Covering up

People keep asking me: do you have to cover your head? The answer is no. In Qatar, non-Muslim women aren't expected to wear the hijab, a traditional veil that Muslim women wear over their head and chest. That's not to say I won't cover up as a sign of respect say, if I'm entering a mosque or something. All men and women are expected to dress modestly and for us, this means covering our shoulders and our knees and everything in between. One of my colleagues also suggested choosing pants and skirts in bold prints to cover up..um...how do I put this? Bum sweat. You learn something new every day.

Hungry for a bargain and on a budget, I went to Value Village earlier this month to peruse the ladies section. I quickly discovered that if I want to dress modestly, I had come to the right place. There were tons of dresses that covered my ankles and my arms at the same time!

But to my utter horror, most of the dresses also had shoulder pads which I tried to imagine wearing in 40 degree weather when I'm an other wise sweaty, frazzled mess. Actually this definition could probably be used to describe my appearance anytime I'm outside for more than 20 minutes over the next four weeks. OK, I thought, maybe I'll have better luck in the skirt section. Bingo bango!

Modest, yet cool and comfortable, fingers crossed.  No pattern though. Hope that's not a problem. Now I just have to find a hat and I'm set! Of course I'll still have to wear my scrubs in the hospital, "old blues" as I like to call them. Yep, these University of Calgary-issued scrubs have helped me through a lot of messy situations. All U of C students wear the same colour so patients can spot us a mile away (and nurses can run from us). Can't say I'll miss wearing those scrubs once I'm finished school. Sometimes, putting on old blues is empowering, like putting on a cape must have felt for Clark Kent. Putting on my scrubs also helps mentally prepare me for a busy day on a hospital unit as I feel around for my notepad, med cards, hospital ID, coffee money, pens and gum, each squirreled away in different pockets. Oh that reminds me, gotta dig out my hospital shoes!