Things are very interesting around here right now. I suspect I'm just going to have to get used to some of my work related issues. It's very chaotic and fluid as it stands... the biggest problem is that I have too many "bosses" too close at hand. Any time someone has a question they just pull me aside at their leisure to get the inside scoop.
Time for more adventures in Doha.
So the last thing I have to do in Doha is get my drivers license. No big deal. I go in, get an eye exam, hand over my paper work with my picture and they pass it all along and a couple of days later a license shows up magically here in the office and I can legally drive. The morning started off alright, I got dehydrated the dy before and still had a lingering headache from that but I just needed to get rehydrated which is easy enough around the office... they have water stations everywhere. About 8:30 the guy comes and gets me saying "You're ride is here to go get your eye test" I pack up and head out.
We get down to Doha and wait around for an hour while they figure out who's going where and how to get them there. We had 5 people. Our driver was from India, we had a 65 year old American, a 37 year old Filipino(I would have sworn he was my age if not for his greying hair...) and a 29 year old Egyptian. Quite the crew. All three of them needed to do the medical(see my earlier post dealing with this part).
I thought it would be no big deal as it took me about 45 minutes to get through it all, en shala. No en shala this time... Me and the driver sat around for awhile in the air conditioned Accord trying to make small talk. This worked for awhile until the language barrier frustrated us into silence. At this point I looked at the clock... 1 hour and counting. I pulled out my book. The driver decided to try to take a short nap. My head was still pounding and the longer we sat there the worse the A/C in the car was working. Not only was my head hurting I hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime the previous day(monday for those of you still trying to keep track) I kept checking the clock...
hour and a half...
two hours...
What was going on? Finally after sitting for 3 hours in the car they came out. It turns out they were sitting in line when the call to pray came up...
and then the staff decided to take lunch...
We were all hungry(I was dying really... I was surprised I didn't just waste away in the car). We decided to get KFC for lunch. Of everything I've had here the KFC is the closest to how it is back home. Makes sense... how hard is it to make fried chicken? The only difference is they don't do Original Recipe. You get crispy or spicy. The spicy has a little kick to it...
After lunch we head back to the office for another 20 minutes of waiting. When the manager at the office notices that one of the guys who got the medical didn't get his chest x-ray... No one told him what he had to do so he didn't know. It's not very straightforward unless someone tells you(or you speak the language), so I understood. We swung back by there... he still didn't get it. They told him to come back at three and they'd take care of it.
Finally, time for the eye exam... easy. Go in, read a line on the wall, in, out, no problem...
*cough*
No problem, right?
Right?!?
Ah, this is Qatar. Nothing is easy in Qatar. I go in and the examiner looks at my picture and then at me and asks "You need your glasses to see?" I replied affirmative. He proceeded to tell me that I needed to have my glasses on in my picture for my license then.
I was not happy. I got my pictures taken the second day I was here. They never told me what they were for and so I just kind of went along for the ride. It was a regular photo studio so when I went in they suggested I take off my glasses...
So now it's 3 o'clock and I need to get a picture taken. Easy. In, picture taken and developed, out. Sure thing this time, eh? Haha, no. Everything closes in the middle of the day... makes sense in the desert. Unfortunately it meant we'd need to wait an hour just to have the picture taken... let alone processed. So we went back to Al Khor...
There was no way I was going back to work for an hour so I had the driver drop me off back at the apartment.
A wasted day and I still have to go back to Doha tomorrow for a stupid lousy picture... If the guy suggests I take off my glasses it might come to blows.
I thought it would be no big deal as it took me about 45 minutes to get through it all, en shala. No en shala this time... Me and the driver sat around for awhile in the air conditioned Accord trying to make small talk. This worked for awhile until the language barrier frustrated us into silence. At this point I looked at the clock... 1 hour and counting. I pulled out my book. The driver decided to try to take a short nap. My head was still pounding and the longer we sat there the worse the A/C in the car was working. Not only was my head hurting I hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime the previous day(monday for those of you still trying to keep track) I kept checking the clock...
hour and a half...
two hours...
What was going on? Finally after sitting for 3 hours in the car they came out. It turns out they were sitting in line when the call to pray came up...
and then the staff decided to take lunch...
We were all hungry(I was dying really... I was surprised I didn't just waste away in the car). We decided to get KFC for lunch. Of everything I've had here the KFC is the closest to how it is back home. Makes sense... how hard is it to make fried chicken? The only difference is they don't do Original Recipe. You get crispy or spicy. The spicy has a little kick to it...
After lunch we head back to the office for another 20 minutes of waiting. When the manager at the office notices that one of the guys who got the medical didn't get his chest x-ray... No one told him what he had to do so he didn't know. It's not very straightforward unless someone tells you(or you speak the language), so I understood. We swung back by there... he still didn't get it. They told him to come back at three and they'd take care of it.
Finally, time for the eye exam... easy. Go in, read a line on the wall, in, out, no problem...
*cough*
No problem, right?
Right?!?
Ah, this is Qatar. Nothing is easy in Qatar. I go in and the examiner looks at my picture and then at me and asks "You need your glasses to see?" I replied affirmative. He proceeded to tell me that I needed to have my glasses on in my picture for my license then.
I was not happy. I got my pictures taken the second day I was here. They never told me what they were for and so I just kind of went along for the ride. It was a regular photo studio so when I went in they suggested I take off my glasses...
So now it's 3 o'clock and I need to get a picture taken. Easy. In, picture taken and developed, out. Sure thing this time, eh? Haha, no. Everything closes in the middle of the day... makes sense in the desert. Unfortunately it meant we'd need to wait an hour just to have the picture taken... let alone processed. So we went back to Al Khor...
There was no way I was going back to work for an hour so I had the driver drop me off back at the apartment.
A wasted day and I still have to go back to Doha tomorrow for a stupid lousy picture... If the guy suggests I take off my glasses it might come to blows.
1 comment:
Hey JR - Randy and I love reading your blog! Actually I read it, laugh out loud, and then Randy has me read it to him. You and your sotry telling! We have been cold and wet here. We have actually had flooding problems and things are crazy! It was only 48 degrees this morning. Every day brings a new adventure.
Check out our website if you get a chance:
http://hpechota.googlepages.com
Holly Randy & Kids
Post a Comment