doha daily 3/24/06

Our last last last night in the hotel, this is it! We are finally starting "Doha Life." These past 10 weeks don't really count when they've been spent in the hotel. 'Tis not quite the same, as I've mentioned the smoked salmon for breakfast... Our kitchen looks as though a bomb hit it, quite frankly. Compared to all of the space we had in Pasadena, we have 1/3 of the space here. Hence, I am frantically searching for shelving units to accommodate and unpack the remainder of the 6 boxes still stacked against the wall. I did get smart today by going to the hardware souq to buy weather strips for across the bottoms of the doors. Without them, sand and dust keep blowing underneath, and ultimately ON everything in their paths, like, our SOFAS! Dust is EVERYWHERE! And it just keeps coming and coming. I think the only way to combat the dust is to buy carpeting! Under the doors, through the bathroom vents…ok, enough about the dust.

Since today is Friday, I was unable to go shopping for any shelving units as there is nothing open until 4p, (including the Malls) and even then, most private retailers are closed. Grocery stores Friday morning, however…PACKED! Another thing: you have to plan your shopping for either the morning or afternoon, as everything (except Malls) close down between 12noon and 4p. Luckily, this is when Tristan takes his naps. But if you are on a shopping “role,” beware.

As the guys were unloading the container yesterday, you could spot immediately the packages where "customs" performed their random "sampling." They must pick various items to inspect, unwrap, inspect and re-wrap; rather shoddily I might add, throw some tape around the re-wrapped object and toss it back into the container with no rhyme or reason. I still have about 20 boxes to open, but so far have only lost a few wine glasses, a teacup and a Pyrex dish. The BIG damage happens to be on the back of Thierry's bike, his top case. It took them a total of 5 hours to unload and unpack. But the 20+ boxes I am referring to, being left unopened are due to the fact that I am not sure WHERE we are going to put everything. Lesson learned: pack light, they are just "things."

Aside from being bitten three times in one day by the same child, Tristan has been adjusting quite nicely to the French nursery. THAT situation couldn’t have been better timing with the move, etc. Mother’s Day was this past week, March 21st for the Arabian countries. I found it kind of odd it was on a workday. The Nursery handed out roses to all of the Moms, though.

Doha Daily NEWSFLASH! New special correspondent section of the Doha Daily: “Airline to start e-Ticketing” (Qatar Air). “Verdict soon on maids held for a year over theft.” (Here, you are guilty until proven innocent) “Indian woman in court on rash driving charge.” “Qatari who stole credit card says it was a prank.” “Public to help nab hose ban violators.” (This pertains to the drought in London and those who do not comply to water rationing) “Killer brew death toll rises to 40” (This is about a home-made alcohol in India and how it has killed 40 people within the last 5 days) “Malaysian women police must wear scarves to events.”

I read it is considered rude and inappropriate here in the Middle East to drink with your left hand, by the way. So if you are right-handed…big trouble.

Since we are leaving the hotel tomorrow, we are also leaving our Internet connection. I am supposed to contact Q-tel (The Telephone/Internet “Monopoly” here in Qatar) for an appointment. A 1MG connection costs 300QR’s/month or $82/month. Whoa! But there is no choice. If you want Internet, you MUST get a landline, which we’ll probably NEVER use and then apply for a DSL line, and you must use Q-tel. There are connection choices, ie, dial-up, but I’ve heard that it is a portal for viruses. And I’m learning that some sites are blocked here. Similar to Shanghai (when I write Malia) – she is unable to view certain websites.

See you in a week, I hope!