Well we have made it to the end of another month in one piece and still with our sanity intact. It is only 4 ½ weeks until the Asian Games start, and therefore only 4 ½ weeks of work at AJA until holidays start.
Also more importantly our blog is finally up to date with nothing really to be backdated. Kerry has her Residency and ID Card… I still have to go through the medicals and fingerprinting process being a dependant (I actually think my medical may be later this week). We haven’t posted anything about the experience yet as we were waiting until we both had braved the ordeal, but Kerry does have a rather special page in her passport, while mine is still out there in the system somewhere.
Driving is getting better, and with only the one accident (plus a number of near misses) I think it is going as well as can be expected. Hey we haven’t written off a rental yet, so things must be going ok! As I said before, the roads are getting even worse at the moment as things are put into top gear to complete everything prior to December 1… I think this is the calm before the storm as I can’t see it improving until after the games are over.
There is a steady influx of people into Doha to fill the various holes in the workforce for the games. A Syrian and 2 Egyptian guys came up and had a chat when we were at the souqs the other night… some of the many new arrivals walking around with their Doha Games ID’s hanging around their necks. Funny that we are more local than others now!
The weather is cooling down as we draw near the winter months… it is only reaching the low-mid 30’s now! But it is actually nice and mild in the evenings, and the air-conditioning is actually being turned off some nights. It isn’t too far away when we will be able to have them off all the time… looking forward to the peace and quiet!
Job-hunting for me continues. I have submitted my resume quite a bit to both agencies and employers… but with the positions advertised worldwide there apparently can be up to a three month wait until they finalise the selection (sometimes longer for teaching positions starting the next academic year). It will be interesting to see if I can pick up something before the games… fingers crossed. Wont be much fun if I have to work through December while K & A are on holidays!
There are a few things we have noticed about Doha and Qatar in general… while it is developing, it also seems a little held back by years of tradition. Cheap labour is in abundance from various places in the sub-continent and SE Asia, so when you have cheap labour there are certain things that become entrenched in society. The expat workforce is employed by nationals and therefore there is something owed to all nationals or something… people from India, Nepal, etc do certain things and are employed in particular positions… people from SE Asia are employed in other positions. Westerners are employed in various other positions and seem to fill the gap between the lowly paid expat workforce and Arab nationals who don’t have the skills to fill the available jobs.
But… gaps still remain.
The banks are a perfect example, where they all look the part. The owners have seen pictures of banks and know what they should look like, from the layout to the type of furniture right down to the wood grained walls in the mangers office. But there is still something missing when you can go to one branch and talk to 4 different people and get 4 completely different answers… hierarchical and bureaucratic structure reigns supreme here. I guess that is all part of “developing”.
Similar to this is the general lack of authenticity in much you see on a daily basis. Some of this is blamed on the western influence and while I would agree with this to a point, the fact is in relative terms there isn’t that many westerners here so it stems from further a field than this (i.e. international education and media consumption). It is far more correct to look at the influence and being “the expat influence” as much of what we see isn’t western or Arabic. The fact is that it is the kids who all want to walk around with mobile phones and iPods, and drive around in any number of prestige European cars or be driven around in oversized American SUVs. It is a melting pot of a country as all are to an extent, but I feel The Gulf is at the crossroads of the world and given that, needs to make a concerted effort to hold on to tradition and culture.
Well with 20 months to go, we shall just have to wait and see what vision materialises (or unravels) before our eyes.
Here is some useless trivia… did you know that somewhere between 12-25% of the worlds cranes are in Dubai! They think that 1/3rd of the world’s high-rise cranes are there.
Oh and also one other piece of trivia to end the month. Sports City Tower is not going to open until April 2007 and is going to have a swimming pool suspended off the side of the hotel about 100 meters from the ground (or something like that). It was only the façade that is to be completed prior to the games and the bit at the top for the flame.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
October Photos
...road to nowhere. The overpass crossing the pipeline vanishes into the sand dune
Ashur digging in the dunes while cow-cow looks on!
The "bachelors" hit the streets during Eid!
Just to prove we are slowly collecting keepsakes... we are not allowed to sell these on eBay before we leave!
You have to love kitschy souvenirs!Sunday, October 29, 2006
Eid Break
The Eid break was a nice change… no early mornings!
