Just Another Day in Paradise

So today marked the 7th day in Doha, and thankfully my last day at the Ramada. Although there were a lot of sites and restaurants within walking distance, it really was disappointing. Even worse when you see what my company paid for me to stay there - the same price as my NEW hotel - the Intercontinental. The Intercon as it's known is north of town, by itself in a desert oasis - which lends itself well to relaxation, and you can always drive into town if you need more excitement.

Upon checking out of the Ramada, I walked outside to my car and quickly realized that the cooler weather that was forecasted had been delayed. The temperature gauge on my rental indicated it was a crisp 42C = 110F, and after I had loaded my bags in the trunk I needed to shower again... unfortunately there was a 3 hour time difference between check out and check in, so I took a few hours and drove around town, scoping out car dealerships for tomorrow's adventure and finding the "expat" mall again. None of the shops were open since it was Friday, but the McDonald's and Starbucks was enough of an excuse to get out of the heat for a while.

I checked into the Intercon at 2:30 and was unpacked and in my bathing suit at 3:30. I think spent nearly an hour trying to get my work computer to start working with the Intercon's Internet service - and at 4:30 I was able to send one email before it shut down again. At this point I headed to the pool, ready to work on my tan... one problem - sun sets around 6 here, and behind the hotel, so by 4:30 the pool and most of the beach (as seen in the photo) was covered in shade. Downside - no tan, upside - it felt like paradise. I had brought Clive's Mere Christianity to occupy some time and before I knew it I had fallen asleep in one of the cushioned lounge chairs, which is remarkable since the pool was filled with families and young kids. After a brief nap I awoke to a local family settling in the chairs next to me. Locals can buy a rather expensive membership to the local resorts to use their pool, beach, and club facilities, since beachfront is pretty scarce in Qatar. As I watched the families interacting I realized that some things are common across all cultures - fathers throwing your kids in the pool, brothers dunking sisters, mothers gathering around to share the latest gossip, were it not for the obvious language difference I could have easily been back at the community pool in Houston.

The more I casually interact with the culture from a distance, the more I'm fascinated by it. There seems to be a common love for each other among the Qataris that would be rare to find in the States - especially in public settings. In the local paper they ran an article about shifting Qatar to the international business week M-F for their current S-T setup. The comment that struck me the most was a young businessman explaining that Friday is not just a day of additional prayer, but is a day to interact and connect with friends and family in a relaxed setting. Imagine what would happen in America if all the unnecessary stores and malls closed - how many families would go crazy staring at the television all day instead of embracing the day as an opportunity to connect - that is one aspect of the Middle Eastern culture I hope to bring home at the end of this assignment. Another obvious cultural difference is the common white and black dress, which is so against the "individuality" you'd see at the malls or streets back home. But if you glance at their feet, occasionally you'll catch a flash of colorful fabric or fancy sandals underneath the garments, exposing their private side. You then realize that although they maintain modest outward appearances in public, they still have personalities - the only difference is they choose to express them in private. A lesson that some young folks in the US could stand to learn.

One thing's for sure, I fully support the use of flip flops for everyday business wear - if only my boss saw things the same way! But for after work, flip flops are the thing to have, and I plan on honoring that cultural tradition while in Qatar.

Now that I've officially settled into the Intercon I can relax a bit. If you've ever had to change hotels in the middle of a long vacation or trip you know how tough it is to pack everything back up and unpack all over again... the trick is to move to a better hotel so you have some motivation for the change.

I miss you all and appreciate the responses I'm getting. Hope you are all enjoying the start to your weekend. If you've been struggling to get through the final few hours of your Friday, just remember that you'll be going to church around the same time I'm finishing my first day back in the office, so what goes around comes around (not just a good Justin Timberlake song).

Clive's Comment of the Day: A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right. This is common sense, really... You can understand the notion of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk.

iPod Single of the Day: Travis - "Closer", new song which unfortunately I do not yet have on my iPod, but heard on Euro MTV today and am already hooked for their new album to be released.