We have a forty –five minute drive from Doha to Mesaieed through the
arid land, and we pass gorgeous buildings
under construction along the desert. The ocean isn’t far but not visible from the
road and I see huge expanses of sand. I catch a glimpse of camel crossing signs and
keep my eye out for camels but no such luck. Qatar’s development is amazing with their economic and social growth as they are getting
ready to be the first Arab state to host the World Cup in 2022. The construction going on throughout Doha is jaw-droppingly intense.
We arrive at the guest housing and are pleasantly surprised
as we were not sure what to expect. We
have a mini kitchenette along with the ability to use the community kitchen to
cook in as well. The fridge is stocked
with sodas, juice, soft cheese, jam and water ; the community kitchen has eggs
and bread for toast as well.
We are given the tour and they let us know there is a club
just a short walk away where we can have dinner and they offer a small bowling
lane, ping pong, billiards, indoor tennis,
a pool and a great work out facility.
After four days of travel
we start laundry and after the first load I realize I seriously miss
having a dryer. However, even in the AC
it seems as if the clothes know it’s 110 outside and dry quickly but stiff like
cardboard.
As Greg is in meetings I fill my morning with work and then
head on my first excursion to the local shops.
I check with the housing coordinator to find out what I can and can’t
wear in town which is about a 10-15 minute walk. Mesaieed is much smaller than Doha and I am
not sure just how conservative it is- does my bedazzled abaya need to come out? I wear capris and a summer long sleeve shirt
which he assures me will be fine. I head
to Shoprite first and spend an hour walking from aisle to aisle examining all
the different food available. I don’t see any other women but everyone is extremely polite and accepting . I get many double takes but all with a smile and multiple people offer
to help me. I can’t help but wonder if a visitor from Qatar showed up in their
traditional dress at an American small town grocery store what would
happen. I am sure they would get the
same if not even more double takes.
I can’t get
everything I want so I pick and choose some exotic fruits like custard apple, mangosteen,
and sapodillas. I keep asking the
produce workers about what all the different things are for and they patiently
answer me with a grin. We actually
travel with our breville juicer in our suitcase so I fill up bags of what I
think are exotic greens but end up being red and green spinach.
I laugh as I pass very Americanized foods such as Kraft
cheese in a jar, Scooby-Do
shaped pasta and Squirt soda. Qatar seems to be the land of forgotten candy, I pass by Christmas M&M’s , Chocolate
Easter bunnies, Valentines chocolates and Halloween sweets as I wonder what
they think of our American culture.
.
We have an exotic fruit tasting that night- the custard
apple had burst in the bag but the inside was overly sweet with a texture of pudding,
the mangosteen was overripe and as I cut
the fruit in half to extract the
jellybean sized seeds most of them were too soft but still tasty. It is suggested the outside of the mangosteen is loaded with nutrients for juicing, but it's hard as a rock and pass so it doesn't tear up our blade. The sapodilla had a cloying sweet taste and
was the color of sweet potato.
Good Fun and Good Travel……
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