48 HOurs in Colombo

Last week John and Sean (VP of operations) went to Colombo, Sri Lanka to recruit employees, I tagged along with them.

Interestingly Sri Lanka is 2 1/2 hours ahead of Qatar, yes 2 and a HALF.  Once we landed in Sri Lanka, it took us an hour to get from the airport to the hotel.  There was lots of traffic including big trucks, cars, motor cycles, tuk tuks (like 3 wheel golf carts) and bicycles all vying for a lane and a half, plus they drive on the opposite side of the car and road from us in the States.  I did not get back into a car until the hour and a half ride back to the airport and that was taking a short cut that included cows also sharing the road with us.

The next morning (Tuesday) we had some time to explore a bit, saw the Indian Ocean from the "boardwalk" not much beach front and many stray dogs (of which I wanted to take home.)  I spent the rest of the day at the gym and pool while the guys worked.  I got a little shopping in before dinner at the Ministry of Crab.  They serve crab from 1/2 kilo up to Crabzilla witch is 2 kg an up.  I got the small, Sean got the large.  John said it was one of the best meals he has ever had.

 Wednesday, I helped John out with the recruiting.  I typed up the employment contracts then had to run to the hotel lobby and print them (4 trips in all, the guys in the business center got to know me.)  It is interesting and a little sad to hear the guys say they want to leave their family for two years so they can make money to send home since they can't find jobs in Sri Lanka or jobs that pay well.  One guy had a 6 month old baby and one guys wife will give birth just after he leaves.  They only got about 15 guys of the 40 they wanted to hire, just didn't have many show up for interviews.  The whole thing was a real learning process and we will more prepared for the next time we go back.

Cupcakes, Fish and Michigan

This has been a busy week with AWA:

On Monday I went to an icing demonstration at the famed, New York based, Magnolia Bakery.  We got to try samples and learn how to ice the cupcakes.  It takes the employees 40 hours of training and once they get it down, they can ice 15 cupcakes in 5 minutes. I had to take a brownie home and it very good (although John said "not as good as Ann's.")  Then I went out to lunch with two ladies, one from the Detroit area.

Wednesday I had to get up at 4:30am for a snorkel trip.  After an hour drive north and a pit stop at the last gas station with a restroom, we arrived at the "French Beach" I guess the French used to go there.  We got on our gear and headed out with our guide named Steve, and he is from the St. Joe area.  Saw lots of fish and coral.  I also got to be Steve's first person to have a run in with a sea urchin.  My knee feel into it as a wave pushed me over.  It hurt a lot at the time, but the tiny pricks are almost heeled now.  In the end we were all glad we got up early to go.

 

On Thursday, I went to a sushi demonstration. He started from the very begining, as in fileting the  salmon. Then how to take bones out, skin off and cut it into pieces for the Shake Sushi.  We got samples, and yes I tried the raw salmon and it was good in the Sashimi dressing he made.  He also showed how to make the Wasabi paste and how to present everything.  Then one of his assistants made the Californa Roll Maki and of course passed out samples (my favorite kind of sushi.)  For the adventurous type, you could try your hand at making the rolls, I just watched and ate.  Didn't meet anyone fom Michigan at this event.

Doha, Dubai & Abu Dhabi

I have been back in Doha a month and realized I haven't written a blog, oops!  It might be because I have been busy traveling.

Well our trip here was the usual John Travel Story our plane was delayed in Chicago which meant we had to run through the Paris airport (our second time running and I vow never ever to go through Paris again.) Then of course our 7 bags did not make it to Doha with us.  We then did arrive, they didn't clear customs and John had to go to the airport at 2 am to get them.

My mom came with us for a two week visit and we went to Friday brunch, Tea at the Four Seasons, trips to the souqs and a couple of AWA meetings.  We also went to Dubai for 2 days and went to the Dubai Mall, the Burj Al Arab for dinner (claiming to be the only 7 star hotel) and the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.  We had a two hour delay on our 45 minute flight there.  We had to get off the plane, get on a bus, go back to the terminal, get on another bus then on to the new plane, which was parked next to our old plane.  Hmmm, maybe my mom has the same curse?

My mom flew from Doha to Abu Dhabi then to Chicago.  John and I flew with her to Abu Dhabi and stayed for two days.  John had some business meetings and we went to the Grand Mosque and Ferrari World and took a tour of the city.  No issues on these flights!

How do I look in my Abaya?

Catching Up

The last 6-7 weeks have been a bit crazy for me and kept me from writing.

At the end of February, John and I went on our first vacation in 5 years to the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean.  John's vacation = no phone, no computer and no contact with work.  We had a relaxing, quiet time of laying on the beach and enjoying water sports.  We even did some snorkeling and loved it!  This is the view from our room.  The water was so clear and sand so white.

 

When we returned to Doha, we became foster parents to Zoe, a 5 month old Saluki (think greyhound.)  I forgot what it was like to have a puppy, she kept us busy the month of March.  John found her a forever home with a lady that lives in our tower.

Through all of this I have been very sick.  Some of you may know I have Ulcerative Colitis, a digestive disease which has been under control for almost 23 years.  As it got pretty bad, we decided I needed to go to a doctor here in Doha.  After all the horror stories I had heard, we had a good experience and a great doctor. Here the doctor is at the hospital which makes it handy when he says you need a CT Scan.  Now I am on new medicine and on the road to recovery looking forward to coming back to Michigan.  We leave tonight!

A Trip to the Mangroves

Today I went on an AWA trip to the mangroves about an hour south of Doha.  “Mangroves are various types of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics.”  What I saw were leafy shrubs that send out shuts to help them breath.  There were also a succulent type of plant and yellow conical flowers (see bottom picture.)

 After driving out of town, we took a left and headed toward the water driving through the sand.  Once you find the right tire tracks to follow, you come upon greenery then water and lots of birds, we saw flamingos. The tide was going out and we walked in the shallow water looking at shells and getting our flip flops stuck in the muck.  We then had a picnic lunch before heading back to town.  We saw a few families also having a picnic, but basically it was wide open space of green and blue, the sun was shining and there was a light breeze.  It is always nice to get out of the city and explore.

Superbowl in Doha

Through the magic of Slingbox, John and I were able to watch the Superbowl live.  We set the alarm for 2am and watched the pre-game show and the entire football game.  We had popcorn and beer during the second quarter.  We had to eat something to get the feel of things, the beer was a little strange at 3:30.  John kept dosing off and on and I took a nap during the third quarter.

I thought there were some good commercials, great commercials and really bad commercials.  I really liked the Budweiser Clydesdale, Jeep, RAM and Tide. I also liked the Bud commercials that were set in New Orleans because they embraced the city.  A lot of them were hyped so much when you finally saw the entire commercial you felt let down.

Here's to next year in New York.  Go Lions!

Back in the swing of it

We are back in Doha, starting our third year.  The jet lag was not so bad this time and I am back in the swing of it.  I am very active with the AWA: general meeting, coffee morning and outings.  Recently I went to the Camel Race Track to see them train the camels (have yet to catch a race) and the greenhouse near by.  It is so nice to get fresh produce in the desert.  That same day I went to tea with a group of ladies in the revolving restaurant here, you can see all of Doha from 47 stories up.

Friday John and I walked the Corniche, a promenade along Doha Bay of the Arabian Gulf from the Sheraton Hotel to the Museum of Islamic Art, about 5 miles.  A favorite past time here for locals and expats to do on a Friday.  The museum just put in a nice park with play equipment and cafes.  We had a snack then got a ride home.  That night we had a wonderful Mediterranean dinner outside and listened to Greek Music.