First Impressions: Doha, Qatar

(Qatar in Arabic)

I've now spent about a week in Doha. What a week it has been! There's so much to tell you all but I will try my best to keep this memoir as short as possible. Where do I even begin?! Already, I've been to a party and a local park, gone shopping in various shops, and conversed with brilliant diverse people. It is definitely an adventure being here in Doha!

Doha is definitely breathtaking! When I first arrived here, which was at 4am in the morning, all I can remember was that the place looked so clean! I literally could not see one piece of trash anywhere on the highway nor on the sidewalk! At night, the city lit up and the view was amazing. During the day, Doha looks like paradise. There are palms trees everywhere. I can definitely tell that this city is brimming with wealth. The architecture of some of the buildings here are unique and magnificent. Words just cannot describe how beautiful and serene this place looks.

Beautiful scenery aside, I can definitely feel the influence of the Islam religion here. Everywhere I go, it is very common to see the majority of the Qatari people in the traditional Muslim clothing. The women wear their hijab or their niqabs and the men were their thawbs. Seeing them like this definitely makes me more self-conscious about my appearance because I don't want to be that tourist that wears whatever I want and offends others. However, I feel a bit sorry for the women because their clothing is in all black and the heat here can be terrible at times. 

Speaking of climate, the weather here is like being in the desert. The early mornings and evenings are quite chilly but during the day, the sun is out with all its presence. It can get as high as 79 or 80 degrees F (26 or 27 degrees C) and I'm told this is their hottest winter. Let's just say it's nice to pull out the sandals and short-sleeve shirts again.

Additionally, there are some other disparities I found here in comparison to the US. First of all, this country doesn't follow the Western calendar system at all. Here, the week starts on Sunday and ends on Thursday. Friday through Saturday is considered the weekend. Friday is usually when the people go to church. Church here is the mosque. My aunt told me there is one mosque about every 10 meters because they want to make the mosque accessible to everyone. I live close to one and every few hours, I can hear the call to prayer on the loudspeaker.

Also, there are a lot of expats here. Expats is short for expatriates, which are people who live (and work) outside of their native country. My aunt and uncle here (both of Irish citizenship) are expats and a lot of their friends are as well. I've seen a lot of expats from the UK, Bangladesh, India, South Africa, and Thailand. There are many benefits to working and living here. Namely, there is no tax on income here. Whatever you make is what you keep. Also, there is no tax on food so if you go to a restaurant you don't have to figure out the tip. Gone are the days of calculating a 20% tip on a $50.00 meal. Yay! Moreover, the currency here is called the Qatari Riyal and 1 Qatari Riyal equals 0.27 US Dollars. 

All in all, I can definitely see myself living here. Everything I can find in the US, I can find here.  Granted, the religion and the customs may take some time to adjust to (I'm a proud Christian) but that's all part of culture shock. I'm more intrigued by this culture and I make sure I ask a lot of questions just to get an understanding of what is around me. I'm not sure what the rest of my stay will be like but so far I'm enjoying it here. Most of the people I've met are very nice and hospitable, except the drivers. It's such a nightmare to drive here. All the rules are thrown out of the window. And I thought DC driving was bad! God, help me!

On a sidenote, I learned two new Arabic words: "Yallah" (pronounced Yah-lah), which means "let's go" and "Shukran" (pronounced Shook-run), which means "thank you." So shukran for reading my blog and I hope you got something from it. Until next time, take care!