The Car Saga Continues and a weekend of fun!

Well, on Wednesday night the car was to be delivered to us at 5:00. I called at 4:15 to remind them that we would need two keys (this can often be a problem). Razwun asked if I was available then for the car to be delivered. He said he'd get in touch with the driver and call me back. He phoned at 5:30 (a half hour after the time the car was to be delivered) to say the driver would be there at 6:00 "exactly". At 6:15 I called to see if the driver was on his way and was assured that he was on his way and would be here any moment. The office is at most a 10 minute drive away from my apartment - and that's if the traffic is really bad). I went downstairs to meet him. To make a long story short, he showed up at 6:45 and the car he brought was quite a mess. It was the same type of car, but was filthy inside and out. I called Razwun to let him know the car was unacceptable. He said we should take the car and he would replace it in a day or two "without any problem". CJ was smart enough to know that there would probably be "a problem" in a couple of days, so we refused to accept the car. Razwun told me to call him in the morning to remind him to find a new car for us. (Can you believe it?!?!)

The next morning I phoned to tell Razwun that we needed a car by noon. He said he'd phone me back (the standard line). During the morning I was talking to Keltie (another staff member) who told me she was with another company and was trading her car for a different model. Lights went on in my head that we might be able to take over her car. She phoned her guy and he said that plan would be fine. Sooooo, we now expect to get our car on Sunday or Monday (and knowing this place, it will most likely be Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday). So what at first seemed like a simple process turned out to be an exercise in frustration! Oh, and Razwun never did phone me. I phoned him to tell him to cancel our order.

What did the rest of the weekend hold? Well, Thursday night I attended what is called a Wanasa Night at the College of the North Atlantic. I don't know quite how to describe it, but it is a Girls Gone Wild kind of party. The girls who are normally covered with their abayas, come to this party dressed to the nines (and they looked incredibly beautiful). Purses were searched and you had to check your camera or phone with a camera function - no photos allowed. The reason for no photos is that the women are not to be seen w/o their coverings by any man who is not a father, husband, brother, etc. The possibility of a photo being shown to someone else is great, so no photo are allowed! The room the party was held in was decorated beautifully and each attendee received a favour - mine was a beautifully decorated little box with a chocolate inside. We had a wonderful meal - the buffet table was laden with wonderful middle eastern food, and there was tons of it. After dinner the Qatari All-Women Band (all dressed in abayas) played and sang in the wailing sort of style. Girls from the audience got up and danced on the stage/runway (there was to be a fashion show) and it was some of the most provocative movement I've ever seen! The fashion show consisted of two parts - the first part was all abayas. I didn't know you could do so many different things to a black robe-like garment, but they were really quite lovely. The next part of the fashion show was all very sparkly, blingy formal wear; each dress was more beautiful than the last, and I've never seen a bigger collection of beads, chiffon and tulle. Following the fashion show was a talent show. It was quite an event!

On Friday, five of us went out to breakfast at Ric's Kountry Kitchen (cute name, eh?). It is a North American-style diner right here in the Middle East! The food is typical diner stuff - eggs and (fake) sausage, burgers, club sandwiches, etc. The nice thing is that there is a Canadian flag and an Alberta flag hanging in the restaurant, as well as Stampede posters! (See photos on Flickr - see last post for link.)

After breakfast we went to the Intercontinental Hotel and spent the day at their pool/beach. It was so nice to spend a lazy day at the pool - complete with a swim-up bar! We decided we would spoil ourselves this way at least once a month, trying a different hotel pool each time. Since a woman can't wear a swimsuit on the public beaches, going to the hotel pools/beaches is the only way you can really take advantage of being in this hot, sunny climate. Oh, life is tough in Doha!

On Saturday I was pretty lazy all morning, with the exception of throwing a couple of laundry loads into the washer. In the afternoon CJ and I then decided to walk over to Qtel to arrange for our internet, cable and phone service. From all reports from other staff, this too is a real ordeal. When we got there it wasn't terribly busy, which was lucky. When we were served, the young man told us we could not get the package we ordered. We asked why and were told it was not available in our building, which we knew was a crock since most people in our building have the same package. He insisted that it had to do with the distance from the network centre, blah, blah, blah, blah; but then said we could order it, but it may take a couple of months. By the time we left, we were told we could phone a number at the end of the week to see if we can get it. They are so screwed up and so incompetent, it's only because they are the only game in town that they remain in business!

After that little ordeal we met another girl, Lisa, at the travel agency to talk with the man there about a trip to Sri Lanka at Christmas. We told him the things we would like to see and do and he is working on putting a package together for us. A couple other women from work, Jackie and Joanne, did a trip there in 2007 and they had a fabulous time. Will have to wait to see what he comes up with for us in the way of itinerary and price before I make a definite decision, but it does seem promising.

That evening we went to a really wonderful Indian restaurant for dinner. Seems like all I do here it eat! I've heard of "the Doha 20" - that's the 20 pounds you gain from all the good food and the lack of exercise because it's too hot to do anything - and I think I'm on my way to achieving that!