Adventures in Apartment Living in Doha

Sunrise from JZog's Balcony

Overall, I like my apartment. It has high ceilings and open space, great views and sits in close proximity to downtown Doha. But, as with every apartment I have ever lived in, this one also has its idiosyncrasies. Some I would attribute to living outside of the United States, and others, well, I think the others are just conditions of living in an apartment anywhere.

In addition to the different outlets (thank you, Dad for sending me with your adapters!), each outlet has a switch to turn it on/off, and each major appliance has its own wall switch to power it on/off.

Two of My Many Wall Switches, in the "On" Position

It took me almost 2 days to figure this out, and therefore I could not use the stove, microwave, dishwasher, or hot water (oh, was that fun after a 14 hour flight). I searched for some sort of magical all-knowing apartment guide to tell me how to fix these issues, but to no avail. (I know, I know, I should have just called someone.) Finally I did what any frantic person would do and starting flipping all the, to me, random switches everywhere. Then, lo and behold! Numbers flashing everywhere! My success with the stove, microwave and dishwasher led me to believe that I had solved my hot water issue as well.

Not so.

Turns out my hot water did not work because my hot water did not work. Unlike most apartments in the US, here I do not have to turn in a maintenance request and wait for someone to maybe respond to me about my problem. Here I just call the front desk and they send someone up. The only catch is that the tenant has to remain in the apartment for the duration of the repair.

While I appreciate the responsiveness of the staff here, I have already experienced two major problems. After resolution of the hot water issue, my laundry room flooded when I attempted, imagine this, to wash my clothes. That proved a two-day repair affair and delayed my trip to the Museum of Islamic Art last weekend.

Speaking of, here's another photo of the view from the Museum:

JZog with Downtown Doha

Sometimes new, it seems, does not equal perfect. (Construction on this building was completed in 2012.) I have also heard rumors of rampant mold problems and water leaks in the walls in Doha, so I will keep my fingers crossed that I may avoid those unpleasantries.

And now, time for an episode of Dissertation Situation. Last week I sent a complete draft of Chapter 1 to my adviser.  Over the next two weeks I hope to complete the next chapter. Though sometimes my process becomes quite tedious, laborious, torturous (and many other "ous"es), for the most part I find that I am able to commit to writing without too much of an urge to hurl my laptop off of my balcony.

Hurrah for having dedicated, productive writing time!

Tonight I plan to have dinner with two of my friends and colleagues, and tomorrow night I will head out to the Souq again. I should probably make a list before I go. Let's see, I need fresh dates, and honey, and some fabric for a dress for my niece, and a nice scarf, maybe a monkey . . .

XO,
JZog

SRV

Hooray for jenniferdawn! She did the historianly thing and looked up the answer to yesterday's "Today in Rock History" quiz, which makes sense, since she is a historian!

Stevie Ray Vaughn died in a plane crash in East Troy, Wisconsin, on August 27, 1990. I dig pretty much any music with solid rhythms, but I especially like this one:

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" never sounded so good. RIP SRV, indeed.

On deck for tomorrow's post: "Adventures in Apartment Living in Doha", or "Construction Completed at the Speed of Light Renders Poor Results and Therefore Debatable Success in Maintaining One's Apartment".

'Til then!

XO,

JZog

This Day in Rock Music History and . . .

Happy Birthday wishes to LRowlands, whose birthday I always remember because of this sad day in rock music history. (Sorry about that, L.)

Who knows what happened (and I know that some of you do know)?

Post your responses in the comment section; I'll disclose the answer tomorrow!

XO,
JZog

On Fitness and Beer

Well, I have been in Doha for almost two weeks now and have happily settled into a fairly productive and, hopefully, sustainable schedule.  My days look something like this: Wake up with the sun, sometime between 5:30 and 6am; catch KZog on FaceTime before he crashes for the night; head upstairs for a swim or stay put and practice my yoga; make breakfast; then, either I head to campus to work all day, or I stay in the apartment and work all day. Usually by 6pm, my eyes have completely glazed over and I zone out with some knitting or by watching an American movie with Arabic subtitles, typically something released around 2005 that I normally would never have sat through. (Yesterday, I numbed my brain with Catch and Release, a perfectly average Jennifer Garner vehicle. Benefit: it did have Timothy Olyphant, who I really like in Justified.) Sometimes I head over to a mall to walk around for a bit.

