Here are some personal ‘survival’ tips when living in Doha.
Lesson 1: Always, always insist that you get a brighter apartment and use the excuse that, should your boss come to know that you are not located to an apartment to your liking, someone will be in trouble. When you’re single, and a woman, you are likely to be taken advantage of, so better to have some sort of upper-hand; in other words it helps to have a boss that supports you.
My transit home (7 Pearls Apartment) has now become my permanent home. The transit unit was a little short on natural lighting so I’ve moved to the next block with a unit facing the main carpark and which allows me to draw the curtains without construction workers peering into my hall/bedroom.
Lesson 2: Get to know your neighbours well, without whom you will not have free rides to office, trips to supermarket and invitations to a ramble!
In the past few weekends, I’ve made some new discoveries, courtesy of Dave and Lawrie, my two English colleagues who are staying in the same apartment compound. Lawrie invited me to participate in a ramble to the desert plateau/crater cum beach picnic with the Qatar Natural History Group, whilst Dave and his wife, Pat, bring me along for trips to the supermarket to pick the week’s groceries – there’s a ‘Geylang Serai’ district, a Family Food Centre that’s similar to Sheng Siong and even Daiso, with all things going for QR5! Then there’s Lulu Centre that’s very much like a mini-Mustafa! The shopping malls are nothing less than spectacular (Villagio has a 200m canal in the mall with Gondolas; look up the ceilings and you have a fresco of the sky, day and night scenes!).
Lesson 3: Walk around Doha, and meet new people. While my work-week keeps me pre-occupied, I look forward to my weekends discovering new places in Doha that even my Singapore friends never knew existed, and they’ve been here for two years or more! Better yet, queue at a MacDonald’s outlet and just listen if you can pick out a Singaporean in the crowd. You have to learn to be spontaneous and thick skinned.
I have made new friends from varied nationalities, cultures and professions, and as my colleague quipped, “we all seem to get along quite well, somehow or rather”.
I also met a group of Singaporeans at a tea-session. It was nice chatting with them and listening to what they had to say about their stay in Doha. They shared with me their experiences (living on their own, away from their loved ones, missing local fare, sedentary lifestyle, more quality time with kids, etc.).
On Wednesday, the Red-dotters club (a club for Singaporeans/PRs) will be hosting a dinner to welcome President Nathan to Doha. Will I be attending? As my Singaporean acquaintance put it eloquently, “Free food, die, die must go”!
Here's the photo update.
Till next time, Mart!
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