Today was the first day back at school and the first really early start since before Ramadan… our little robot alarm clock starts up at 5am. The only real positive to this is we are greeted by freshly brewed coffee… we managed to find one of those drip filter coffee makers with the timer on one of our many early shopping trips… it is put to very good use.
On the subject of shopping… most of the break was taken up with various little shopping adventures here and there (and also a lot of work from Kerry… catching up, preparation, etc).
Today was the first day back at school and the first really early start since before Ramadan… our little robot alarm clock starts up at 5am. The only real positive to this is we are greeted by freshly brewed coffee… we managed to find one of those drip filter coffee makers with the timer on one of our many early shopping trips… it is put to very good use.
On the subject of shopping… most of the break was taken up with various little shopping adventures here and there (and also a lot of work from Kerry… catching up, preparation, etc).
City Center with the ice skating rink in the bottom left corner
Last Tuesday we headed off to City Centre, which we hadn’t been to since we got here. Lots to see and do across all the levels of what is one big shopping complex. We seem to pick up bits and pieces on each of our little adventures and our home is slowly feeling a little more homely. This time it was a very nice Iranian carpet/door surround thing from a little booth on the ground floor… plus some rather nice little wooden Abaya dolls plus various other little bits and pieces.
One of the many things for children in City Center... Ashur loved running and climbing around in here!
Thursday night we headed back into town to walk around the souqs… spent time looking through the old souq area with is looking rather nice and traditional now after all the work they have been doing. There was even a guy with a donkey, but Ashur couldn’t be encouraged to go for a ride. Also went for our first walk around the gold souq… gold everywhere… store windows dripping in the stuff. All very impressive and I know it only added to Kerry’s gold bling desire! Even saw the falcons with their little helmets covering their eyes, sitting on outside on perches waiting to be sold. The one thing that was a shame is it is looking like all the prices for the souvenir sort of things all seem to have gone up… or maybe we are just becoming “local” and know where to get better bargains! At the end of the day we are here long enough to wait out the whole Asian Games thing, and make the most on the overstock and decreased prices once it and the associated workers, athletes and tourists all depart Qatar.
...our lounge, slowly looking more homely after more shopping adventures...
On Sunday did the Carrefour grocery shop just up the road at Vallagio… major road works between here and there as they rush to finish the main road outside Sports City (or Aspire Zone, or whatever it is called this week), which meant our normal 10 minutes drive home, grew to 45 minutes as we ventured through various diversions and closed roundabouts! Don’t know how long everything will be like this but they only have a month to go to get everything finished… who knows if they will make it or not!
But anyway it is time to get the coffee ready for the morning (got to love technology).
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Rain in Doha
Well this may seem a little like a weather update... but to continue the recent theme of weather... WE HAD RAIN!
Ok, so it was light and only lasted about 10-15 minutes and really was hardly enough to wash the dust off the plants... but it did rain earlier this afternoon and we were suitably impressed. We must be getting used to the place because we all went out and stood in it... there was even a little girl all full of screams and excitment up the road trying out her umbrella!
Ok, so it was light and only lasted about 10-15 minutes and really was hardly enough to wash the dust off the plants... but it did rain earlier this afternoon and we were suitably impressed. We must be getting used to the place because we all went out and stood in it... there was even a little girl all full of screams and excitment up the road trying out her umbrella!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
(not so) Singing Dunes
Monday afternoon we headed off in convoy to watch the sunset over the singing dunes, which is about 30-40 klms southwest of Doha. One of the heads of department had emailed everyone at school last week about doing a few things over the Eid break, but we only decided we would join them on this excursion at lunchtime. As it turned out there were only about 5 or 6 cars/4WDs heading out. Must say it was nice tackling unfamiliar roads by simply following the car in front!
Really the drive out there wasn’t that bad at all, although there were road works along the way (in Qatar… of course there would be road works!). Most of the road was actually very good, and looked very new… straight, flanked by camel fences once again (although we are yet to see any in the wild still) oh! ...and multiple power lines.
Really the drive out there wasn’t that bad at all, although there were road works along the way (in Qatar… of course there would be road works!). Most of the road was actually very good, and looked very new… straight, flanked by camel fences once again (although we are yet to see any in the wild still) oh! ...and multiple power lines.