As at home, my fitness routine has proven essential to maintaining a sense of normalcy. Because of the oppressive heat - today we will entertain temperatures around 108 degrees with a heat index over 111 - all my physical activity must happen indoors. Luckily, my building has an acceptable swimming pool. It is not really a lap pool, but I make it work. Besides, I have yet to see anyone else use the pool, and I enjoy some lovely views while swimming on the 29th floor:

"Club 29" Pool at Dareen Tower

Glass Wall of Pool Area at Dareen Tower

View of Downtown Doha from "Club 29"

Another View of Downtown Doha from "Club 29"

Unlike at home, I do not unwind at the end of the day with a frosty adult beverage, which while not an essential to normalcy, I have to admit I miss more than a little.

Beer (and whiskey and wine) exists here, but its accessibility remains limited, especially without a car. In order to purchase alcohol from the one, count 'em, one, liquor distributor here (Qatar Distribution Company, or QDC), you must obtain a letter from your employer stating your salary. Once you take this letter to one of QDC's two branches in Doha, they determine how much alcohol you may purchase based on how much money you make. Can't have all the expats spending their tripled salaries on booze, can we? Snark aside, I did not pursue this because 1. Despite my much improved salary, I am still a graduate student. They'd probably let me buy one beer a month; and 2. I don't have a car, which would make trips to QDC kind of a pain. Restaurants in the hotels do serve alcohol, though at a price that makes beer in NYC look cheap. A friend here told me that three cocktails once set him back nearly $100. 

Thank goodness I enjoyed one last boozy treat before I embarked on this journey. . . 

 Nothing Finer

So Texan of me, I know. Moral of the story: between my swimming and yoga routine and utter lack of beer, I should achieve physical fitness nirvana after a year here (as long as I don't eat too much bread with my hummus . . .)!

Slainte!

XO,

JZog

Coffee Anyone?

Qataris love their coffee . . . 

Qatari Men Gather at the Starbucks at Landmark Mall

XO,

JZog

The Art of the Trade and the Art of the State

As I mentioned in my last post, this past weekend (remember, my work week begins on Sunday!) I spent some time with two of Doha's cultural offerings: the Souq Waqif and the Museum of Islamic Art.

Friday evening I spent at the Souq Waqif with a new friend and colleague. The Souq Waqif (alternately the Souk) is the only example of a "traditional" outdoor Arabic marketplace in Doha. In 2009, a new structure replaced the old, though many agree that the new version remains true to the feel of the old trading markets. Here one may haggle over spices and sweets, textiles and antiques, birds and bunnies. Most of the shopkeepers now do post prices, but even those prove flexible, and they often throw in a "gift" if you make a purchase. You can find most anything in the Souq, and at far more reasonable prices than in the many many malls in Doha.

Polly want some Pita?

Bikes Awaiting Deliveries

I really enjoyed the Souq and plan to return weekly. I had only one intense haggling interaction over an embroidered cashmere shawl. Special price, my foot. I refuse to pay 200 riyals for a machine-embroidered piece of fabric with unfinished ends! My lovely new friend and guide let me know that walking away is perfectly acceptable.

Over the course of a few hours I found myself some deliciously fresh dates, loose dried herbs for tea-making, an incense burner, some perfume and a new hat (since I left mine at home - doh!). Despite all these wonderful goodies, my favorite part of the Souq has to be (drumroll, please) the fabric. (I can hear KZog sighing from here . . . )

Cottons and Linens and Silks, Oh My!

Here people often purchase fabric and have a tailor fashion their clothing. Though I spun around in this stall for a good fifteen minutes, I escaped with only four meters of fabric - a light blue cotton shirting and a fun Japanese cotton print - for about $25.  If not careful, I might buy my weight in fabric during my stay . . . 

My colleague and I dedicated Saturday afternoon to the Museum of Islamic Art. I enjoyed the textures of the museum interior - the walls alternated among wood, rock and stone. The collection itself has much room to grow, and the organization of the objects both complemented Islamic beliefs and adhered to more conventionally Western ideas of "art" museums. Personally, I found the emphasis on objects - Qur'an, textiles, pottery, armor - as art a refreshing change from the dominance of painting and sculpture in art museums in the US. In part because of religious beliefs, much of Islamic art is devoid of painting and sculpture, though text in the museum stressed that figural representations of man and animal did appear in secular art. As a result, curators organized the pieces according to categories such as "patterns", "science in art" and "the figure in art". I realize that many museums in the US include ancient objects, but it seems that once one arrives at the Renaissance, the number of objects dramatically diminishes.  

