Wrapping things up.....

It is 37C out today, sunny, and bright. The sky is blue, there is not a cloud in the sky, and the birdies are chirping. It is going to be so very difficult to go back to Winnipeg, which probably won't be nearly as warm....and where work awaits :(

I keep staring at the empty multi-purpose room which used to be a Starbucks. It would make a perfect esthetics salon for the ladies in this, and the neighboring compounds. It will be difficult to go from here, where people love to get things done and aren't afraid to spend money back home to where people aren't that into themselves and won't part with a dime. Other things I will miss:

1. As this is a Muslim country, there are no drunk people on the streets. No Lysol Fellowship meeting on street corners. It is nice not to have to step over passed out or nasty drunks. There are liquor permits in the city, to accommodate the large foreign working population, but something you don't see here, even with alcohol, are drunk expats staggering around. 
2. There are no sideways baseball hats and asses hanging out of pants. There are no girls wearing their underwear as outerwear, with fat dimpled bellies hanging out over jeans that are three sizes too small. People here, even the poorest, still dress both traditionally and nicely. There are no slobs here and if you look like ten pounds of poo stuffed into a five pound bag, people will say something to you and you will be expected to correct the problem. Even if they don't know you, people will still walk up to you and let you know that you are dressed inappropriately. They will be polite, but this is a conservative religious culture, and they will let you know that you are not up to code in their society. 
3. There are no drug dealers rolling slooooooowly through parking lots blaring bassbooster sound systems that shake your spinal cord. There are no gang wars, no shootings, stabbings, or anything like that. I don't fear elementary school playgrounds after dark in Qatar. There are no collections of scary looking teenagers that look like they might beat you to a pulp just as soon as ask you the time. Teenaged pack-roaming doesn't seem to happen here. The young adults that I've seen in my three weeks here have been polite, well-spoken, and well-behaved whether in the presence of their parents or not. I am sure that they do have their moments, youth finds a way, but they don't seem to be crazy out-of-control angry brats without boundaries that I've become accustomed to at home. 
4. There are no crazy homeless people who smell like pee collecting on the streets here. In fact, there are no crazy homeless people here at all, that I've seen. Crazy cat ladies, weirdos pushing shopping carts, freaky flashers, people looking like they've slept in a garbage dumpster - nope. I don't think those exist here. If they do exist in Qatar, their numbers are very few. 
5. Anyone coming into this country has to have either a work visa or visitor's visa. You need to serve a purpose here, there is no showing up and being without a place to stay and/or job to do. If you aren't working, and you're not a tourist, self-supporting resident or a native born Qatari, you are not hanging out. I'm sure there are probably some people who are here illegally, but I am betting it is nowhere near the issue it is in Canada. The only gravy train in this country is the one that you have to work your butt off for because you have a job here, so no one is showing up on Qatar's doorstep looking for instant benefits and a citizenship card. 
6. People are expected to fit in, behave, and tow the line here, and they do so. Crime here is a rarity. Little bits of grafitti are only just starting to show up here and there in the city....the sort of violence that I accept as an everyday occurrence in Winnipeg (shootings, stabbings, swarmings, car theft, home invasions, etc) would be highly out of place here. Of course, as I said before, people who come to Qatar do so because they have a reason to be here. There are no droves of refugees or large populations of  people that have no employment or lack purpose, therefore, there is little distraction towards crime and criminal behaviour. Security and safety are a big deal here, no one wants the problems of other developed nations emerging in this tiny country. 

I am going to hell now :)

My morning coffee buddy disappeared for about a week. We suspected she was pregnant because we swore she kept looking a little bit bigger each time we saw her. When she finally came back she looked a whole lot thinner and ragged as dirt. She can't be more than six months old herself, poor little thing.

So, we know there is a litter of kittens somewhere nearby. My mother figures she was going to have them here the night of the big BBQ because that was the last night we saw her, but instead went somewhere nearby because of all the people in the yard. We have to start checking the gardens now every morning because she may well move them into the yard when we're not looking. A name can not be far away.

:D


Update: She has a name now, and her own food. We're going to have to figure out where those kittens are because her little dish of gourmet nursing mother kibbles is driving the other cats insane. The courtyard looks like a furry soup kitchen.

Tea at The Ritz

We had a ladies' tea yesterday at the Ritz Carlton Doha. I was amazed at how affordable it was, considering the location. A traditional "English Ladies' Tea" is about 30QR per person. Considering the level of opulence inside - WOW. I never would have thought that this was something I could afford to do. I have to confess, before coming here to visit my parents, I just looked at tea as something that was orange, hot, and sat in a pot. I never thought of tea in the way that I thought of wine. To me, tea was always common and I never paid it that much attention. You just have it on the stove in case someone comes to visit. If you're feeling all foofy and hipper than thou, then you drink green tea and you lace it with unpronounceable flowers from Asia. If you're feeling the need to convince yourself that you're not a narcissistic suburbanite wiener then you drink organic tea that comes from some mountaintop fair trade "womyn's collective" in a 3rd World country that you'll never visit. That was about the extent of my tea-ness.

The Ritz Carlton Doha takes grand to new heights

Here, everyone drinks tea. Not only do they drink it, they hold it in the same regard that I do wine. People have multiple tea sets with glasses for specific tea leaves and they pair it off with specific food and serve it up in so many different ways. I will probably never look at tea the same way again. The ladies here collect tea cozies the way that I collect wine decanters. So it was with this sort of a crew that I embarked on my third ever proper "afternoon tea", the first being as a teenager in Victoria, BC, and the second being in Ottawa or Montreal....maybe.....I forget....it wasn't terribly memorable.

This chandelier was to the left of us 

The ladies' tea gave the Muslim ladies in my mother's circle a chance to come out and socialize. They aren't allowed to be in private homes, unaccompanied. At a place like this, they can come and socialize without a small army of husbands, brothers, or fathers lurking around.

