open the doors....that stuff all feels old fashioned to me.
14. I find it strange that they still advertise for arranged marriages in the newspapers and that if you read the classified ads for a car it will tell you if its been "lady driven".
15. I was shocked that when my friend I went to a restaurant, he had to ask in Arabic if ladies are allowed inside! (I was allowed in and even seated in my own air conditioned room!)
16. I have been very shocked at what you learn about our neighbor, conservative Saudi Arabia. I was shocked to recently have read about an 8 year old little girl was denied a divorce from a 40 something year old man! Just this week I read this headline, "Saudi judge approves wife slapping". Something about if the wife spends to much money then its legal for the husband to slap her, this was actually in the same article as information about domestic violence!!!
17. I like the pride of the Qataris but I dont like how the Indians, Phillipinos, Bangladeshis & Sri Lankans are treated....they work for slave wages, many of them earn just a couple hundred dollars a month!
18. If you have money here then it could be a very cushy lifestyle, the locals have figured out the pampering lifestyle and I think really want Doha to become a 5 star destination.
19. I really like going to the movies here, instead of popcorn you can get a bowl of real hot corn.
20. I like all the different nationalities that are here, in my new job there are people from over 50 countries working there.

Just my thoughts....I think one of the biggest things keeping me here is that still after 16 months I feel like I have no idea whats going on, like there is still more to figure out.

Come visit, its an interesting place!!!

its really been 2 months??

Lots of changes since the last update!

The biggest is that I quit my job and have moved into downtown Doha.

The last time I posted anything I was interviewing for a job with Qatar Foundation www.qf.org.qa well I GOT THE JOB!! I am very excited about it and thrilled to be out of my other job. I have not started yet, the hiring process is a bit extreme. Its been nearly 2 months now and I think I am getting closer to a start date. I have felt like I was on the Amazing Race trying to get all the proper stamps, signatures, approvals etc...Definitely the hardest I have ever had to work to actually get the job. I didn't think anything could beat the hiring process for Antarctica but Qatar makes that seem like it was so easy.

So for now, I am chilling in Doha car shopping, apartment stuff shopping and gearing up for the next step.

I have even had visitors here in Doha! Jenn & Christina were here for 3 days on their way to Africa and then my Dad was just here for 2 days on his way home from Africa. So awesome to see them here and show them a bit of this very unique city.



Yesterday, I took a drive to the KSA (Saudi Arabia) border. I just wanted to see what it looked like...which was really just a heavily guarded border crossing. I didn't stay to long as I am sure that a girl driving with an expired residency would have gotten me in all kinds of trouble

This is Jenn gone Arab

Had a lunch party for Jenn/Christina with my Bangladeshi & Filipino Friends

Moni, Afsar, Ali, Bastey, Bits, Christina and JoJo

me and JoJo

I had bought a bottle of water in the grocery store and the cashier didn't have change. So she gave me the gum instead of change back. I just thought it was funny!

Hopefully now that I wont be working 84 hours a week, I will have more time to update this site. I would also like to start working on writing a book...I feel like I have a funny story in me that needs to come out.

a little polish

I am trying to get a job with the Qatar Foundation.

I have had to 2 interviews with them and my very good friend JoJo has gone with me both times. He gets dressed up in his interview clothes and sits in the car while I am in the meeting.

While I was in the interview he drew this picture of what I looked like going inside.

Burning Man....Bangladeshi Style

I have gotten to know 2 bangladeshis who work at the pool. Its a country I knew nothing about except that its to close to India and seems to have lots of floods. I have a had a great time getting to know these 2 guys, Ali & Afsar. They constantly crack me up with what they say.

Because of the big change in US politics this week, they have been very excited about Mr. Obama. The day after he took over, Afsar kept saying "today, Mr. Obama work and Mr. Bush sleep". Ali thoughts on it were "good job mr. obama, happy day for world".

