Wanderlust

We found some people wandering around Doha.  We decided to keep them.

The background of these pictures are about to change.  Get jealous, because we are headed to Jordan.

Hungary

This week's blog is brought to you courtesy of Jonathon's work trip to Hungary.

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He flew into Budapest and then drove South to Szeged.

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We have been in the desert too long.  I'm a little too jealous that Jonathon experienced rivers, clouds, and green grass while wearing a jacket.

 

We are busy here gearing up for exciting visitors.  Soon we will be packing our bags for another journey.  Any guesses where we are heading this time?

Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Our weekend was a lot of fun.  It involved four days of this action:

(And in shorts!)

Happy birthday Grandpa Roy.  We hope you have a wonderful birthday.  We are thinking of you.

The New Normal

When we first moved here we were constantly in shocked with the lack of safety standards.  We were walking around with our jaws scrapping the ground muttering, "Those kids aren't wearing seat beats" or "that construction working has on flip-flops."

We were surprised that some Kansas blog groupies asked about a local gas tank explosion at the end of February.  (See more details: Gas Tank Explosion)  We didn't think examples of this safety ignorance would travel so far.  I won't bore you with my risk matrices like I do my co-workers, but safety standards here are different than in the States.  We are forced to think about making our surroundings safe, because you can't assume the people around you have the same safety benchmarks.  We don't feel like we are in danger, it just requires more effort to be reassured.

As I celebrate my 18 month anniversary in Doha, we are realizing that our new normal has changed.  Something that shocked us 18 months ago no longer turns our heads.  Funny photos for our new normal:

Expensive cars are everywhere.

Most the Qatar men wear white Thobes. (More information on Thobes and National Dress)  This doesn't result in a lot of color options at the tailors.

The police stop traffic when the Emir drives through.  This was really confusing the first time it happened, now it is annoying but we don't question it.

We now call this rain.

We are starting to be desert people.  Beware.

No Boys Allowed

Sorry I've been non-existent.  We have been responsible adults lately working hard.  Since filing taxes didn't leave much room for fun, I packed my dancing shoes and headed to Abu Dhabi with the ladies.

Remind yourself here of when Jonathon and I visited Abu Dhabi last February.

I wasn't sure what to expect from girl's weekend, but everything I have seen in movies seemed like realistic options.

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The weekend didn't have too many similarities to the movie The Hangover, so you can decide if that is a successful trip or not.  I finally present to you the ladies who will be seen in public with me despite my daily calculator use and crocheting habit.

    

Token camel photo:

Brunching (not sure where all those glasses came from):

Visiting the Grand Mosque: 

We have been celebrating a few special events recently.  The beautiful 75 degrees F weather, and the back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back Big 12 champs.  Happy March all.