Rites of Passage

At last . . . . I think I have now completed all of what we call 'the rites of passage' to be set to live the life of an expat in Doha. Tuesday CJ and I both had appointments for installation of our cable, internet and phone. Since Qtel is the only game in town, they can really hold you hostage. They let you know what day they are coming and will phone you about an hour before they arrive . . . or at least that's what is supposed to happen. So you stay home from work all day to wait. I got a call at 10:45 saying he would be here in a half an hour. He arrived at about 12:30. When he had finished at 1:30, CJ and I decided that it was hardly worth it to go to the office of an hour and a half, so we decided we would head out to get our liquor permits, the last 'set up' item on our lists.

The one and only liquor store in Doha (and perhaps in all of Qatar) is way out in the hinterland and it is not the sort of location you can simply stumble across. We filled out our applications, had the required letter from our employer and the cash for the deposit (1000 QR - Qatari Riyals - ~$330 CDN). The letter from the employer must spell out your salary and if accommodation is provided for you. The amount of liquor you are permitted to buy is based on your salary . . . . so there's no fear that I'll end up drinking too much (i.e., not getting paid that much!). Fortunately, there were not many people there so we were processed fairly quickly - about 20 minutes. We now have yet another photo ID card (I've not had so many photos taken of me as I have since I arrived here - and pretty gross photos they are. CJ says she looks pretty wasted in her photo)! We immediately went into the liquor store and stocked up! There is a huge assortment of brands - lots of scotches I've never heard of, and it will be fun to experiment with those. The wine selection is very good with wines from all over the world, most of which I'm familiar with so I can get wines I already know I like.

A group of us went to The Pearl the other night. The Pearl is a man-made island that has lots of upscale apartments and stores, a marina with amazing yachts moored there. There are also lots of restaurants and cafes overlooking the water . . . . including a Second Cup (a Canadian coffee shop for my American readers) where we stopped for a coffee and dessert. Ah, a little taste of home! There were performers all along the water - musicians, juggler, artists, etc. The weather has been so pleasant (i.e., not too hot) that it was a very enjoyable evening.

Thursday night after work I went to the home of a woman in my office (Sondra) for an end-of-the-work-week drink . . . a great way to start the weekend. Sondra is a New Zealander, married to an Aussie, and are a really fun couple. When I got home, a group of the other UCQ people who live in my building were up on the roof having after work drinks (for a dry country, we manage to drink a fair bit). The roof is a great party room! Everyone brings their drink, a chair and some snacks and we have a great time. A group of us then went out to dinner to a restaurant that, if you didn't know it was there, you'd never find. The sign in front says "Traditional Thai Massage" but it's a Thai restaurant. Great food - and very reasonable - cheap actually! After dinner we went to see the movie "2012" which we laughed through - so predictable and silly, but great escape.

Although the date on this is Wednesday, it is now Friday. I was to go to a hotel to spend the day at the pool/beach with a group, I was not feeling too well. I've had some tummy problems for the past 4-5 days, and needed to go to the clinic to see if there's something going on. The doctor and I had some communication challenges, but managed to figure out I have 'traveler's stomach' and she gave me a prescription for an antibiotic. Interesting how prescriptions work here. When I took it to the pharmacy, they just handed me the medication. I then went to the grocery store, and when I was loading my groceries into the car, I managed to forget to put the bag with the medication into my car. When I got home I realized I didn't have that bag with me . . . . AUGGHHH! I went back to the store in hopes that I had left it at the cashier counter, but no, it was not there. I checked with Customer Service and they sent me to Security who said they had a bag with some medication in it, but it was not mine. As a last resort, I went to check if it might possibly have been left in the cart which I had left in the parking lot. Well, believe it or not, the bag was still in a cart in the parking lot!!! I couldn't believe it, but was very grateful it was there because I really wanted to get started on the medication so hopefully I will start to feel better soon.

Tonight I went to dinner and a play called "The Eight" put on by the Doha Players, an amateur theatre group made up of expats - mostly Brits and Aussies. The play was a dark comedy Christmas play about the 8 reindeer dealing with a charge of sexual assault perpetrated by Santa - disturbing concept, but it was well done and funny most of the time.

Now it's time for sleep!