Aside from orientation at work, our employers have also arranged for veteran teachers and staff to take us out each evening to the main malls and large stores around town if we sign up to go. So we've gone out a few nights so far and come home completely overwhelmed and poorer each time. We're glad we went, though, because we got to know our neighbors and coworkers better on each trip, and it's been a nice excuse to get out and interact. Here are a few of the places we've been.
Landmark Mall: Pretty big, but comparable to some US malls I've seen. Pictures here, a video promotion at the bottom of the page here, and some YouTube videos of it here.
Lulu Hypermarket: I linked to it in my last post. A grocery/department store about the size of four Super Walmarts, two on each floor.
City Center Mall: basically take the largest mall you've ever been to, and stack it on top of itself five times. If you're interested in seeing photos of it, click here, for videos click here, and if you'd like to see the floor plan, click here (links to a rather large PDF). For scale, the ice skating rink inside is just a little smaller than a regulation hockey rink.
Driving through downtown's skyscrapers to get to City Center Mall. Here's a 3D panorama you can explore.
Aside from learning at these malls just how much money people must have to burn here in Qatar, we've also had it reinforced that we don't stand out here. We observed many people not following the dress code we were advised to follow (not that we intend to flout it or anything). And we saw thousands of other people from the US/Europe. Aside from people commenting about how cute Miss A and Big E are, no one (that we noticed) so much as looked in our direction unless we were actively trying to get a sales clerk's attention. It actually feels nice to be so completely ignored.
These trips have kept us out from about 4 to 6 PM each night, so we all come home starving. But the kids have handled it well. Still, we've decided to take a day off tomorrow so we don't burn out from all the visual stimulation. Maybe our shipment will finally arrive, too.
Landmark Mall: Pretty big, but comparable to some US malls I've seen. Pictures here, a video promotion at the bottom of the page here, and some YouTube videos of it here.
Lulu Hypermarket: I linked to it in my last post. A grocery/department store about the size of four Super Walmarts, two on each floor.
City Center Mall: basically take the largest mall you've ever been to, and stack it on top of itself five times. If you're interested in seeing photos of it, click here, for videos click here, and if you'd like to see the floor plan, click here (links to a rather large PDF). For scale, the ice skating rink inside is just a little smaller than a regulation hockey rink.
Driving through downtown's skyscrapers to get to City Center Mall. Here's a 3D panorama you can explore.
Aside from learning at these malls just how much money people must have to burn here in Qatar, we've also had it reinforced that we don't stand out here. We observed many people not following the dress code we were advised to follow (not that we intend to flout it or anything). And we saw thousands of other people from the US/Europe. Aside from people commenting about how cute Miss A and Big E are, no one (that we noticed) so much as looked in our direction unless we were actively trying to get a sales clerk's attention. It actually feels nice to be so completely ignored.
These trips have kept us out from about 4 to 6 PM each night, so we all come home starving. But the kids have handled it well. Still, we've decided to take a day off tomorrow so we don't burn out from all the visual stimulation. Maybe our shipment will finally arrive, too.
3 comments:
So what kinds of things are you spending your money on?
Nice to know you fit in. That was probably a concern at some point.
Mom: broom, dustpan, ironing board, lots of food, chemical cleaners, a steam mop since all our floors are marble or tile, toilet paper, paper towels, a local surge protector, a multi-region DVD player (super cheap), toiletries, felt pads for the wooden chair legs, laundry and dish detergent, garbage cans for rooms besides the kitchen (they provided one of those), house plants to add some green to our lives, etc.
Nate: yes, many people were worried we'd get stared at a lot (particularly that Rachel would), and so we were pleased to find that hasn't been the case.
Post a Comment