Three and half months in and counting

The weather is hot, hot, hot now - averaging 40 to 45 degrees most days now and staying in the late thirties in the evenings as well, sometimes there is a light breeze if you are by the water which is a relief but we are glad of the air conditioning and mostly not going far during the day now. Doing things outside during the day is mostly a no, no unless there is somewhere to sit in the shade. I must be getting acclimitatised a bit though, because I remember a time when at home in England, I couldn't sit in the sun for long in 80 degrees.

We went to the desert last weekend to camp overnight which was an experience, with some friends who had a caravan for the ladies to sleep in. Fortunately, it has air con so we were able to sleep in reasonable comfort. We sat up until quite late, playing cards and chatting. We had a barbecue and campfire and were about ten yards from the sea which is now very warm to swim in, like a tepid bath. Then the next morning, we were up early, about six am to break camp and pack up before the sun got too hot to head back to Doha.

Colin is hoping to have a permanent camp next September - you are allowed to do this from September to March over the winter season when it is cooler. You have to have a licence for your tent and there is a small charge.You can set up a tent or caravan and leave it up, all kitted out with all your gear. They have toilets, outdoor kitchens and even bedrooms in some of the bigger tents. This means that you can go on a Thursday night and stay all weekend if you want to at the Inland Sea. It is very popular for people who want to get out of the city.

We had another great trip with Khawar's diving friends to a small island just off Doha city - Banana Island - in a dive boat. We took a picnic and spent a great couple of hours there and we were able to swim in the sea - the Arabian Gulf which was very warm.People here, even if you have only just met them, are very generous with their time and hospitality and cannot do enough for you.

Colin has made a lot of new friends already since he has been here - everyone gives you their business card and apparently there are 54 different nationalities living in Doha. So many different languages to listen to and try and understand and the different stories of why people have ended up in Doha are neverendingly fascinating. Everytime he goes out, he comes back with a tale of someone else he has met - we are all riding in his slipstream and our social lives are climbing accordingly.

Last week we went to the Opera - in Doha, we have Katara, the cultural centre which is a great open air area with new buildings, restaurants, an amphitheatre, opera house, beach and is brilliant for people watching. A Spanish Flamenco company came here for four days to perform their interpretation of some well known operas and we went to two different performances - brilliant and free as well. My social life is certainly well on the up and up.

Downside, we had a fire in the apartment block last Saturday. This was a very scary few hours as it started on the seventeenth floor, one below us and just across the tower from us. We were outside for five hours whilst they got everything under control. No-one was hurt and it was apparently started by an electrical fault. Not surprising considering the electrical problems I have had in the apartment since I have been here. I will not be sorry to leave, although we do have great facilities here but they are all closed at the moment whilst they carry out the repairs, even the pool has been emptied because of the debris falling into it.

Good news, we have found a villa to rent with Khawar which is massive and we will be able to sublet a couple of the rooms to help with the rent. It has a large garden which is something of a rarity here and covered parking. It is unfurnished so we will have to get some stuff but there is always plenty of secondhand furniture from the expats who are leaving available.We will have room for visitors anyway.We will be moving in when we get back from England end of June.

Watch this space for some pictures.

The mouse and other adventures

Well, CQ has been here for just over two weeks now and has settled in very quickly as those of you who know him would expect, making new friends at the rate of one a day. He is thriving in the multi national environment and different languages don't seem to be a barrier to him to communicate. He has already found several spanish speakers so is practising his Spanish as well as learning Arabic.

He has stopped going to the formal classes as the teacher was not teaching in a very helpful way so his young friend, Mohammed now comes over every day and they have practice sessions by the pool - he is also helping to improve Mohammed's English. Mohammed is Indian descent but has lived in Doha all his life. He is only 25 years old but a very young and naive 25, looking for work in IT at the moment so we took him to the large careers fair with us last week. ictQATAR had a stand to provide advice about careers in ICT so he was very grateful. In return he taxis Colin all over the place. Last week they went to a large bookshop to buy Colin an Arabic/English dictionary. So a strange friendship, but it seems to work.

