Aloha Doha
I arrived in the London Heathrow airport early in the morning last Thursday, and as we were taxiing up to the terminal, the first flakes of snow began to fall. By the time I got out, got through all the long lines and passport checks, the ground was completely white. That meant that half the flights in the airport were canceled. Guess who got grounded? I spent the next three or four hours standing in lines, trying to figure out what I needed to do next, and talking with airline employees who were walking around in bright yellow jackets, who were trying to help out the hordes of people needing to get somewhere. They were hopelessly outnumbered, but were doing a surprisingly good job.
The next flight to Doha was the next day, and was already booked solid. The one after that was two days later. I almost spend three days in London (which wouldn't have been so bad!) but I was able to find a flight on another airline that evening. I switched my ticket and... still had five hours before I needed to be at the airport to leave. It took me an hour to get my act together, and another hour to ride the train to central London, but I had two hours to burn once I got there. Since I wasn't expecting to be outside the airport at all, I didn't have time to figure out some cool places to go, so I ended up just seeing the basics: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben. Even then, I just saw them all from the outside. The Abbey was neat, but Big Ben just wasn't as, well, big as I thought it would be. After that, I took a train back to the airport, hopped on a plane and made my second overnight trip.
I arrived in Doha at about six in the morning (local time) and went to the apartment provided for me. The place is huge; it's probably half again the size of my brother's and my apartment in Colorado, and I have this place all to myself. It's got DSL (woohoo!) and a two bathrooms. One of the rooms, the second bedroom, I don't even use. Three hours after arriving, I was at work.
While I'm here, they've provided me with a driver, by the name of Seju, who comes whenever I give him a call, and drives me wherever I need to go. I'm glad, too. The roundabouts here sure look more dangerous than anything I've driven in. I'd rather drive in the center of Amsterdam. They offered to get me a license here, but I steadfastly refused. I know I would learn the town better, but I don't need the stress.
Okay, now all the rest is going to be fairly random. But then, when am I not?
I learned days before the trip that it is illegal to bring a Bible into the country. I absolutely did not smuggle one for my personal use in my luggage. I was not glad they didn't ask me if I was carrying one, because I wasn't so there would have been no need to confiscate anything. Besides, I've received the impression they don't care about people bringing them for their own use, they just don't want the Gideon's society moving in.
Two mornings in a row I actually heard a rooster crowing when I went outside.
The next street over from my apartment is a big shopping street. I walked down most of it and back, and noticed that there are probably 15-20 barber shops on it. I'm wondering how that many of them stay in business so close to each other. Perhaps the Qatari people are just very well groomed?
I just went to a restaurant for dinner. I got a falafel and some friend cauliflower. It wasn't great, but wasn't bad either. The cost? Three Riyals. That comes to about ninety cents US, or 60 cents Euro. Not bad, eh?
As for getting to know the people, the culture, and the religion, I talked with one of my bosses here. His name is Nasser, and he's a pretty good-natured guy. He likes to laugh a lot, and walks around making sure everything is going well. I talked with him about learning more about Qatar, Islam and seeing what there was to do, and he seemed pretty happy to help me. He might even take me to a place or two himself! I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure I'll learn a lot, and I'll have fun.
English is everywhere. The children in the schools here are taught English starting at first grade, so I haven't had any serious communication problems yet. It feels kind of like Holland that way. English also seems to be the language of choice among internationals here, too. It can be pretty funny to hear two people trying to speak English to each other when neither of them are very good at it.
I know I'm in the Middle East, and a lot of people consider this a pretty dangerous place, but I just have a hard time feeling threatened here. I'm still keeping my wits about me, mind you, but Doha is closer to Baghdad geographically than it is culturally. This isn't a run-down town: it's not as affluent as America, but they seem to be doing pretty well. It's a very multicultural town, too. I've seen people from America, England, Napal, Turkey, and probably a lot of other places. Although I'm definitely a racial minority, it's not as if people give me a second glance - white people here are probably about as common as black people in Colorado. I mean, I've seen lots of women walking down the road, covered from head to toe in black clothing with just a slit open for their eyes (if that), but it's not surprising to see them talking on a cell phone, walking next to a woman in a sleeveless shirt. This place seems pretty accepting of other cultures, and is used to a lot of them. It reminds me a lot of Holland that way. I know a lot of people back home are scared for me, but I doubt they would keep that if they were out here for a week.