JZog in the Museum of Islamic Art

In any case, the views from the museum dwarfed any prowess of its collections. Chinese American architect I.M. Pei (famous for the Kennedy Library and the Louvre Pyramid) designed the exterior of the buildings, which proved more than worth the donation only entry fee.  

JZog and the Fountains in front of the Museum of Islamic Art

View of Downtown Doha from Museum of Islamic Art

View of Boats and "Spiral" Mosque from the Museum of Islamic Art

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. 

Good luck to my friends beginning classes in College Station tomorrow!

XO,

JZog

On the Cover of the . . . (and an Update on Black Pepper)

. . . Eddie Bauer catalog?

KZog sent me a photo of the latest Eddie Bauer catalog yesterday:

JZog's Doppelganger?

I would prefer to see KZog and JZog on the cover of the Rolling Stone as the folk-rock duo The Traveling Zogs, but I'll take my doppelganger on the Eddie Bauer catalog. (I think I need this dress now, no?)

So, since my first report on the absence of black pepper at the Carrefour hypermarket I have returned to the store to conduct a thorough search for this apparently elusive spice. I still could not locate any black pepper at the Carrefour. Now, I did find some at Jones the Grocer, an Australian-based eatery meets high-end grocery, and my new favorite place to grab a bite. The problem? Two ounces of pepper costs 100 riyals!   

Qatari riyals (QAR) do not equal the dollar; the exchange rate is roughly 3.5 QAR to 1 US dollar. But that still makes the pepper $27.37! Seems pricey to me, so I will do without until KZog smuggles me a good 'ol shaker of $3 McCormick's later this year.

In general, food here costs more than it does in the US, though the quality is quite high. The produce section rivals any Whole Foods I have seen and the range of products more than meets the needs of this discriminating expat (save the black pepper). I don't really need the entire aisles of chocolate (No joke! And there are entire sections of Nutella and Nutella-like spreads.), but I still meander down them, as a test of my intestinal fortitude, I suppose. Otherwise, my dollars go quite far. Also, Qatar does not add sales tax, so the price you see is the price you pay.

The Real JZog, at the Corniche 

This evening I head over to the Souq Waqif and tomorrow to the Islamic Museum of Art. I will post full updates after the weekend!

XO,
JZog

Instant Love Affair

Don't worry, I haven't decided to leave Kevin for a wealthy Qatari.

No, I have a new love for instant coffee. There. I said it.

Over the years I have acquired all the trappings of a coffee snob. Even when KZog and I subsisted on fish sticks and macaroni and cheese, we splurged on freshly roasted, whole bean coffee. My dad escalated our snobbery with an anniversary gift of a Cuisinart coffee maker several years ago. It grinds, it brews, it keeps the coffee warm for hours. Mmmmm . . . .

In the apartment, Texas A&M has set me up quite well with pots and pans, iron and ironing board, utensils and basic foodstuffs, but oddly, I thought, no coffee maker. It seems the trend here (and probably lots of other places not the United States, pardon my ignorance) is to use an electric kettle to heat up one's water for tea and instant coffee. Why have I not heard of these before? I fill up the kettle, flip a switch and less than two minutes later I have roiling boiling water to pour onto a teaspoon of crystals, creating a rich, steamy wonderful cup of joe. I find something quite satisfying about not only the instantaneous deliciousness, but also that I do not have to dump grounds and clean out a coffee pot.

My electric kettle and current coffee selection

The only person that I can recall drinking instant coffee is my Grandma Ray, but these coffees do not resemble Grandma's Maxwell House or Folger's. So far I have tasted three different varieties from two different brands. My favorite so far? Tchibo Exclusive. Manufactured in Hamburg, Germany, (though the product has Russian language on the label, and not Arabic, nor German) Tchibo Exclusive has a smooth, balanced taste with no bitterness, perfect for multiple cups for a long day of writing.

After all, coffee = productivity, yes?

The scene this morning

I know I haven't posted many (or any?) photos of me in Doha yet, so today I leave you with one of me at Katara, a cultural center in Doha, this past weekend. More specifics to come on Katara, as I see myself making many trips here.

JZog at Katara "Bird Tower" with Mosque in Background

'Til next time!

