The Jefferson's....

...are moving on up!  I finally had one too many things go wrong at my first "hotel" and made the bold move 100 yards next door to the Wyndham.  I am still near the "Sport" round-a-bout and my colleagues, but without the flooding bathroom, cold showers and inconsistent internet service (just to name a few problems).  Less than two weeks until I move into my new apartment....Yes!

This week was SO busy at the job site - products are beginning to arrive to the Outpatient Clinic building that is not quite ready to receive furniture.  We had a fire last week at the site in the underground car park (which made the news here), and this week we had a very small earthquake, which was large enough to warrant another complete evacuation of the site.  I am expecting locusts or some kind of plague next week to keep things interesting.

It is getting warm here - today was 37 degrees Celcius which is about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is a bit humid here, which makes you realize how much fine sand is floating around in the air because it tends to adhere itself to sunglasses, skin, shoes, etc.

On my day off, I went to the Qatar Sport Museum (temporary) which is being housed in a big warehouse while they build the new museum.  They had a Olympic exhibit which showed the history of the ancient Olympics, as well as the history of the modern Olympics including the Paraolympics, which Qatar has had many participants.  The exhibit ended with a large feature of the Qatar Olympians - there is a lot of national pride for those who make it and they do have some medal winners.

Saturday, following our "half day" of work (which is 8 hours instead of 9.5 hours long), I met my new friend, Helen, and her driver drove us around to three different tailor shops and into the Fabric Souq (the fabric market).  I found some beautiful silks and am having a couple of things made.  I find I am already tired of the clothing I brought!

I am waiting anxiously for my cello to arrive at Badie Music Store.  The gentleman who is setting it up doesn't speak much English and my Arabic is limited to the following:

"Salam - Marhaba" which is Hello

"Sabah El-Khair"  which is Good Morning

"Shukran" which is thank you

I had my Indian driver, Noussad, (who claims to speak Arabic about 70% - whatever that means) talk with him on the phone for me, however,  Noussad's English is very limited, so I am not sure he is the right translator for me.  My colleague at work, Islam, who is Jordanian, speaks excellent English AND Arabic, so he is going to make the call for me tomorrow to see when the cello will be ready.  I might be getting a Sousaphone for all I know! 

I found this week that I am adjusting to the money conversion and don't have to think to hard about it anymore...

3.64 Qatari Riyal = $1.00 US

There doesn't seem to be coinage here in Doha - all prices when you pay with cash are rounded up to the nearest dollar.  Some folks have asked me what things cost here, so here is general run down.

Petrol is very inexpensive - 0.80 QR / litre which is approximately .22 US cents / litre

3.785 litres = 1 gallon so gas is .83 cents per gallon.  No wonder there are so many drivers!

Groceries are really inexpensive and most of the produce comes from Jordan, Lebanon and Africa.

Dinner usually costs us $4-$5 per person USD.

Our driver, Noussad, costs 100 QAR for a round trip, anywhere in the city.  But this is usually for 3 passengers and he will come any place/anytime to drive, if we need him. 

Taxis are easy - I just ask ahead of time how much they will charge and we agree upon an amount - no running meters to be found, but I usually use Noussad if I can. 

At the tailors, they will make a beautiful men's suit in a lightweight wool of your choice for around

 1000 QAR which is $364.00 USD.

Americans are treated very respectfully and the Qatari love to interact with us.  Much different than I expected!  Most pleasant.