Although you may think sand dunes = 4WD (I did) as it turns out these are probably the most northern dunes in Qatar, so they more or less just spring up from the same flat rocky terrain we are used to. The prevailing winds just move the sand until it gets caught on the next mound etc. Thinking we would have to drive off road and get stuck somewhere was silly of me… we actually had to only drive probably 100 meters from the road to park in the middle of several dunes.
wweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
... only problem going down... you have to climb back up!
These dunes are called “the singing dunes” because apparently the composition of the sand makes them make a unique sound… they didn’t sing for us but we will not hold that against them…Although, walking down the dunes creates an audible low ‘hum’/ ‘drone’ which resembles song (albeit, low pitched)… they are at least, Middle Eastern sand dunes, and that is more than enough for them to be at any particular time!
Our time was spent walking up and down… getting sand blown at times (still getting the sand out of our pockets)… watching the sunset… eating and talking with some of the others. Went for a little walk into the dunes once it was dark and decided that although peaceful, being lost in the dunes would not be a nice experience at all.
Lots of rubbish lying around on some parts of the dunes!
Some of our group atop one of the taller dunes watching the last rays of the setting sun...
... slowly sinking in the west!
They build big suns in these parts... isn't there anything petro-dollars can't buy!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Eid Mubarak
Well apparently we have survived our first Ramadan, as today is Eid Al-Fitr – which basically translates into the celebration of the breaking of the fast, or something along those lines. So only a few more days and then our world returns to some form of normality. AJA is closed this week for Eid and then it is only another month until the Asian Games begin when no doubt everything will be thrown into turmoil for a few weeks.
Over the past few days there have been many more cars parked outside the mosques than we normally see, with lots attending leading up to the end of the fasting month. Apparently this morning was the morning of the huge mass prayers in the larger mosques, Eid prayer grounds (big open plots of land scattered around town), and possibly in some of the stadiums… the rest of the day is for spending with family and friends.
Although we were told what we could expect from Ramadan including everything being closed, stores being low on stock, prices on many things going up, and just plain nightmare roads, most of it was pretty limited.
There was more traffic on the roads (especially around midday) because everyone was working the same hours instead of traffic (and the workday) being staggered throughout the day. Supposedly the workday was 5 hours long, although I didn’t see many working ONLY 5 hours apart from those in Govt Depts. Most shops were closed during the afternoon and early evenings… many closed between 12-8pm, but then most made up for it by staying open past midnight (although the hypermarkets seemed to be open even longer than normal). Our local food stores were closed between 5-7pm so staff could attend local mass Iftars, which were the breaking the fast meal provided free to low-paid workers each day during Ramadan (I don’t think it had that much to do with attending prayers). I suppose the best part for us though was getting to sleep in an extra hour in the mornings, as the school day for AJA was an hour shorter.
Of course there was the fact that no one was eating drinking or smoking in public during daylight hours, but this seemed to be made up for nicely once the sun went down. There was a news story in the paper yesterday by some Indian research Dept stating that smoking dropped by 50% during Ramadan because of fasting during the day and “after breaking fast they were busy with prayers and other activities”. I think “other” activities mostly consisted of eating, shopping and sleeping, all of which are rather difficult to smoke while partaking in. Qatar is full of rocket scientists!
Over the past few days there have been many more cars parked outside the mosques than we normally see, with lots attending leading up to the end of the fasting month. Apparently this morning was the morning of the huge mass prayers in the larger mosques, Eid prayer grounds (big open plots of land scattered around town), and possibly in some of the stadiums… the rest of the day is for spending with family and friends.
Although we were told what we could expect from Ramadan including everything being closed, stores being low on stock, prices on many things going up, and just plain nightmare roads, most of it was pretty limited.
There was more traffic on the roads (especially around midday) because everyone was working the same hours instead of traffic (and the workday) being staggered throughout the day. Supposedly the workday was 5 hours long, although I didn’t see many working ONLY 5 hours apart from those in Govt Depts. Most shops were closed during the afternoon and early evenings… many closed between 12-8pm, but then most made up for it by staying open past midnight (although the hypermarkets seemed to be open even longer than normal). Our local food stores were closed between 5-7pm so staff could attend local mass Iftars, which were the breaking the fast meal provided free to low-paid workers each day during Ramadan (I don’t think it had that much to do with attending prayers). I suppose the best part for us though was getting to sleep in an extra hour in the mornings, as the school day for AJA was an hour shorter.