Part of The Lobby Lounge

The Lobby Lounge of the Ritz is where we held our tea. It is GORGEOUS. I've been to some really nice hotels over the years for various functions in Canadian cities, but few have come close to the standards of the Ritz Carlton. If you ever have the opportunity to visit one and enjoy a formal tea, do so. At the R-C Doha, despite being very open, the location felt discreet and private. We were able to people watch, yet were not on display ourselves. The staff were beautifully dressed in gold and black Asian style split skirts and tunics. Like all the other serving staff I have encountered in restaurants across Qatar, they are a constant background presence; magically there when you need them, ever present but unobtrusive. If I ever make it back there I will try their Moroccan tea and a traditional Arabic tea service. I enjoyed a pot of their China Rose. I have had rose tea in the past, but the scent of the rose petals diffusing out of the pot was an absolutely divine sensory experience. The only thing that still catches me unaware is that smoking is still allowed in restaurants here, so like yesterday, our tea was booked not even realizing that the default would be a smoking section. However, while we were unable to be moved, the smoke was not really noticeable and the doorman was very nice and kept the door open to allow fresh air into our area. So the staff were resourceful in their efforts to please our party. We fussy Canadians thank you!!!

No one rushes you in Doha. There is no 20 minute kick-off to turn over your table, which is funny because dining out costs less here than in Canada. I have to remind myself not to eat like a North American, to just slooooow down, to enjoy my food, because no one is going to usher me away to prep my table for the next people standing around glaring at me from the waiting area. It just isn't like that here. Dining out in Doha is enjoyable, whether it is five star cuisine or a family restaurant that also feeds the occasional stray cat. Eating is practically a spiritual experience, not something to cross off the chore list must eat on the way home. I will miss the social restaurant atmosphere the percolates this city, it is relaxed beyond belief.

I spy....the dunes!!!

So I just checked my blog stats, which I do every time I log in to write something. It is interesting to see where people come from. Someone from "mSpy" is coming here? Being nosy, I followed the link back to the main site. For those of you who are interested, mSpy is a mobile software program that allows you to spy on someone's cell phone if you have access to their device to install the program. So, if you'd like to invade the privacy of your spouse or children, and wreck your relationship with them forever when they eventually find out that you're going all Big Brother on them, go there and purchase some software. Let me know how that works out for you :D

Ooooh......sand!!!!

We went duning yesterday!!! I don't have many photos, because it is very difficult to take a picture of something when your face is smooshed into the window or wedged into the ceiling or your head is now flying towards the person seated beside you. FUN. I love it!!! If there are gigantic sand dunes where you live, then I highly suggest doing this. Of course, if there are dunes where you live then you've probably done this already.

I could not believe the amount of people out there. We were in the Sealine Beach area. The amount of families that maintain summer camps in the dunes was staggering. I don't tend to think of the desert as a terribly busy place, but being from Canada my impression of what a desert is comes from reading TinTin comics and Hollywood, hahahaha. The Qatari people are originally Bedouin tribes, so for them this is traditional living. I don't think my mother was too thrilled about getting knocked around in the SUV, but I enjoyed it. However, I also enjoy mudding, drag-racing, roller coasters, grizzly bear-wrestling, walking through downtown Winnipeg alone, and other dangerous things, so we can just add driving sideways in circles down the sheer facing side of a dune to the list.

A lot of us were trying to take photos of one kid who was like Evil Knievil  on a quad.

At one point we came to a rest stop near some camps and got to take pictures of the gulf as well as the mountains of Saudi Arabia across the water. The guides were pointing out the watch towers and immigration buildings, as well as some of the beacons on the smaller islands out in the water. Apparently people try to swim across the straights in that area in order to sneak into both Qatar and Saudi Arabia. I don't know. I can see wanting to sneak into Qatar, but Saudi Arabia just doesn't strike me as a place that I would want to make a run to,but I guess enough people feel differently that illegal immigration into the country is enough of a problem that a border patrol is neccessary. I will post pictures of the coastline when I get home because they are on my digital camera. The photos that I post right now during my trip are all one-step uploads from a cell phone.

Museum of Islamic Art

Yesterday I went to the Museum of Islamic Art. This museum can not be done in one day. You need to budget at least two days, as evidenced by the fact that I only got through the first two floors of static displays. There is so much to see. As I learned this morning while reading the paper, a former resident of Qatar has published a photographic book about Qatar, which was on sale in the gift shop there.

Unfortunately, Erik was too efficient and showed up while I was in the gift shop, so I bought a few magnets and rushed out. People giggle at me a little bit because drivers are different here. At home, you do not make the taxi wait or you will be facing a long walk home. Here they show up early, and they do not run away if you don't materialize within 30 seconds of their arrival. AND they are pleasant. Wow. Maybe I will be brave over the next few days and make the driver wait. Probably not :D

Back to the museum!!! Lots of things to see. It is very well guarded, too. There was at least one guard in every room and they made their presence known but were unobtrusive. A couple of times I got lost because I was too busy staring at displays and not paying attention to where we were going I lost my mother and they helped me around the rooms. Again, I am perpetually amazed at how friendly everyone is here, even when there might be a language barrier. A word of caution: do not, and I mean, do not try to touch things. I watched the guards very quickly respond to a tour group of ADULTS who kept on trying to climb onto this horse and rider display, then try to get on this rug, which had to be about 50ft long. Firstly, shame on you people!!! "Do not touch" means do not touch and yes, this means you. Who climbs on a thousand year old carpet? Tsk, tsk, tsk. A very coordinated response from security personnel very quickly and quietly took care of things. Seriously, it was like ninjas took care of everything, it was that fast.

But rowdy, obnoxious tourists were not why I went :) I am only posting a few photos of my trip there. I have many, many pictures but these are my favourites, and sorry about the flash spots!!!