Anyways, this bit of information is out of the Burning Man newsletter but in honor of my 2 crazy broken English Bangladeshis I would put it out here.

About Bangladesh--The Bangladesh Festival begins on January 29th and lasts one month. The theme is freedom and features a conference on Nelson Mandela and Noam Chomsky. This is an important event, as Bangladesh has suffered enormous repression in recent years and the EXPO is really oriented towards social commitments, peace, and political harmony in the world. Bangladesh is about 95 percent Moslem and used to be known as East Pakistan. Freedom of expression will be an important part of the expo and Burning Man certainly represents a unique opportunity to demonstrate that. Bangladesh is kind of out of the way. There's very little tourism and travel there is not so easy, but I invite people to come and see it.

a bit more Cayman

the closet was pretending to be the fireplace so we had a place to hang up the stockings.

Southern Stingrays

Seven Mile Beach.....so pretty!!!

This is Rum Point and where we spent Christmas Day

Greg representing Qatar!

dad & greg fish

dont let the snorkel vest fool you, mom was out there kissing the stingrays!

Scuba, Sliding and Skiing in a Snow Globe!

Just returned from a fun filled vacation where I got to scuba dive, play on the water slides and snow ski! All 3 of my very favorite things.

Spent the first half with the family in the Cayman Islands. We swam, snorkeled, played with the sting rays, scuba dived, ate and drank well and really just had a great time. Christmas Day on Grand Cayman

great to dive with my brother!

The diving in the Caymans is nice...very healthy coral, great conservation laws, mellow and easy. No insane currents, great visibility...made it hard to get lost underwater, no hungry tiger sharks....seriously easy. Not once did I get back on the boat just thankful to be back on the boat and also that the boat was there. I guess it takes some crazy and super difficult dives to appreciate the easyness of diving in the Caymans.

After a great time in the Caymans I came back to the middle east. I spent 4 fun filled days exploring Dubai.


This is the Wild Wadi Waterpark which was really really fun! They have this slide that connects 11 slides together, so you are sliding for a really long time.

In the back ground is the Burj Arab which is the worlds only 7 star hotel. Dubai seems to have some sort of world title on just about everything.

Wild Wadi has 2 of these flowriders, so you can practice catching waves.

Dubai has some insane shopping malls, in the "Dubai Mall" there was a very HUGE aquarium that had everything I had just seen diving in the Caymans and more.

Ski Dubai!!!

Why not go snow skiing while in Dubai. This was really amazing, the "mountain" is in the shopping mall and very much like skiing in a snow globe.

You seriously just cut through the food court and you are at the ski area. I had seen it on TV so thought I would just check it out, but once I got there I knew I had to try it out first hand. Then I thought I would do 1 run....well 2 hours later I was racing up and down the hill as fast as I could to get in as many runs on my lift ticket as possible.

After you get your lift ticket, you move to the next line and they give you your ski suit which is pants, jacket, socks and gloves. Then you stand in the next line for boots and skis, they set your bindings while you stand there and then you are out the door. You ride an escalator with your gear to the entrance and collect your poles. Then you leave the warm desert air for a cold mountain slope.

My favorite was seeing the local Arabs skiing in their long gowns with a parka over them. sorry...no pictures of that.

The mountain had 2 quad chairs, a poma lift, rope toe, inner tube hill and a snowboard park. You could get off at mid mountain or go up to the top for the "steeps". Good times!!!

I am back in Doha now and think the next adventure will be a safari in Uganda in March....stay tuned.

little local

This little guy was all business!

He was all dressed up and on the phone. I think he was about 3.

mustachio and beard face

I was just curious what I would look like with a mustache & beard....now I know.

sand for days

This is the land of sand, camels, insane wealth from oil/natural gas and obvious signs of becoming more and more western. The same guy who owns a camel farm and has 4 wives will also have 2 Ferrari's and probably own a Starbucks or a Hagen daaz.

