美しい圧倒

Language is one of the most fascinating human elements - sometime between trying to apologize to the woman I bumped on the train and pointing at a McDonald's picture menu to order breakfast I realized how precious verbal communication is, but that other universal forms of communication can compensate when required (no no... McGriddles with Sausage - #3 - this many (holding up 3 fingers), yes meal... Orange Juice, to-go... take away). There's something so elemental about communicating on a 2 year old's level - it's 1 part humbling and 1 part invigorating.

Simply put, Japan is beautifully overwhelming.

During my layover in Osaka, I tried 3 ATM machines, 3 debit/credit cards, successfully combining an HSBC debit card with a brithly colored anime interface to withdrawal 25,000 YEN (think $250 - just divide by 100 and you're close enough for personal financial decisions). I used the Yen with a pixelated map of Shinigawa to convince my taxi to take me to the Le Meridien Pacific and NOT the Le Meridien Grand Pacific (somewhere some marketing genius is having a good laugh). It was 8:00pm when I stopped unpacking and headed downstairs for dinner at TGIFridays, far too exhausted from my trip to get adventurous. Never has a bacon burger with a draft beer tasted so delicious... bacon + beer helped compensate for the annoying "high roller" expat next to me who wouldn't stop reminding me that I was sitting in a seat reserved for a "hot Japanese girl"... did he mention that he played rugby with South Africa's captain and is friends with an owner of the New Jersey Devils?

I met my friend at the Shinagawa train station at 7:30am on Monday morning, bought a train pass, and rattled our way 5 stops to Tsurumi station. We walked through tight alleyways until making a sharp right into the engineering office. 4 hours of work passed and we were on our way back up the road to a local noodle house. My buddy opened the sliding door and we snuck into the back corner stools as we were showered with plenty of Japanese "welcome, thanks for coming, what can we get you" - or so I surmised. We ordered by numbers and pictures, picking up on the theme yet?, and a large bowl of chanpon-men (soup with Ramen noodles and meat) was rushed out to our corner of the bar table. I had been studying the other customers in preparation for the meal, so I knew better than to ask for a spoon; I cracked my chopsticks tilted the bowl and began slurping down lunch. Highly recommend the #1. Only one setback, when I went to open the small door to leave, I apparently missed the "push the small green button" sign, and subsequently ran face first into the automatic door, which conveniently enough opened upon my impact... note to self.

This morning I set out on my own to master the train system, and managed 30 pages in Prince Caspian (3rd book in the Chronicles of Narnia series - light hearted read for the 15 minute ride). I have fallen in love with the trains... an affordable system that gets me to and from work or the nightlife and allows me to use my commute to read/sleep/chat/people watch. Not that I and my 4 minutes commute in Doha have much room to talk, but I will certainly enjoy that aspect of Tokyo.

Other improvements in Tokyo:

1. Faucets turn on by pushing the lever down (not up), a nice option when you're hands are soapy and you have to use your elbow

2. Snack machines every block, so you're never more than a few steps away from a Kiwi Kit-Kat or refreshing Pocari Sweat. If that wasn't convenient enough, you can stop by any of the AMPMs or 7/11s to pick up some snacks

3. Combination toilet and bidet - although I choose to only use the first option, it does remove the complicated "transition" out of the dual commode bathroom - perhaps encouraging the bidet fearful of a trial run. Heated seat is also a nice option

4. Clouds & Rain (in moderation) - a welcome respite from 60 days of sunshine

5. Smiles - everyone here smiles, even if they aren't happy (you know who are), definitely contagious

6. Environmental consciousness: Al Gore would be proud of the countless recycle bins, bicycles, sensor lights in the office, and mass transit systems... I have yet to see a single piece of trash on the street or train station

No place is perfect:

1. Smoking is EVERYWHERE - makes me wish I'd brought my pipe. While enjoying my McGriddle sandwhiched between two chainsmokers I had a flashback to busy Friday lunches at Cracker Barrel where we would sit in the smoking section to avoid the wait and enjoy some second smoke with our omlets