This is a one piece panel carved from stone. It comes from India and is dated to the 15th century. The photo does not do it justice. Well, none of the photos do these beautiful artifacts justice, you have to see them in person. This huge panel was carved in one piece. ONE PIECE. The detail, even 600 years later, is stunning.

 This is an Iranian watercolour Qu'ran. There is gold leaf in the painting and the geometric designs on the pages are amazing. To think that scribes sat patiently through this, working for years on a single book is awe-inspiring. I have many photographs of different Qu'rans that were displayed in the museum but this one is my favourite. It comes from the late 1500s. 

This is a page from a book, although I'm not sure what book it comes from. It is also Iranian, from the same period as the Qu'ran above. This is gold leaf and mainly blue pigment as well.

This is a piece of Persian tile that is about 500 years old. The colours are still stunning. The geometry of the designs is very precise. Blue, gold, and copper were the most predominant colours in use in many of the displays

 Iranian or Turkish, I can not remember. This is a bowl that was made at a time when the people of Persia were having much contact with cultures from China and the art was beginning to reflect the Chinese cloud motifs. 

Another beautiful Iranian tile, from about the 10th century. We often think of our ancient ancestors the world over as being somehow primitive because they aren't like us. This couldn't be further from the truth. The mathematical planning in a design like this, and the others, points to a high degree of knowledge. Such use of numbers has been referred to as "Sacred Geometry" because not everyone was privy to the mathematical formulae used in the creation of artistic renderings. Every time I look at these photos I want to crochet something, but yarn seems to be the one thing that eludes me in Qatar.

 This is an Iranian oil lamp from the 12th century. It is very small and contains a lot of fine detail around the handle and spout. 

This is absolutely breathtaking in its beauty in person. This is a jeweled falcon, from India. Falcons have been revered the world over for thousands of years, and even to this day in Qatar. The streets are dotted with large posters of Falcons and also Oryxes. People are very proud of their falcons here. I am told that Qatar Airways gives falcons first class treatment when they travel on a QA plane, but I don't know if that is true. I suppose if my mother gets hired on with them, I will get to find out:) My mother said that when she was teaching in Doha, some of her students brought in their falcons to show her. One summer a falcon moved into the tree in my backyard in Canada and graced us with its presence all throughout the summer and early fall.

 These are Syrian bracelets from the 16th century. Beautiful and heavy looking!!! The details in the facing around the gemstones are just amazing. 

These are Central Asian jars, from either the 9th or 10th centuries. The thing that always amazes me when I go to a museum anywhere, is that the things which our ancestors made, would probably still be useful today. Can we say the same thing about the goods we manufacture now? 

Qatar News

Just reading the paper this morning and a few things caught my eye....

Firstly, since everyone else is doing it, I will join Qatar in congratulating His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Thani, Chief of Emiri Diwan on the occasion of his marriage.

Blessings to your marriage and remember the old expression, "Happy wife, happy life". :)

I was hoping to find a nice link through the newspaper like I did for the other things below, but I couldn't.

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The following article was on the bottom of the fold, and it should have been on the top. Just my opinion.....but a pending water crisis is more important than some new ambulances. I did not realize that Qatar leads the Gulf countries in water recycling and conservation. Bravo!!! However, when you think about the rapidity of growth in this tiny nation - the population was about the same as the City of Winnipeg when my parents first arrived here in 2004, and now it's over 1.7 million people. That would place a HUGE demand on all resources, and let's face it, in a desert country water is probably more precious than gold. I read in the article about a hydroponic garden that has been started recently as a conservation project. I wonder if that was the garden centre I was in the other day. Hmmm.

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Qatar: Sand, Sea, Sky. I read about this book, written by Diana Untermeyer, wife of the former US Ambassador to Qatar, from 2004 to 2007. I will be hunting for this book. I wish I had seen this paper article YESTERDAY when I was at the Museum of Islamic Art because it is apparently for sale in their gift shop. However, the article also states that it can be purchased online so if I can't get back there before I leave, then I suppose I can order it when I get back to Canada. This is a great country and the people here are so warm and welcoming. They really do make you feel like family, even when you're falling flat on your face trying hard not to be a typical Westerner....which I may or may not have done :D

Al Bidda Park

Waterway through the park. There are stores on either side

A couple of evenings ago we went to Al Bidda Park. This is a family park, where unaccompanied or single men are not allowed. Families and single girls come here to socialize and relax. There are some things about being here in Doha that I will miss, and places like this are on that list. It is nice to go somewhere that is reserved for families or women, where you don't have to worry about being harassed by men. Even in the evening, which is when we were there, there were women with small children. They were playing and exploring while their fathers were praying in the small mosque on the grounds. As late as it was, it felt completely safe.

Monument across from the park.

I am always amazed at how people just let their children wander off here. There is a level of trust in this community that I have not seen anywhere else that I have lived. As a parent I would never let my son to wander by himself when he was small in a mall, park, or on the street. You couldn't have paid me enough!!! Nowadays he is almost 18 and it is his turn to be my bodyguard :) I mentioned this to a lady I have met since visiting here and she laughed and said "Well, child abductions just don't happen here.....who would do that? It's just not something anyone considers because that sort of crime is not a reality of life in Qatar." Amazing, truly.

Go here. Eat. Love. 

We had supper at my parents' favourite Thai restaurant, Thai Smiles. I love Thai food, I cook a lot of it at home. This place is tucked under part of the Al Bidda Park. The food here was lovely and I was introduced to many things which the owner/manager swears are traditional Thai meals, that I have never seen before. My favourite of the evening was the egg packet - an envelope of cooked egg, like a very thin omelette, containing spicy chicken, sweet peppers, lemongrass, and mushrooms. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The food just kept coming and coming. That is one thing about the independent restaurants here. I've noticed that until you indicate that you are so full that movement is becoming a physical impossibility, the servers will keep bringing you food. Now, I am pretty certain that Tony Roma's, Applebee's, and all the other corporate franchise restaurants from North America are not like that, but every non-franchise place that I've been to has been this way so far.