So, that's all I've got now. If there's anything you guys want to ask me, about the people, the company, the culture, or whatever, just ask. I'll be happy to give you my impressions or go hunt down an answer for you.
Tot later,
Perzik
The next flight to Doha was the next day, and was already booked solid. The one after that was two days later. I almost spend three days in London (which wouldn't have been so bad!) but I was able to find a flight on another airline that evening. I switched my ticket and... still had five hours before I needed to be at the airport to leave. It took me an hour to get my act together, and another hour to ride the train to central London, but I had two hours to burn once I got there. Since I wasn't expecting to be outside the airport at all, I didn't have time to figure out some cool places to go, so I ended up just seeing the basics: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben. Even then, I just saw them all from the outside. The Abbey was neat, but Big Ben just wasn't as, well, big as I thought it would be. After that, I took a train back to the airport, hopped on a plane and made my second overnight trip.
I arrived in Doha at about six in the morning (local time) and went to the apartment provided for me. The place is huge; it's probably half again the size of my brother's and my apartment in Colorado, and I have this place all to myself. It's got DSL (woohoo!) and a two bathrooms. One of the rooms, the second bedroom, I don't even use. Three hours after arriving, I was at work.
While I'm here, they've provided me with a driver, by the name of Seju, who comes whenever I give him a call, and drives me wherever I need to go. I'm glad, too. The roundabouts here sure look more dangerous than anything I've driven in. I'd rather drive in the center of Amsterdam. They offered to get me a license here, but I steadfastly refused. I know I would learn the town better, but I don't need the stress.
Okay, now all the rest is going to be fairly random. But then, when am I not?
I learned days before the trip that it is illegal to bring a Bible into the country. I absolutely did not smuggle one for my personal use in my luggage. I was not glad they didn't ask me if I was carrying one, because I wasn't so there would have been no need to confiscate anything. Besides, I've received the impression they don't care about people bringing them for their own use, they just don't want the Gideon's society moving in.
Two mornings in a row I actually heard a rooster crowing when I went outside.
The next street over from my apartment is a big shopping street. I walked down most of it and back, and noticed that there are probably 15-20 barber shops on it. I'm wondering how that many of them stay in business so close to each other. Perhaps the Qatari people are just very well groomed?
I just went to a restaurant for dinner. I got a falafel and some friend cauliflower. It wasn't great, but wasn't bad either. The cost? Three Riyals. That comes to about ninety cents US, or 60 cents Euro. Not bad, eh?
As for getting to know the people, the culture, and the religion, I talked with one of my bosses here. His name is Nasser, and he's a pretty good-natured guy. He likes to laugh a lot, and walks around making sure everything is going well. I talked with him about learning more about Qatar, Islam and seeing what there was to do, and he seemed pretty happy to help me. He might even take me to a place or two himself! I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure I'll learn a lot, and I'll have fun.
English is everywhere. The children in the schools here are taught English starting at first grade, so I haven't had any serious communication problems yet. It feels kind of like Holland that way. English also seems to be the language of choice among internationals here, too. It can be pretty funny to hear two people trying to speak English to each other when neither of them are very good at it.
I know I'm in the Middle East, and a lot of people consider this a pretty dangerous place, but I just have a hard time feeling threatened here. I'm still keeping my wits about me, mind you, but Doha is closer to Baghdad geographically than it is culturally. This isn't a run-down town: it's not as affluent as America, but they seem to be doing pretty well. It's a very multicultural town, too. I've seen people from America, England, Napal, Turkey, and probably a lot of other places. Although I'm definitely a racial minority, it's not as if people give me a second glance - white people here are probably about as common as black people in Colorado. I mean, I've seen lots of women walking down the road, covered from head to toe in black clothing with just a slit open for their eyes (if that), but it's not surprising to see them talking on a cell phone, walking next to a woman in a sleeveless shirt. This place seems pretty accepting of other cultures, and is used to a lot of them. It reminds me a lot of Holland that way. I know a lot of people back home are scared for me, but I doubt they would keep that if they were out here for a week.
So, that's all I've got now. If there's anything you guys want to ask me, about the people, the company, the culture, or whatever, just ask. I'll be happy to give you my impressions or go hunt down an answer for you.
Tot later,
Perzik