Eye catchers.

Forgot to mention. I had my first glimpse of the social inequities over here. Without being too specific, there were two people I observed making a transaction. The first person was becoming impatient as the bank teller was counting cash and bundling it into stacks wrapped in elastics. He left with a paper bag filled with money. The next person in line literally had three bills counted. That's it!  For me, that was the moment where I first discovered the difference between the very rich and the very poor. It is hard for us to see the workers out in the heat labouring as we sit in our comfortable air conditioned vehicle. It is unbearable to be in the heat for more than 15 minutes and they work outside all day. You don't really realize how lucky you are until you see the way that other people exist. 

I am also having a hard time adjusting to the fact that nothing is recycled. Everything goes in the trash and gets carted off to the desert. I was also wondering where the tap water came from since there is none. They desalinate the Gulf water. This process is very expensive and wreaks havoc on the aquatic ecosystem. Since money is not an object, it exists. My eyes and ears are wide open and will continue to be. 

The past few days.

Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay. There is a lot to update since we have been busy and we haven't had a chance to update the blog. The Internet connection is crappy at best, but we have heard rumblings that a Shiek nearby is getting high-speed put in so that should help us out.  I  am going to go in reverse order going backwards in time towards my last post. We just got back from a staff party. The villa was very impressive. Lots of beverages to choose from and loads of good food. It was our first chance to meet some of the new staff. Tomorrow morning there will be a lunch for all 150 staff members...paid for by the school of course. We went on a Dhow cruise last night and anchored just off an island in the Gulf. The boat is made entirely out of wood and has two levels. Look it up. I jumped off the top deck and had the salt water go up my nose and out my ears. The kids had a great time floating in the water. It is so salty that you barely have to swim. Nate passed out on the way back to port and I got some great shots of him with the Doha skyline in the background. Both Lindsay and I are amazed at how well both Aislyn and Nate have adapted to the time change and life over here. They are just soaking it all in and have made a ton new friends. We have had our blood taken, fingers printed, physicals completed, driver's licence done and even an eye test. The Doctor who did the eye test asked me if I could see the image. I told him it was an 8. He said that there were no numbers so I said b...turns out it was an R. I still passed 6/6.  No wonder there are so many crappy drivers here. We have been busy doing our IB training. We really just want to get the school year started. :)

Learning as we go.

Woke up this morning and looked out the bathroom window. I guess that' what Mars looks liked.  Yep, we are in the desert!

Early start to the day. Our place has a black film all over it scrubbed the kitchen from top to bottom. Looks good now!

Went for lunch at a restaurant called K108 atop a hotel.  Wonderful meal with all of the new staff and department heads. 

Swam with the kids while Linds went to get groceries. A slight culture shock for her. 

Stray cats everywhere crapping in our backyard. I love cats just as much as I love their crap.

Our Kiwi neighbour brought a scorpion in our house. Never saw a wild one up close like that before. Rugged looking creatures that mean business!

Had our first day at the school today. The kids were great and spent the day with Leah, a Phillipino caretaker.

Went to the landmark mall. I am sure that I saw signs saying no smoking. I did see two Qatari men smoking in the mall. The rules do not apply to the apparently. Learning as we go. 

Did our first workout in the pool house gym. Starting to feel normal again. Good night

We have arrived!

Hi everyone:

We have arrived!  After spending three amazing days exploring Paris, we boarded our flight for Qatar.  Six hours later, we landed, in the dark.  Off the plane and directly onto the asphalt. All of you are probably wondering, how hot?  Imagine our hot summer nights and then add 10 degrees or so. That's about right.  We boarded as bus and drove for what seemed like forever.  We entered the arrivals area and somehow managed to totally miss our welcome crew that would have allowed us to skip the line. Lucky for us, they opened up a new line, and 15 minutes later we had our visas and we were on our way. As we walked through the final inspection area, a nice fella from the UK said, "just walk and don't ask questions". Good advice. On the other side of the glass, our principal Chris and our neighbours, who are also teachers at ISL-Qatar, Damon and Kim, were waiting for us with a sign. We walked out with all of our luggage, including 6 bags, two car seats and 4 back packs, right into a wedding photo shoot.  Nate and I did some great photo bombing!  Before loading our bags, a very kind person provided us with some "beverages".  You see, in Qatar it is forbidden to drink alcohol so it is difficult to get. Until we get our Residence Permits, we cannot purchase alcohol. The amount that you are permitted to purchase is based on a percentage of you annual salary. Anyway, we loaded up and headed to our compound. 

Paris!!!!!

So, we finally started our journey to Qatar with a short stop in Paris!  After a 7 hr flight over night, we arrived in Paris at 8 am exhausted. The kids were awesome on the flight but only slept the last 2 hrs.  We had low expectations for the first day but managed to nap for the afternoon in our hotel room and then head out to the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing....everything I had dreamed it would be. As a French immersion kid, I always want to visit France so I could practise my French.  Too bad I forget most of it!  Our second day here, we all slept till noon...something we have never, ever done!  Headed out in the afternoon on the hop on hop off bus and saw all the tourist places. What an amazing city...we wanna come back for sure!  Headed to Qatar tomorrow....we are both super nervous about seeing Qatar for the first time and meeting the new people we will work with!  I was stressing over what to wear on the plane because as of tomorrow....good bye tank tops. Oh well, hopefully it's all ok. All I can say is our townhouse better not smell or I may not make it. Oh, and I pray the furniture is from IKEA!