Spring rolls. Mmmm.

More food!!!

Something else that I have noticed is the way water is served. It comes to the table in big 2L bottles. In Canada and the USA you usually get big enormous glasses that are never ending. The water here is never ending, too, but it's just different. Even in the nicest restaurants, you still get a big plastic bottle and tiny little glasses plunked in the middle of the table. Not bad, just different. Eating in restaurants is a cheaper here than at home, too.

A feral kitty waiting for service :)

And of course, there were lots of feral cats around. They are very laid back and relaxed, and drift in and out of everywhere. No one seems to mind their presence. 

A morning off

Donairs!!! There is a god!!!

The last few days have been busy. We went to the Global Village 2012 event last night. This was done through CNAQ, a local college that is based out of Newfoundland, Canada, and the proceeds of the event went to the Red Crescent Society to help the people of Syria. It is different being over here, in a (generalized) part of the world that the news focuses on. Most of the people here in Qatar are not actually from Qatar, they are from somewhere else, and a lot of people are from Syria. You can see the pained looks on their face as they talk about home. Many of the people are still tribally affiliated here, a world view most of us in the Western world lost centuries ago. Borders mean relatively little to them and their family networks stretch all over Persia and the Middle East, so issues in one country affect everyone. 

Twirling with sharp objects; don't try this at home.

It was a great event, but it was COOOOOLLLD!!!! I am sorry dear Qatar, but I suspect that I may have brought the winter with me when I came to visit. I should have warned you all, that happens, hahahahaha. Anyway, I had a hell of a time trying to take pictures because the Nokia touchscreen is sensitive to both pressure and heat, and my hands were freezing. I did manage to get photos of donairs and some Yemeni dancers. It is not a great picture of the dancers, though, because they were moving really quickly. It was difficult to take photos anyway, because it was so crowded. I could not get good shots because of this, then when the temperature dropped, I just didn't bother. Besides, I was spending all my time trying to get photos to please other people and not enjoying myself. Dear friends: I really am here, and I really am doing things. You'll just have to believe me, hahahaha :)

Getting from one end of the mall to the other in a gondola rocks!!!

We went back to the Villagio Mall yesterday. Now that my feet are feeling better and there are no more shamals, there is shopping to be done!!! I will confess, I am not terribly interested in being bombarded with museums and other "official" things that must be done on a vacation. I would like very much to see the Islamic Cultural Centre, do some duning, and that is it. Otherwise, I just want to shop, hang out, and crochet. I am enjoying putting my feet up. I have been messaged by people who are wondering when my adventure "begins" and this is my adventure. I am hanging out in a place where everything runs on mañana time and it is nice. 

I wonder if CP Rail will consider candy trains. 

There are no drunks lying in pools of their you-know-what on the street, there are no gang wars with people getting shot and stabbed, there are no crazy drug addicts screaming obscenities at me while I'm on the bus, and if I look even the slightest bit lost/upset/off in any way, someone nice is approaching from somewhere to see if there is any help that they can offer - at home people just bow their heads and pretend they didn't see you having trouble or getting harassed. They are happy that it isn't them and they carry on. Considering where I live, this IS an adventure. I guess I'm not doing much to increase tourism to Winnipeg, hahaha. I miss my family and coworkers but I am not going to be happy to come home to dear, dirty Winnipeg. If I could, I would just tell my family to pack up the kitties, rent out the house, and fly here. When I come home, I will get to have all the adventure I could want because I work with the public in downtown Peg City. Ugh. So not looking forward to that. 

Every home needs a chocolate fountain!!

There is a lot less stress here about "getting things done". A common phrase heard around here is "Insha'Allah" meaning "If god is willing" which more or less translates to "It might happen, it might not, I'm not going to waste time worrying about it, I've put it in God's hands." People are very social, too, and spend a lot of time looking in on each other. This hospitality gets returned, of course, so there is a constant cycle of casual visiting that can fill up one's social schedule very quickly. I am willing to bet that everyone here knows their neighbors, which can not be said of many of the communities in North America. We used to be like this, and then that changed. I think for the benefit of our health, we need to ditch the day-planners, start thinking Insha'Allah a little more, and start visiting our neighbors.




The food is also very fresh. You can buy canned goods and package mixes in the grocery stores like home, but the pricing is opposite. At home, the premade stuff is cheap and the fresh food is expensive, but here it is the fresh food that is cheap, so more people here actually cook from scratch, so I suspect that they eat fewer calories, processed carbs, sugar, etc. The restaurants that I've been to actually cook 100% from scratch so they take longer to serve your meals, but that is fine. I can taste the difference. There aren't a lot of corporate farms out here, either. I've been doing my homework and in many places, food is still grown and harvested with more traditional methods, although modern technology does get used. I think the lack of processing makes a big difference to the overall health of the people. I was concerned that I would gain weight while I was visiting, but I don't think that will happen. I probably won't lose weight, either, because everyone wants to haul out the goodies for me, but it's a vacation. I will return to the real world and back to my diet soon enough.


Something else I have noticed about here: I have only seen two muffin tops since I got in to town and they were both sported by expats. That is not to say that there aren't chubby people (although there are a lot fewer of them than there are in Winnipeg) but they don't seem to carry their weight like North Americans do. The lifestyle is very different and I believe that this, combined with more traditional eating has a beneficial effect. Of course, that's only been proven over and over again in study after study, but I don't know how many people are actually paying attention. 

Sand, sand, sand!!!!

Don't leave your shoes out during  a dust storm!!