XO, 

JZog

Orienteering Education City

Well, they didn't exactly drop me in the middle of Education City with a compass, start the clock and time how long it took me to find the Texas A&M building, but with all of the student/employee orientations I have had (and still have) I do feel pressure to figure my way around quickly. Some procedures remain the same as on main campus; others, of course, do not. Medical insurance, residency permits, IT, HR, library access, building access . . . the list goes on and on. At least everyone has office space in the same building, making locating people and completing tasks far easier than in College Station. On the other hand, once someone knows me, I have nowhere to hide!

I have chosen not to pursue a Qatari driver's license. Renting a car, though it would provide me greater autonomy, costs more than I would like to spend - around $600 per month. Some people decide not to drive here because of the reputation of Doha drivers as aggressive and perhaps a tad crazy; however, I have yet to see anything worse than I saw every day I made the transition from highway 59 to interstate 45 in Houston. Many of the intersections here have roundabouts instead of stoplights, which I think contributes to the messiness of the driving culture (though currently construction is underway to replace all the roundabouts with stoplights).  In any event, I will take a shuttle bus to Education City for the coming year.  One way, the trip takes between twenty and thirty minutes. Random point of interest: yesterday I was the only woman on the shuttle (and the only blonde as well). As this shuttle goes directly to the Texas A&M building, I believe this is a byproduct of the engineering focus of this campus; I have seen more women in Education City. Really I guess this differs very little from College Station, or at least it differs very little from the history department . . . Lesson of the day: know your driver, because the shuttle buses are not labeled! Luckily I knew someone taking the same shuttle, so I did not have to sleep in my new office.

I will share an open office space with two (possibly three) other Liberal Arts Graduate Assistants.  This is the building in which our office is located:

TAMU-Q Building

Someone I met from the English department yesterday mentioned that she thought our building looked like something out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Now I cannot get that association out of my head. I haven't found the snake pit yet, nor have any boulders rolled down the hall, but I am going to find the trap door just in case.

Another view of the TAMU-Q Building

I have not explored much of the rest of Education City yet, but I did venture over to the Hamad bin Khalifa Student Center for lunch and looking around. I cannot wait until it cools off enough (ok, you can stop laughing now) so that I may hang out here:

Sculpture Garden @ the Student Center

More of the Sculpture Garden @ the Student Center

Hope everyone has a Happy Monday!

XO,

JZog

All Quiet on the West Bay Front

Though one could certainly not call me a world traveler - until now, perhaps? - I have lived in or near some of the largest cities in the United States: Chicago, NYC, Houston. Never have I been in a city of so many people where it is so very quiet. Granted, as I mentioned in a previous post, my apartment building sits on the edge of downtown (in an area called West Bay). Still it amazes me that I hear few car horns and see few people walking, even in the evenings. Even the construction seems muted. Maybe the whir of all the air conditioners deadens outside sound?

So, where are many of the 1.3 million people of Doha?

Malls. Massive, multi-level, air-conditioned malls.

It took me less than fifteen minutes to walk to City Center mall from my apartment building. For those who live in or have visited Texas, the size and scope of the malls here will appear less surprising, but there is at least one striking difference.

There is a grocery store inside the mall. No, really. City Center has a Carrefour, a French-based grocery/drugstore (also, notably, the second largest retailer worldwide). As one might expect from a French chain, most of the products come from Europe, but many Arabic products line the shelves as well, in particular lamb, dates, and sweets, sweets, sweets everywhere. I had heard about the legendary Arabic sweet tooth, and it certainly seems to be true. I would compare City Center to a combination of an H.E.B. (one of the new big ones, not a "pantry") and the Houston Galleria. I made the error of not weighing my produce before checking out, but a friendly worker rescued me from trekking half a mile across the store and re-checking out. The only item I wanted but could not locate? Pepper! Why, you ask? I have no idea. Maybe I didn't look in the right place? It certainly was not next to the entire section of salt . . . I found all other manner of spices - cumin, chili powder, chili pepper, mustard seed - but no pepper! Not tragic, of course, but puzzling . . .

Besides my foray to the mall, over the last two days I have finished unpacking and mostly settled into a daily schedule. Tomorrow I begin my orientation and work at the Texas A&M - Qatar campus in Education City. (The work week here begins on Sunday and ends on Thursday, making Friday and Saturday the weekend days.) I have also made some progress on chapter one of my dissertation, working through some final edits before I send it to my advisor later next week.

I leave you with another video of views from my apartment (both inside and out!):

XO,
JZog

On Commenting

I see now that it is not altogether clear how to leave a comment on the blog.

