WHAT was I thinking??? Though I left in daylight, I managed to get lost...I could see the mall, I just couldn't quite get to it. So, like anyone who has lived in Qatar for a while, I made a split second decision to drive up over the curb, down the dirt/side of the road, and then down a rather large curb onto the main street. Good thing my car is a rental. :-) I hesitated on the curb to the road, as traffic was atrocious, but at that point, going back would have been a worse idea. So I gunned it and got to speed quickly enough to avoid a crash, arriving at the mall safely. 2 hours later, I left. I was going to Carrefoure to purchase some things for a beach picnic with some friends tomorrow. I needed beach toys/accessories, or I would have just gone to the supermarket. Slim pickin's but as least I got some goggles and floats and a beach ball. And a cooler. When you buy fruit/vegetables here, you have to stand in a line, and have the items weighed and stickered. You can't do it yourself, and the cashiers can't do it. Well the concept of a que has yet to make it to Qatar, so people cut left and right. Today, I told the man who was desperately grabbing bags to weigh from all directions that no one was queuing properly. He told "yes ma'm. nobody listen. sorry bout that." I guess there is nothing he can do about it, but what he said and how he said it struck me as rather funny so I started laughing, which made him laugh, making the masses surrounding the produce weighing machine quite upset. Moving on to the exit. I pay, and leave the store, and I had too much stuff to carry, so I had to bring the cart along to my car. What a joke...when I walked outside, I truly wanted to turn around and go back in. Mass chaos....cars everywhere. It was a death-defying walk to my car, as I had to walk along side cars that seem to think driving 50-60 miles/hour in a mall parking lot, over curbs is a good idea. After that ordeal, I decided I needed an Al Mandarine...it's becoming a habit, but it's fresh fruit, so it could be worse. I drive there successfully, and park way in the back because the traffic is just silly. While waiting for my drinks, a Qatari man jumps the curb with his Land cruiser, driving right up to the door. (this is not a drive through, by the way, it's a little shop in a strip mall) At least he was kind enough to stop outside the door as opposed to driving right into the building. He then lays on his horn until the poor Al Mandarine guy goes outside to take his order. When he comes in, I ask if this is normal, and he says simply "This is Doha." Ok, so now I'm heading home, and listening to the radio. First is what I can only assume is some kind of love song ballad in French, followed by Lincoln Park, followed by "it is now time for evening call to prayer," meaning the same Arabic call to prayer that was going on outside on the loud speakers was on the radio as well. That was about 3-4 minutes, followed directly by Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Seriously?? What kind of station is this? The only one that plays any American music. By the middle of Thriller I was home, so I don't know what came on next, but an adorable light brown shih tzu was walking by so I talked to the owner who promptly told me "She's fat. She's on steroids for skin allergies, so she's fat." lol I just thought she was cute. Walks down the street without a lease or anything. Kiku. Sweet little thing. And that is how the night ended. There is rarely a dull moment in Doha. :-) At least I don't have to drive to the beach tomorrow.
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