Spring Fling

Hello Friends,

Happy spring!  It doesn’t really feel like we entered a new season here.  The desert sand didn’t change colors.  The sand is still brown.  I’ll post if that changes.  The weather is getting warmer though.  The AC went out in the office for a day and a half this week.  It was so warm and uncomfortable in the office and I was so incredibly crabby because of it.  At least I wasn’t the sweatiest at the office, but I just kept thinking over and over, “I’m going to die this summer.”  Maybe a little dramatic, but I’m now officially terrified for the summer heat and humidity.

Qatar doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time, so the sun is starting to come up super early.  After my morning run the sun was really high even though it was only 8am.  The sun was higher than my photographer skills depict.

 

BREAKING NEWS: Cue the band please, we are producing oil people.  Thank heavens.

Some of our friends are moving back to Houston.  People are always coming and going here, so I better get used to it but I’m still sad to see our friends leave.  Most of the American’s that live in Qatar are roughly here for a three year rotation.  (I used the word roughly so I don’t jinx anything.)  The majority of the expats in our office are from Scotland or England.  They tend to stick around longer than the Americans for tax breaks.  Americans still pay taxes outside of the US.  We pay taxes to continue to be considered an American citizen.  In England and Scotland, you are only taxed on money earned in the country.  There are lots of people from the U.K. working in the Middle East, because they don’t have to pay taxes.

 March madness is continuing on without us.  I feel so left out.  Poor Jonathon only watches 10 minutes of basketball while eating his breakfast before work.  My boss claims that watching basketball isn’t a reason to skip work.  He also thinks that cricket and rugby are superior sports.  People’s morals are messed up here.  Messed up.

I realized after last weeks post that we haven't discussed the glamorous topic of toilets in the Middle East.  So here we go, at least for the women.  It is a little like being on a game show.  "What's behind door number two?"  When you go into a public restroom (think the mall or grocery stores) and open a stall door you will see one of two options.  There will be a toilet or a hole in the ground.

 

Most public buildings have both options, so if you open the stall door and don't like what you see then you can try the next stall.  You might have also noticed the hose with the shower head in the photos.  Some people use this instead of toilet paper.  Most bathrooms will have a hose and toilet paper.  That is all about that topic for now.

I hope you are all enjoying spring so far.  We are soaking up the nice weather before the heat rolls in.