To Blog with Love...

...will write soon! Having fun with M&D for now!

Unexpected House Guest

Look who came in today! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of Casey's "gecko herding" skills!

First Cut & Colour

I think I survived my first cut & colour experience very well! I went to Glow, an American salon here, that was hard to find but worth the experience I think! I like the colour and the cut - they only blew it dry - no style or flat iron but that's ok the important parts (cut + colour) look good! In my humble opinion anyway! And it cost about the same as it would back home. I still miss John, Jonquil, Deanna and the rest of Avenue Hair though!

Beach Life

We are two happy people. We have been fortunate enough to have been to not one but two beaches already over the Eid holiday. We could very easily get used to doing this every weekend!

Friday was Fuwairit Beach which is about an hour outside of Doha, just past Al Khor. Casey was happy as there was some good off-roading involved in both soft (ish) and even some mucky wet sand! The beach was nice and full of soft sand and the tide was out so were able to go quite far out and it was only waist deep - which was great for frisbeee and a bit of snorkling. We also had a great BBQ with kebabs, homemade hommous and then roasted marshmellows with nutella for dessert (I can assure you - they were amazing). We went again with my co-worker/friend L and her group of friends who were very welcoming and kind.

Today, Sunday, was Wakra Beach, this time only about 30 mins from Doha, just past Al Wakra. Even though we misread the tide times - we were still able to wade out onto a sand bar with our chairs and sit in the water and chat. F and I also got a good laugh watching C & R try and skim board - the water was just a bit too deep - and so there were some great wipeouts! We then had another great BBQ and I ate lamb! Amazing, I know. We stayed to watch the sun set and then headed in. We are very, very lucky to have met such an awesome couple.

Enjoy the pictures!

Wakra Beach

BBQ camp #2 - after sitting on the sand bar with our chairs in the water - laughing at C & R skim boarding.

Watching the sun go down..

My super sun hat.
C flying a kite... *insert jokes here*

Fuwairit Beach

View from where we parked the car.

Nice shallow sand bars to play on with water like a warm bathtub!

BBQ camp set up!
A horse on the beach - of course! What, you didn't bring yours?

Sunscreen is not optional.

Looking Good...

We have made some additions to the villa - and finally I remembered to post them! We bought at TV stand and matching bookshelf and some pillows for the couch.

Almost there...

Can you believe that it has already been a month since we blogged about the start of Ramadan? Yup, one lunar month is just about done which means that it will end either tonight or tomorrow (again, dependent on the moon) and then the next day will be the start of Eid Al-Fitr which is a three day celebration.

Everything will be closed for the first day of Eid, and some things will start to open for the second and third day. Eid starts with a special prayer of thanks and Muslims will often wear new and very nice clothes to it. Then there is breakfast with family and friends before visiting others to wish them a blessed Eid (Eid Mubarak) and then on the second or third day families will host or participate in a big feast.

(See more - http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/art_culture/article130760.ece)

It is now also when the expats who were away for the summer will start to return as all schools will start after Eid (with the exception of those schools that have already started!). We have been told that the traffic on the roads will literally double overnight.

If I get a text tonight from my nice co-worker (since we don't have any cable) then I have tomorrow and Sunday and Monday off. If not, then Eid will most likely be declared tomorrow night so I will have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off. I am looking forward to the break and can hardly wait to spend time with Casey and some of our new friends. Plus we have to get ready for some visitors that are coming the week after next! :-)

In the meantime, more pictures from last weekend...

Us by a type of boat we think is called a "dhow"

Us at the market...I love this picture.

"The Case is Approved"

Break out the champagne for us!

The Family Visa for C was approved.

*insert sigh of relief here*

Enough Said.

Long Distance Relationships

J and I have always wrestled with balancing friends, family, extra curricular, and work. J is a great organizer and is very decisive when it comes to making plans and it seems that she always made plans with friends and family in order for us to get together. Back in Calgary, it was a fast paced life keeping up-to-date with all of the people we know and required a lot of work to keep up with our friends. Everyone we know is very busy with the same laundry list of activities as us.

