Day 1

Managed to spend about 10 minutes total outside today, going from apartment to car, car to shopping mall and back again. Given the temperature, we didn't see very many people walking around outside on our drive to the City Centre mall. This building, Tornado Tower, houses the Canadian Consulate.

 Right now it's 34 degrees with 71% humidity and that's only because it's dark outside.  That's not to say there aren't people working outside during the summer months. There are many people working outdoors in construction jobs, many of whom come to Qatar to work and send money home. Workplace fatalities in this line of work are high, I'm told, but the government is trying to make it safer for employees working in construction. By the way, did I mention how much construction there is? Every street seems to be full of brand new or partially built buildings. The architecture here is absolutely incredible, just look at some of these buildings we passed on our way to the mall:

This one's my favourite. What's with the gold ball in between the two towers? Is that someone's office? The lunch room? Is that real gold? We didn't realize that everything closes from about 12-1 for prayers so we spent our  first hour at the mall window shopping and people watching. It's all so interesting. To be honest, it's hard not to stare sometimes. You can always distinguish the Arabs from non-Arabs here from the way they dress. Men dress in white from head to toe and women in black. While almost all Arab women cover their heads, only some cover their entire face.

I'm reading a really interesting book called "Don't they know it's Friday?" It's basically a cross cultural guide for business and life in the Gulf. I've learned that instead of referring to this region as the "Middle East,"  it's better to use the term "Gulf Cooperation Council" or GCC which includes the countries of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman. Also, the Persian Gulf is also called the Arabian Gulf, depending where you are.

Oh yeah so back to our shopping excursion. We spent most of our time sauntering through a grocery store called Carrefour picking up some supplies for the week, including more of this tasty bevvie:

It's instant coffee with the milk and sugar already added! How great is that? Most of the same foods are still available in Qatar, like yoghurt, granola and fruit, also known as the best breakfast ever.

Oh and the dates! Dates are a local delicacy. I saw some chocolate covered dates at the grocery store and will certainly have to go back and buy some before I leave. Ice cream is also really popular here. I've also seen: KFC, McDonald's, Starbucks, Domino's Pizza, and there is a Tim Horton's here somewhere too (built specifically for the soldiers stationed here, I am told).
Tomorrow we head to one of the largest outdoor markets in Doha, the Souq Wakif. Click here for a really cool interactive view of the market. We're going in the morning but I'm told there are lots of restaurants we can run into if we need a burst of cool air.