What to bring to Qatar: my US shopping list

While talking to a friend after the annual Qatar recruitment lunch in Pittsburgh a couple weeks ago, I found myself waxing lyrical about the joys of going to CVS when I'm back in Pittsburgh. (West Coast readers: CVS ≈ Long's Drugs.) My friend laughed and said that they should have said THAT in the recruitment talk: Qatar is wonderful, but you will be reduced to wandering around drug stores in awe and wonderment when you visit the States.

Sadly, it's true. You can buy almost anything you want in Qatar, but there are random items you just have to stock up on on trips back home.

Since people on the verge of moving to Qatar often email me and ask what they should pack, I figured I'd share the the list of things I stocked up on this month.

1. Books! I always end up buying half a dozen or so. On this trip I bought:
   • a guidebook to Hong Kong (guidebooks are oddly hard to find in Qatar)
   • Thich Nhat Hanh's The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching (ditto books on religion)
   • a collection of short stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa (probably too obscure to be available in Qatar)
   • Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle (probably available in Qatar, but books are expensive here so what the heck)
2. Running shorts. (Qatar does have some sports stores, but women's running shorts are hard to come across -- as are any women's sports clothes in larger than size 6.)
   
   
3. Board games. (The basics are available in Qatar -- Scrabble, Taboo, Trivial Pursuit -- but they're expensive, and they're usually the British versions.
   
   
4. Toiletries from CVS, store of wonderment. This time what I needed was:
   • Tom's of Maine toothpaste and non-antiperspirant deodorant (Qatar has all the normal mainstream brands -- Crest and Sensodyne, Old Spice and Lady Speed Stick -- but not hippy natural brands)
     
   • Travel-size bottles of contact lens solution & sunscreen (Qatar has these things, but not in the less-than-3-ounce sizes necessary to take them in your carry-on to the US or UK)
     
   • Random over-the-counter medicines that aren't available in Qatar, e.g. Pyridium, cold medicine. (Lots of OTC meds are available in Qatar, and quite a few prescription meds are available OTC, like birth control pills and even antidepressants. However, some things just ain't here, so if there's something you use on a regular basis, you may better off bringing a supply.)
     
   • Tampons. 'Nuff said.
     
   • I often also grab some 99¢ nail polish or cheap sunglasses or cheap nickel-free earrings. In Qatar it's easy to get MAC nail polish, Gucci sunglasses and gold jewelry, but it's hard to find the crap I like to buy.

Qatar dwellers, what do you stock up on?