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.
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