Who Wants Sushi?

We went to this sushi place in the Royal Plaza Mall, called Oishi Sushi. It's on the second floor of the mall hidden away in the corner. Every Monday and Tuesday night from 7:00-10:30pm they have all you can eat sushi for $135 Riyals (which is $36.45 US). We were excited to try this place because we love sushi! And it was awesome!  The sushi was really good! And of course we ate our moneys worth of sushi! We will definitely be coming back here!

Encounters of a Different Kind!

We also have a bade.

Prior to moving here I had a basic idea of what I was to encounter. Some of the things you read about and some things people tell you about.  For instance, how to dress. Cover your shoulders and knees; easy to do. Someone should have explained the bathrooms! We were at one of the malls one day and I went in to the ladies room. I waited in line in what looked just like any other bathroom I'd been in. Until I walked into the stall, and found a hole in the ground! Wow.  Ok. I came out and the bathroom attendant pointed to the "Western toilet". So if you like to sit down to use the bathroom ask for the western toilet. Plus when using public restrooms make sure your pants/skirts don't drag on the ground. If they do roll them up. The floors are always wet. There is toilet paper but there is also a water hose.  See my pictures and you will understand. Here are pictures of our bathroom to show you what I mean (above). 

I found a picture of the "Squat toilet" or the "Natural-Position toilet" on the internet, so here it is. But as soon as I can take one of my own I'll post it.

Last night I decided I was long overdue for a relaxing bubble bath. I just received my favorite bubble bath in the mail the other day, Bath and Body Works Vanilla.  The shower/bath tub isn't any different than I am used to. But as I drained the bath tub afterward I noticed the bubbles coming up out of this drain! Can you see the left over bubbles?  Cross that off of the list of need to experience!

Another thing that I'm trying to get used to is the oven. The dials are different. Take a look.  

See the pictures on this one? They correspond with how you want to cook your food. Some things I've bought even have pictures like these on the for cooking instructions.

 

Once you have picked the "picture" that you want to cook with then it is displayed here and then you can adjust the temperature with the other dial.

The next thing I'm trying to get used to is my multi-tasker; my washer/dryer combination machine. It holds about 5 articles of clothing (unless it's jeans, then that's another story) per load.  It takes an hour and a half to wash one load and then to dry the same load it could take all day (literally). I think that the clothes dry faster if you hang them up!

Yes, the washer/dryer is in the kitchen, so at first I thought it was a dishwasher. For a moment I was excited! I guess that makes me the dishwasher! What can I say.....it keeps me busy.  My husband, Trevor loves to cook so I can't complain, right? 

Moving to Qatar

My husband, Trevor, and I just moved here to Doha, Qatar not too long ago.  Trevor got here in April and I joined him in May. We moved here from Colorado. We wanted to experience and learn about other cultures and living it seemed like the best way to do that. 

Trevor and I in Telluride Colorado

Colorado

So moving here can be a process. You need to have a job sponsor you to come to Qatar. Trevor came here first to establish his residency and then I was able to come on a tourist visa. It's a lot more complicated then  that but I'll get into that a little later. 

Colorado

In order to rent an apartment here in Qatar you have to have a bank account here. In order to have a bank account here you have to have a resident visa. So once you have these it becomes much easier to move forward, but these things take time and patience! 

About a month after Trevor got to Qatar he was finally able to get into our apartment (he'd been staying in a hotel)! He then went and bought furniture to fill the apartment (it was actually more affordable to buy furniture then to rent an apartment fully furnished!). We picked out furniture together through pictures since I was still in Colorado. 


While he was getting the apartment ready I was back in Colorado getting our cat and dog "ready" to move to Doha. That is another process I will explain at a later time.  We rented our house out in Colorado so I was also in the midst of moving out and and getting the house ready for it's new tenants (I did have the help of a moving company). I did all of this while I was working my last few days at my job as a nurse (last few days working in the US). We stored all of our things accept the basic essentials such as clothes and a few personal items, which I shipped to Trevor in several boxes. I actually got did get rid of a lot of things that we felt we didn't need/want anymore. You don't realize how much stuff you own until you try to move it all! This felt like a cleansing ritual in many ways. A clean slate if you will.

It was sad leaving the home we lived in for the last 6 years and saying goodbye to our friends. On April 1, before Trevor left Colorado, we had a going away party. It was bittersweet! Trevor left on April 2 to move to Qatar. I left Colorado May 16 with my dog, Sammie and my cat, Fiona.

Sammie my chihuahua

Fiona

 Fiona, Sammie and I made it with minimal tribulation and we are now here in Doha, Qatar.