2. Remember those environmental bicyclists - well they use the sidewalks as private lanes and a single chime on the bell is your only warning to dive out of the way... replacing the flash of headlights in Doha

3. A few days in town and you'll realize why my shower hits me chest high, won't be hard for Sheri to pick me out in the crowd... and the bathroom sinks at work seem about 3rd grade level (for the teachers who have to stoop down during recess)
4. I don't plan on driving in Tokyo anytime soon, walking is hard enough. Forget what mom told you about looking left right then left again - a hard habit to break until the first time you nearly step in front of a bus
5. The temperature is quite misleading - 82 degrees sounded like jacket weather, until you consider the humidity, which after a 10 minute walk from the train station can create a mess out of business casual... and the environmentalists keep the air turned off in the office until we arrive - so it takes a good 20 minutes to cool down and towel off.

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I ventured further into Tokyo tonight - reaching the famous Shibuya station and the busiest intersection in the world (picture above). I toured the largest Tower Records, 7 stories separated by genre of music and a rather extensive English bookstore to boot. Dinner at Torigin (small chain restaurant with ENGLISH menus - deciding factor) consisted of Yakitori (skewers of flavorful chicken), and Kamameshi (rice casserole) with a side of Edomome still on the stalk. An authentic and delicious end to an eventful first two days in Tokyo. I'm excited for Sheri's arrival and the weekend to really dig in and explore this amazing city.

Sound Familiar?

To get filled in on the latest adventure you'll need to pull out that link to babel fish again - unless you know how to read Japanese (http://babelfish.altavista.com/ and remember you can just type in the blog web address to translate the text instead of having to copy and paste it into the box)!

私は私の2 週の出張のための東京に飛ぶことを約ある。うまく行けば私は平面で休み、冒険の準備ができた日本で着くことができる。東京の観光の名所を探検するためにSheri は私を今週末頃結合する。私は英語を... 話すだれでも見つけることを困難にする日本に大いにより大きい言語ギャップがあることを聞いた私はよいポストの上がを感じる。人あなたの週末の残りを楽しむことを望みなさい。さようなら。

Interesting how backtranslating text using the same website that translated it in the first place can create such alarming confusion... all the better for YOU to comment on what you think I actually meant in the first place.

The boring short version - I'm off for Japan and I feel a few adventurous posts waiting there. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - unless you're in Doha, in which case enjoy the start to your work week in 9 hours!

A City of Kobes

To avoid sounding too pessimistic, I've decided to balance each negative post about Doha with a marginally positive one... so after the insurance rant, I'll offer that this morning I may have realized why our cars here don't offer the familiar "honk" when you lock the doors with the key fob. The lights flash, but no noise - which can take some adjustemtn for those who would lock the car as they walked away, counting on the horn to confirm secure lockdown. While there's no shortage of horn usage on the roads in Doha, we've gone nearly two month in Doha without hearing the rythmic serenade of a car alarm. In a town where Ferrari's regularly parallel park between gypsy vans and oversized Land Cruisers you'd think a car alarm company would do quite well for itself - quite to the contrary. Since crime is almost nonexistant (I wouldn't risk my hand...), Qataris have actually figured out that car alarms cry wolf nearly 95% of the time (source: completely trustworthy internet site) and that an audible alert won't stop a trained auto thief anyways. 2 cars were reported stolen in Doha last year. It appears that the solution to auto theft lies in the punishment, not a Viper alarm.

Kudos to Qatar for unexpectedly leading the fight against audible car alarms - somewhere, someone from our old neighborhood is clapping.

Likewise, I recently heard that the fine for running a red light in Doha was raised to nearly $1000 for a first offense; certainly heightened my awareness. So why do the locals keep running lights and speeding around town so aggressively? Because the punishment doesn't hurt enough... it's like fining Kobe Bryant $10,000 for swearing on television; he could pawn his watch and have change left over for dinner. Unless they are brave enough to take away licenses, hand out jail time, or convert to a highly complex percentage of income fine (so that Kobe pays the "same" as the rest of us), the only effective deterrant from aggressive driving is the physical impact of the accidents themselves, and by then it's too late.