He is very disciplined - every morning he studies by the pool for a couple of hours, then swims and the afternoon is free before I finish work. I admire him, I don't think I could apply myself so seriously in this heat.

The week before, we had some unusual weather - we had rain for several days on and off - I even had to get my umbrella out of the suitcase one morning to walk to work - even then I got drenched. Because there are no gutters and drains on the roads here, the water stands until it evaporates and the cars drive about in very deep water. When it gets to a certain level, things are at a standstill unless you have a  4x4. It was cloudy every day for almost a week over the whole of the gulf area - very unseasonal. However, it is now back to normal and the temperatures are now up in the late 30 degrees - the last few days it has been between 35 and 38 degrees celsius most days - extremely hot and in the evenings still very warm.

We had a pleasant couple of hours by the pool yesterday before it got too hot at lunchtime, then the pool grill does a full three course buffet lunch for 65 QR which is about ten pounds - very good value - then of course you need a siesta.

In the late afternoon we set off in the car to find the Qatar Distribution Company which is the posh name for the alcohol storage depot. It is owned by the Airport Duty Free company. This is the place where you go to get your liquor licence and then buy the booze. The place is out in the middle of nowhere and quite a challenge to find but we got there and were very proud of ourselves. The usual process of application, after taking your ticket number from the machine in the waiting room. However, we must have arrived at a good time as we did not have to wait. Having filled out the form, had my photo taken for the permit, handed over the returnable deposit of about 150 pounds, I then became the proud owner of my alcohol permit. (It's a good thing I bought a new purse with a lot of credit card slots, as I now have a whole new set of cards with my photo on).

We then proceeded to the supermarket part of the depot to make our purchases. Only permit holders are allowed in but the security guard must have taken pity on me and allowed Colin to accompany me. Inside a surprisingly good choice of wines, spirits and other drinks, quite expensive but as they have a monopoly, you have no choice. My monthly allowance is 2,500 QR - this is the maximum I can spend on alcohol - it is based on my basic salary and is equal to about 400 pounds so is pretty generous. This is tallied up every time you visit to purchase and they keep a close eye on it. There are even machines where you can check your balance. A bottle of standard wine is about ten pounds.

Entertainment in Doha is very varied - if you keep an eye on the newspapers there is plenty happening. We went to an "Elegant Indian musical night". This was an evening of Indian music and dancing provided by a local amateur group, the Punjab Music Group, with an international superstar in the main spot. It ended up being quite hilarious by English standards as it was completely disorganised and half of the advertised acts did not turn up. The compere spent most of his time in between each performer plugging the main sponsors and it got to the point where we were all laughing each time he mentioned "The Gulf Times" and "Mr Broast BBQ". We were spotted as the only Europeans in the audience and thanked publicly for staying as long as we did to watch. All the organisers had very grand titles on the programme and billboard, Chief Organiser, Show Co-ordinator but I certainly wouldn't employ them to organise any event. They were on stage moving the props and rugs around whilst performers were singing - even trying to pull a rug out from under someone at one point. It was hard not to laugh because they were trying very hard to make it a good evening for  the audience.

We had another trip to the desert on Friday evening, this time we went in the dark and came back in the dark. You might be wondering why we would do this. We sat on the beach with a campfire for several hours, with a picnic and chatted the hours away, looking up at the stars as the sea came in slowly around us. We were nearly marooned for a while then around 11.30pm we set off back to drive home across the dunes, with no road to follow, just some tracks in the sand and the markers on the car navigation system.

The funny part this time was that whilst we sat, Khawar kept saying that there were some creepy crawlies on the ground sheet of the sun shelter we had erected. We laughed at her as we could not see anything. There were a few small beetles crawling around in the sand so we put it down to that. After we had set off and we were back on the main road to Doha, Amir was driving and Khawar had dozed off in the front seat, me also in the back. She suddenly gave a loud scream, waking us up and saying that a mouse had crawled up her leg. It must have got into the car when the doors were open and then travelled back with us. The following day, she put down some food to lure it out and left the door open. We think it left but she then had ants in the car instead. The morale being, don't leave the car doors open in the desert I think. After this, I might rethink staying overnight - we had originally planned on camping.

