Oops!

That last post was actually from a couple weeks ago. I had thought it posted but didn't go through.

We are actually in Dubai, we flew this afternoon for some family holiday time...and to renew our Qatar visas and let Doug work at the Dubai Stantec office. Luckily they have an apartment that we're able to use. We have a rental car so excited to see some new sights and return to Atlantis maybe! 

Morning walk on the Corniche

We didn't last very long since it's still reaching close to 40 degrees during the day, but we took a short stroll along the Corniche this morning. Cool views of the West Bay high rises and the boats crossing the bay. Too bad the kids still get instantly bright red in the heat. Hoping soon we'll get to actually spend extended time outside and at the park!

Pumpkins Procured

After finding out the cost of pumpkins at the grocery store I went with the girls this morning in search of pumpkins direct from the Fruit and Vegetable Market. It's an open air market, under shade, kind of like a farmer's market. It was easy to find and full of variety for items. 

I was a little disappointed to find that the only pumpkins here are more like squash. Guess I had the perfect bright orange pumpkins of home in my mind. These ones are a little more 'rustic' but Halloween is all about being ghoulish so this is probably better anyway. And the price a lot better too!

Maëlle was very excited to spot some little tiny ones and was so proud of the one she picked out.

Pumpkin procurement success! We ended up with 3 medium sized pumpkins and 2 small ones for 70 riyal plus 10 tip for the guy who followed us around with a wheel barrow, loaded our pumpkins, and took them to the car with us. That's about $20 Canadian. Now how to decide to carve them!

 

Happy Thankgiving!

Not planning to do a big turkey to celebrate but Maëlle and I did bake a pumpkin pie with Grandma's recipe. This one actually made with pumpkin and not our home grown squash though :(

Happy Thanksgiving Canadian friends and family!

Paparazzi

We very often get requests from people to take Maëlle and Neko's photos (at least one per outing to big public places). Many don't ask and I catch them trying to sneak a quick pic on their cell. There are lots of expats here and fair children but i guess few are quite as blonde and fair as Maëlle and especially Neko. Some want to be in the photo with the them too so my new thought is if someone asks for a photo with them, then I get to take one too. Keep our collection of random strange people wanting a photo of the kids! 

There are actually lots of older children that are quite intrigue by the kids. Today we had a request from a Mom and young girl for a photo, so I took one too :)

Celebrating the Holidays

Not only are we celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend but it's also the kick-off to Eid Al Adha holidays here. We went in search of ingredients to bake a pumpkin pie and happened upon a special set-up of women outside the supermarket offering Henna / Mehndi designs as part of Eid celebrations. Maëlle was immediately keen to get her hand painted.

She sat very still and even let it dry for about 15 minutes while I got mine done too to match! Originally planned to get Neko done but quickly realized it would get everywhere and turn into a big blob. There's no way she wouldn't want to touch it.

Neko made her own friends though while Maëlle and I were busy. She sat and snacked with these lovely ladies.

And the finished product...

So fun and a neat way to celebrate our Thanksgiving and our upcoming holidays. Looking forward to Doug having extra time off and an impromptu family trip to Dubai for a week.

Pricey Pumpkins!

I was really excited to hear that you can actually buy pumpkins here for carving but then quickly learned that they come at a cost. At the grocery store yesterday I saw a bunch of big ones but couldn't believe the price and bet you won't either!

So those prices translate to $55 - $65 per pumpkin in Canadian. Yikes. 

I heard you can get much cheaper shopping direct from the vegetable wholesale market so I'm going to go on a mission to find that. Fingers crossed! Can't have Halloween without carving pumpkins ;)

From the photo collection of 'products I can't even believe exsist'!

I've seen this a few times now - soaps and creams claiming to whiten your skin. Creepy.

This took me a minute to figure out. Stops your car sensor from beeping when purposefully choosing to not wear your seatbelt. Oh and the added benefit, it's a bottle opener too. Seems a ridiculous product where drivers are crazy unsafe and in a country that bans alcohol!

This country has a unhealthy obsession with kid's cologne. Every store has a huge section for it, of course using all the fav characters to market it - Spider-Man, Disney Princesses etc. I can maybe accept it, but when I saw this I could believe my eyes!

Friday Night Shopping

You'd think I would have learnt by now, but I guess I must just love wrestling with the 4-way wheeled grocery carts in slippery flip flops and standing out as the only crazy white girl in the place! Grocery shopping on a Friday night not recommended. So crazy busy. Our Canadian friend laughed at me when she heard I was at the store. The only saving grace...Häagen-Dazs ice cream samples!

Looking for oil anyone?! How about a whole isle of it. But believe it or not in all that selection no vegetable oil here.