Due to the shamals (North winds) the curriculum of events has been shuffled around a bit. I thought the breeze was lovely last night so I shut off the air conditioning in my room and woke up with a sand dune on my arse the next morning. Well...ok....not that bad, but I had crunchy teeth and when I blew my nose, dirt came out. The furniture outside was covered in white dust. On our way out to the garden centre this morning, my mother and Erik kept pointing things out to me, but I don't have my desert vision yet. The wind was crazy and the dust was like Maritime fog. I never saw anything until we were right on top of it and then we'd fly by in the vehicle anyway. I guess there is a huge royal compound that we drove by, but all I could see was one or two turrets on an outlying gate and a small grove of trees. "Look at the palace!!!" 0_o Yes, it's lovely. Hahahaha. Another day, perhaps. I did see the main walls of a military base. It looked like a medieval city wall. Everything is walled up here, otherwise it would become buried under the sand.

Don't know what they are, but they're pretty!!

Desert Rose

We went to the "Agricultural Ministry" this morning, which turned out to be a lot of greenhouses guarded by a man who looked like Yoda. People need to pretend I'm an idiot and start explaining things accordingly. Much like the other day, "Let's go grab a bite to eat at the mall", telling me that we're going to an agricultural department or a government ministry of any sort puts an entirely different mental picture in my head because I. Don't. Live. Here. I came downstairs in my black and gold abaya because I wanted to actually be dressed appropriately for a change. My mother looks at me and says, "What are you wearing THAT for? We're going to a garden centre, it looks like Kent. Erik will be here any minute." I would wear jeans to a nursery because it's hot, humid, muddy, and full of wet plants. I would not wear jeans to go to a government building unless it was the Ministry of Casual Day. People need to start explaining themselves.

Night blooming Jasmine is on the left. I love Jasmine!!!

Tomorrow we are going to do shopping, so at least I know to dress appropriately for that. I have figured out my mother's old Nokia, but I haven't been taking a lot of pictures because up until ten minutes ago I wasn't sure what I could take pictures of. That, and I've spent most of my time either in a moving vehicle or trying not to get separated when I get taken out anywhere, so I don't waste time trying to line up a good shot.

The flowers on this tree smell beautiful. 

I spend most of my time in the courtyard of my parents' villa. I am mostly a homebody anyway, so I don't mind this. I like the high walls that are around everything. I know they're there to keep the place from being buried under sand, but I like the privacy, too. The feral kitties come in to keep me company, lounging on the furniture or perching along the privacy walls. People are very social here and they like to visit, so I am also guaranteed at least one person sticking their head through the gate to see if anyone is home. I've finished the pair of socks that I started on my flight over last week. I need to find more yarn. From the flowers to the wooden screens, to the window openings, to the fabrics on display in the Indian stores and souqs, I find design inspiration everwhere....and I certainly have the time to create, but not the yarn. Damn. I would love some nice silk sari yarn right now and some nice shiny green fingering weight yarn. And some gold yarn. And some blue yarn. And something purple in a fingering weight to make myself a lace sheath.

:)

Dear Child

Thanks to the Google Cloud I can see that you spend way too much time on my laptop at home, looking at funnyjunk.

Dining in Damascus

Mom got a photo of Amal!!

Last night, friends of my parents, Amal and Yousef, took us out for dinner. They are from Syria, and so they took us to a Syrian restaurant named after the city of Damascus. They are also very nice people and I enjoyed their company very much.

My mother took a couple of pictures for me but I am swiping most of the photos off the internet because although I have discovered that my phone will still take pictures and upload with a wifi, I also have no purse....hahaha.....I am never letting my family talk me into any baggage changes again. "Take this for carry on, don't take your purse, this is bigger..." It's also ugly and there is no way I am going out in public with something that looks like a boy's school bag on steroids. Of course, being from Winnipeg, there is no bloody way you could pay me to walk around with a cell phone and wallet openly in my hands. *Sigh*....still discombobulated....no purse....no phone.....fried UV lamp.....Air Canada beat the stuffing out of my suitcase so there was a big hole in the bottom, so half my makeup is gone....I know, I sound like a princess, right? BUT it is the little things that make a person feel comfortable and my little things are gone. End rant.

Front entrance of The Damascus Star

Back to The Damascus Star. This restaurant is amazing. I love Arabic food anyway, but the way they do it there is just heavenly and it never ended. I would have kissed the chef if it was possible. As soon as one tray was empty, another one magically reappeared. The waiters were all wearing traditional Syrian outfits and they were very handsome :D We ate upstairs, on the roof, which was nice. I like being outside here in Doha, as opposed to being inside. Outside is nice and warm, but inside everywhere is freezing cold. They blast the air conditioning like crazy in public places. I understand why, but I'm like a little lizard and I enjoy the heat.

We walked down this street to get to the restaurant

Spices in the souq

One thing that I have noticed is that everything here is heavily decorated. Canadian cities are pretty bland by comparison; not a lot of colour and the buildings all look the same. It is distracting for me, because there is soooo much to look at and take in that sometimes it becomes overwhelming. I can't help but look around at everything, and I wonder if people believe I am bored, but it is the furthest thing from the truth. I have yet to see two buildings that look the same here. Everything is different, everywhere you look. There is no generic monoculture look here, like in North America, where every town has the same style buildings and the same stores, etc. I like the variety, it reminds me of how Canada used to be before the communities became cookie cutter and lost their soul.

Antique store

We walked through the Old Souq last night to get to the restaurant. The Old Souq Waqif is actually very new. There was an old souq and the government tore it down and replaced it with modern strip mall and big box type arrangements. The people hated it, so the souq was rebuilt, made to look old, and apparently redesigned in such a way that it is a little easier to navigate but still retains its old feel. I liked it, and if no one had told me it was actually quite new, I would not have known. It looks like it has been there for centuries (I don't know how long the original one was actually there for). Kudos to those in charge for listening and giving the people back their old place. It is a sad thing when everything is made modern.

I could go broke without proper supervision

I want to go back to the souq and actually walk around and look at things more. Yousef was saying that 90% of the items for sale were actually made in Syria. Of course that will not be so in the future because the Syrian border is now closed due to the unrest in that country.