I have taken up belly dancing classes again here in Doha - I had been going in England but had stopped for quite sometime so I am very rusty. The classes in Keighley were Egyptian belly dancing which is a more traditional style and here it is a more modern style. The teacher is a very hard taskmaster and makes no allowances for age or inflexibility. This suits Colin very well as the classes are held at the Sheraton Hotel, which just happens to be where the Irish bar is located, so he can wait for me there whilst happy hour is on.

More later.

Ten weeks in and counting

It's been a while since my last blog - sounds a bit like a confessional - CQ will like that - seems appropriate since he is now here and that is what has delayed my latest entry - I have been very busy showing him round everywhere and making sure he will be independent whilst I am at work.

He arrived on 29th March - the flight got in around midnight and although I picked up the rental car that day, I had not been brave enough to drive it let alone at night, so I booked a taxi to the airport to collect him. He was tired from the flight but everything had gone well, apart from the luggage being a little bit overweight. I had managed to get a couple of days off work and these were tagged on to the weekend which gave us four days together. This was because I had worked two Saturdays and had some TOIL to take. Officially I am not allowed to take any annual leave until I have worked my three months probation period which is not up until the end of May. So we managed a lie in and we were able to plan what to do on Colin's first day in Doha.

Obviously the challenge involved where to find some alcohol and we ended up at the Admiral's Club at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, which was where I first stayed in November, over looking the marina and the sea - a very enjoyable first afternoon with Guinness and cheeseburger and chips, followed by watching the boys launching their jetskis. This is the Qatari boy's after school activity - they drive up in the 4x4s with the jetsksi on a trailer, launch, race round for about half and hour and then away they go.

In the next few days, we took the car out, managing the driving fairly well, with CQ acting as navigator, and watching out for the other drivers coming up on my inside, outside, cutting in front of me, traffic lights turning to red and reading the map as well. It took his mind off the dangers of the road. I am now getting used to it and have had my first solo drive, collecting him and Khawar's friend Caron from the shopping mall.

Colin's first week coincided with Caron's visit here - she is Khawar's old school friend from Scotland - they had not seen each other for thirty years but regularly corresponded. So she and Colin have spent the week together visiting the various sights whilst we have been at work and we have got together in the evenings and the weekend. This worked out well and they have talked themselves to death, drunk a lot of coffee and worn their feet out on the Corniche.

We went to the desert at the weekend - this was a very long day because the first part was spent with the Qatar Ramblers Group. This is something of a misnomer because they actually ramble in 4x4s. We all met up at a petrol station, filled up with petrol and essentials, sunhats, water etc and then set off in convoy to the other end of the country to the Ras Abruq peninsula in search of the nature reserve, wildlife such as flamingos, the Oryx which is the national animal similar to a gazelle, camels, birds etc. We were lucky enough to see two Oryx - they are very rare and shy animals. We also stopped at the Doha film set in the desert - this was built specially for their version of Lawrence of Arabia and is now there for tourists to take pictures at with a small oasis and an ostrich breeding area.

We moved onto the coastal part with some fantastic geology and rock formations - the pictures are on facebook if you are interested to see them - they have been there around 7000 years. Around 1pm, we left the group and drove to the inland sea for swimming and driving over the sand dunes. At the end of the day we had driven around 300 kilometers.

Colin had his first ride on a camel - there are some very tame ones for the tourists - they are muzzled because I think they have a reputation for being a bit bad tempered. It was very cheap, only 20 QR which is about 3 pounds. We met up with some friends who are locals and they built a camp fire -we were out there until about 9.30 by which time it was dark and it was quite surreal sitting on the sand in the dark, looking at the stars and then driving back over the sand dunes in the total black and not knowing which way you were going and when you would hit a steep dune. You navigate by your sat nav and the markers you have put in  it or follow the other people heading back. It can be quite scary but Khawar is fearless and a very confident driver. The Hummer can go anywhere.

