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 :)