Little Things Qatar Edition: Week 3

Here are some little things that I keep forgetting to write about or don't fit into a post of their own but want to remember about our first three weeks in Qatar.

• Carseats: When we arrived to Doha the driver taking us to our villa was going to throw the carseat in the back with the luggage rather than hand it to one of us to install in the car. It was a pretty strange thing for me to have the driver install the carseat when Anna & I went to the security and orientation meeting. I think the driver and Qatari from Craig's company thought it was strange we insisted on bringing our carseat to go to the medical commission (I kept over-hearing them say things in Arabic with "American" thrown in now and again while Anna & I waited for Craig to come back from our car with the seat to install in the driver's van).

  We often see kids and babies sitting on the lap of the front-seat passenger or standing in the middle or back rows of cars. We saw this in Korea, too. I am just floored everytime though. I really don't get it.

• When you park your car at the mall, people will come up to you and ask if you want your car washed while you shop. It is 10QR (about $3). We went for it a couple of days ago and the car looks pretty good!

• You cannot bring outside bags into a store, you must check them with the security guard or the service desk at the entrance.

• I feel like a pretty conservative dresser at home but here I feel like I'm walking around half-naked! I never realized how many v-necks I have (I think most of the maternity shirts I brought are v-necks). I sure hope I have more crew-necks in the sea shipment! With the local ladies completely covered, it makes you quite a bit more aware of your own clothing.

• I posted about frozen pizza from Iceland the other day; my chicken is from Saudi Arabia, I can get Saudi eggs or Dutch eggs, Saudi beef or Australian beef, and my paper towels are from Saudi Arabia. Many of the things I'm buying are from the US but sometimes I don't have that choice so I haven't noticed everything yet, but I think most things are Saudi products. The bottled water I bought this week is from Qatar (it is recommended to buy bottled or get a water service—I think we'll end up getting a service rather than continuing to buy the bottles each week).

• As promised, I took notes when we filled up my Accord with gas on Sunday night:
  (I'll provide all original numbers so you can feel free to check my math if you like.)
  51.3 liters
  41 Qatari Riyals
  436.3 km driven

  I come up with:
  13.55 gallons
  $11.26 USD
  271 miles

  So, 83 cents (USD) per gallon. ... maybe I can afford that H3!