The rental car had about a quarter of a tank of petrol in it when I collected it from the garage and in England, you will recall that there is quite an obsession about taking them back full of petrol or they charge you for the refilling of the tank etc. Here, because petrol is so cheap, they really don't seem to care. Khawar had already told me that she could fill her Hummer tank for about the equivalent of fifteen pounds but I hadn't really taken that in. So when I took the rental car to the garage for some petrol and the attendant asked me how much I wanted (here you do not fill it yourself and you have to pay cash) I said half fill it and this came to 20 QR which was about 3pounds. Filling the car in effect would have cost me about 6 pounds so no wonder the garage attendant looked at me strangely and Khawar laughed her head off when I told her!

Driving is a strange experience because apart from the main highways, many of the roads do not have names so everyone navigates by the roundabouts, all of which have lovely names and strange sculptures or something unusual nearby that they are named after. For example, the Oryx roundabout has a very large Oryx statue; the National Theatre roundabout is near the National Theatre; the Civil Defence roundabout is next to the Fire Station - you get the general idea. The Decoration roundation happened to be next to a very large interior design shop and I was going with Khawar to a meeting with a community project last week. The directions were that it was next to the Mercedes garage on the Decoration roundabout. When we got there, the interior design shop had been pulled down. Perhaps, they will rename the roundabout, which will confuse everyone.

Last night we went in search of the Irish bar which is at the Sheraton Hotel. To enter, the procedure is very strict. I had to have my picture taken, show my ID, pay 35 QR and Colin had to show his passport. The bar was excellent and is a very good imitation of a real Irish pub with live music, Guinness and Kilkenney beer. It has a happy hour from 5-7 pm and we had a great time. I of course could not drink since there is zero tolerance here on drinking and driving.

Colin started school yesterday - he has enrolled in Arabic classes at the local cultural center here called Fanar. He will be going three times a week for two hours in the morning. The classes are conducted entirely in Arabic so I think he is very brave. He has already made a friend from the class - a young man called Mohammed who is going to help him because he has missed the first week and is behind the class who have already started learning the alphabet. Here is the link if you are interested http://www.fanar.gov.qa/ .

Well better go now - more soon.

No longer the new kid on the block, seven weeks in!

I'm nicely settled in now and we have a new Director at work - hot from England - so he's replaced me as the new kid on the block at work. Although I think he has had a guardian angel looking over his shoulder since he seems to have sailed through the bureaucracy extremely well and quickly. Two weeks and he already has a residence permit and a driving licence, a new apartment and a promotion - not bad going.

I have now got my Qatari driving licence which I am pleased about but which also fills me with dread since the prospect of driving out here is really quite frightening. The drivers really don't follow any particular highway code and do pretty much anything they feel like - road rage seems to rule and size definitely matters. Anyone who doesn't have good lane discipline on roundabouts would feel very much at home here. Still, I have a rental car booked for Tuesday, so I am going to have to bite the bullet and get on with it. Apparently, the best time to go out and practice is Friday morning - the roads are quietest then because of Friday prayers and it being the weekend. So watch out Doha, here I come.

Some of you may have seen the camel pictures on Facebook - these are in a part of the car park near to Souq Waqif which is in the city centre. I'm not sure what they are doing there - there are no facilities for them and it doesn't appear to be a riding or tourist centre. Maybe it is just for the visitors to take pictures, exactly as I did. Strangely, they all seemed to be looking in the same direction, every time I looked. Maybe they were looking to Mecca.

Have I mentioned the senior Arabic men with the wheelbarrows in the Souq. There are a number of them when you are wandering around and they will follow you with your shopping - they are a version of the supermarket trolley and will take your shopping back to the car. When they are not engaged, they sit in the wheelbarrows.

Although the apartment block I am staying is serviced, ie it is cleaned and the linens changed twice a week, the cleaning is really a bit of a lick and a promise. Those of you who know me well, will know that I am a bit of a dusting fanatic although I have been a bit lax since I've here and had someone doing it for me. The other problem was I've been unable to buy a duster anywhere. So imagine my total surprise and pleasure when I came across a Lakeland shop in the City Centre Mall. A breath of fresh air and a reminder of home - one of my favourite shops.

