dealing with doha qatar...good, bad, ugly

What else do I write about? How about what it is really like here. I had a tough weekend. I had great people around me who are becoming my very close friends and who are always kind and fun. I had a bad weekend anyway. On Thursday one of my really great high school students had said, "Miss, they trick teachers into coming here, promising culture, and then you get here and find out there is no culture." I laughed, but I had to think about that one a lot. I pulled out my empowerment staple, "Eat, Pray, Love" and thought, this is not what I signed up for. The thing is that it is almost impossible to learn another language here because everyone speaks English. And Qatari people are very private, so it is hard to get to know anyone but westerners. The city is so NEW, that there is not much even in the way of historical architecture.

I was feeling down. Then I realized a few things. This is the normal adjustment time for culture shock, and that is what I am now experiencing. Vacation's over. I LIVE here now. Opportunities for travel and culture have happened, and will continue to do so. I am going on a State Mosque tour Friday for good ness sake!
I got chased down the street by a man who wanted to take me for a ride, but people with more experience taught me what to do about that one. I am learning how to ignore the unwanted attention and use the blonde hair to my advantage when I really need a cab. I am learning to balance going out to eat camel or lentil soup or mystery curry, with evenings where I just stay home and read a book and eat buckwheat pancakes so I don't get too worn out.

School has been a little tough because the Supreme Education Council (pictured directly above) has commanded that we teach Islamic, Ararbic, and Qatari History. That, combined with the requirements to get the school accredited by Alberta Learning has caused complete upheaval and strain on the leaders and teachers and kids. But slowly and surely we are working it out. Now I team teach Grade 5/6 PE, teach 7/8/9 Art and 10/11 Drama. And I am the visual and dramatic arts resource person for elementary. And I like it. All of it. Each day is an experiment. The kids are good. The staff is good. The rest sorts itself out.

I was frustrated because I couldn't get my fingerprints to show up and thought my residency would never come. Now they have worked. Still waiting on residency, but one more frustration has passed. (New people: Olive oil your hands for days before you go...moisture is good). I was frustrated because I didn't know how to transfer money home. Now I do. The key is ETERNAL patience, and a sense of humour, and LETTING GO of things that I would usually classify as uber-important. The key is to be grateful for a fiance who I miss, a mom who I miss, a sister who I miss, and is home planning ALL the details of my wedding for me. I focus on gratitude for the fact that I have friends and family at home who send me messages of love and support. I am so blessed to have that. I am so lucky to have this experience. I need to enjoy every moment while I can. I had the opportunity to go home. And I turned my back on it. This is amazing. This is too good to miss.

Remember how fast university passed and then soon felt like someone else's lifetime? The present fades so quickly. We must cherish it.

Daily Life in Doha

Well, things have become somewhat normal at times, and I am adjusting to life here, which is good...and bad, at times. I have to be cautious with what I write in my blog because blogging is monitored for obvious reasons. All in all, this is a GREAT place to be. I especially realize this when I read the blogs of friends and colleagues in other countries right now. I then feel that I have nothing to complain about.

So this is what life is like. Sunday I get up at 4:30 and get ready for work. The air-conditioned coach-style bus comes to the lobby of this executive suite hotel every day at 6:15. Teachers at my school live in a few different residences. If you have kids, you automatically live in a large villa. They remind me of homes in Costa Rica, as they are gated on the outside and at each residence, and contain a large tiled countryard which can be used as outside seating or a parking spot, or both. These villas are in a gated compound and have a clubhouse and pool. Married people may live there if they can get one (and if they want to). Lots don't because the one drawback of them is that there is nothing else around there except other houses. People who live there often end up buying or renting cars to get out of the compound once in a while. The rest of us live in various types and locations of apartments within Doha. Those of us who lived in the apartment building in Muntazah neighborhood are currently without apartments, as we wait for new ones to be completed. Which will happen any day now. Whether a couple or a single, you get a similar apartment. They are furnished and quite large, though size varies slightly. There is no open concept living. Every room is its own room with a door, including living room, dining room, and kitchen (in most places). All have at least two bedrooms with large beds, tables couches, etc. They all have a stove and oven, fridge and washer dryer combo machine, which seem to always have issues. While I wait for my new apartment, I am living in an executive hotel downtown, just off La Corniche. It is very fancy and I get maid service and a view of the Persian Gulf. However, it is touristy and I miss my neighborhood for its local walking distance shops and services.

The best deal here is cabs. Cabs are sooo cheap compared to anywhere else I have been. And that is good because you need one constantly. Especially in summer, when it is hot enough to kill you outside. Doha is just like any city its size. There is a lot to do if you go do it. Maybe even better because expats form groups easily to explore mutual interests. However, if you choose not to partake, life here can be dullsville. So, I partake. I fill my days and nights with enjoyable activities and adventures.

School is great. Class sizes are tiny and the pace and demands are much lighter. However, the pay is random and makes no sense to anyone. Some people make lots of money. Some don't. It seems like they spin the wheel of fortune to determine your salary. It is very puzzling. But the kids at my school are tremendous and so is the staff and I am loving the new principal.

