President Bush Sr's annual visit to Qatar
Wellllllllllll, let’s see: The Ritz-Carlton’s Sharq Village and Spa is now open to the public, Dunestock ’07 has come and gone, “The Sopranos” are on Satellite TV and airing the season with Steve Buchemi (VERY old, I believe), Thierry and I caught the last night of the UK’s troops’ “Mamma Mia,” there was an article in the paper last month on how the ministry is considering NOT granting expat women a drivers license unless they are working in an attempt to alleviate traffic congestion, so I of course, ran right out and got mine ; ) Just a year late I’m afraid – I had a temporary one but it expired and it is such a pain to obtain anything government related. So, I, like almost every single expat women I know, have been driving around without one. The DMV or MOI as they call it here (Ministry of Interior) is giving me immense trouble with my motorcycle license however, in that they now want me to obtain a letter from the US embassy outlining a sort of “key” as to what the “C” and “M1” classes stand for on my California D.L. Any excuse NOT to issue a woman a motorcycle license is how I first interpreted their demand. Thierry was interested in attending the Harley rally taking place in Dubai at the start of April, but the Saudi government would not issue ANY entry for American riders’ motorcycles, whether trailoring or riding through Saudi Arabia to Dubai.
We went up north and hour’s drive to Fuwairit beach last weekend. And in most of the vehicles sold here when driving faster than 70mph a warning bell sounds until you decrease your speed below 70. Um, you can imagine how happy Thierry was to have that feature in the car ; ) There is actually some vegetation that can be seen along the ‘freeway’ on the drive up and rock formations along the sea line. The only bummer was all of the trash that was left there by visitors.
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I have wanted to write all month about the weather. Basically, we went from 16C (61F) in the am and 25C (77F) high to an instant 25C in the am and almost 40C (104F) in the afternoon. Really no in between…AND, honestly, until today’s first true blue, the sky has been grey and hazy. Today, although it is 34C (93F) was probably one of the last runs I’ll have outside : (, soon to be permanent treadmill time. I am gearing up for the Beijing ½ Marathon with Ralph, Malia, Jerome and some of their other friends from Shanghai. It is a once in a lifetime experience (although Ralph and Malia will now have run it twice : ) that Thierry and I figure we should take advantage of being on this side of the globe.
Again the newspaper…Today there was an article featured on the trend of Qatari minors getting hooked on alcohol by frequenting Hotel bars. And last week I read that Qatari children need to attend Mosques at a much younger age to alleviate the temptations of international satellite channel exposure. I think the country is actually moving BACKWARDS. Two weeks ago, Qatar honored the birth of the Prophet Mohammed by banning all alcohol service countrywide on a Saturday night. You can imagine the surprised patrons who were unable to order a bottle of wine. And there are several Hotels here that have opened lately, most of which are NOT licensed – seems to be the thing.
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Dust…sand…dirt….more sand….sandstorm…dust….’nother sandstorm…eeks! There MUST be a “sandstorm season” and we MUST be in it! All I can think of is how all of that junk in the air is in our lungs…And it seems to never fail that a storm arrives the day after I wash the windows, or the car. Inevitable.
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sandstorm in march
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sandstorm in marchWellllllllllll, let’s see: The Ritz-Carlton’s Sharq Village and Spa is now open to the public, Dunestock ’07 has come and gone, “The Sopranos” are on Satellite TV and airing the season with Steve Buchemi (VERY old, I believe), Thierry and I caught the last night of the UK’s troops’ “Mamma Mia,” there was an article in the paper last month on how the ministry is considering NOT granting expat women a drivers license unless they are working in an attempt to alleviate traffic congestion, so I of course, ran right out and got mine ; ) Just a year late I’m afraid – I had a temporary one but it expired and it is such a pain to obtain anything government related. So, I, like almost every single expat women I know, have been driving around without one. The DMV or MOI as they call it here (Ministry of Interior) is giving me immense trouble with my motorcycle license however, in that they now want me to obtain a letter from the US embassy outlining a sort of “key” as to what the “C” and “M1” classes stand for on my California D.L. Any excuse NOT to issue a woman a motorcycle license is how I first interpreted their demand. Thierry was interested in attending the Harley rally taking place in Dubai at the start of April, but the Saudi government would not issue ANY entry for American riders’ motorcycles, whether trailoring or riding through Saudi Arabia to Dubai.
We went up north and hour’s drive to Fuwairit beach last weekend. And in most of the vehicles sold here when driving faster than 70mph a warning bell sounds until you decrease your speed below 70. Um, you can imagine how happy Thierry was to have that feature in the car ; ) There is actually some vegetation that can be seen along the ‘freeway’ on the drive up and rock formations along the sea line. The only bummer was all of the trash that was left there by visitors.
.jpg)
I have wanted to write all month about the weather. Basically, we went from 16C (61F) in the am and 25C (77F) high to an instant 25C in the am and almost 40C (104F) in the afternoon. Really no in between…AND, honestly, until today’s first true blue, the sky has been grey and hazy. Today, although it is 34C (93F) was probably one of the last runs I’ll have outside : (, soon to be permanent treadmill time. I am gearing up for the Beijing ½ Marathon with Ralph, Malia, Jerome and some of their other friends from Shanghai. It is a once in a lifetime experience (although Ralph and Malia will now have run it twice : ) that Thierry and I figure we should take advantage of being on this side of the globe.
Again the newspaper…Today there was an article featured on the trend of Qatari minors getting hooked on alcohol by frequenting Hotel bars. And last week I read that Qatari children need to attend Mosques at a much younger age to alleviate the temptations of international satellite channel exposure. I think the country is actually moving BACKWARDS. Two weeks ago, Qatar honored the birth of the Prophet Mohammed by banning all alcohol service countrywide on a Saturday night. You can imagine the surprised patrons who were unable to order a bottle of wine. And there are several Hotels here that have opened lately, most of which are NOT licensed – seems to be the thing.
See you!
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trees / plants in garden planted one year ago - al gore would be so proud
1 comment:
What an update! Love all the photos! Thierry looks great as a double agent. ;)
As crazy and sometimes irritating as life can be here in The Hague, we often think about life in Doha and recognize how lucky we are to have lived there...and to have run away. You are having so many experiences there that will astound you when you leave, I promise. We hope your motorcycle license comes through. We will be interested to see how their new driving scheme plays out. Expat women still must drive, run errands, and get kids to school, so I guess the country just wants to employ more untrained drivers? Hm...
Your garden is looking great! Those plants don't seem to mind the duststorms.
Hugs to you three!
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