Emigration anniversary Q&A
A year ago today Eloise landed in Qatar for the first time and began her ex-pat adventure. To mark this prestigious event she took part in an high-brow, in-depth, probing interview. Here's the transcript;
Congratulations on making it through your first year in Qatar, you're now a third of the way through your planned time here. Has it gone quickly?
Very quickly, but then I suppose that is because I work long hours and our life is split into lots of little sections being on an eight and two rotation. We are always either planning or are on a holiday (this of course is the worst part of my job :-).
How are you coping with the long hours and 6 day weeks?
Maybe this is a better question for Gareth to answer as he normally gets it when I am tired or annoyed that I work long hours. I don’t think I do too badly though. Basically I try to make the most of my free time; practicing the golf skills, going to the gym, and treating myself every now and then to a pedicure or manicure when I have a "why am I putting myself through this" moment helps. Fortunately there isn't loads and loads to do in Qatar so you rarely feel like you are missing out on stuff. Also the 8 and 2 rotation means that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. In fact I think I would find going back to a normal 40 hour week a bit strange now – what did I used to do with all my free time????
What has been the biggest surprise with regards to your preconceptions of Qatar?
To be honest I didn’t give Qatar itself much thought before I got here, since from when I was offered the job to arriving was a little bit of a roller coaster ride as we had so much to organise and sort out. The heat and humidity still surprises me now, and getting my first bum steam bath from sitting on a toilet last August was just bizarre. Not being able to clean your teeth in cold water (because unless you have a water chilling system in your home it is impossible to get cold water from June to September) is something I will never enjoy.
Was there ever a point where you thought you wouldn't make it this far?
Yes of course, project work is project work and anything can happen at anytime to change the situation you are in and things are not always in your control.
Give me 5 good things about being here?
- The blue sea & sky
- Our lovely apartment
- The different people and nationalities you interact with
- Learning to play golf
- The holidays
And 5 bad things?
- The heat in the summer
- The driving – it is just crazy sometimes
- The cost of leaving – for some reason flights out of Qatar are very expensive
- Not being able to hold hands with my husband in public
- Knowing that a lot of (non-western) ex-pats are living in poor conditions and are paid poorly, and aren't always able to leave if they want to.
What have been the highlights of your year here?
To be honest, probably the times when we have had visitors – there is always something special about showing off the place where you live.
And the lowlights?
Being here for 6 weeks by myself without Gareth was pretty tough.
3 comments (click to view/add):
Why can't you hold hands with you husband in public? I hold my wife's hand and I've seen many couples doing the same.
Hi anonymous,
True, you do see a few couples holding hands, but we choose not to out of respect for the customs and religion of the country. We believe that you should act accordingly when you are in someone else's "home". Hence why we also dress more modestly than usual when out and about, why we don't stare at Qatari women, don't drink alcohol in public, etc, etc.
Most of the tourist literature on Qatar states that public affection between men & women is a no-no. Some even say that it can lead to arrest.
In the year or so we have been here there's definitely been an increase in the number of people holding hands and dressing inappropriately. You may say that the country is becoming more open to this sort of thing, but a recent news article which said they are planning to introduce stricter guidelines for dress codes in shopping malls suggests this isn't the case.
When I see couples holding hands I often wonder whether it's because they're unaware that public affection is considered offensive, or because they choose to ignore it. I'd be interested to hear which it is in your case.
Hey there :) Just found your site, great pictures! I moved to Doha from the states after getting married in May (hubby is a journo here). We're Muslim (I cover my hair), and we hold hands all the time in public.
It seems generally accepted that PDAs shouldn't go beyond that, though.
As far as I know, the behavior isn't considered offensive in Arab culture, which is very family-oriented. Dressing immodestly, on the other hand, would definitely be taboo, though I hear things have gotten a lot more relaxed in Doha over the past year or so.
Anyway, sorry for the rant. Glad I found y'all, looking forward to reading more :)
Shabina
Post a Comment