So, first order of business tomorrow when my touristing officially begins is:

1. PURSE!!!!! I need a purse. I have no idea what to do with my hands out in public now that I have no purse. I also feel exposed. I haven't been without a purse since I was 13. Let's all rock back and forth!!! *I need a purse I need a purse I need a purse* hahahaha
2. I need some ugly shoes. Bless my father for the nice shoes he brought me home, but they have that little thingy that goes between your big toe and the one beside it and now that space between my toes is swollen up and rather nasty to look at because the skin got rubbed right off. Ouch. Not fun. Everyone knows the pretty shoes are never comfortable, so I guess I need to bite down and get some really, really ugly shoes.
3. Long skirts. You know, I never wear dresses. Never. Not ever. I wear dress pants all the time because I'm at work and esthetics requires too much bending and lifting for skirts. I brought dresses with me thinking "I will look all ladylike on vacation for a change" and of course they all go down to my knee which is to say that they are about two feet too short for a Muslim country and they are brightly coloured. No one in Canada would recognize me because all I ever wear is gray or black. Sometimes purple. NEVER red. What did I do last night? I wore a red/orange/black/yellow dress that went down to my knee, with a V neck. Being tall, platinum blonde, and tattooed didn't help and I'm sure half the people in the souq probably thought I was a hooker. Besides, these legs haven't seen sunlight since 1994, so they probably shouldn't be seen by anyone who wishes not to be blinded by the white light. 

Overall, I am having a great time. I am not a new traveler so I know there are things that will go wrong here and there, but I really enjoy it here. This is a beautiful place and everyone is very friendly and polite. Although I still don't know what people are saying, I watch the local television shows and I can tell when individual words are being spoken instead of one long blur that sounds lightning fast. By the time I leave here I will have figured out some Arabic on my own. I tried to learn online before I left, but it's not the same as hearing it.

PS: I almost forgot!!! Chocolate is part of every meal here. It is not only appreciated, it is expected!!!! Dear Qatar, you had me at chocolate :)

Don't Drive in Doha

I have been experiencing the terror pleasure that is driving in Doha. You know you're a nation of bad drivers when even the politically correct United Nations bestows that title upon you. See Winnipeg? The UN never said we were a city of bad drivers. The rest of Canada is just terribly biased and we're greatly misunderstood. Besides, even the rudest chain smoking potty mouth on Portage Avenue doesn't hold a candle to one of the locals here. This is where it all comes out. See, I knew they couldn't be that happy and relaxed all the time - the ugly has to come out somewhere and it emerges with abundance on the approximately 2,354 roundabouts, which are found on every other block.

It's like Deathrace 2000 and Bladerunner all rolled up into one. There are some interesting traffic laws here, for instance, all non-Qataris must yield to the Qataris who always have the right of way by virtue of birth, even when you are rightfully traveling the right way down a one-way street. Seriously. I have heard about this over the years from many people who have lived in Qatar and now I am seeing it. If it wasn't for the fact that I was a non-Qatari in a moving vehicle last night, I might have found it really, really amusing, but I think I may have peed in the back seat of the big-arsed SUV I was in. If you are driving a vehicle and you are North American, European, Indian, Philipino, or anyone who is not Qatari, it is open season on you, and there are no catch limits.

Once the feral South Asian Land Rover has your scent, the chase is tenacious

Approximately 83.6% of the population drives big, bright white Land Rovers. OK, that isn't actually an official number, I just made that up, but I'm pretty sure it's close. "Watch to see when Erik pulls up" says my father as we waited for the driver (non-Qataris are greatly discouraged from driving and my father finally smartened up and made friends with one of the company drivers) to arrive. "He's driving a white SUV." Greeeeaaaaat. Like that'll stand out....the only thing that could have made it better would be if Erik drove a black Mercedes Benz. There are no normal cars here. Driving through residental areas is like being in a spy movie shot in some wealthy European city state. Everyone zips around in black luxury cars or the aforementioned white SUVs.

Anyway, enough with bashing the Qatari road culture, because I don't want the scooter boys to show up to my doorstep with cricket bats, looking for me. Ooooh.....I'm pushing it, aren't I? :D

We went to the Villagio Mall and this is where I wish I could have access to my phone because I would snapping and uploading pictures left, right, and centre. Villagio is like an Italian version of St.Vital Centre. If you could redo the insides of St.V to resemble small town bustling postcard Italy....AND put a river complete with gondolas....ok, AND a skating rink....then you would have the Villagio Mall. The goal last night was to buy an outfit to wear out to dinner this evening. For all you fashionistas, I would like to report that I was successful. One velvet t-shirt with loose boat neck, one drapey silvery grey cardigan, and one pair of grey/black tweedy dress pants. Of course, since then I have changed my mind and I think I will probably wear my jingle abaya, but that is the fun part about being on vacation, I can change my mind a thousand times if I want.

My dad and I went out for dinner to a place called Paul's Cafe. Now according to their menu, they've been fine French bakery around since 1889, but I never heard of them until last night....but that's OK because I'm a Canadian pigdog tourist, so blah. I had grilled salmon steak, served on a pile of asparagus, zucchini, and beet root. The salmon melted in my mouth. Heavenly!!! Something I noticed about Qatari malls, though, in relation to the restaurants. The malls have these GREAT WONDERFUL places to eat, that are not typically "mall" restaurants, but they are done up open concept style like an A&W would be. They have all the regular food court stuff like Pita Express, Cold Stone Creamery, etc but then in the middle of the mall will be this really swanky restaurant, but mall-if-ied. It's odd, but I am coming from a country where "mall culture" takes on an entirely different meaning. I have noted that there were no Shore Whores and other assorted trashy specimens walking through the malls of Doha. Everyone looked dressed up and the folks I've gotten to know have said that the mall is a big deal here. Which is probably why I felt underdressed, because when someone says to me, "Let's go to the mall for supper" I get an entirely different picture in my head.