In other news, I'm heading to Tokyo on a last minute business trip (there are worst places to be sent on 4 days notice). Sheri wil join me for a few days midway through the 2 week stay, so we should have plenty of material for the blog... a good thing since our ratings appear to be plummeting with the every-other-day approach and high summer temperatures.

Demotivation

I wonder who came up with the idea of insurance – in it’s perfect form, insurance is a lot like gambling for the really high roller.

You pay me money each month and in return I’ll agree to pay you a much larger value of money should something terrible happen to you. Typically the amount you pay me each month is based on two things – 1) how much money you want if something goes wrong and 2) the probability of something going wrong.

In the US, if you want car insurance you pay a premium each month. You provide the value of the car, choose the level of coverage, choose how much you’re willing to chip in if something happens (deductible) and I run a background check to verify your driving record, looking for any previous accidents/claims or citations. The system mirrors capitalism, those who receive more insurance payouts should have to pay higher premiums or get cut out all together.

In Doha, I’ve learned that the government not only regulates gas prices (good), it also regulates insurance (bad). If you want car insurance you simply pay a certain % of your car’s appraised value each year and bingo, you’re covered. When it comes time to renew your insurance (typically annually), your car’s value is depreciated 20%, your premium decreases 5% and bingo, you’re covered for another year. Obvious Catch#1: your car’s resale depreciates about 10% annually, so each year you’re coverage is artificially reduced while your premium hardly changes. Obvious Catch#2 these formulas are nearly universal – that means that if you manage to go an entire year in Doha without an accident or claim (good luck), your coverage behaves the same as someone who totals 5 Land Cruisers. Someone has to pay for those 5 Land Cruisers, and if everyone’s insurance formula is the same, disregarding prior accident history or citations, everyone shares the burden equally. Isn’t equality great…

On second thought, as long as you can take the initial hit of a large claim and pass that cost on to your customers... insurance suddenly looks a lot like a pack of marlboros or a tank of gas, you've gotta have it - and you're willing to pay for it. The very things we resent are often the things we sustain.

Sweat the Small Stuff

I got lost on the way to my meeting downtown today. Apparently the judicial building looks an awful lot like our main office complex. Luckily I left plenty of "parking time" in my schedule and a security guard pointed me in the right direction – Northwest for those playing at home. Since traffic was bumper to bumper I decided to hoof it and avoid gridlock. Unluckily my meeting was at 1:30 in the afternoon and the daytime high temperature was hovering around 115F with sandy winds blowing 30mph and a UV Warning in place… so by the time I arrived at the correct building with 2 minutes to spare I looked like I’d just participated in the new desert biathlon event, the one that combines running a marathon with sand volley ball. I should have found a restroom to rinse my face (and teeth), but in my desire to reach the meeting on time I went straight to the 5th floor conference room. I wiped my brow and upper lip with my shirt sleeve before turning the corner – thinking "that should take care of it, I’m in air conditioning now".

Despite my best attempts I was the last to arrive for the meeting, so we began as I sat down. No glass of water, not a breath of air conditioning, and it was at this point that I began to feel the longer term effects of my 10 minute walk in the sun. My body was radiating heat at an incredible pace – like when you’re trying to go to sleep with a bad sunburn. 5 minutes into the meeting I had BEADS of sweat on my forehead, lip, arms, and back… quite visible for all participants – but I was representing my supervisor, so I couldn’t just skip out. I muscled through the hour and a half discussion, and as I got up to leave the Qatari next to me asked if I "needed" a glass of water, which I respectfully declined using some witty comment about growing up in Arizona… cactus… etc. I was just happy to get out of the room before they started asking if I needed to lie down. For others struggling with mid-meeting sweat, either from nervous energy, poor personal hygene, or long walks in the desert - I found a great natural remedy (ad attached above). *For those who've met my dad, doesn't it appear that he modeled headbands in a previous life (think Harrison Ford - scar).