Another thing that it's hard to get is white sugar - you can buy sugar cubes and brown sugar but loose white sugar is not so easy to get. So I've become adept at leaving conferences and coffee shops with a few packets of white sugar for my cereal in my handbag. Other things are very common that you would expect to be hard to find - Kellogs cereals are all over. If you ask for English breakfast tea, you get Liptons Yellow Label. Quite often though, they will serve it with hot milk, unless you ask for cold.

I'm developing a strange "pidgin" English which I use for speaking with non-English speakers or people I meet who are not fluent in English. Unfortunately, I think if you do this long enough, I imagine your own English would be affected, Conversely, when you are communicating by email, you need to adopt a more polite and stilted, even old fashioned style, almost how we would have once written a letter to introduce ourselves. It is customary to be polite, pass the time of day, express gratitude etc even in an email to get anything done. This can be very time consuming. It's a bit like learning a new language. After years of constantly being annoyed with spellcheckers trying to Americanise words with a "z" instread of an "s" in organisation for example, at ictQATAR, our style guide instructs us to use American English. So now I have to type center instead of centre.

Well, having used up another day of my weekend at a conference, it's back to work tomorrow, so I must go. The conference was, however, very interesting, at Qatar University, about education reform and I made some useful contacts for my programme.

Time for more tales - I think this will be the Lady's edition!

It's been a couple of weeks since the last instalment and things have been very busy at work. Khawar has been off in Singapore, so we have all had to muck in.

The weather has not been so great this last week, quite cool and very windy. I eventually had to give in and get my hair cut. Before I left England, I had been growing my hair into a different style which required more maintenance and the use of straighteners every morning but by the time I had walked to work here, I looked like "Looby Loo". For those of you who don't know who I mean, she was a doll with plaits which stuck out at right angles to her head - I presume you are getting the picture now. Suffice to say I couldn't do anything with my hair, so I have gone back to my original short hairstyle, which I know my mum will regret. It's also cooler and when the weather gets a lot hotter, which everyone is warning us about, I will probably be very glad.

It's very traumatic for a lady finding a new hairdresser - we build up a close and trusting relationship and it is hard to establish that with someone new. I was lucky that Precia, one of Khawar's friends out here was able to recommend someone. Theresa turns out to be Irish and from Dublin would you believe. She has only been out here six months herself. The cut is a bit short but it will grow!

The next big decision was where to go for a pedicure - another personal and traumatic one for us ladies. Again Precia came to the rescue and took me to her favourite beauty salon, Dados. This was a fantastic place - very plush and you can see the pictures on Facebook. Treated like special guests - the foot spa was in the floor, a hot drink, hot neck warmer while you sit, special slippers if you want to walk around, the offer to use the spa if you have to wait and a fantastic interior - and no "dudes" allowed in there.

I don't know if I've mentioned the amusing tale about the canteen at work. We go next door to the Qatar Foundation canteen for a hot lunch. When I say hot, that is a bit of an over statement, it is at best warm. However, it saves me from having to buy a hot meal at night as I don't have any cooking facilities in the apartment, only a fridge. The amusing thing is that there is a good selection, usually fish, chicken, beef, veggie, pasta etc and name tags are supplied on each dish. The names of the dishes usually provide me with amusement each day. Here are a few examples: Seafood Terminator, Fussily Pasta, Chilly Fish - some English lessons required I think.

Excitement last week on one of our trips to the Souq to buy yet more pearls as last minute presents for Precia to take home to Houston with her. The Pearl is the national symbol of Qatar, its traditional trade was pearl fishing and the local pearls are very pretty and reasonably priced. Whilst we were in the shop, a film crew arrived from Qatar TV and interviewed us about our shopping trip. Don't know whether they will actually show it but they promised to email us when it was on.

There's a strange tissue phenomenon in Doha - everywhere you go, you will see boxes and boxes of tissues, in the cars, in the restaurants, in the hotels, in the meeting rooms, on coffee tables, I'm pretty sure there will be a world shortage as a result. The explanation I was offered was that they don't have paper napkins which partly explains it but not completely. An example, in a meeting with twenty tables, there will be a box on every table. Go figure. If anyone knows the reason why, please tell me.