We got coffee while there....I was unaware that the Cold Stone Creamery makes really good coffee....I've never been able to make it past those hot sexy young folks doing obscenely delicious things to ice cream to notice that there might be other things on the menu. But yeah.....coffee. We had coffee from there and when we left a tip in the jar, the Philipino kids behind the counter actually sang us a song - beautifully - thanking us for our generosity. OK.....riiiiight.....I looked over at my father who was enjoying the expression on my face. I think if anyone ever sang to a customer in Winnipeg, they might get clocked. Oh who am I kidding....the kids behind the counter at home can't even muster a "Thank you" half the time, let alone a song.

This morning I made breakfast for my parents. They are doing something called The 17 Day Diet....which has really been derailed during my visit so far, and I am doing something called The Paleo Diet, which I am fairly certain did not include a large Americano and a small cake batter ice cream with crushed pecans in a chocolate bowl....although in my defense, I am pretty sure that if my paleo ancestors had access to such a thing, they would have hunted it also. So there. Anyway, I have a recipe for pancakes made from almond flour that I made for them and they loved it. You all should try it, it's wonderful.

1.5 c of almond flour
1 level metric tsp baking soda (Don't heap baking soda. Bleeecchhh)
1 T Splenda or other sweetener of your choice (Optional)
1 handful of sliced or slivered almonds

Mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, combine:

2 large eggs
2 T olive oil
2 capfuls of white vinegar (If you don't want vinegar then also omit the baking soda because they go together. Use baking powder instead)

Mix the dry into the wet, let sit and heat/oil a frying pan. Cook like a regular pancake. This recipe makes 6 normal sized pancakes, using a 1/3 cup measure to portion the batter. They are lighter in texture and taste good, but obviously not like wheat-based pancakes. For all you carb counters, I think you can count one-two net carbs per pancake. Use coconut oil instead of butter and put a handful of berries on top of one pancake and you've got an ideal low carb meal that will satisfy the requirements of most of the low carb diets out there, such as Atkins, 17 Day, Dukhan, South Beach, etc, etc.

In closing, I would also like to mention that I killed a very big beetle. I made my mommy gag when I bludgeoned it to death with my boot, but there was no damned way I was picking that thing up with a tissue and nicely placing it outdoors, which is what she wanted. This thing was almost as big as the Winnipeg water beetles (which aren't actually from Winnipeg, but they came to visit, got some girlfriends and stuck around to keep things interesting.)  Let that image fill your mind and join me in a collective Manitoban shudder.....Eeeeewwwww.

The jet lag is here

The night I arrived, I went to bed at 22:30 and foolishly assumed that because I woke up at 5:00 that I was not going to suffer any jet lag.

HA!!!

The jet lag kicked in yesterday when I sat down with a cup of tea. I woke up much later, to a cup of cold swampwater with skin on it. :) Today I got up at a more decent time, although I will have to leave my window open again tonight so I can hear the call to prayer because I don't want to be getting up at 9:00 any more. That's a little late.

My coffee and crochet buddy

I have a little friend, whose photo I have shared in various places around the web. She is a little feral cat that comes in and sits with me while I drink my morning coffee and read the paper. In the afternoon when I sit in the courtyard and crochet, she returns and curls up under the fig tree, napping and purring. There are feral cats all over the city, brought in specifically to help keep the port vermin free. People seem to be OK with their presence. This little one certainly seems to be happy

My phone is not working here, and I was under the impression when I bought the damned thing, that it would. Not a major upset, but I'd like to unlock it so that I can make use of the SIM card and time that I bought yesterday. Hopefully TELUS support gets back to me. It is frustrating to be 8 hours ahead of home for things like this. For those of you reading this who will helpfully send me more websites that show me how to do it myself, thank you. I tried a few last night and they did not work, so before I do something bad to my phone, I will just wait for TELUS, suck it up, and pay whatever fee they want to extract from me. I have learned, since searching online, that Canada and the US really get the crappy end of the stick when it comes to mobile services, compared to the rest of the world. If I had the money, I would just get an unlocked phone out here and keep buying data cards from the local mobile provider. My parents do this when they are home in Canada and they don't pay nearly as much as I do, and they are roaming yet!!! AND their phones work. 0_o

Really, I suppose it isn't an issue....hahaha.....I have become one of those hyper-connected uber princesses that I used to laugh at. I feel more discombobulated that I do not have access to push-button blogging on the fly than I do because I am on the other side of the world.

The lifestyle is very different here. I was thinking about this last night as I drifted off to sleep. People in Doha still leave their doors unlocked. My parents do this, and to be honest, it freaked the hell out of me when I was puttering around the house yesterday and realized that they had just walked off to work and left everything open. People just come and go, like they did in The Maritimes when I was small.

I live in Winnipeg now, I have for nearly 7 years, and there is no way on earth you could pay me to walk out the door in the morning leaving everything wide open for the criminals to take for themselves. Such is the difference in perception here. I live in the violent crime capital of Canada and I do not feel safe. It is familiar, but it is not safe, and I am always on guard. Here, it is completely unfamiliar (not all of it, but enough of it) but I do not feel unsafe. There is a tremendous load of stress that is off me here in Doha, as my jaw and shoulders have not been hurting, in spite of sitting in front of my father's laptop to blog daily, or crocheting all afternoon. It is enough to tell Winnipeggers that I have worked downtown for 5 years and they usually look at me with that special expression reserved for those who also like to go bungee jumping over fire pits.

People here are very nice. Everyone is happy. They want you to be happy.....I wonder if I will become #6, hahaha. Like I said, not used to this. After years of living in Peg City, I am accustomed to clouds of obscenity, impatience, rudeness, no customer service, doors being slammed in my face, and lots of push/shove/getouttamyway. Despite this place being the commercial and cultural heart of the area, Doha is amazingly relaxed. For those of you who are reading this and not aware, I am not living artificially in a resort where people are being paid to be nice to the Canadian Tourist. I am living out on the economy here, where people are themselves.