A lot of food here is pricey or the same as home because everything is imported. It is a desert. Nothing grows here but sand dunes. Smoking is hugely popular. So is eating. So is eating and smoking together. So is KFC and Pizza Hut. Seriously.

Anyway, after teaching a combo of 5 or 6 Gr1-11 classes per day, I come back, go to the gym and then do whatever. The beach. Sightseeing. A social activity. Learn something new. Then I chill, get ready, and go to bed.

Weekends I try to get out in the sun at the pool early in the morning and then find something fun or educational or both to do.

There is a lot of hooplah to get residency status here. It is important because without it I can't get a home phone or other services, a driver's licence, nor can I leave the country. With a week long break coming at the end of October for the holiday Eid, I would really like to get that. Blood work twice, xrays, fingerprints, a stack of documents to sign. Blech. It takes forever.

So far, I am thrilled that I'm here. I have very little to complain of, other than missing my loved ones. And the fact that people drive like maniacs. And that men stare openly and rudely constantly unless I wear a homemade hijab. So sometimes I do it, just so I don't feel like a circus act.

More Qatar isms From the End of Week 2

This is one of the empty buildings that I referred to in my last blog. See through the windows? Nada. And it is not a new building. Doha is starting to have ruins, and it is only a few years old.

This is where I live right now. All the way up, four floors from the top. Yes, I lucked out where the view is concerned.

 Just another shot from the pool of my building. It was neato.

This is the glass exhibit from the Islamic Art museum at the beginning of the week.

I ate at this Indian restaurant at Hyatt Plaza Mall with Sigrid last night. It was the first Indian food I have managed to find. I know it is out there, because there are so many Indian people here, but I can't find it. Maybe because there are so many cultural influences to choose from.

I thought the DQ sign in Arabic was pretty amusing.

 Razor wire to keep out anyone who might want to attempt to play tennis on this rundown court.

 

I think the beige appliances are hilarious. I don't know why. Maybe because everything is BEIGE BEIGE BEIGE. Oh, and one other colour...SAND.

See?

Doha Point of View

 

If you missed these on facebook, they are pics from my "temporary" apartment, Ezdan Tower 4. I learned from a co-resident who has been here many more times than I, that many of these impressive structures are, in fact, empty. They were built to impress the International community, but there are not enough clients to lease all the space. I watched a man in the building in this bottom picture last night, from my spot at the pool. He started at the top and went down, floor by floor, gradually turning on lights. What is the point of a building like this, if it is not lit up at night? But perhaps you can see in the top right corner of the building, the two smashed out windows. I am beginning to sense that this is a metaphor for this mentality in this city. But I have been here only eight days. What do I know?

 I am taking full advantage of my new spot. Before I was living in a very...local...neighborhood. At first it made me nervous, but after one week of venturing out, I had fallen in love. Now I am seeing the other, more toursity, or business side of the city. It has its own glamour and charms. Maid service, room service, stunning views, restaurants, a fitness club, and a great Olympic-sized pool. It makes me feel like I am on vacation. The only problem is that all the cute neighborhood places I was getting to know are far away now, and all around me is corporate Qatar. Steel and concrete. I don't even know where there is a grocery store.

Miracle of miracles: Exactly two months to the day after sending them, my six shipped boxes arrived at the school today! I got my art books just in the nick of time, and I could hardly remember what I had packed, so it was pretty fun to unpack. I wish I could show you the condition the boxes arrived in. They looked like they had literally been run over by a truck. Some things were smashed, but nothing of sentimental value was destroyed, and even most of the dishes I sent myself made it, minus a bowl or two. Quite amazing. When I finally get to move into a real apartment, I will be all set. For now, I am bringing one box per day over here on the teacher bus after work, once I check that it does not contain anything that should be left at school.

Which reminds me: Getting bussed to work is weird. This week the bus is picking us up at the residence at 8, and coming to the school to take us home at 1. This means my days are not as productive as they should or could be. I realize I could work at home, but when I get here, I want to go to the gym, the pool, the souk to spend more money, anywhere and everywhere. Plus I don't want to haul all my resource books around. People RENT cars here for not too much money, just one school year at a time, then turn them in June 27th. Eventually I might work up to it, but I need to wait until I am more confident in my mental map of the city. The drivers are unforgiving and super aggressive, and there is no way I want to get out there on my own right now. I kind of like relaxing in the back while a driver takes me around. The only thing is, when you want to work later, earlier, or grocery shop, things get a little crazy. But lots of urbanites do it their whole lives, and thankfully cabs are cheap, cheap, cheap here. Plus, we get a transportation allowance. It will help.

There is a student who pops in every day because her mom works at the school. She is a grade five cutie. Today she asked me how long I was going to stay here. I said I didn't know and that I left all my friends behind to come here. She said, "But you're making lots of new friends, like the red-headed science teacher that was just in here!" Nice to know she wants me to stick around, though we will see what happens when the semester is in full swing.

I have already been to the gym, and tomorrow night is beach night at the Intercontinental, so I'd better get out in the desert and get me some shopping done. Or else just find some good take out. I also need a SIM card for my blackberry today. This ancient cell phone they gave us is driving me bonkers. Even more bonkers. It is like a play phone. A prop. I confess. I love my crackberry.