This is Sema who is married to an old Johnston Island friend of mine I ran into randomly here. She is a professional photographer here in Qatar and she took all these pictures on this post. Sema is also from the town in Turkey I was born in. We have these things in common but we have never met!

The Old Souqs and one of my favorite places in Doha

These are not on every corner yet but I thinks that's where its heading...

Good Job Obama

Obamas big win was celebrated with my friends Ali, Afsar and JoJo. They are from Bangladesh & the Philippines and they were very very happy that Obama won.

In the words of Afsar "Obama good for world"

When I asked the guys how we should celebrate Afsar & Ali decided that we should have Dairy Queen dinner with sugar free energy drinks (because Afsar is diabetic) and talk about Obama.

So that's what we did....while we were eating I asked them what they new about Obama and while none of us new much, it was a funny conversation that was done mostly in broken english with some Tagalog, Arabic and Bangla mixed in.

This is Afsar having dairy queen dinner with Obama Afsar, Jo Jo in red and Ali

This has nothing to do with Obama or Dairy Queen...this is what I look like when I am to tired to swim but really really want to...at least I am at the pool.

why not go by camel?

In the land where camels are still used daily I have rented myself a car.

I don't know how much a monthly car rental in the states is but I think it would be expensive. Here you can rent one for $500 a month and that includes all the insurance and unlimited mileage. Its much quicker, smells better and has better air conditioning than these smelly old camels! If I do end up staying here beyond January I think I will end up buying a car. It would be my first car in 10 years!!

These pictures were actually taken in Bagram Afghanistan and not Qatar...we don't have mountains but we do have lots of camels!

My life in lightbulbs

seriously...light bulbs. who in their normal life even thinks about light bulbs for more than 2 minutes a year?

I can honestly say I have spent hours, seriously hours thinking, talking and writing emails about about light bulbs since I have been here in the bright shiny desert.

Here is the 30 step process that I went through to get light bulbs and I am happy tell you that after completing those frustrating 30 steps and 6 months of waiting well....the light bulbs are here. VICTORY!!! The lights are now back on!!!

Steps to get light bulbs:

1. I am told by manager to go get a bunch of light bulbs for recreation center
2. ask around and find out that light bulbs live at a place called Self Help
3. Go to self help and ask for light bulbs
4. Listen as they tell you they will give you 5 light bulbs only
5. kindly explain that the facility I am trying to replace them in has 416 light bulbs
6. Am told that to get more than 5 bulbs at one time I need to to the engineering office and fill out form # 332
7. I find the engineering office and ask for form 332
8. I fill out form 332 and am told our manager has to sign them
9. I take the filled out form and head back to our part of town to track down my manager
10. I get the managers signature and return to the engineering office
11. The engineers review my form and they approve it
12. I leave the engineering office with my approved, signed form
13. I now take my approved form back to self help in hopes of now getting the light bulbs
14. I am told to leave the form there to be reviewed by self help. If the form is approved they will contact me to pick up the light bulbs
15. I wait 1 week and don't hear back

16. I return to Self help and ask the status of my light bulb order
17. I wait patiently while 22 year old self help guy insists that he emailed a military guy who he thought was me about picking up the light bulbs
18. I explain that I am not the military guy that the guy is insisting he emailed about the order
19. I finally convince mr 22 year old that I am a separate light bulb order from military guy
20. I watch as 22 year old finds my original order
21. I take deep breaths as 22 year old explains that the form was not signed in the correct location by the engineers
22. I don't bother to ask why they could not have told me that last when when I dropped off the form
23. I take the form back to the engineering office to get signed again
24. I listen patiently as the guy who is supposed to sign the form explains that they don't need his signature again
25. I smile really big and ask him to just sign in it anyway
26. I take double signed form back to self help and let 22 year old approve it again
27. I say thank you as he says 'we let you know something in a couple of weeks'
28. I leave self help assured that we will never see another light bulb again
29. I drive back to rec center thinking of ways to get solar energy to the video games, televisions and computers

30. VICTORY!!! 6 months later, I was able to pick up 178 light bulbs. Now if I could just get the other 300+ that are needed for the facility. No matter...this feels like a victory in the world of the reddest tape possible.