In other news, Sheri pulled weeds for an hour this morning – about 2 hours before I went for my downtown jog. I feel a four wisdom tooth post coming up.

Key Business Drivers

I've decided to target posting bi-daily, which can mean twice a day or once every other day depending on your handling of the English language. In this case it refers to the latter - the every other day one. Like any good oil & gas employee, or politician caught in an embarasing scandal I intend to layout the key business drivers (aka excuses) that led me to this difficult decision:

1. I am running out of material

2. Good posts are like fine wine, they get more comments with age - and I want to give my readers' ample time to post their own thoughts and expriences (did Brent fall off the Earth?)

3. I can use the extra time for other hobbies like productive work in the office, and going home on time.

4. You can use the extra time to explore other excellent blogs (http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/ for instance)... Scott Adams has a lot more to say about life than quirky office humor.

5. I will still post whenever there is something interesting to share, this just resets your expectations to prevent disappointment and gives you more time to digest the posts.

Also keep your eyes on the right border for other fun lists and links, since those are easier and less work to update... don't forget to keep your 5 song shuffles coming (to clarify it's 5 straight random audio files in a row, so silence, comics, or movie clips count).

Restoration Pottery Pier and Barrel

I have learned some valuable lessons through my first 30 posts:

1. Weekend posts are dangerous because blogs typically appeal to an audience trapped at their desk desperately searching for a creative outlet – not an audience sleeping in, going to the pool, or out at the mall

2. Don’t make blogs interactive, even if they pay tribute to Bob Barker’s retirement. It’s always best to let the comments be spontaneous and not pressure the audience into responding to questions or games.
3. Comment Count is the only key performance indicator of a post's success

With those valuable lessons under my belt let’s continue with today’s post:

Following 2 weeks of anticipation, Sheri picked up her Honda MR-V (Pilot) last night, and after the light body work it looks brand new. She and her expat friends are happy with the new found freedom the SUV brings.

Once we dropped off the MR-V at home, Sheri and I braved the City Center Mall – the largest, most centrally located mall in Doha. In the summer it becomes quite popular as a source of free air conditioning, so parking is a mess – even on a weeknight. The parking situation was recently aggravated when a new construction project closed off about 500 parking spots out back – forcing everyone into the 2 story garage. We actually found a spot upstairs, near a "Qatari car wash" – aka a laborer with a bucket of sudsy water and a chamois who will wash the exterior of your car for 10 Riyals (about $3.00). After 2 weeks of driving around Doha and parking under the car port at our villa, my Accord was covered in a fine layer of dust and deserved a wash so I handed the guy a 10 Riyal bill and we headed for the door. The walk took about 3 minutes, but by the time we navigated the gridlocked parking garage we both had headaches and needed a shower. It must have been 110 degrees inside the garage at 7:00pm, all the more reason to stay at home.

We ate at a Lebanese restaurant in one of two foodcourts. Then Sheri and I multitasked, I stopped off at Cinnabon for the half-off special and Sheri found the MAC makeup store one level down. While waiting my turn to pay at Cinnabon a local woman in traditional clothes who was apparently going to place a large order motioned for me to go ahead and pay for my box of Cinnabons. After a month and a half of being cut in line, this simple gesture restored my faith in humanity.

I joined up with Sheri and we headed to the HomeStore (previous post described it as Marshalls, Room Store, and Michael’s all rolled into one). As in most stores, we handed our Cinnabon & MAC bags to the security guard in exchange for the numbered ticket we would redeem for our bag when leaving the store. It reminds me of using the locker at the water park / roller rink where you carry this orange numbered key around until it’s time to leave. At first I was actually a bit offended that they suspect you will steal something in the store, but now I’m quite pleased to hand over my bags and shop freely, without having to lug our previous purchases around the store.

