10 things Qatar could do to an expat
The very first time you were packing your bags to leave to Qatar, you’d have had a mixture of emotions running through you. Starting from excitement at the idea of moving to a completely new country from the deep dread and sorrow of leaving home, you’d have felt it in a myriad different ways.
But, once you’re in Qatar, it doesn’t take long for the country to creep into you.
1- Where did all my hair go?
Yes, you’re not alone. Qatar does this a lot to almost all expats. The hair that you once loved, will start to fall and turn gray before their time. And very soon, you’ll become the expat who has lost it.
2- The rolling fat around that tummy.
Gained a few pounds around the waist line? So do we all. Many an expat will be full of woeful tales about the slim waist line they’ve lost in these desert plains.
3- Is that how cold water feels?
Ever realized that you very rarely get cold water running in your tap? Qatar makes you to almost forget how cold water feels. Water is of three temperatures here- scalding, hot but not scalding, warm.
4- I see only brown.
Let it be houses or buildings, there’s only one colour here and it’s brown. In no time, you forget about the other colours.
5- Caution driving is gone!
You’d truly be the expat of Qatar if you have forgotten about all the cautions you took while driving back at home. Driving here is easy!! Just drive no matter how until you reach your destination.
6- What’s with all the roads and the not so round roundabouts?
Roads and routes here are ever changing. There won’t be day without a road under construction or some huge roundabout being built.
7- Care for some Karak and Shawarma?
When you realize that sometimes you have the urge to bite into a Shawarma or sip a Karak, then you’re absolutely the complete Qatar expat.
8- Petrol? Expensive? Nah!
Qatar can make you forget how pricey petrol is back at home. Do we even know, after a certain point, how much a liter of petrol is in Qatar?
9- Everything else? Cheap? Nah!
Yes, this country can make you to think that you could buy something (anything except petrol, for that matter) for a lesser price back at home. Ever rolled eyes at your house rent? Join the club.
10- Is Sunday a holiday for the rest of the world?
Finally, an important thing Qatar makes you forget is that Sunday is a holiday back at home.
Bonus
11- By the time the climate reaches around 20 degrees, when you start looking for your sweater or jumper, you truly know you are the perfect Qatar expat.
However, life in Qatar, like life everywhere else, is challenging yet fun and different. One has to experience it in order to understand it fully.
