As a kid growing up in California, I remember full service gas stations. A nice man (it was always a man) would fill your car up with gas and clean your front and rear windows. Sometimes they would even check your oil. By the time I was a teenager, it was definitely a pump your own world. Gas was still cheap - around $1 a gallon.
Then I moved to Australia, learned to call it petrol, still pumped my own but paid AUD $0.80 a litre. Then I moved to UK, still pumped my own and paid GBP £0.80 a litre! (that is roughly US$ 6.50 a gallon)
Now in Qatar, there is again a nice man who fills my car up with gas but doesn't do windows or check the oil and I pay 0.80 Qatari Rials a litre (about US$ 0.85 a gallon).
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Drive thru banking...
As I have mentioned, Doha is hot. Even now that is almost November it is still 31°C (88°F). So you don't want to get out of your air conditioned car if you don't have to. Hence the multitude of drive through ATM's. These are scattered all over town and the screens are angled to make it easier for drivers. I have yet to master the approach and usually have to open my door and lean out quite a ways to reach the buttons but give me a few more years and I am sure I'll be an expert!
Where did all the cold water go!
In summer, cold water comes at a premium in Doha!
The only way to get it at this time of year is to refrigerate it.
The "cold" water for your home comes from a tank that sits outside with direct sun shining on it all day long.
So as a result the water that comes out is even warmer than luke warm. For a kids bath, you don't need to put any hot in and sometimes you even need to let it cool a bit for the youngest ones!
It does take some getting used to. The biggest adjustments for me are brushing your teeth with hot water, and getting a warm backside from the toilet! In public places, where there is higher "bathroom" usage, you can actually feel the cistern behind you is very hot! Quite strange. Fortunately at home the water normally has a chance to cool down a bit between flushes!
The swimming pools are funny too. You can tell how "up market" your pool is if they actually go to the expense of refrigerating the water before pumping it in. No need for pools to be heated here, you have to use electricity to cool them down!
The only way to get it at this time of year is to refrigerate it.
The "cold" water for your home comes from a tank that sits outside with direct sun shining on it all day long.
So as a result the water that comes out is even warmer than luke warm. For a kids bath, you don't need to put any hot in and sometimes you even need to let it cool a bit for the youngest ones!
It does take some getting used to. The biggest adjustments for me are brushing your teeth with hot water, and getting a warm backside from the toilet! In public places, where there is higher "bathroom" usage, you can actually feel the cistern behind you is very hot! Quite strange. Fortunately at home the water normally has a chance to cool down a bit between flushes!
The swimming pools are funny too. You can tell how "up market" your pool is if they actually go to the expense of refrigerating the water before pumping it in. No need for pools to be heated here, you have to use electricity to cool them down!
Recycling... or lack thereof
In London we were very good at recycling. Before we had door stop recycling, we would walk down to the local bins and put in our paper, plastic, cans etc... Then it got even easier and we could leave all our recycling in a special bag outside our door and it would be picked up by the council and recycled. And while we lived in an apartment and couldn't compost, we used a waste disposal unit and felt good that our organic waste wasn't wrapped up in plastic bags in a dump somewhere. Now we can't seem to recycle anything!
I am told that our new home country is just too small population wise to warrant building facilities here and it is too costly to ship recyclables to a facility. So after training the kids what to throw in the bin and what to recycle, it now all goes into one bag and off to the landfill it goes.
If any one has any tips, suggestions... this is one area where I feel like some sort of progress should be made
I am told that our new home country is just too small population wise to warrant building facilities here and it is too costly to ship recyclables to a facility. So after training the kids what to throw in the bin and what to recycle, it now all goes into one bag and off to the landfill it goes.
If any one has any tips, suggestions... this is one area where I feel like some sort of progress should be made
Energy use and air conditioning
We arrived during the Qatari summer. With temperatures up to 50 degrees celcius (122° Farenheit), you are grateful that pretty much everything is air conditioned. However, with all the talk about global warming, the needing to conserve energy etc.. I often feel guilty about leaving the air con on 24/7 but it get so hot so quickly you normally do.
So when we went away on holiday for four weeks, I figured there was no point in keeping all the air con units on (we have six) so I turned of a couple of them and turned the temperature up on the rest. I figured leaving all the internal doors open would allow enough airflow moving around.
Much to my chagrin I found out why people in this part of the world keep their air con on all the time - even when they are away on holiday!
Mould! Two of the rooms where I turned the air con off had lots of things covered in the stuff. From shoes, to empty back packs, luggage, children's car seats, and lots and lots of clothes. What a mess. So the energy saver in me has had to concede that saving on air conditioning just isn't the way to go. (I still turn off the lights when I leave a room though!) :-)
So when we went away on holiday for four weeks, I figured there was no point in keeping all the air con units on (we have six) so I turned of a couple of them and turned the temperature up on the rest. I figured leaving all the internal doors open would allow enough airflow moving around.
Much to my chagrin I found out why people in this part of the world keep their air con on all the time - even when they are away on holiday!
Mould! Two of the rooms where I turned the air con off had lots of things covered in the stuff. From shoes, to empty back packs, luggage, children's car seats, and lots and lots of clothes. What a mess. So the energy saver in me has had to concede that saving on air conditioning just isn't the way to go. (I still turn off the lights when I leave a room though!) :-)
Monday, October 29, 2007
Starting over
After 9 years of living in London, our family (me, husband, two kids) moved from the centre of a very busy city, with lots of trees, parks and public transport.... to Doha.
I am not qualified to comment on all the details of what is truly going on in Doha as my life here is primarily restricted to living in what I call an expat bubble. But I do want to share with you my observations on life here.
Previously I have lived and worked in the UK, US and Australia and have travelled to a great many countries. When asked where I consider home, I always reply that it is where I am living at the moment as in my heart I have many places to call home. I do not know where I will eventually end up "settling down". For the moment, my family and I are enjoying our continuing adventure and I hope to share a bit of it with you.
I am not qualified to comment on all the details of what is truly going on in Doha as my life here is primarily restricted to living in what I call an expat bubble. But I do want to share with you my observations on life here.
Previously I have lived and worked in the UK, US and Australia and have travelled to a great many countries. When asked where I consider home, I always reply that it is where I am living at the moment as in my heart I have many places to call home. I do not know where I will eventually end up "settling down". For the moment, my family and I are enjoying our continuing adventure and I hope to share a bit of it with you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)