As is usually the case, the beige curtains that we saw on Saturday were sold out n Monday (my fault for waiting), so we asked one of the salesman to check the warehouse – bingo, 4 panels with our name on them. As a common courtesy I shook the salesman’s hand and asked him for his name so that I could follow up with him on Wednesday. 30 minutes later as we arrived back home, the salesman called my mobile to let me know that he was going to stop by the warehouse on his way home to pick up our drapes so we could have them a day early. When was the last time a Walmart employee offered to drive across town on their own time to pick up that Microwave you wanted so badly?

Score: Humanity – 2… Callous Entitlement – 0

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How much is that Thobe in the window?

Have you ever had to calculate in your head what you'll pay for a 25% off sale item at BestBuy with tax included? As Sheri and I venture out to the souqs, malls, and grocery stores we are honing our math skills, often turning to the calculator on our phones to make informed shopping decisions. In the process we're also gaining a good handle on Arabic numbering, especially at the souqs - where language barriers often impede bartering and labels look more like scribbled letters than pricetags...

In honor of Bob Barker's retirement from the Price is Right (great show) - these short games should give you an appreciation for our recent experiences:

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Put these prices in order from least expensive to most, we find it easiest to convert into US dollars:

-Liquid Tide w/Bleach Alternative (32 loads), 62.75QAR (Qatari Riyals)

-A 12 pack of Dr. Peppers, 3.00QAR / can

-Decorative Artwork at NEXT Home (British), 20.00 GBP (Pounds)

-"Bazaar" Fashion Magazine, "labeled" 35.00QAR (note the parenthetical distinction)

-Wall Clocks (x2), Buy One get One Free, first is labeled 110.00 QAR - second is not labeled

-A 1/2 Tank of Gas for my Accord (54L Tank - 0.80 QAR/L)

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Help me choose which size I should buy (Waist 34", Inseam 35", Neck 16.5", Sleeve 37", US Shoe Size 12B)... this is much harder for women's sizes, but I didn't feel like putting my wife's measurements online - I have learned a few things along the way.

-Button up shirt Lucky Brand Jeans (M, L, XL, XXL)

-Flip Flops from Aldo (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43) - a slam dunk for Russ

-Men's Shorts from H&M (28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40)

-Men's Capris from Zara Man (M, L, XL, XXL)

-Boxer Briefs from Zara Man (M, L, XL, XXL) - keep the jokes PG-13

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Give us the total price I would pay for the following list of typical American items (don't forget about tax and duties):

-Mr. Clean - 22Oz Floor Sanitizer (Orange Scented)

-Pepsi - 24/533mL cans WITH promotional Skateboard (totally worth it)

-Minced Beef - 300g

-White Seedless Grapes - 500g

-Low Fat Milk - 1.0L (bonus points if you can tell me how many days it lasts before expiring)

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Good luck contestants, the winner(s) will receive one of the items listed above (of my choice) the next time I see you.

Enjoy your Sunday... I'm clocking out on the first day of our work week.

The Haves & The Have Lots

10 weeks in Doha has taught me plenty about what a well-oiled class system looks and feels like. As I’ve explained in previous posts, there are 3 distinct classes in Qatar:

1. Arabs – from local Qataris to Gulf Residents to Lebanese and Egyptians
2. Expats – from US, Europe, Australia
3. Laborers – from Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

You expect that one class will drive nicer cars, live in bigger homes, and eat at more expensive restaurants… as you can find in most western cities. But there’s another level here, a level that isn’t obvious to the casual tourist, a level driven by economic growing pains. Qatar’s nomadic tribes relied on fishing and carpet making until oil was discovered along the western shores, followed later by the largest non-associated natural gas field in the world. The resulting shift in the standard of living has left a noticeable impact on the population, as a winning lottery ticket can alter more than one’s bank account.

Simply put, Qatar combines the elements of an upscale department store and a late 90’s rap music video… cappuccino stained Lamborghinis, diamond encrusted watches, designer sunglasses, and the ever-present air of entitlement.

In an environment saturated with money, it’s difficult to distinguish yourself. Most men in Houston wouldn’t opt for the Hot Pink BMW 735i or the Lime Green Range Rover Sport, but you have to go big or go home in Doha… down to the license plates and mobile phone numbers.