It was Precia's birthday yesterday so we were out all day, coffee and breakfast in the Souq in the morning in the lovely sunshine, the first for a week, then to the Mall to kill a couple of hours before the beauty salon, then in the evening we went to the Cultural village, which is alongside the sea and the newly opened public beach. This is something new for Doha, because up to now all the beaches in the city are owned by the hotels and private. This is a place for strolling in the evening and people watching with some very smart restaurants.

We went to the seafood restaurant which had to be seen to be believed. It was huge, spread across at least four buildings connected internally with a fantastic interior, a fresh fish bar with the fish waiting to be selected before being cooked for you. Several large round aquariums with tropical fish were part of the interior design and the ladies restroom had to be seen to be believed - it was as good as one of the five star hotels. Before you started your meal, the bread basket arrived and also a salad basket containing a whole lettuce, green pepper, cucumber, tomato, carrot strips etc with various dips and this was just to pass the time before your starters arrived, a meal in itself. It was the weekend so it was very busy but surprisingly reasonably priced. No alcohol of course.

Finally, I've now got my residence permit, so next hurdle is my driving licence and Colin's visa.

More adventures in the residency and visa process

Today was fingerprinting day - the last hurdle I think in the process towards getting my residency status and ID over here. This took another two hours because it is outside the city centre and quite a drive to the Criminal Forensic Centre where they carry it out.

We arrived and I was given yet another ticket with a number on it - this time I had 21 people in front of me and I was in the VIP queue this time. There were three machines with operators doing the fingerprint scanning electronically, and the palms of your hands also. Then the machine takes your photo for the ID. Again a very efficient and automated process.

So all done now and hopefully I will be officially a resident with a work visa and ID very shortly.

More drama at the apartment with the electrics when I got home last night - no lights in the bathroom - they were working when I left for work in the morning but not when I got home. It is quite a worry because there is a shortage of electric sockets and you have to use extension leads so everything is overloaded all the time as well and it is the light bulbs which seem to keep blowing the system.

Went to the Latinos dance party last night with Khawar and Precia, one of her friends from Houston. This starts with a dance class at 8pm for an hour. You pay 60 QR which is about £12 and this includes the class and one free cocktail. Then the rest of the evening is a dance free for all with a mixure of salsa, cha cha cha, machacha, merangue, argentine tango, and a few others. Everyone struts their stuff on the dance floor, beginners and more advanced together. The instructor generally works his way around everyone at least once.

Because I'm a beginner, no one really wants to dance with me so I got stuck with two no hopers who were even worse than me. One just wanted to dance in a circle and wasn't interested in the dance steps and the other just wanted to run on the spot. Either way, I wasn't making any progress with either of them. I think I need a new strategy.

Work has been very interesting this week - I have been able to get out and about and visit a few places - I went to both Qatar University and one of the new American University campuses in Education City. Both were very impressive, one more traditional and the latter, much more modern and more like a five star hotel with fantastic student facilities such as free wifi in the communal areas.

Settling in nicely now - week three

Well, here I am into my third week now and still surviving. I had the tedious medical testing process to endure last week and endure is indeed the right word for it. Patience in bucket loads is required and also a driver who speaks some English to at least start you off in the right direction. Ladies are segregrated from men in a different part of the medical commission building and although we were there quite early, about 9.30 in the morning, there were already hundreds of Indians and Phillipinos already queueing up.

I first had to go upstairs to get my visa stamped - this was the first queue and took about 20 minutes, then back downstairs to the ladies section to register and pay 100 QR (about £20) for the chest xray and blood tests. I was given a ticket with a number on it, my place in the queue and I was 6186 and the ticket stated that there were 69 people in front of me. I then waited one hour and twenty minutes to get to the counter where I registered, had my photo taken by the girl on the counter with a digital camera, and paid by debit card.

