First Few Days in Doha, Qatar

I must begin from the beginning. I got home from a wonderful holiday with my mom in Kauai on August 19. In a wild fury I finished my last few preparations to come to Doha. I left early in the morning on August 24th. My flight to Montreal aboard Air Canada was actually an excellent experience. I had a nine hour layover in Montreal, so went to the Hilton Garden Inn, swam, relaxed in the sun, had room service, and then went back to the airport. I met up with another teacher who I had made facebook friends with earlier. We have hit it off and it has been so nice to have a travel buddy from almost the very beginning. It is reassuring. And when one of us gets tired or frustrated, the other one is there to provide a boost.
The flight on Qatar Airways was pretty great. Not terribly spacious in coach, and jam-packed on all seats of the 777. First class is AMAZING. Maybe one day. Anyway, in economy we got two meals, dinner and breakfast. Dinner was excellent. We had a choice of three meals. After our 12 hour flight we were met by the Meet n Greet service. This was amazing. We never lifted a finger all the way into our luxurious hotel rooms at Movenpick; a Swiss hotel chain that has a property here in Doha. We had a wonderful two days there, with free, delicious meals, a pool and fitness facility that were outrageously good, and rooms the size of my apartment back home.
The school has taken us shopping twice for setting up our apartments. The "flats" are large, at least 1400 square feet, with a dishwasher, washing machine, two HUGE bedrooms, the master has a king size bed, and two bathrooms. Just for little old me. The only down side is that I have to move twice this fall because the school is no longer going to use the building that I am in as a residence. First I move to a luxury flat where I have everything provided, including a maid. Then when the new building is completed (which will be sometime before Christmas), I move again into my final flat. I am having a blast with it all. It is cool to try out different neighbourhoods and ways of living here.
Traditional garb is much more common here than in other parts of the "new" middle east and women clothed in the abaya and full face scarf, and even gloves, are a comon sight in the beautiful malls.
Shopping here is expensive to buy North American, more reasonable for European, and cheap for local brands, such as made in the UAE. We have already found a souq (market) where one can find anything from spices, to luxury clothing and kitchen items, to parrots for very reasonable prices. And the cool thing is that most of the vendors OFFER you a barter price if you are nice to them. I went to buy a prayer rug to hang on my wall for 16 riyal (about 5 dollars) and the guy only charged me 10 riyal!
Is it hot? To quote Matthew Perry, it feels like you are living on the sun. Catherine and I went for a short walk and we were both soaked through. I had to blowdry my clothes before I put them back on. On my mom's advice, we all carry absorbant white cloths to mop our brows, though that does little for the sweat running down my legs and soaking my clothes right through. Even people who do not sweat much, are drenched here when outdoors. It is the hottest time right now. Even pools do not help because they are as hot as the air. I am loving it though. My whole life I have been cold and now I never am. It feels so good.
I am at my new school for the first time today and I feel like I have died and gone to heaven. The principal started off by asking me if I would be willing to teach high school drama next semester and I literally jumped for joy. I am so excited. My timetable is unreal. I have one junior high art class twice a week in the mornings. Then one elementary class every day in the mornings. Then I go with them for snack (which I get to eat, too). Then my second elementary class of the day every day. Then lunch. Then high school art from 12:30 - 2:00. Then I go home. After school stuff not allowed due to bussing. :) Semester 2 is the same, except my last class of the day is high school DRAMA in the afternoon. I am so ecsatic and overwhelmed with joy, I can not even tell you.
Stuff that is different about here: not having the freedom of a car, the fact that every room in your house has keys and locks, even the kitchen, missing my blackberry, the smells, sights and sounds, the bidet in EVERY bathroom, the whole country is 100% metric, the fact that there is a secretary who calls parents for me, and one who photocopies for me. The bond that the staff share due to the fact that we are all little survivors experiencing this together, the beautiful architecture, the frequent call to prayer from the multitudinous mosques, which disrupts everything, including television programming, the fact that your whole home and work environments are tile, tile, tile, the fact that the sun rises and sets pretty much at the same time all year, so by 6:30pm the sun is down and you can shop. Shops are open in early morning and then close until late afternoon to accomodate heat.
I miss family and friends so much, but I wish I could bring you all with me, because today, after the first decent night's sleep, I can tentatively say I never want to work as a teacher in Canada again. This ROCKS. Please see facebook for detailed photos. More to come. Oh by the way, I am addicted to their many varieties of dates, all the raw cashews and pistachios, and soup from Marks & Spencers. Jill! There's a Mark's & Spencers!!