Top 10 Things to Know About Qatar Before You Arrive

Top ten things that everyone needs to know before coming to Qatar:

1 - The banks still use paper transaction sheets and closing any account requires you to visit the bank in person. The bank closes between 3 and 4 pm for prayer, right around the same time that work gets out...so expect long waits!

2 - When transferring the ownership of your vehicle, the documents are prepared on a typewriter.

3 - The sewage system operates by gravity and flows through open pipes that are accessible through metal grates. The sewage is pumped out of a holding tank and taken by truck to a lake outside of the industrial area where it is dumped. Don't believe me? Too bad, I have seen it with my own two eyes and it is visible on Google Maps.

4 - Migrant workers from both Less and More Economically Developed Countries live here. So there are great discrepancies in treatment of people and the service quality provided.

5 - People drive like morons here. The posted speed limit might be 80kph and it is not uncommon to have someone pass you at nearly twice that speed. It is also normal practice to go from the fast lane to the exit.  Right across four lanes of traffic on Al Shamal Highway without using that thingy called a signal...that hardly anyone uses.

6 - Get ready to get sick. The air quality here is poor. Ranked in the top five globally, Qatar's air is loaded with small and large carcinogenic particles from the surrounding refineries. On top of that, there is a tremendous amount of dust in the air from all of the construction and desert environment. Furthermore, the air conditioning that you are exposed to for most of the year causes respiratory issues and dehydration.

7 - Poor kids. What do you do if you are a kid, perhaps even a teen in Qatar? Here are your options...go to the mall. Here is my theory.  If their options are limited, kids tend to get board. If they are board, they tend to misbehave. So, Qatar is a country full of kids who tend to misbehave. And in all honesty, shortly after typing this into my phone, three boys at Landmark Mall were running all over the place, hitting and kicking each other.  Wonderful.

8 - Your employer determines if you can leave the country. As part of the Kafala system, you are under the direct control of your employer. If you wish to go a a vacation, you must have your employer complete an Exit Permit. If they don't want you to leave, you don't leave...sort of like that place...what's it called...prison.

9 - The cost of living continues to rise. Already there is evidence of increased expenses. The first hit is making its presence known in the grocery store. With approximately 90 percent of Qatar's food coming from somewhere else, ultimately it is the consumer who has to pay the price. Qatar has plans to grow food locally, and they are, but the supply does not match the demand and growing food in the desert where temps hit 50C is perhaps just a little unsustainable over the long term. With 2 million plus people and growing, this is gonna be one expensive place to live.

10 - Global Warming and sea level rise puts Qatar in a serious situation. Billions of dollars are being spent in preparations for the 2022 World Cup, yet by 2100 this place will most likely be covered by water.

Reflection.

I had a right wicked week.




In my 10 or so years of teaching, I have never ended the school year the way that I am ending it now.  As the year draws to a close, there is usually a sense of jubilation that falls over the masses, despite the chaos that exists as the year winds down.  In addition, this year I am moving back home!  This should bring on a feeling of joy and happiness, but I have been a downright miserable you know what more then half of the time. 


To be honest, I have slowly had my professional morals sucked right out of me. 


As I try to fulfil my professional obligations, I am knuckled by bureaucracy and I am forced to accomplish tasks with people who choose not to act in a professional manner.  This has resulted in confrontation and animosity. 




I invite you to watch the following video.  I takes a very candid look at how leaders should make you feel safe, respected and appreciated.  I wish that I felt that way...


http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe

Seriously!

1 set of MYP Report Cards to be done
60 grade 10 geography exam papers marked
45 grade 10 business papers marked
65 grade 9 geography papers marked
37 pages and 17 000 plus words of report card text in Word
37 pages and 17 000 plus words of report card text from Word transferred over the ManageBac
100s of ATL buttons pushed
4 classes proof read
1 fight with a teaching colleague
21 homeroom comments to be entered
1 set of unrealistic expectations
1 set of DP Report Cards to be done
11 Standard Level geography papers to be marked
8 Higher Level geography papers to be marked
11 marks to be entered
1 worn out teacher who is not done reporting yet and is ready to return to a working environment where he is appreciated and is treated like a human being and not like a machine.  Seriously!

Mismatch???

I just stumbled upon an article entitled, " 17 Reasons Why the Qatar World Cup is Going to be a Disaster". 


Here is a link to the article.


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/17-reasons-why-qatar-world-194307117.html


I'm gonna make it 18 reasons...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/qatar/10883554/Taliban-members-released-in-exchange-for-Bowe-Bergdahl-begin-new-lives-in-Qatar.html


Two weeks to go!

Catch up.

So, there are a few things that I need to tell you about and I am just going to list them off.


1 - We have been invited to five birthday parties in five days and we haven't gone to one of them.


2 - My neighbour Wayne and I went to take photos of a terrible transport truck crash by our compound and we ended up driving through the desert for a bit.  I asked Wayne if Qatar had floating rocks.  Of course, he gave me a weird look.  Off in the distance on a pile of rocks was an owl!  I have never found an owl in the wild and it is very ironic that I would spot my first one in Qatar.  It is called the Little Owl and it is the exact same colour as the sand.  We ended up seeing three of them.  Impressive and hardy creatures.

3 - We spotted a 6/7 year old being bottle fed by her nanny tonight as the grandmother looked on.  If you are counting, there are four things wrong with that.



So sorry...

I am so sorry for not posting over the last week.  We have been swamped.  In our preparations for moving and school stuff, I just haven't had any time.  I just wanted to let you know that since we have shipped our computer home, I won't be able to upload any more of our photos, so you will just have to wait for our return to Canada, when I can post some pics from our last days here and our trip to Spain.  Two and a half weeks left!

Moving Day

Today is moving day.  Our shipping company, Euro Movers, is coming at 9am to take our stuff and ship it back to Canada.  The journey will take 30 to 45 days via ocean freight.  We have our fingers crossed that nothing goes sideways, literally.

We just backed up all of our computer files and all of our stuff is lugged out of the closets, nooks and crannies in our place.  There is one big pile of boxes in the corner of our living room.

It never ceases to amaze me just how much stuff can be accumulated in a short time.

Wish us luck!