I realize that on my last post I ended with the line, "It's not an easy life, but it's a good one." When I reread my writing this morning, I noticed that I did not highlight any of Doha's uneasy qualities. The best I can do right now is a list, so here you are (in no particular order) - a list of unsavory details about Doha.

1. The driving. See previous blog posts.

2. The rubble and the litter and the dust (though many career international teachers say Doha is very clean compared to other places they have lived)

3. The lack of safe places to walk (this is due to reason one, not due to crime)

4. The "throw away" attitude and the obstacles to recycling (so easy on the island, we didn't even have to sort!)

5. Seeing movies at the theatre without the good kissing scenes


Our front gate



6. The likelihood we will get into a car accident and all the red tape that will surely follow

7. The lack of a true cultural experience even though there people from all over the world living in Doha

8. The reliance on cheap labor (Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan)

9. The shelves lined with "skin lightening" products for men, women, and kids



Doha skyline



10. The difficulty in finding common items such as frozen blueberries and canned black beans, the right printer cartridge, a wood saw, tiki torch oil, decent tape. The frustration is often followed by uninhibited bouts of giddiness upon finding the said product.

There are more, of course, but it's the stuff for stories told with a bottle of wine . . . while wearing a tank top and short shorts after watching the unedited version of Sex and the City after a day of eating pork products and attending church and kissing the husband in public. Wink, wink.



Spiderman and Greta guarding the goal