If you would like to post a thought or two, click on "No Comments" at the end of my post, which should take you to where you may enter your comment. Anonymous posts will not be accepted. Also, please note that your comments may not appear instantaneously, so entering it once should do.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

XO,
JZog

Day and Night From the New Digs

The flight from Houston to Doha went fairly well . . . after some frantic re-packing at check-in. (Fortunately everything made it!) An energetic two-year-old across the aisle kept me from sleeping much, but that has actually helped me to acclimate to the time change. I was more than ready to crash by the time I arrived in the evening.

Over the next few days I plan to unpack, settle in and explore a bit. I live within walking distance of Corniche Park, which stretches several kilometers along the bay, and also near a massive shopping mall, where I hope to find a few items that I did not bring with me.

My apartment building, a thirty-six story high-rise, sits on the edge of downtown Doha, though like Houston, this edge looks like it will quickly dissolve and re-materialize.  Construction projects of all kinds dot the landscape here - museums, hotels, malls, high-rise apartments, banks and oil and gas complexes among them - and any open piece of land bears the marks of firms that have staked their claims to build there.

The apartment itself is lovely with a spacious, open floor plan, high ceilings and plenty of natural light. I have some fantastic views from my balconies of downtown Doha, especially at night:

The view during the daytime is not too shabby, either:

I should have enough time left in my day to finish unpacking and make a new and hopefully yummy food discovery. To those of you Stateside, have a great Thursday! 

XO,

JZog

. . . And I Have Arrived!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I have arrived safely in Doha and am now crashed out on the couch in my new digs.

More soon!

XO,
JZog

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Luckily, since I have (finally) packed for my trip rather than leaving everything in pseudo-organized piles all over the place, the front room of Casa de Zog has gone from resembling something out of Hoarders to this:

Hello, front room of Casa de Zog.

Somehow I managed to cram a year's worth of clothing, four years' worth of research and what will probably amount to ten years' worth of knitting projects into two full-size suitcases and a carry-on. Despite my efforts to fashion appropriate breathing holes in my luggage, I could not find a way to pack Roni, too. 

So I begin my adventure tonight . . . with a fourteen and a half hour flight to Doha. You read correctly, I have a direct flight to Doha, which as of right now has given me more anxiety than any other facet of my trip. I hear tell that they (whoever "they" are) organize these long international flights in such a way as to keep one's attention from the fact that she will sit on a plane for fourteen and a half hours. Sheesh. I have packed many distractions, including a shawl-knitting project, John Steinbeck's Travels With Charley: In Search of America,  D. Soyini Madison's Critical Ethnography: Method, Ethics, and Performance and Chapter 1 of my dissertation. Sleep would prove most excellent, though probably the most elusive, and most likely I will splurge for the in-flight wi-fi and watch the entirety of Season 4 of Dr. Who. 

In thinking about my long flight (and upcoming long time away from home), I couldn't resist this clip of John Denver and Cass Elliot teaming up on "Leaving on a Jet Plane" from Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special, August 19, 1972. I briefly considered posting the version without the voter registration plug, but the context-loving historian in me won out.  This version far surpasses the scene from Armageddon IMHO . . . 

My next post will find me well on the other side of the Atlantic. Cheers 'til then!

XO,

JZog

Welcome!

Howdy, hello and hey guys! Welcome to See Zog Go, my shiny new blog for those who would like to share in my many exploits, and in particular my latest adventure to Doha, Qatar, where I will study, assist with research and finish my dissertation courtesy of the generosity of Texas A&M University College of Liberal Arts and Texas A&M University - Qatar. Though intended primarily for my family and friends back in the States to keep tabs on me, anyone interested in knitting, SUPing, sewing, puppies, motorcycles, dissertating, foodie-ing, dancing and longing for the soulmate who has remained at home (in my case, the intrepid KZog) might find something of interest here, too. 

I do invite comments but only from "registered users" in order to avoid anonymous, and possibly trolling, posts. Also, I have given my grandmother the link to this blog, so please keep it PG. That is, keep it Pro-Granny, Puppy-Genteel and requiring minimal Parental Guidance. PeppeRoni Pizza the Wonderpup has a sensitive soul and does not appreciate the profane. 

Roni disapproves of whatever mean and awful thing you just thought!

I hope to post at least three times a week and anticipate that work, writing and (hopefully) other compelling activities will sometimes get in the way. 

Thank you for visiting and I look forward to sharing my journey with everyone!

XO,

JZog