When I called the dealer to arrange pick-up of our Accord last week, the salesman said he had some “great news” – apparently we had been given a 5 digit license plate… an honor of sorts. As I mentioned Qatar came from humble beginnings, not a whole lot to see or do, so until the big oil and gas boom things were handled rather archaically for the few folks who called Doha home. When license plates were handed out they apparently started with number 1. Some 50 years later they are handing out 6 digit numbers, but every now and then you’ll find a plate with fewer digits, like ours! So of course we started looking closely at cars on the road and have found some vehicles with 4 number or the very rare 3 number plates. We’ve also noticed that the 3 digit plate usually accompanies a car with a 6 digit price tag – more to come on that later.

Similarly, when we bought our local phone SIM cards the retail clerk told me that I got a “very good number” (538-0770), and at least 5 other locals have since commented on my “very good number”. So I started paying closer attention to mobile numbers around town, and sure enough, the most important people have extremely repetitive phone numbers (458-7888, 439-4444, 509-9998) – like businesses back home. A good phone number, like a short license plate, is a valuable commodity, and you need look no further than the online message board at work to see why the wealthy tend to have the best phone numbers and license plates. Today you could make one phone call and a trip to the ATM and have your own “very good number”. For roughly $7000 you could have 656-4465, or if that’s too expensive you could pick up 564-3433 for $3500, which got me thinking how much 538-0770 would be worth. I’ve found that what makes a number special is the ability to creatively read it to others… I now make a point to say that my number is Five-Three-Eight-Zero-Double Seven-Zero… it truly is the little things in life.

If phone numbers aren’t your thing, you can focus on license plates, but I have to warn you they are considerably more expensive. Just yesterday 2 plates were posted, 968 was going for $48,000 or you could buy plate number 1811 for $44,000… take your pick. Each plate comes complete with its own artificial sense of entitlement.

Merry Independence Day

The Pakistani scheduling engineer who sits next to me wished me a happy 4th of July on his way out the door, which absolutely made my day. It meant a lot that someone who wasn't from the US was willing to give me an emotional high-five after a long day at work, while all my friends back home sleep in...

Things I (Brandon) miss most about the 4th of July:

1. Sleeping in / Day off from work in the middle of the week
2. Going to the pool or park
3. BBQ with family and friends (with PORK sausage and TX beef patties)
4. Fireworks
5. The Televised PBS Special "A Capitol Fourth" - look for it tonight if you've never experienced it... usually televised before the fireworks start in TX and AZ.

What are some of your favorite Fourth Festivities?

Sheri and some other expat wives (ironically a Brit and Aussie) have organized a Fifth of July party tomorrow night to help us cope with the loss of America's birthday here in Qatar. My American Flag shirt is already ironed... now if I can just find the fireworks souq.

PS - I've added a list on the sidebar to track the best "natural" 5 song shuffle that my iPod produces on its own... quite a challenge. See if you can create a better "natural" 5 song shuffle.

Tacos and Dr. Pepper

It’s been 31 days since we landed in Doha – and time has absolutely flown by. Let us start by apologizing to those avid readers of Marhaba Qatar, who have had to wait more than 4 weeks for a fresh post. As you can imagine we’ve been running about having various adventures and just haven’t had a chance to capture those experiences on the web… to help you digest our journey we’ll summarize the key points here and address any questions and future developments with more detailed posts.

