That is the preliminary of few content material that inform about our expertise in Doha, Qatar at some stage in the 6 months’ keep as a Fulbright scholar.The airplane usually takes off from Cairo Airport early within the early morning heading to Doha, Qatar. I’m alone. My family will keep on with me in a few single week. That can give me a chance to get issues straight and ready for his or her arrival. I’m psyched about this journey and desperate to see what the Gulf is like. I’m a little or no nervous about what to do in case I don’t discover any person ready round for me on the airport. I’ve experimented with to get my deal with previous to arriving, however was instructed issues shall be prepared if you arrive.

The airplane lands and I sense a minor greater than the frequent notion of urgency from all these throughout me about leaving the airplane. The airport seems extremely small, possibly the dimension of that in Knoxville. A bus fulfills the plane and I management to get on the second bus. As we attain the terminal, issues seem clear and structured. In a few minutes, I’m going the passport deal with, purchase my baggage and exit the terminal hoping to uncover one other particular person prepared for me. I see somebody carrying a picture of me and actually really feel assist.

The college despatched a person from their exterior relations to satisfy up with me and the division despatched an engineer as properly. It is a nice begin. The outside relations human being greets me, particulars to a driver who will take into account me to my new home for the subsequent couple months, and speedily excuses himself. The opposite specific particular person chats with the motive force and I’ve an understanding of that he’ll observe us to my to-be residence. My driver is an Indian, a Muslim, and speaks English with a big accent, however I may even now partly absolutely grasp what he claims as we start our generate.

Doha, seems like a small metropolis, I merely can not see any vital risers as we drive. The buildings are sometimes white and yellow modest buildings. I’m slightly dissatisfied, however I do know I’ve considered giant risers on the world extensive net I needs to be on the utterly mistaken facet of metropolis. I request the motive force regardless of whether or not he can assist when my household arrives in a handful of instances and he states that I’ve to speak to his supervisor. We arrive to a gated superior. It seems like it’s even now under improvement at minimal elements of it glimpse this manner. We park the car a Qatari specific particular person methods me, greeting me and factors me to a 2 story creating.

My condominium is on the 2nd flooring, he claims. “I believed I’m meant to live in a villa”, I query. He implies that I must discover that with QU. He quickly reveals me throughout the house, stops on the kitchen space and elements out handful of important issues which incorporates milk and juice as hospitality merchandise. My baggage is moved to the house. By a fast search I don’t discover a phone within the house, so I inquire about it. We submit a request to QTEL, the cell phone enterprise, and will probably be arrange in handful of instances. “How in regards to the world extensive net?” I ask. “It would include the cellphone as a result of will probably be a dial up hyperlink,” he factors.

I type of panic a minimal. I’m in a brand new metropolis devoid of a cellular phone, a motorcar, or net. What if I’ve an emergency, or should have some meals, or simply wish to see the town? The driving force from the faculty leaves me with a guarantee to be once more by 8 AM to simply take me to the college. The opposite particular person who met me on the airport arrives into the picture. I promptly get to know he’s an Egyptian who has been performing at QU for a a number of a long time. He offers to generate me to regulate foreign exchange to Qatari Riyal, get a cellular cellular phone, and have lunch. That is an provide I couldn’t refuse. I had no technique when my up coming meals shall be!

We went to a shopping for spot designed up of smaller retailers and entered right into a restaurant, Turkey Central, was its establish. It didn’t look fancy, however the meals was implausible and considerably cheap. A plate of grilled meat is all-around $6 and an enormous bottler of water is lower than $1. No suggestion is vital and there’s no product sales tax. For the initially time in so a number of a few years, I can simply determine the precise amount on the bill, simply add up your purchases.Afterwards we went into Al-Sadd Road the place by quite a few shops for international foreign exchange commerce are on the market. Having mentioned that, they ended up closed till lastly 4 PM. I spotted that numerous of those shops select a break up from 1-3PM or 2-4PM. The commerce took solely couple of minutes, however as I had seen in Egypt, people are so distinctive in regards to the type of the dollar bills. They may not settle for funds with markings, tears, and plenty of others. that you wouldn’t observe within the US.

Upcoming was a go to to QTEL to get a Hala card that may be inserted into my cellular phone. This can enable me to buy pay as you go playing cards for my cellular cellphone. Because of the reality I didn’t have a residency in Qatar, I used to be not permitted to get an everyday cellular cellphone or land line. The software program too solely a number of minutes. I paid out a 100 Riyals for my cellular cell phone vary and now I’m all set for getting a cellular phone.My host drives me to Carrefour wherever I purchased a primary cellular phone ($50).

I felt relieved. I’ve a approach to name the skin the home atmosphere. I spotted the disaster selection in Qatar is 999. The cost for each minute for making use of the cell cellphone is 55 dirhams/minute (16 Cents/second). QTEL is a monopoly so it’s easy for them to protect the charges that top. This was the first issue that I skipped from the states, an open up sector, by which competitors performs in favor of the consumer. My host drives me again to my condominium. I thanked him for all his assist and I’m ready to spend my first evening in Qatar.

Issues are so actually throughout me. I take into account I’m alone in your complete house establishing. With no Tv or Net or any particular person to talk to, I flip to Tv set. There ended up a whole lot of channels. Plenty of had been being Arabic channels, quite a few ended up European channels. I couldn’t find any American channels that aren’t ciphered. To my giant shock, as I used to be going by way of the Tv set channels, I discovered some European channels soliciting cellphone intercourse with live nudity. It was so obscene I assumed to myself “I’ve to acquire a approach to block these channels”. How was I more likely to let my youngsters flip through the Tv set channels with out the necessity of understanding what they’ll see?

This was the 2nd issue I missed from the US: “Parental Command”. A little bit one thing I didn’t assume to overlook in a Muslim nation like Qatar. I used to be shocked that the federal government would let this to transpire in a spot wherever nearly all of the gals I seen thus far are all included aside from for his or her eyes? Some will even cowl their encounter totally with a black veil. This was 1 of the very first indicators of contradiction that I felt in Qatar.