Purple Island

After my grumpy post on Thursday, we realized that we needed to count our blessings and appreciate our surroundings.  So we headed to the greenest place we could find in the desert.  We went to purple island which is neither purple nor an island, but we had a grand adventure in the mangroves.

 

FYI, That is a desert mutt that our friends are attempting to domesticate.  Wish them luck.

Doha Downer

Hi there.  I didn't mean to disappear.  I have just been enjoying being lazy.  

This blog is like a reality TV show.  I have one post a week and get to portray that week however I want.  I like to be positive because who wants to read my complaining, but I am not feeling Doha this week.  I have said it before, but living as an expat is a roller coaster ride.  And the oldest ride in the entire park where the safety bar isn't quite snug so you get jerked around a lot and you have a kink in your neck for the next week.  

It hit 100 degrees last week and I am already over it.  So all you people whining about snow, just stop and make a snowball in my honor.  I need to put my big kid pants on or this is going to be a LONG summer.

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My life is a trade-off.  I get to travel to amazing places, but I live in a logic free zone.  I am constantly outside of my comfort zone which has made me grow and learn tremendously, but this week I just want to go to the movies and watch an uncensored film while eating Thin Mints.  In the States, you can't go to the grocery store without getting accosted by a Girl Scout and here I can't get a single samoa coconut flake.  

I know I made the choice to live here, but this week I don't want to be missing family events and sweating profusely.  The good thing about the expat roller coaster is that a high part always comes after a low!

Dustzilla

I woke up this morning, looked out the window and proclaimed, "It's snowing!" Then I remembered that I live in a desert and got really confused.  Oh, so this is what a dust storm looks like.  Then I started coughing.

Outside our house:

Our drive to work:

 

Happy birthday Greg!  You are awesome and deserve an equally awesome day.  Happy Hoppy Easter everyone!!!  Thanks for checking in.

Shocking: We're eating again

We went to the Doha Food Festival this weekend because eating is our favorite hobby!  It was hosted at the Islamic Museum of Art park.

There  was an option to dine in the sky.

But we stayed on the grounded and visited the various food stalls.

 We got some good eats and good views.

Happy birthday Greg!  We hope you have a marvelous birthday.  Happy Easter!!!

What's that cost?

Doha is pretty much a huge construction site while preparing for the 2022 World Cup.  It can be frustrating and amusing.

This riveting post is about the price of typical items in Doha. (Aren't you super excited?!?) Give it a skim; it might be a little fun.  It's not like Jonathon was embarrassed of me walking around the store snapping photos. :)

When we first moved to Qatar is took some time getting acclimated to a new currency.  On top of that, at the grocery store we had to switch from using pounds to kilograms.  I was confused more than I would like to admit, but we finally have our bearings regarding Doha pricing.

The best: 
We pay about $15 to pull into a gas station and have somebody pump our tank completely full.  Gas here is subsidized so every station charges the same dirt cheap price.

The good:
-Hummus = $1 per container
-Pita bread =$0.10 a piece

-Car washes cost $7 for someone to come to our place and clean a vehicle. 
-Eggplant is so cheap that we keep buying it even though we still haven't figured out how to cook it properly.

-Cucumbers = $1 per lb

The produce labels also indicates the origin of import.  K.S.A. is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Where the food is imported from makes a big impact in the price.  $0.80/lb or $2.60/lb

The bad:
-Anything that is imported is crazy (ACWS- get it Baugh?) expensive.
-Greek yogurt = $7.50 (oh how I miss you)
-Lunch Meat = $8
-Doritos = $6

The ugly:
Alcohol = $15 for a beer at a restaurant (But you can't buy alcohol at every restaurant, only place in hotels.) Drink one for us!

Our weekend also included some basketball watching.  We were just excited that KU had the early game, so we were able to watch live.  Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Bahrain

Hi.  Remember me?  I used to be a regular blogger here.  Sorry about the lack of blogging lately.  I just have writer's block and think I would lose readers if I started blogging about our week filing taxes.  Good thing we made a fun trip to Bahrain this weekend with friends.

We took a quick 40 minute plane ride to the nearby island of Bahrain.

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Traveling with this crazy bunch really made the trip!  As you can see, we were very serious the entire time.

So the adventure consisted of exploring forts and the Pearl Trail:

Eating yummy food:

Visiting the Mosque:

And lots of full belly laughter!

Thinking about one very special bride celebrating this weekend.  Sending lots of love to Minnesota.  Happy birthday Grandpa Roy!

Basically Celebs

We are really popular these days and have been surrounded by famous people.

Last weekend we got to attend a tennis tournament and watch Venus Williams kick booty.  Cell phone photos for the win, because who would read a blog without pictures?

Then we enjoyed an Ed Sheeran concert.  I am definitely a fan now after seeing him perform in person.  He kept the crowd entertained for two hours just him, his guitar, and some sweet playback features he was operating with his feet.  

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I think Doha might be a big deal now.  At least people started noticing it on the map.