2 months in

Hard to believe we've officially been here two months tomorrow. In some ways we've settled into our new home, and in other ways it still kind of feels like we're on an extended vacation. Might have something to do with how much we are enjoying the compound where we live. It's nice to see palm trees and tropical greenery out our window every day, and swim in a pool that reminds of a resort or Club Med!

Long gap in updates, apologies to anyone who actually cares or reads these! I unfortunately injured my arm back in May during the move out of the house and now every time I go to type my hand goes numb and tingly. Very annoying. Went to a specialist chiropractor recently but still waiting a day or two to see if the numbness stops. So far still hanging around. Grrrr.

I think we've made the transition to our new family home in a very far away country quite well. We have connected with a couple families who have kids similar ages and have also started meeting more families within our compound. We have acquired two new SUV's (new to us) and have been able to navigate successfully for the most part to get to where we want to go. We've signed Neko up for a gym program and Maelle for swimming lessons.

This past weekend we even had a babysitter care for the girls for the first time so that we could accept an invitation to go see Cirque du Soleil and enjoy a kid-free night together.

The kids are doing really well. They always seem to adapt easier to things than us. We're all still adjusting to the heat, or more so to the fact it will still be a while before we can comfortably go play at an outdoor playground or spend the day at the beach. Daytime temperatures are still 40 degrees. Neko says 'hot, hot" every time I open her car door to take her out!

My brother pointed out that he'd love to see more of what just every day life is like there. So I'll try to do better at posting things here that will give a reflection of what living in Qatar is like. I've definitely seen some odd things here and started saving some photos of some things you won't even believe! I'll get them posted now.

Missing home and friends for sure, but enjoying things in sunny, sandy, hot Doha.

Lovin' Ikea

Not sure if we're making up for living without an Ikea for seven years being in Kelowna, but we've already been 3 times since we moved here! It's nice to have something familiar and to know what to expect. Plus we needed a few major things for the house which Ikea seemed as good, and as easy, as anything to shop from.

We purchased a new dinning table, chairs, and buffet, as well as a tv stand unit and some toy storage with our moving allowance. Best part was it came with free delivery and assembly. Although Ikea prides the self on simple assembly, SO much nicer having someone do it for you!

Went back this morning for breakfast. Love how they have the eating area set up with table around a little play area. Finally I can actually enjoy a coffee in peace ;) Breakfast is similar to home - eggs, hash browns, sausages (beef), and beans (not like home). Cost is 7 QR so about $2. We had 2 breakfasts, plus add ons like coffees, juice, cinnamon buns, and fruit for under $15 for the family. Not bad, and stress free. 

Oh and of course we love the 1 riyal (30 cent) ice creams as you leave too!

Eid Festivities

Eid Al-Fitr translates to the 'festival of breaking of the fast'. It's a religious holiday for Muslims to mark the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. The religious Eid is a single day but celebrations last a week here and Doug also gets extras days off work.

We joined in on the celebrations with a big day yesterday. We started by going out to celebrate our anniversary with an Eid Brunch - Buffet. So many delicious choices and excellent desserts. Maëlle and Neko of course loved that there was a kid's area with a bouncy house, slide and kid's buffet. I think Maëlle basically only ate doughnuts and marshmallows the whole afternoon. There was another 3 year old girl there so together we closed the place down!

We then decided to check out the Souq, traditional old style marketplace. It was very hot at 4pm but most of it is shaded. We got to see our first camels! And the kids loved all the other animals you can find there: every variety of bird, parrots, bunnies, kittens, fish, turtles. They had a giant bouncy world set up for Eid but it wasn't open yet, and just too hot.

Back to the car sweaty and hot. We took a long drive to let the girls nap and headed out of town to check out a family beach about 20 minutes north of Doha in Simaisma. Looks like a fun option with facilities and two giant playgrounds. There were actually lots of people wading out in the water. By 5:30pm the sun is starting to go down and a better time to be out at the beach.

We then headed back into Doha to an area called Katara for their nightly fireworks during the week of Eid. We got there early which was a little like torture because it was SO hot still even though the sun was down. We watched from the cool amphitheatre there which is styled like a roman coliseum. 

Can't really tell but we are so sweaty in this photo!

Enjoyed a neat synchronized water fountain and laser light show and then the fireworks. When we got back to the car it was 9pm and 39 degrees! Lesson learnt, keep a change of clothes in the car ;)

Is it good on gas?

One question we never asked when buying our new car was 'is it good on gas?' You would never think of buying a car back home without considering the fuel economy. Well this is why we didn't ask, yesterday we filled up from basically empty - 41 Riyals = $11.59 Canadian!

First meal at our new table.