Jobs are everywhere and it is tempting to look for one. No, it is damned difficult not to start schlepping the link to my nail site to the big beauty salons here, especially when I see that they can get 300 Riyals or more for a set of gel nails (close to 100 CAD) I haven't seen that kind of paycheque since I moved to Winnipeg. At home I charge significantly less and even then, people snort like I'm trying to rip them off. Very, very difficult, let me tell you. I am almost starting to feel bad that I promised my family that I would not look for work while I was here.

I was going to do my mother's nails and I smoked my UV light last night. Lesson learned, plug adapters and converters are not the same thing; one does not imply the other. Even if the plug fits, 120V hooking into an outlet that pumps out 240V is never a good thing. I will be shopping today to look for a lamp that works here because I really want to do mom's nails. She has a friend who has made me some presents over the years, and I would like to do her nails, too, while I am here.

In the chaos that was present before I left, there was no time to get summery shoes. Bless my father, he came home from a store last night with really NICE black wedge sandals. Way to go dad!!! I didn't think a straight man could shop for shoes.

So that is today's entry. Not a lot to show so far. My parents wanted to let me get used to the schedule before they start with the schedule of events. My official tourist trips start this weekend, when the photos shall be getting uploaded at a geometric rate :)

In flight!!!

I made it!!! All safe and sound. First, I'd like to deliver a big fat raspberry to Air Canada. Would it kill your staff to be nice? I went through all my security checks, showed my boarding pass to the lady at the counter before I board the plane, and while walking on the gangway, I put it all back in my purse. I don't travel all the time. I forgot that I would have to show it to the staff on the plane. Instead of a request for my pass, the snotty orange steward says, "I don't trust you, gimme your pass." Whoa. A polite request would have gone a long way. I took it because these days it seems like Big Brother has all the say about travel and if you dare question, then you're the bad guy......and I wasn't messing with my vacation because some big jerk was being rude and automatically assuming I'm bad right out of the gate.

My experience got better in Montreal at the Pierre Trudeau Airport. The staff there are very friendly and helpful, which was good because I had to do check in, etc all over again for Qatar Air. I was selected for a random search, and I have to say.....I want that nice young man to search me some more....."I am sorry ma'am, are you ok ma'am, thank you for your cooperation ma'am" Do you think while you're down there apologizing....you could maybe.....say my name? :D Rawr....

Let me tell you about Qatar Airway!!!!What a difference from Air Canada, who are the ones I am used to. Instead of running in looking partly finished or like they're perpetually going to be late, the QA folks marched in, in the crispest looking uniforms I've ever seen. Not a hair out of place, no over processed hair colours, no sloppy ponytails, no muffin top, no looking like the morning after the night before.....these folks looked like runway models, even the men. No orange tans or chicklet nails, hallelujah!!! I had heard about the QA people but never experienced them until now. OMG they are nice. In a 12hour flight they never stopped working like crazy and yet not one hair out of place, makeup perfect, always smiling, and ever present. What I'm accustomed to when I do travel is the great disappearing act by AC flight staff until its time to haul out the cart full of tasteless overpriced food items.....that cash is no good for anymore. Credit card only.....? My food on QA was tasty and INCLUDED.....chicken breast in spicy tomato sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, glazed broccoli, cheesecake, wine, ice cream, croissants and omelettes for breakfast, pancakes, and there were pillows, blankets, socks, toothbrushes, you name it. This was economy class, I wish I was wealthy enough to experience their first class. I probably wouldn't want to leave the plane :) The staff probably had about three wardrobe changes throughout the whole flight, and like I said, not a hair out of place. Gracious all the time.....even with all the testy customers and screaming babies.

Yes, about those babies. I will never again say to a client in the salon, "As long as there are no crying babies, I will be fine." God heard me say that, and surrounded me with toddlers cutting teeth :D So let's try the another approach going back.....if there are no deaf/mute 80 year olds all around me, it'll be a good flight home.

:D

I started a pair of socks on the flight over, I am nearly finished the first one. Lesson learned about international flying, I will bring lots of ibuprofen because I spent the entire flight with a raging sinus headache due to the dryness, so I couldn't really enjoy movies or crocheting because I was too busy hiding under the little sleep mask. On the way back, I would prefer to crochet, not be hiding from direct light. I don't want anyone to think I'll sparkle in the sun :P

Squee!!!

Five mimutes until boarding.....yay Montreal!!!!

:D

So this is what 40 looks like

Remarkably, it just looks like 39, 35, 28, and all the other numbers; except it comes with hot flashes and sideburns. See? I never got extras with the other numbers.
O_o
I should be excited today, but I'm not. I'm too busy doing laundry and gathering up all the things I was too lazy busy to do. I have three pashminas to cover my arms and hide all of my tattoos. I need a couple of sundresses, though, and my winter boots will need changing over.
HA!!! Ormiston's just called. I don't believe I was suppose to get that call but I did. On the one hand I know now that I am getting flowers.On the other hand, it means I can't go anywhere until noon. Hopefully the rest of Winnipeg is too busy enjoying a Nip at Sal's and can't be bothered to shop.

Boo!!

OK....so in one week, I will be getting on a plane and flying out to Doha.

First off, I would like to give a big fat raspberry to all the putzes out there who used "dohadays" as their blog name/long URL at many, many blog providers, and then never did sweet friggety all with their blog. Someone should hand you all a ticket for interwebs littering. The same goes for the ones who snatched up "persianexcursion" and then proceeded to NEVER MAKE AN ENTRY.

You people suck because I can't use those domains and I WILL make entries. Lots of them. You guys are probably the same people who order Coke Zero with poutine or eat cookies with freezer burn in your own kitchen but then tear a strip off the Tim Horton's employee because their cookie is 8 hours old. I know your types.