I then went to the next section for the blood test where we queued again to have a blood sample taken. This was done with no care or compassion - you are basically just a number in a line of people. Another 15 minutes or so but I have to say it was painless. They were very efficient. Then the last queue for the chest xray which was the longest and most humiliating of all. 8 rows of chairs and the same 69 people in front of me. We were sent in, 6 at a time, row by row. When it was my turn, after another hour and a half, you change into a gown in a cubicle which was shared and queued up again for the xray in one large room, your details were checked and you were sent to the machine, xrayed and sent out again to change back. Not much humanity but a very efficient process. Total waiting time three and half hours.

After that on to the next clinic for another blood test to find out my blood group. Bearing in mind, I had already had all this done before I left England at great expense for the job but apparently, this is not valid for the residence permit. All that remains is to be finger printed for my residence process to be complete.

Great fun this week when we went shopping for Abayas for Khawar and Precia. Khawar occasionally has meetings with the Secretary General and it is a mark of respect to wear the traditional dress. She has looked on many occasions but not yet found anything she really likes. We did find one that was a possibility but had great fun trying them on. I was even persuaded to try one including the headdress but it was far too long. They do all the alterations as part of the process and some of them are fabulously decorated and embroidered. We as Westerners think they are all the same, but they even wear the headdresses differently and they look very glamorous with their designer sunglasses and handbags and shoes with them.

More tomorrow about the dance classes - just going out to Latino.

The end of the first week in Doha

Well, I've  survived my first week here in Doha and it has been interesting to say the least. Work has been straightforward as I am doing things I am very familiar with just in a different setting and context. I am still borrowing stationery etc but at least someone has put an order in for some things for me today.

This morning, a slight drama as my driver failed to turn up to collect me at 7.30 am - we have some communication difficulties arranging this the evening before as he speaks no English and I speak no Arabic, however, I thought we had communicated 7.30 am ok. He is teaching me one word of Arabic and I am teaching him one word of English a day. The previous day I thought he was telling me he was 17 years old, but it turned out he had 17 members in his family. Anyway back to the lift, after an hour, I had to get the hotel limo service to take me to work - so a BMW limo with black leather seats duly turned up and I rode to work today in style.

A little story for Colin who I told that camels were never seen in the city because of the traffic. This was in the paper on Weds:

"Camel chaos on the D-Ring Road - (which is one of the major three lane freeways into the city): A camel that played truant from a breeding farm had jaw-dropping motorists slam their brakes hard, some in awe and some in excitement, as the animal ambled near a roundabout on D ring round on Saturday night. As the animal sauntered in the street, oblivious of the traffic chaos it was causing around midnight, someone had the sense to call the police who arrived soon to restore order. The animal was handed back to the owner of the breeding farm who had reported it missing earlier."

I went with Khawar to a Salsa party on Tuesday night which includes for the entry price of about £12, one free cocktail and one hour's cha cha cha class. This was exhausting but is not helped if your partner is even worse than you are. Khawar's dancing is impressive but she has been going for the best part of a year now.

We went to look at an apartment for me to rent earlier in the week and I signed up for it today. It is on the 18th floor of a block which is very close to work which means that I will be able to walk to work and not need lifts. Being independent will be great and I will not need a car. I am not able to get a driving licence until I have my residence permit and I cannot get a car loan until my 3 months probation period is up, so walking is best for now. Bearing in mind I will have to cross a busy road of course.

The apartment block has a large swimming pool, gym facilities, two restaurants and coffee shop, maid service and cleaning twice a week and rent includes internet access (4mb) as well with free wifi in the lobby, a parking space. It is one large room with an ensuite bathroom but no kitchen.It will do for a couple of months and give me time to look round for something else.

Met a guy at work who has decided to go home after only two weeks out here as a contractor. He has had a number of negative experiences - a car accident in his first week, not getting on with his boss, not been paid for his consultancy work etc and is not happy here but nevertheless a drastic decision. So it doesn't suit everyone and Khawar was right when she said that the most important thing was to be patient with the processes.