Of course there was the fact that no one was eating drinking or smoking in public during daylight hours, but this seemed to be made up for nicely once the sun went down. There was a news story in the paper yesterday by some Indian research Dept stating that smoking dropped by 50% during Ramadan because of fasting during the day and “after breaking fast they were busy with prayers and other activities”. I think “other” activities mostly consisted of eating, shopping and sleeping, all of which are rather difficult to smoke while partaking in. Qatar is full of rocket scientists!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Fog Bound
This morning we awoke to find a city shrouded in warm sticky humid fog. Obviously something of an event as it is one of the few weather changes we have seen beyond sunny, hazy, or dusty since we arrived. 
The best part of driving in the fog was seeing how the “locals” dealt with it. Various strategies were seen to be adopted such as driving as normal and hoping people would see you coming (which you couldn’t)… driving with your lights on (which helped a little)… driving slower (not the strategy of choice in these parts of course)… or (my personal favourite) driving with your hazard lights on! This last one was at times accompanied by headlights and other times not. Now it confused me a little to begin with because I was wondering about what they do if they use their indicators… silly me, they don’t use them anyway!
The best part of driving in the fog was seeing how the “locals” dealt with it. Various strategies were seen to be adopted such as driving as normal and hoping people would see you coming (which you couldn’t)… driving with your lights on (which helped a little)… driving slower (not the strategy of choice in these parts of course)… or (my personal favourite) driving with your hazard lights on! This last one was at times accompanied by headlights and other times not. Now it confused me a little to begin with because I was wondering about what they do if they use their indicators… silly me, they don’t use them anyway!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Round Trees and Wave Hedges
We have a gardener, as most do around the compound. He is one of the blue-overall guys and to be honest I don't even know his name! He is nice and polite, and all full of smiles (especially at the end of the month when we give him his 100 QAR).
He comes along every morning and waters everything and pulls out the odd weed here and there. He also has another guy (maybe his deputy blue overall guy) who comes along with him once a month and does the mowing. When this is going on there is normally a knock on the door from one blue-overall guy soaking in sweat, mouthing the word "water". Being a current house husband I guess I am one of the only people actually around the compound during working hours, so I promptly supply them with a big bottle of cold water (hhmmm... I thought it was Ramadan... oh well).
Unfortunately they also have the habit of cutting everything back, adding waves to our hedge and virtually removing all the mass from our little trees. We keep meaning to ask if he can stop doing it, but just never seem to get around to it (maybe a tomorrow inshallah moment on our behalf). At this rate we will never have a big hedge or big trees!
Anyway as you can see from the photo there seems to be a bit of a trend with the trees around the compound... but at least everything is green!
He comes along every morning and waters everything and pulls out the odd weed here and there. He also has another guy (maybe his deputy blue overall guy) who comes along with him once a month and does the mowing. When this is going on there is normally a knock on the door from one blue-overall guy soaking in sweat, mouthing the word "water". Being a current house husband I guess I am one of the only people actually around the compound during working hours, so I promptly supply them with a big bottle of cold water (hhmmm... I thought it was Ramadan... oh well).
Unfortunately they also have the habit of cutting everything back, adding waves to our hedge and virtually removing all the mass from our little trees. We keep meaning to ask if he can stop doing it, but just never seem to get around to it (maybe a tomorrow inshallah moment on our behalf). At this rate we will never have a big hedge or big trees!
Anyway as you can see from the photo there seems to be a bit of a trend with the trees around the compound... but at least everything is green!
Monday, October 16, 2006
Sports City - Aspire Zone
Sports City, which is just up the road has now been renamed the Aspire Zone. Not sure about this one (someone has studied marketing but not implementation), nor why you would rename the major complex for The Games 6 weeks out from them starting! Makes me wonder if the road out the front of the compound has be renamed from Sports City Road to Aspire Zone Rd or something.
Sports City Tower looking almost complete
Anyway, construction is coming along with the tower looking almost complete. All the other venues in the area are complete, but they have a lot of work to go on the finishing touches me thinks. Lots to go with basic infrastructure etc, but I am sure one way or another they will get it done!
Khalifa Stadium lighting rigs behind the swimming complex
Aspire Complex
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