New Car

Official new owners of an SUV! This means new freedom for me as I have been basically stuck at home since Doug has been taking our rental car to work with him. We found a Suzuki Grand Vitara 2007 in excellent condition for a fair price so went for it. Not impressed it is white since 99% of cars seem to be white here, but guess we'll fit in...and stay cooler?

Gave it it's first real drive today attending a new arrivals coffee with the Doha Mums group. I didn't get lost and only got honked at once, I'd call that a success first trip.

Shopping Learnings

After being here almost a week it was time to do the big grocery shop to stock up and buy things like baking supplies etc. As many know, shopping with toddlers is near impossible so realized it would need to be done on my own after the kids were in bed. Lessons learnt the hard way...

1. don't go shopping after sundown during Ramadan - SO busy, I had to dodge small children running the isles (yes at 10pm), muscle my way to the front of the crowd just to get at the shelves, and get lots of stares for being the only white person in the store...of thousands!

2. 4 wheels on a suitcase great...four wheel direction on a shopping buggy not fun - see number 1, as if the crowds weren't bad enough I couldn't steer the buggy

3. don't go shopping in cheap flip flops - see number 2, getting grip to even attempt steering impossible in flip flops

4. don't expect shopping to be quick, easy, or enjoyable for a long time - although there are pretty much all the same products here, most are different brands than anything we've ever tried so it's basically a crap shoot trying to decide on the best one. Guess it will be trial and error on products for a while. So much to choose from here, all the foods from home plus all the other foods from around the world in one place. I need my Mom to explain what half the vegetables are here and how to prepare them! That goes for most of the spices and products here too.

On a positive note, there is always someone right there to collect your cart from you and if you wish wash your car while you shop! Oh and they unload your cart for you at the till.

Only here one week and already testing out the Qatar medical system.

Unfortunately the morning after we arrived Neko woke with a fever and was throwing up. It wasn't long after that I realized her baby toe was all red and badly swollen to about 3 times its size. I'm still not sure that either were related to each other, but not a fun way to start living in our new house. We monitored her toe but it was hard to tell what was causing the problem.

Finally after a few days of continued swelling and then infection we decided to try a clinic around the corner from our house.

We basically got seen right away since they have a paediatrician working for drop-ins and I didn't see any other children. We were seen and assessed right in his office.

We received a prescription which was filled right away downstairs and then taken to a treatment room to have a dressing put on (which unfortunately only stayed a couple hours on an active toddler!). We left paying nothing thanks to our medical coverage, but I think the doctor visit would have only cost about $15, and the two prescriptions about the same had we had to pay.

The doctor asked us to come back the day after next, to which I questioned "Friday?" (which is the family/holy day here) and he said oh yes but after 8pm, Ramadan timing! Thought maybe I'd bring her Saturday morning, but after her nail started to come off tonight I figured we might as well go tonight.

Poor Neko, always seems to be something but she handles it all so well. The nail had to be removed, but was almost all off anyway. She didn't shed a tear or even squirm much being treated. Now hoping it heals ok and infection stays away. No pool for her for a bit :(

All in all it has been an ok but interesting experience. Although everyone speaks English, it is often a barrier to clear communication and understanding. The doctor was able to communicate no problem but when speaking to the other staff, they were speaking hindi? so you don't really know what is going on!

I think we'll see if we can search out a Canadian doctor for regular check ups, but nice to know an emergency clinic is so close.

Officially living in Doha

It was heartbreaking saying good bye to our family at the airport but exciting at the same time to be starting our big family move to Qatar. Decked out in matching I <heart> Canada T-shirts, the girls were giddy to get on the plane. Oh to be a kid and not care about traveling for almost 24 hours. All in all it actually went pretty smooth. A couple freak outs by Neko in the middle of night leg, and one by Maëlle at the very end of the trip over her seatbelt as we were landing (of course)! On the flight from Toronto to Dubai they upgraded the plane to the huge 2 level one. The seats were super nice, wide and reclined far. Plus being in the bulkhead gave us lots of room. Emirates is my favourite airline so far. Maëlle got a special tour of the upstairs first class area. They even get showers up there!

After landing we collected our 7 giant suitcases (and forgot the stroller by accident) and loaded into two taxis to arrive at our new home. Thrilled to see our stuff here, even if most was still in boxes. Walked the kids to see the pool and burn some last energy before trying for sleep in our new house. Maëlle was so happy to see the pool and toy fox we've been showing her in photos of 'the new house'.

Amazing how you can adjust to a 10 hour time difference almost easier than 4 or 5. I could happily sleep in but unfortunately the only residual has been very early mornings from the girls. Amazing how much can be accomplished by 7am!

Will try my best to keep this updated as we go through life 'on the other side of the planet'!!!

Hope you enjoy the adventure with us.