Its about time!!!!

Its been a long time since I posted anything on the site...

personal time seems to be non existent for me here in the giant sandbox. I can honestly say that I am very OVER having to work 84 hours per week. When you break it down after 12+ hours a day of work, 7 of sleep..that doesn't leave much for eating, showering, swimming, or anything extra.

I am actively on the job search and really really really want to find a job that I LOVE and care about. Something that seems to matter....

Here are some recent pictures of life in Doha
These are the old souks and probably my favorite place (except the beach) that I have been here in Doha.


This is the Qatar flag
Hard to tell much on the map but Doha is about half way down on the right. For perspective it only takes an hour or so to drive across the entire country.

34 floors up, a city view

While I was 34 floors up, I found a pool!!

The city at night

This is the City Center mall which is HUGE!!


Ramadan was the month of September and then the festival of EID was 3 days in October. This was my first Ramadan and I wanted to learn one new thing a day during Ramadan. Did you know that many Muslims don't allow their dogs to sleep in their beds? I didn't know that...It was cool to learn about it and something I really knew nothing about.

I still don't have any idea why all the religions fight with each other. Why is one religion better than another? Why don't Jewish people like Muslim people? Why do many Americans think Muslims are all crazy? I have no idea and I really think that would prevent me from ever picking an official religion.

I really do like seeing it all for myself and I have met people from so many religions that I both really like and also think are completely crazy.

updates coming soon....

I am going to update soon...

Getting a driving liscense!

I recently took my newly received Qatari residency and went to get a drivers licence.

Now...keep in mind that I really have not driven much in the past 10 years and that driving here is like Mad Max style. Seems like a smart idea huh?

So the driving "laws" here are much more like "ideas" than actual laws. They did not even have a licence program until 1986...so things are still in the "being worked out phase".

Regardless, off 4 of us went.

Step 1: You stand in line to visit type writer guy, however he speaks no English. So..you go back outside to find somebody outside who speaks Arabic. We were prepared and had brought a local guy named Ahmet with us. After typewrite guy and Ahmet worked out the cost then typewriter guy wrote our Arabic names on his 1953 model typewriter and shoo'ed us out of the building. Step 2: you go to a non marked little building with the most disgusting bathrooms this side of Calcutta to get your eyes tested.

Step 3: Once they determine that it makes no difference if you can see or not, they give you another form in Arabic

Step 4: You take all of your forms to yet another building that actually looks like a DMV. Common sense would say that you pick up a numbered ticket and wait for your turn. So the 4 of us Westerners did that but Ahmet decided that wasn't his plan and pushed his way through the line. 20 minutes later the 4 of us had Qatari driving license in our hand.

Now if they would just make a road map of the city...

When worlds merge!

In the past month, I have run into 3 different people from my time in the Pacific islands. I love when your worlds merge!

I had one guy come up to me here in Qatar and ask if I rememberd him, I said no and then he told me that he was in a band that I had hired to come out to Johnston Island about 7 years ago!
This is a picture of friends from the Marshall Islands. Great to see Danny the "Ahi Slayer" out here in the sandstorm!!

22456

22456 is the miles i flew on my vacation. apparently Doha is not close to anything.

The trip took me to the Bahamas for a stay at the super duper fancy Atlantis resort. Then to Oregon for some family time and a quick trip the country fair. Dad getting his cherry picking on!

me and tree man at the country fair
one of the best parts of the country fair are all the random parades that come through. If you dont know about the fair check out http://www.oregoncountryfair.org

Voodoo donuts in Portland is I think somewhat famous..you can get donuts that have bacon on them or coated in tang. You can also buy underpants and get married there!

good times with the family
great tree people at the fair
what i look like in multiples!

this was this was the view from our hotel room in the Bahamas



Mom & Dad on the BBQ!!