1. The trip out... Moving is tough. Moving overseas is tougher. The last week in Houston absolutely flew by. As I watched movers pack our house – the back bedroom into air containers, the rest of the house into local storage crates, Sheri drove to Austin to get a last minute signature from the USDA on Zona’s health certificate. On our way to the airport we said goodbye to our house (which a week later became someone else’s happy home), crammed 6 suitcases, 2 bags, a kennel, a dog, and 2 adults into 1 Buick Lacrosse (glad we got the full-size). We deposited a handful of checks, shipped a few packages from the post office, dropped off our cable box, and had time for me to stop by my office to fax over the closing documents on our house. We arrived at the airport with 2 hours to spare, but would not have made it through the long line at Terminal D security if it weren’t for the heroics of a young Lufthansa employee who had taken a liking to Zona when we were checking in – he ushered us past everyone like VIPs and we ended up having 15 minutes to grab a free drink in the Business Lounge, which turned into an hour and 15 minutes after some mechanical issues delayed boarding, and once we finally got airborne our 3 hour layover in Frankfurt had become 45 minutes. All 3 of us made it aboard and 7 hours later were happy to have made it to Doha. Being the only inbound flight has certain advantages - Immigration took 2 minutes, we picked up our bags, grabbed Zona and headed for the door. When we saw the driver holding our company’s sign we knew we had arrived, we just didn’t quite know what to expect next.

2. Settling in… You never know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. In a matter of 24 hours we went from living out of a 3 bedroom home to living out of 6 suitcases, and a hope that our 50 cubic foot air shipment would soon arrive to transition us out of “vacation” mode into “permanent resident mode”. Our villa is located outside of downtown Doha, conveniently in between my office, Sheri’s school, and one of the Expat friendly malls called Landmark. The villa is a 2 story duplex in a compound with about 50 units total, on 3 quaint streets surrounding a clubhouse with pool, workout facility, tennis and squash courts. Security falls somewhere between mental hospital and the Mayberry town jail. It keeps the riff raff out, but doesn’t require any id cards or rolling the window down – a friendly wave in a familiar car will get a resident inside. The furniture in the villa was probably purchases at Saddam’s garage sale before he skipped town; everything is very large and has a touch of over-the-top. At first we didn’t have a phone and the water pressure couldn’t even keep the shower on, but after we bought local prepaid cell phone SIM cards and found the water pump switch we were off and running. Groceries tend to expire a few days after purchase – especially break, milk, and meats… so we’ll have to venture to the grocery store twice a week. The bright side is that things spoil because they don’t have preservatives, so they tend to be a bit more natural and healthier for you. Only a few items are pretty rare and tend to cost more than back in the states: Dr. Pepper, Tostitos chips, Blue Bell ice cream, and English magazines… otherwise you can find most of the products that grace the Kroger and Randall’s shelves back home. I’m not sure if it’s because we hadn’t had a home cooked meal in a week, because the beef was from Australia, or because we paid a dollar for the Dr. Pepper, but when we sat down a few weeks ago for Tacos and Dr. Pepper I felt like we had ARRIVED! As for consumer goods, like clothing, electronics, and media are comparable to the states, with a few affordable brands like H&M and Zara that help make up for the elevated prices at stores like Gap and Quiksilver ($100 for a pair of board shorts!!!). A Best Buy or Target would absolutely clean up shop here… of course, when gas costs $0.80 / gallon, we’re quite happy to pay a dollar per can of Dr. Pepper, and we’ll buy our swimming trunks and Gap polos when we’re home for Christmas.

3. Getting the hang of things… So after a few weeks in Doha we’ve learned some valuable Qatarisms:

*You reap what you sow – we bought some Purina at the local store since dog food selections are a short list. We quickly learned that moving from an organic kibble like Nutro to Purina can have very unfortunate consequences. After plenty of carpet/rug cleaner we’ve moved to Iams with slightly improved results (plan on bringing back some Nutro on our next trip).

*If you see something you like, buy it – it won’t be there later (from grapes to cars to blue jeans). After nearly a month of test drives and research we landed on 2 cars for our stay in Doha – a new Accord (Brandon) and a gently used Pilot (Sheri). They aren’t flashy, but they are reliable and safe on the wild streets of Qatar.

*Keep your knees to yourself – women get stared at if they have any cap showing, and expat men are quite happy to sport the MANpri on an afternoon trip to the mall. Luckily flip flops are socially acceptable in any setting, so it’s a fair tradeoff (that’s for my parents who never miss an opportunity to point out how casual flip flops).