We had an interesting visit to a local community project - working with blind people in the community - we had to take an interpreter from our office who speaks Arabic and when we got there, the main man, was not there as he had got the days mixed up, he is a Qatari, elderly and blind so we had to sit and cool our heels for nearly an hour until he arrived. It was a great visit but they are in dire need of some help. They find it very hard to get volunteers - nothing changes. They have requested ICT equipment but have no technical support, trainers etc - is this ringing any bells with anyone?

Looking round the apartment the other day, something made us smile - in the lift going up to the 18th floor, on the floor o fthe lift was a very nice rug which said Tuesday - have a nice day or something along those lines and I said to Khawar - that's all very well but what happens on the other days. The lady who was showing us the room, told us that the rug gets changed every day so the day of the week is correct.

Well more soon.

Next few days in Doha

Now that I have been here a few days, I have a bit more to tell. I started work on Sunday morning at 7.30 am when all of you were probably tucked up in bed enjoying a lie in. That was very strange to begin with and on Sunday evening, I had great fun with a group Skype video call with various members of my family. Three and a half thousand miles away and it was as if they were in the next room. We had a few teething problems with the technology at first but got there in the end and it made me feel a lot less lonely.

I have been mega busy every evening because people are constantly calling me on skype so that I keep having to juggle the calls, not that I'm complaining - its great to keep in touch and hear what everyone is doing - it's not much fun on your own in a hotel room. We sometimes lose the sound and then the video but that's part of the fun - even my Mum at 85 is doing it, so if she can, anyone can.

I took a wander tonight down the back streets behind the hotel to find somewhere to have some passport size photos taken (it was only 5pm our time but it gets dark at 6pm). Apparently I will need lots of them and it was something on my to do list which I never got round to doing before I left England. After a few wrong turns past many strange looking shops with arab signs, I had to resort to asking in the Centrepoint mall and a kind young lady directed me "up the road, over the roundabout and then straight on - look for Konika". As it turned out it was called Hilab but they did the job very efficiently and in about ten minutes, charging me £10 for 16 photos in colour. Not bad. Note to Gillian, they had posters up in this tiny shop for Fujifilm.

Walking there itself was an adventure - since the roads are quite dangerous for pedestrians - we think our pavements are bad but theirs are far worse and drivers definitely have no respect for people on foot - not to mention that you need to remember to look the other way as well. Everyone drives everywhere at top speed, as if their life depended on it - they take no prisoners.

So far I'm managing well with the food, I have breakfast in the hotel, which is quite a normal continental one, if I have time before the driver comes to pick me up but his arrival time is a bit unpredictable and I will just get a text which says "I reached" meaning he is here.

I have lunch in the work canteen - which is great, very generous portions of rice, potatoes, cooked chicken, fish or meat, spicy but lovely and well cooked and only costs about £3 with a drink. However, the canteen is in the building next to us and to get to it we have to go through the car park and climb over some very large kerbstones, where my well known lack of spatial awareness skills comes into play frequently.

I had a completely empty desk and office on Sunday morning because until I am on the payrolll properly, I am not allowed a computer, stationery, etc. I am having to beg, borrow and steal things at the moment and use my own laptop. I now have a few piles of paper accumulating. Today they gave me a temporary pass for the building so at least I can get in now.

Meetings are beginning to fill up my diary - same old, same old. Tomorrow someone is coming from the Qatari National Bank to see about opening a local bank account for me.More in a few days.

First day in Doha

Arrived this evening after setting off from Manchester at 8.55 am. Stayed at the Bewleys Hotel, near the airport last night. Failed to get the wifi network to work on my laptop so was unable to make contact with anyone.

The flight with Qatar Airways was about 7 hours, tiring but passed fairly well - watched a couple of films on the in flight entertainment system. Enjoyed watching "Morning Glory" with Harrison Ford. For the second time, I had a screaming small child in front of me.

The new airport is now partly operational and this time the masses of people who are tranferring on to Sri Lanka, Thailand and other exotic locations, were dropped off at a different terminal. So the inbound to Doha passengers had a fairly easy time through immigration.

Nice comfy ride in a mercedes to the hotel in the centre of the city and have finished my unpacking. The wifi works and I have been able to skype with my daughter and son and email my husband to let them I've arrived safely. More tomorrow.