So...I am now back in Qatar...stay tuned for more from the sandbox

Same Same but Different

Life in Qatar is not that different than life in Antarctica.

Its actually the same just different. I dont think things are meant to live here...just like the ice. Weather wise in Antarctica our most extreme weather condition was called condition 1. Today here in the sandbox we are having a condition 5. Which means that when you step outside you are greeted by an unforgiving heat and full blown sandblast. Its like somebody is pouring sand into a hot fan and putting it on full blast in front of you.

Here are some pictures that my friend Joey took this week. You can have a better idea of where I am day to day...


This week I got to see my old friend Joey from Johnston Island. She is living and working in Afghanistan and was passing through town on her way back from vacation. It was great to see her and get caught up, it had been 5 years!!
My cubicle

My beautiful neighborhood
This is the plaza, where we do most of our special events and its a hang out zone. Only problem is who wants to hang out in a 140 degree sand storm? Whey they didn't design an indoor place...who knows.
Thank goodness for a smart idea around here. The indoor pool!! This is one of the two pools and places that I do spend any free time I have.
The main recreation center and where I work...

12 days till vacation...

I am officially a resident of...

Qatar. I am now an official resident of Qatar and so after 5 months of super strange residency requirements its official. The biggest perks to me are that I can drive and have Internet access. If you are born here in Qatar you get somewhere between $60,000-$80,000 USD per year every year as a stipend.

Life here is different and the middle east is very different than anywhere else I have ever been. The food, culture, scenery, laws...its all drastically different than everything I have been around. I am enjoying learning about it all. Its super duper super HOT here now, its been around 120 degrees by 9:00 am most days and it stays there till about 6:00 pm. I have no idea how people work outside all day.

Doha is a city under construction. It would be hard to find a building without a crane in it, on it or next to it. Doha had been in the running for the 2016 Olympic games but a couple of days ago it was announced that they were cut from the final 4.
Part of the old town...I really like the old town and when you arrive there its like stepping back in time. Which for Qatar was not that long ago (probably 20 years at most)

There are just as many wheelbarrows as there are cranes. You often see the workers sleeping in the wheelbarrows.


Out of old town and into modern times...a tricked out golf cart

Doha has its share of luxury hotels. This one is called Sharq Village and really is mind blowing! I think the cheapest rooms are $800 a night..but look how nice the pool is!



Qataris have money and the majority do not work. They spend their days shopping, eating, having kids and driving around huge cars & boats.

more cranes on top of all these buildings. Its like we are seeing the city be built for the first time ever.


Camels were replaced in 1986 for driving cars. I don't understand how they live outside here in the extreme heat, wind and sand without water!!!

fun for the tourists

me and a local
sand, sand and more sand

until next time...

Life in Qatar

Just a brief re-cap of the past 6 weeks...

I am living in Doha, Qatar which is a very small country on the Persian Gulf. The country is very rich because of all the oil & natural gas that sit just off shore. There is an american presence here because it sounds that the Qataris are worried that big strong Iran (just across the sea) is going to try and take the oil from them. I dont know how I did this, but I seem to have gotten myself a job in the middle of a battle for oil. Funny that my role it in all is to make sure people are happy and having a good time while they fight it out.

A few things I have learned in the past 42 days...

It costs $11USD to fill up a ford explorer here, I think its about $50 in the states
They started driving cars over here in the 1970's and started a drivers liscence program in 1986
Camels are the national animal
Muslims can have 4 wives
I have had 2 proposals (1 with a ring)
Most Qataris dont work because they get a $60,000 stipend for just being here
They import all the workers from the Phillipines, Egypt, Nepal and Bangladesh

Many sites here are under old fashioned censorship, so I was able to find a sneaky way to get at this one..but it doesnt seem to let me change the colors or add any pictures.

