Note: This post was originally written on January 30th.
Believe it or not I am currently writing this last post on the plane, as we’re traveling back from the land of sand, to the land o’ plenty, the good ol’ USA. Once we made up our minds, we got the wheels in motion, and managed to pack up our lives in Doha in a matter of 3 ½ weeks.
Our last few days were a whirlwind of emotions, but we are happy with our decision, and excited for what’s to come. No graduation goggles here!
So to conclude Hollersintheha, I’ve challenged myself to think up 50 “positive” places, things or experiences I had in Doha. In no particular order, the list includes things large and small, meaningful and silly, and of course, a lot of food!
1.Traveling: John getting an expat assignment came with a lot of benefits- combining that with a very centralized location and a rapidly growing airline, we had a lot of great trips.
2. E-Gate
3. Getting your car washed whiled you shopped at the mall for $5.
4. The cheap price of gas, and lets face it, the gas getting experience: Approx. $15 for a full tank, and you sit in the car while someone fills it for you. Plus a nice wipe down (of the car, of course.)
5. Compound living: We had a great accommodation, which included a mini mart, gym, salon, yoga, pool, and coffee shop all within a 2 minutes walk from our villa. It was all very well maintained, and the management quickly resolved any problems that arose.
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- Our villa
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- Our street
6. Getting your house cleaned at a limited expense
7. The ease of getting people together: While it’s a little weird to live and work with a lot of the same people, impromptu or last minute get togethers tended to happen a lot, simply because it was so easy to just walk on over.
8. CHEESE PIES
9. Driving around on Friday mornings
10.Having one of a kind work experiences and interactions.
11. Eating at Chef-spired restaurants
12. Trying new cuisines: Some of the more interesting ones include Algerian, Nepalese and Filipino.
13. Cheap eggplants
14. Cheap lamb
15. Cheap (and fresh) Arabic bread: I’ve already looked up Arabic bakeries in Florida and Texas.
16. My food processor: Inherited when we bought John’s car, I’d never had a food processor before and used it a lot! I’ve got homemade hummus down pat now.
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- home made hummus
17. My juicer: Bought from expats who were leaving, I incorporated fresh juices into my regular eating habits. Who knew green juice was so tasty?
18. Access to works by famous artists (FO FREE!): Thanks to Shaikha Mayassa and Qatar’s thirst for acquisition, we were able to see some very famous and interesting pieces.
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- MIA at night
19. I’ve become a more assertive driver: Thanks to fending off the crazies in the ever changing roundabouts!
20. TURKEY CENTRAL: Although, believe it or not, I got kind of sick of it. TC Overload.
21. Caravan Bukhara: Didn’t get sick of that one- we actually ate there for our last meal!
22. Fresh falafel
23. Improvising in cooking, and in life: Lack of ingredients led to more creativity in the kitchen, and lack of decent wall art led to creating my own!
24. Souq Waqif: Even though it was constructed very recently, the ol’ souq had its charm.
25. Pashminas!
26. Expat Brunches
More often than not you find “quantity over quality,” but the expat brunch experience made for many a fun tipsy weekends. In John’s case, sometimes too much fun.
27. Qatar Airways pajamas
28. New expressions: “Likey likey,” “M’am-sir,” Halas,” “Enshallah,” Excessive head-bobbing.
29. Having a “driver”: While we usually drove ourselves, it was nice to have a “driver,” on speed dial. (Although technically the “driver” was an underground network of white Hondas all run by the mysterious “Abdul.”)
30. Falcons: Just because they’re cool, and the whole industry behind them is fascinating.
31. Nando’s: All the peri peri, all the peri peri
32. Going to (fairly) major sporting events
33…and seeing very famous athletes too! SPORTS CITY!!!
David Beckham!
34. Laughing with friends about “typical” Doha experiences. Like ordering a keg and having a full bar delivered, driver-delivery miscommunication, and receiving a present like this:
Carpet
35. Marmara Istanbul: Before they got shut down after people got food poisoning, which prompted a woman to go into premature labor. Oops.
36. Cheap tailors and shoe repair-ers
37. Lebanese breakfast!
Lebanese breakfast
38. My Hyundai: An upgrade from my trusty 1998 Honda Accord I drove to the ground since I was 15.
New ride!
39. Lemon mint: A very refreshing “mocktail!”
Pretending my “lemon-mint frappe” is a mojito!
40. Fatburger
41. Paul Bakery: One of my favorite Parisian chains, transported to Doha.
42. IKEA
43. Donating old items, and seeing them put to use right away: One man’s trash, is another man’s treasure
44. Netflix and AppleTV
45. The desert: In the winter months, it really is mystifying. (In the summer months, it’s just freakin’ hot.)
46. Shisha: While very bad for you, (and not something I plan to do back in the US,) smoking shisha is a fun pastime with friends.
47. IFTARS: Let’s get iftarded.
48. “Bachelor” nights
49. Meeting new friends…
50. …and catching up with old ones!
All together, John and I spent about 20 months in Doha- although I’d say a good 2 months or so were spent elsewhere, either traveling for vacation or visiting friends and family back in the States. Something that always slightly bothered me about our life in Qatar was that I always felt like a visitor- and that I had to have a trip planned, something to look forward to, to make our daily routine more pleasant. This wasn’t a feeling that I dwelled on, but I knew early on that Doha would never be “home,” and that our time spent there had an expiration date. (Although going in we thought that the expiration date would be a little later…)
But on a serious note, it was an easy life to live- we both had jobs, cars, friends, great villa, etc., and overall we were happy, but we’ve agreed that having this experience overseas really changed our perspectives about a lot of things. Without being overly narcissistic or existential, I’ve learned a lot about myself, and about the type of life I want to live.
I come back from this experience more grateful than ever for the freedoms I possess as an American, and the opportunities that are given to me. I know that an excess of wealth can not buy happiness, and the division between the haves and the have nots is real, and saw it every day, something I wasn’t used to seeing before. Each day I am lucky to have the right to make choices and choose my own destiny. I find myself more confident, more secure, and more willing to take a risk!
“Shukran” for coming along for the adventure. Until the next one!
Hollers in the 'ha 
Loved this post! Hope you are enjoying lots of Auntie time. We ate at Marmara last night. It is open again and hasn’t caused any early labors yet. The real Abdul actually drove me to the airport a couple weeks ago. I should have got his autograph. The Hyundai says hello. Pashminas!!!
You should save all of these and put them in a book. I’m so proud to call you my daughter( in law)❤️
Loved the carpet, LOL.
Can totally relate to being a more assertive driver, 2 months in and I’m already squeezing my way through the roundabouts and honking at anyone who dares to squeeze in front of me.
Which Filipino dish did you try?
While you’ve finished your awesome Dohadventure, I’m just starting mine. Seeing your post made me realize what’s in store for me.
All the best. 🙂
I’m glad you’re finding your way! Doha definitely has it’s quirks. 🙂
If I remember correctly, we had chicken adobo and pancit bihon guisado. It was great!