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