Thats about it for now, the strange continues!

hearts, kb

Life in Qatar

snowy glass bananas

Well...I am going back to work, its been a good 14 months of playing around but time to come out of retirement and fill the bank account back up.

I have accepted a job in the country of Qatar (next to Dubai) and am currently in Houston learning crazy things. I have learned what to do if I get taken hostage, how to survive a camel spider bite, how to survive in 140 degree heat and my new favorite is how to put on a chemical attack survival suit. The common word of the week seems to be "survive".

This is a picture of "after" our training in the suits. We were taught by some military guys to put on and seal gas masks in a very timely manner and then put on this crazy banana yellow suit and accessorise the seals with duct tape. Apparently duct tape is the answer for everything!! After we were fully suited up we were "gassed" and then put through some jumping jacks, stretches and jogging. I am happy to say that I successfully sealed myself up in the banana suit and didn't feel any of the "gas". I must somehow be attracted to the opposite of everything. When I first moved to the central pacific I was living in Crested Butte, Colorado. (no ocean, very big mountains). Then 7 years later when I left the tropical island life I moved to Antarctica (freezing cold, very big mountains). Now..I seem to be heading to a giant desert where the summer temperature range is 100-140 degrees. Not sure what the opposite of Qatar will be but I am sure I will find it.

Today's sky reminded me of how the snow/ice would look in Antarctica when the big snow cats were out driving around on the runways.
Just thought this was pretty...its from the hotel lobby and all hand blown glass

Lipstick Convention

I am in Houston, Texas with 4,000 Mary Kay Ladies, no joke!! They are the top sellers in the US and they are vicious in their pink & purple suits.

They are full of questions these ladies, the typical conversation seems to go like this:

"Are you with Mary Kay"
me: no
"You should be a Mary Kay Lady"
me: no thanks, I like to do other things
"Its a great way to make a living"
me: I am not that interested in lipstick
"Even when the economy is bad, you can still make great money"
me: Do you have a pink Cadillac?
"yes, and you get a new one every 2 years
me: Great, have a nice day
"Here is my card if you change your mind, I would love to help you set up a successful business

I am staying in a 1200 room hotel and there are 4000 Mary Kay Ladies crammed into most of those rooms. Today was a mass checkout and really amazing to watch the purple suit chaos.

Its a New Year!!

I love that people read this and then write to me and ask why I have not updated the site.

I didnt plan to update as I thought I would be "staying put" for 6 months but...easier said than done. I have done something that I have not done in quite awhile and that is taken several short trips in the United States. In the past few months I have spent some time in Indiana, Florida, San Francisco and scuba diving up here in the Pacific Northwest.

sunset in Key West, Florida This is Vanessa and this is a great story! I was with my family in Key West, Florida and getting on the trolley to take the town tour and she was the tour guide. We worked together in Antarctica but had not kept in touch so it was a real surprise for both of us! If you are ever in Key West, she gives an OUTSTANDING town tour! (this just after I had ran into 2 other fellow Antarctica winterovers here in a Portland bar)

Mom and Dad as tourists
I always love a trip to the ocean
A few days after returning from warm Florida, I found myself with some friends up in the mountains at a hot springs. Snow Angel ready positionI made up a Christmas Eve triathlon for the family, this is momma in event #2 which she excelled in with her softball pitching skills.
Portland had a white Christmas for the first time in 17 years!!! We rushed out to take the picture before it had accumulated but it really did snow all day!Dad loving the snow and also loving his new blue furry pants and pink necklace
New Years! A few of us girls decided to take a last minute trip to San Francisco. The word for the weekend was LEGENDARY and we really had a wonderful time!

This is a self portrait from the end of the night....good times and I definitely rang in the New Year!

That's it for now but stay tuned because it looks like I will be setting off on another overseas adventure pretty soon....

happy new year and thanks for following my adventures

good old Antarctica

A friend who is currently living/working in Antarctica sent me these recent pictures.

The first is an aurora and the 2nd is of the lunar eclipse that occured in August.