With that said, in the days/weeks/months that we were preparing to come to Doha we made a huge effort to schedule time with everyone that we could. I seem to recall that everyday but Monday(s) were booked with coffees, dinners, visits, and many other activities. This was perfect as we were getting to spend quality time with the people that we cared about and hopefully setting up a stronger relationship for our journey to the Gulf. We obviously wanted to keep all our friendships strong and with a 10 hour time difference, we knew that could be hard.

We started the blog to make sure everyone that we know can keep up with what is going on in the Middle East. This has been working out great and we have been getting lots of great comments. Something is still missing though.

WHAT IS EVERYONE ELSE DOING?!

I am sure it has been fun reading about what we are doing over here, but we are missing out on what you guys are doing at home. Because there is a huge difference in time, we know it is not easy to "drop a line", send a BBM, tweet, write on a wall, or even an email, but we still want to know how things are going. Even if is something simple like going for coffee or something grandiose like passing a hard test we still want to hear about it. If you are worried that it might not stack up to a move to the Middle East, don't worry it will surpass the trip. We love to hear about our friends and family and all the things that they have been up to.

Now, some of you have been very, very good at keeping us up-to-date on what is happening in your realm, but others have left us wanting. There is only so much we can glean off Facebook and other social media sites, but we would still like to have the olive branch at least met half way.

Now I am sorry (here's the Canadian) for saying this, but we both miss everyone and just because we are half way around the world doesn't mean we don't care about you guys.

Fun Weekend Times!

We had a busy weekend! And it was great!

Friday we went to the wholesale markets (just to the fruit & vegetable one) with a new friend from Houston (and she is Doha newbie too having arrived on Aug 12). She doesn’t have a car yet, so we showed her the Corniche, West Bay and the Pearl as well. (Casey isn't a fan of shopping in the 40+ degree heat!)

(West Bay from the Corniche)

(In the Pearl-Qatar - the man-made, Riveria style Islands see more HERE)

We picked up some wonderful fresh fruit at the marketin to take with us to the “Wii Challenge” that night at the home our friends F&R. They made a brilliant dinner and we played Wii for hours! It was so much fun – unfortunately though I am as bad at virtual sports as I am real ones! (with the exception of Wii bowling oddly enough…).

Saturday, we met our new friend at her compound and we had a “pool day”. Lounging around (in the shade with two applications of sunscreen and my hat!) and playing in the pool and chatting.

Later, we met another Canadian and got our tickets to the Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner & Dance in October. She was so friendly and we chatted for two hours before we left!

The community of people we have met here has been incredible. The kindness and hospitality of people who are essentially strangers is amazing. We are doing things here that we would never do at home – emailing and meeting up with people we have never met and know nothing about. Attending events and stepping way outside our comfort zone to talk to different people and get to know them.

It makes me think…hence the picture below…why don’t we do this at home? Is it because we are comfortable in our friend groups and in our life? Doha is about the same size of Calgary, and I am sure that there are as many newcomers to Calgary each month as there are here.

But when was the last time I made yourself available to a new person? When was the last time I reached out a newcomer and offered to drive them around the city or show them the best grocery store or anything? Has this unique (expat?) culture developed because there are so many people who are just not from here?

I guess newcomers to Calgary find their own “cultural” groups in the city and reach out to them… there are big communities of every nationality I guess. But especially in Canada, are any of us really “locals”? Do we need to force our newcomers to stay marginalized to their own cultural groupings?

I don’t know. But I do know that we owe lots of good karma back to the world. So the next time I come across a new person back home, I will remember the kindness we experienced here. Hopefully next year, we can even offer some help to a newbie here!

No More, No Less

One and a half hours after I arrived at the Ministry I was done. When I left, I knew no more than I did when I arrived.