*You can be cold or hot, but not comfortable – in Doha the daytime temperatures can reach 120, and by August we’ll be confronting 80% humidity… plainly put – it’s hot. Meanwhile, every major building (mall, office, home) will have the air conditioning on full force, remember from an earlier post that no one pays for electricity around here so why not use your share of it. This interesting dichotomy creates a violent shift in climate that not only fogs your sunglasses upon exiting any building or car, but also leaves you quite uncomfortable. Even in our own home we have to have blankets on the couch because we’d rather be cold with a blanket than sweltering in our undies.

*Always carry Kleenex – my previous posts included an observation that almost all people carry Kleenex in their cars. On 2 separate occasions during the past week we’ve learned why you should always carry Kleenex. I awoke last Tuesday to what I thought was Zona peeing on the tile next to the bed, only to find that our A/C pump had frozen and starting pouring water out of the wall unit onto our dresser. Took more than a few Kleenex to manager the spill after I found the breaker to shut down the A/C. Saturday night we woke up at 4:00am to a phone call on Vonage (8 hour time difference for those who sometimes forget!)… as I got up to move the phone out of our room I nearly slipped on a puddle next to the bed. My thought immediately turned to Zona again, until I turned on the lights to discover a large ominous water spot above our bed. I climbed onto the roof some 3 stories up to find that someone had left the spigot turned on, and the loose water had found its way through the roof to our bedroom ceiling… not cool and until today still not fixed! By the way, the view from our roof towards downtown Doha and the Arabian Gulf in the moments before dawn was actually quite amazing.

*It’s always easier when someone else does it for you – we have a maid who comes once a week to clean our Villa and costs less than eating dinner at McDonald’s… enough said.

4. When in Doha... do NOT do as SOME of the Qataris do (limiting myself to 2 experiences, but there a few others that I’ll save for later posts). I want to be clear that not all Qataris behave like these 2, most are quite friendly, and that driving is the only arena that I’ve really felt like I’m in a foreign country.

*Leaving one of the malls outside of town we cut quickly from a parking lot to the left turn lane (or so we thought). As the green arrow turned red, a few cars rushed through and we were left at the intersection. Within 10 seconds a large Landcruiser with lights flashing pulled out from a few cars back and cut right in front of us. Judging from his wild hand gestures (which we’re not supposed to use here), very angry face, and sharp tongue it appears that he wanted to go straight and we were blocking his way. Instead of going around us and through the intersection to his destination, he thought he would stop and teach his expat friends how to drive in Qatar. After a few tense moments (2 separate outburst with him practically exiting his vehicle and Sheri and I putting on our best “I didn’t know any better” faces) the green arrow clicked on and he TURNED LEFT FROM THE 2nd lane – the very action he was so upset at us over.

*Driving home from site last week I came up to a roundabout that had an accident on our entrance ramp. It took nearly 20 minutes to creep up to where I could see that a large work truck had side swiped a smaller sedan. We were almost clear of the accident and on our way, when the local in front of me parked his Pathfinder, walked across traffic and kindly explained to the Filipino that he should move his damaged car out of the intersection (mind you that’s the ONE thing that you CANNOT do in Qatar… insurance will only cover you if you have a signed police report with the original position of the cars involved). After the Qatari had shaken the Filipino a few times he jumped in the man’s car himself and drove it to the side of the road… it blew me away. The local then walked back to his Pathfinder threw the SUV in drive and forced his way through traffic with horn blasting and lights flashing until he was clear. I had to pinch myself – by far the clearest example of cultural differences I’ve experienced in Doha.

*One exception to observation #4 – Do try to hold the same working hours as the Qataris. Expats are expected to work the same if not longer hours than they did back home, which luckily for me has only included one Friday since arriving (equivalent to a Saturday for you Yankees). As I was working last Friday morning I became extremely thirsty, and around 10:30 I realized that I hadn’t had a single glass of water. I forgot that the tea boys only work Sunday through Thursday… you never know what you have until its gone.