Let me start this blog with a geography lesson (ha,ha,ha). This is because I know for a fact that majority of you do not know this country where I am now residing. Qatar is a country located in the Middle East. Formally it is called State of Qatar. It is situated south of Bahrain and north of the United Arab Emirates. So if you are somewhat familiar with how the countries in the world are positioned then I guess you have a bit of idea now where it is … Anyways, just like you guys, when I got here, I didn’t know much about this part of the globe I am going to call home for a couple of years. I had little knowledge of the place, its culture and its people. That time, the only thing that was on my mind was I and my 2 kids were going to a place where we will be reunited with my husband, their father. Here our family will be complete again. That was enough reason for me to go to a location so foreign to me.
Three months has gone by now and slowly I am learning more about Qatar. It is so different from the Philippines, so very, very different. Unlike our country which is under the democratic form of government (or so they say) here, what they have here is monarchy, which means it is ruled by a King (Emir Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani). Well…,the first thing that caught my attention when we first arrived was how most of the Qatari (that is how they are called) and Arab women are dressed. They wear this thing called “Abayat” (I hope I spelled it right). It is a black long-sleeved dress that covers their whole face (although a few show their faces) or sometimes shows only their eyes and it extends up to their ankles. And for someone who since childhood was so influenced by the American way of dressing and would rather go out wearing jeans and a tee this was really something I found quite odd. At the back of my mind I am so glad and I feel fortunate not to have been brought up like that. But then I guess the women here have embraced that part of their culture and it is not like a big deal of them as it is for me. Oh well, I guess to each his own…
Another thing different here is the weather. When we arrived last November 29th the weather was cold. And as the days went by it became colder. We always have a jacket (a really thick one) in tow lest we want to freeze ourselves to death (hahaha, just a figure of speech). One day it got to 9˚C here. And that was really cold!!!! Every morning there’s fog all around and the cool wind was blowing so strong. Back in the Philippines I rarely wear a jacket or a sweater. I always thought of myself as someone who isn’t the type who gets chills easily but then that’s not the case nowadays. My husband and kids would laugh at me because I often had popsicle fingers and toes in spite of the fact that I am bundled up in a jacket already. Although, honestly speaking, I enjoyed the weather. After all, I spent 40 years of my life in a tropical country where the only place you could enjoy such coolness is to go travel 5 or more hours to Baguio city. But I suppose I have to cherish every moment cause from what I’ve heard the temperature rises to the 40’s or more(ugh!) or more during summer months (which takes place July-October every year) in this area of the world.
What I like most about Qatar are the Malls (Yes!). Being a Mallrat and a self proclaimed Mall Goddess like me I had fun scanning the area. And lo and behold, I was shocked to see that Malls here are open up to 10 in the evening. The supermarkets located inside the Mall (ala SM) closes at 12am. Isn’t that great?! It gives me and my family more time to go window shopping even up to midnight (he,he,he). And take note, almost all the shops around the mall are signature ha. There’s Nine West, Gap, Mango, Giordano, Nike, Adidas, Guess, Marks and Spencers,Dorothy Perkins, etc. But then I feel a sudden longing for all the low cost tiangges located in the middle of Malls there sa ‘Pinas(lalo na nung Christmas). Yon bang tipong tatawad ka like crazy with the friendly neighborhood tindera tapos at the end you are so happy that she gave it to you for P5(?) lower than the original price. Nandun yung excitement ng shopping eh (hehehe). People here enjoy malling as well.Minsan nga parang mga addict rin sa malls. That’s why getting a parking spot in carparks of the malls (kahit ang laki ng parking area) during rush-hour (1pm and 7pm) is like a life and death situation here (harhar). But then, strolling around the mall is well worth it naman.
By the way, weekends here are Friday and Saturday. When we just got here we had a hard time adjusting. Kasi naman the weeks starts on a Sunday.A day when we Filipinos in the Philippines mostly bum around the house and do nothing all day. We even hear mass on a Saturday.
I could still name a lot more differences about this country and the Philippines but I guess my blog would be very long and you might lose the urge to read on…Although to tell you the truth, I have a lot more kwentos and adventures to tell you guys about this new place where I am now but I guess I’ll just reserve it for my next blog. Till then….taataa for now…
(February 29, 2008)
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