I was dropped off at the building and I waited until there was a Qatari lady to follow in (this is key to ensuring that you don’t go to the wrong section and end up in a room full of men who are instantly annoyed at your ignorance). Like her, I went to the information desk and was given a number and directions to go to the second floor.

The second floor was a lot of chaos. A foyer with a set of doors at one end and a long hall with a waiting room and empty office at the other end. The guard at the desk said – “wait” and pointed to the hallway. There must have been close to 100 people standing and waiting throughout the foyer, hallway and waiting room. Like a good Canadian, I found the closest thing to a line and stood in it.

I was next to a sweet Indian lady who was as confused as I was. The guy standing next to us took pity on us and told us that they would call numbers on the screen and then we would proceed to the next room.

It was about this time that the Company Man (one I hadn't met yet – Mr. K) arrived. A stern looking Qatari, he was a man of few words. He took note of my number, told me to wait and then he left.

So I waited. And waited. And waited some more. There was lots to watch, as I leaned against the hallway wall cursing my dress shoes. No race, sex, class, age or gender seems to escape the Immigration Department experience.

When my number came up, I followed the crowd into another room (Mr. K was there too) and then they called my name (okay, they called Helifer or something like that…so good thing Mr. K was there!). Then I go into yet another room and wait some more with about 10 others.

Then this incredibly loud buzzer rings and they call five of us into this room where there is a boardroom table, six men sitting on one side and five empty chairs on the other side. First person called sits in the first chair, second person in the next and so on. I am the lucky first one so I get to face two of the men.

They have a stack of papers – in Arabic and clearly from the Company (I see the stamp). They do not acknowledge me just yet. I sit with my binder ready - photocopies of every document related to my life and C’s - ready to go.

They say hello and “why are you here?”. Many answers ran through my head including – “you tell me – you’re the ones who called the meeting!” but the answer was “About my husband’s visa”.

“Ah yes”. Arabic conversation ensues between the two men. All I get is “Jennifer” and “Canadian”. I nod appropriately at the key words, but they aren’t paying attention to me anyway.

“What is your profession?”

“Contract Engineer”

“Ah.”

Pause.

“Check online in three days, Insha’Allah, okay?”

“Okay, we are done?” (I get up to leave) “Thank you for your time”

“No” (I sit back down)

“You check after three days online, Insha’Allah, use your ID card number”.

“Okay. Thank you. I can go?”

“Yes, okay, leave”

Outside I let my Indian friend know what to expect and wish her good luck. She is trying to get visas for her children.

Then I find Mr. K and relay the information to him. He says nothing. Awkwardly I ask “Good? Bad? What do you think?”. I get a serious look and no answer. We get to the lobby and I have to wait for him to go and do more things. I don’t think it has anything to do with me anymore. My Indian friend comes out. They told her to check in two days online and she smiling and feeling quite happy. This only adds to the growing knot in my stomach.

Mr. K comes and we leave. He is very quiet and looking forward to a vacation coming soon. In the car he tells me they are “very strict now. Stopping lots of women, even the nurses in Medical City, from bringing their husbands”. I think we can draw our own conclusions here. I hope I didn’t offend Mr. K, but I didn’t have much to say on the way back to work.

I really appreciate the kindness and support of my co-workers, but I am frustrated inside.

But the biggest frustration comes from realizing a painful truth. We know it and everyone in my office knows it and some are even so kind as to point it out - C should have looked harder for a job before we came.

The job searching that we are doing now, the companies we are emailing, the searching being done – it all could have been done from home. I am not convinced it would have resulted in a job but who knows, we didn’t try so we don't know and we can’t go back and change things.

I know I am being sensitive, but because I can’t say it anywhere else but here, I think there are some people that think that we were a bit young and naive and that we thought the Company would find C a job. We didn't think that - we really just “overestimated” the job market.

I need to keep my sensitivity in check though, because for every one person that might be critical, there are at leat two or more who are so kind and helpful and this means a lot - especially right now!

Three days...