"It Wasn't Me" - Take Two!

First of all, Michael is fine. Unfortunately I have yet another accident to report. I won't give Michael too much grief about it as he feels EXTREMELY BAD AS HE WAS DRIVING MY JEEP!!! You know Michael isn't usually allowed to drive my car...lol...just kidding (couldn't help it!)!!! However we have a guy who washes our cars every Friday afternoon. My car had already been washed and Michael's was in the process when Michael decided to go to the store. So off he went, in the Jeep. He was very close to the house, just two roundabouts down! Each Roundabout has a name and usually some sort of ornament in the middle, this is how you learn where you are going in Doha. There is the Treasure Chest Roundabout, The Mall Roundabout, Burger King Roundabout, Civil Defense Roundabout and so on and so on.

Well, Michael was at the now most civilized roundabout called Green Steps Roundabout (and yes there are four sets of green steps in the middle of this roundabout). It is civilized because unlike most of the others, it actually has traffic lights which makes it a lot easier to get through. Many of the roundabouts are either being taken out or are receiving traffic lights due to the increased amount of traffic and accidents.

Michael was going through the roundabout when the light turned red and he stopped before actually coming out of it. A taxi hit him from behind reporting that the light was yellow. When an accident happens in Doha, you are not to move the car. It doesn't matter if you are blocking all lanes of traffic and no one can get through...you don't move your car. The police arrive, assess the incident based on the location of the cars and then a ticket is written. Because most of the dialogue is in Arabic, Michael had to call a designated Qatari coworker to come and represent him (for a second time...sorry...I said I wouldn't do that!). We are so appreciative of his assistance!!!

Luckily the fault was placed on the taxi driver and the incident was handled quickly. Michael is safe, my Jeep received some minor damage and will need to be repaired, which will be a memorable experience I'm sure! You might be interested to hear, that the taxi was damaged pretty badly and was not drivable! GO JEEP!!! And yes, I know what they say about paybacks! lol

Late Night Out

We had a company event this evening. Here is a picture of Michael and I from that event. I know it is quite odd to see me in this color...but I went shopping today and thought I would try something different! The stores/styles are all very European. I feel completely out of place stepping into a store that is not Ann Taylor Loft. I just keep telling myself it is all about new adventures!!! (I guess my wardrobe is included in that too!)

It's a Miracle!!!

We finally found....MIRACLE WHIP!! While this may not seem like a big deal...this is one of the many products that are extremely hard to find. When a shipment of Miracle Whip comes in, the expat ladies call all their friends and it flies off the shelf in hours! (And of course the Qatari people buy it too because they see the Westerners going crazy and join in!!! I am not joking either!)

It's a Jeep Thing!

We attended a Jeep event this evening! Qatar finally received a large shipment of Jeeps (including the 4-door Wrangler) and so the dealership (there is only one Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler) hosted a celebration. There was a lot of food and some interesting entertainment. They also demonstrated some of the off-roading capabilities of the Wrangler. It was fun, but most importantly it was something to do, sometimes it can get a bit boring here. They got 14 of the 4-doors in and within only a couple of days, they are all spoken for! Personally I prefer my 2-door model!

I love my Jeep!!!

Doha Treasures!

I have been teaching for the past week and will continue for one more full week as they have a teacher who had to return home for 2 weeks. Needless to say, we haven't done too much, so we don't have too much to share. I did think that I would share some of our purchases since arriving in Doha.

This wooden chest was our first purchase. At many of the stores or souqs you are expected to bargain for the best price. While one might expect that we would be good at such a thing, we have proven not to be! This wooden box had a price of 600 Riyal. So Michael goes to the owner and asks, "will you take 500 Riyal for that wooden box?" The owner smirked and told Michael that would be an acceptable price. Lesson number 1: Allow the shop owner the opportunity to offer his best price and then bargain down from there! (I have a feeling we could have gotten the chest for much less!) Oh well, we love it and that is all that matters!

Tea and coffee seem to be staples in the Arab culture. Everywhere you go you can expect to be offered tea or coffee while you wait. Most if not all places of business have "tea boys." Their primary job is to bring tea and coffee to employees and customers. Just the other day, I went to the eye doctor and while we were waiting for my appointment, we were approached by the tea boy and offered a warm drink. It is actually quite rude to decline the offer.


This leads us to our next purchase...an Arabic coffee and tea set. The first picture shown is the Arabic coffee cup and the picture below is for tea. Most often these sets are in gold so we were excited when we saw the silver set. The tea set comes with silver spoons that will actually require polishing!!! As many of you might expect, I am very excited about this!

And of course, I cannot forget Macey's pillow! She absolutely loves it! Notice in this picture she is holding her little bunny! This little toy was given to Macey by the company who stocked our villa upon arrival. She loves her little toy!

We're in Vegas!

Okay, so I am not telling the truth!
This is the Villagio, Doha Style!

Soon to include a hockey/ice rink, they were putting up the scoreboard today!

If You Can't Find It...

...they will make it!!! Yup, they say you can find anything you need in Doha, it is sometimes just a challenge to locate it! So Michael and I went out to the Auto Souqs (markets) looking for a cover for my Jeep. Being that it has a hard top, I cannot just throw it on if it starts to rain or there is a sandstorm, both of which we have seen quite a bit! We went into shop after shop, with no luck. Finally one of the shop owners recommended that we try an upholstery shop. Just happens that we had parked 'Qatari Style' (aka on the sidewalk) right in front of an upholstery shop. We told the shop owner what we were looking for and he in very broken English said he could finish it by tomorrow. Of course Michael and I are thinking, how much with this cost! lol So the shop owner goes out to the Jeep and takes many measurements, of course, writes nothing down, goes inside and says it will cost 250 Riyals (QR) and it will be ready by tomorrow. Michael and I laugh because this is a whole cover for the Jeep for $68.75! Of course, you are supposed to bargain for a better price, which we are not good at, and the shop owner says he already gave us a 50 QR discount, it was originally 300 QR! lol So of course we think this is quite a deal and we know that we can take it back at any time for repairs if needed. Jeep sells a cover for over $200! What a deal!

Macey wanted you to see her new pillow, also purchased at a Souq!

She loves her pillow very much!