qatarperegrine | Reverse culture shock

OK, here's the list of things that struck me as weird or at least un-Qatari when I flew back in last night. However, I now have to preface it by saying that the MOST un-Qatari thing to happen since I got back was that I got HIT ON on the way home from church. That would never happen in Qatar. Although the dude's name was Omar.....

So, here are the observations I wrote down about being back in the West after 10 months in the Gulf.

People:

The first American I encountered outside Qatar was screaming at a Lufthansa employee for not being polite enough, and for being too fat. (Yes, she said that.) Not a representative sample, I know, but I didn't hear any non-Americans screaming at airport employees.

All the attendants in the Chicago business class lounge were black. I remembered when I first visited Pittsburgh and was horrified that black people were doing all the menial jobs. Then I realized that, in California, Hispanics do all the menial jobs. In Qatar, south Asians do all the menial jobs. But somehow the versions you're not used to seem more shocking.

Things I’m no longer used to: People making out in public. Blue eyeshadow. Mullets. Tattoos. Seeing strangers’ belly buttons.

There are joggers everywhere! In Doha, 9 times out of 10 when I see a jogger it’s our neighbor John.

Transportation:

I wrote this list on a bus, which I wouldn’t have been able to do in Qatar as there is no public transportation.

Cars come in so many colors! In the Gulf white and beige predominate. Some people have colorful cars, but they stand out.

We had to come to SO MANY UNNECESSARY STOPS on the way in to Pittsburgh -- and I'm not talking about bus stops, I'm talking about traffic lights. Come on, people! Adopt the roundabout! It’s the intersection that’s sweeping the nation!

$2.45 a gallon? For real?

Landscape:

I expected to be blown away by the greenery, since there is next to none in Qatar. What I’d forgotten about is weeds. In Doha there are lots of lawns, but they’re all carefully maintained and there are really no native plants to invade. I’d forgotten that in the U.S. you can’t STOP things from growing. God bless the grass that grows through the cracks!

The hills are so… three-dimensional!

Sitting outside Morewood Gardens waiting for the shuttle, I could hear birds chirping all around me. In Doha there’s often a mynah bird sitting on our ledge chirping, but you seldom have the experience of hearing a whole bunch of birds chirping away at once.

I saw a squirrel in the back yard this morning and just about had a heart attack! Yay for non-cockroach wildlife.

Culture:

I knew for sure I was back in the US when a loudspeaker informed me that I should not stand backwards on a moving walkway. And, later, that I should not put my fingers in the machinery of the baggage carousel. Seriously, does anybody need to be told these things? Does the airport do this for our benefit, or to avoid lawsuits? Because there’s nowhere else in the galaxy where you can sue an establishment for allowing idiots to use their facilities. (On the other hand, yay for requiring people to seatbelt their children!)

There are billboards and advertisements EVERYWHERE. You can’t look out the window of the bus in peace without being assaulted by advertising, much of which is for alcohol and cigarettes. I’d gotten used to virtually ad-free Doha.

Churches everywhere! And I’d forgotten how many Orthodox and Eastern-rite Catholic churches there are in Pittsburgh. The architecture is stunning. In Qatar there are mosques everywhere, of course, but Wahhabist mosques tend to avoid ornateness. And there are churches in Qatar, but they can’t advertise their presence, so there’s no church architecture.

You don’t see political bumper stickers in Qatar. You rarely see bumper stickers at all, except for Alhamdu lillah (praise God) and masha' Allah (what God wills). It’s nice to be somewhere where people can be in-your-face about their political views. For example, I can say OUR PRESIDENT HAS THE IQ OF A SHRIVELLED BRAZIL NUT and not be carted away. Alhamdu lillah for that.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I didn't hear any non-Americans screaming

Although you disclaim that it's not representative, I think this is generally true. (Sadly.) Americans are often loud, bitchy, and (despite international claims of our love of diversity and multiculturalism) resistant to anything that's not "the American way".

Maybe I'm just having an attack of cynicism and national shame today. :P

Adopt the roundabout!

I'll sign the petition!

The hills are so… three-dimensional!

This makes me picture Qatar as a land of movie set cutouts. :D

Welcome back.

"This makes me picture Qatar as a land of movie set cutouts. :D"

That would explain how new buildings are constructed so quickly.... :-)

in the airports in russia and in germany the plane information was announced in at least two languages if not three. in the US, only in english.

i also noticed that americans are loud and complain often. but they do stand in lines. in my experience russians seem very patient with most things, unless they paid for better than they got. they were still very patient, just persistent in making things change. they weren't ever loud -- even when drunk in a gathering the loudest i heard was when everyone was singing a fun song and clapping. but lines do not seem to exist when it comes to the airport. lots of very quiet pushing and shoving. if you left any kind of space between yourself and the next person, you would soon find 3 people in between you.

The waiting-in-line thing is definitely true in Qatar, too. It's taken me a while to get to the point where I don't think "How rude! I was here first!" and can think, "My hanging back told them that I'm not in a hurry to get this done."

That was quite interesting in Egypt. I am still very proud of the way the four of us fanned out and roadblocked anyone behind us when we were getting tickets to the Egyptian museum. I had to lean hard on a guy who was trying to squeeze past us, but we did it. :-D

We had to come to SO MANY UNNECESSARY STOPS on the way in to Pittsburgh -- and I'm not talking about bus stops, I'm talking about traffic lights. Come on, people! Adopt the roundabout! It’s the intersection that’s sweeping the nation!

From what I heard in Doha, they were talking about putting in fewer roundabouts and more traffic lights? Maybe I'm wrong.

Also, roundabouts: more accidents, more space. Good luck getting them in the US with that :)

Seeing strangers’ belly buttons.

I thought a bit about the "immodest" dress in the US when I got back from Qatar too. I kept thinking "woah, I can't believe she's wearing that" when I never used to think that.

I knew for sure I was back in the US when a loudspeaker informed me...

Anyone in favor of the Darwin effect?

You don’t see political bumper stickers in Qatar.

I saw a bumper sticker on the drive down here that said "There is no compulsion in Islam." I thought that was pretty cool.

There's a Muslim guy on my project team - he converted 2 years ago. He's a white New Mexico-an. It's pretty cool that I can talk to him about his religion intelligently, something I never could have done before my trip to Qatar.

Yes, they're adding traffic lights, and it's a good thing. Roundabouts are definitely a bad idea in high-traffic intersections, but they're way better in low-traffic ones. (And I wouldn't blame the roundabouts for all the accidents!)

Regarding "I can't believe she's wearing that" -- it certainly gives me a greater appreciation for some people's impression of Western women. We definitely dress in ways that no "respectable" woman would dress in many parts of the world.

Being able to talk intelligently about Islam was my primary motivation for moving to Qatar. And I've been enjoying talking to my neighbors, who were very nervous about me moving into "enemy territory," about how wonderful the Qatari people are and how they have restrained themselves from beheading me as an infidel. :-)

In London, they have ads for BOOKS on the subway. That blew me away.

I always enjoyed ads on the Tube.

The ads they had for Jesus Christ Superstar showed modern police (in traditional "bobby" outfits) arresting a traditional-looking Jesus guy. When I went to a performance, I heard the couple behind me loudly saying, "Where are the bobbies? Why are they all wearing robes?"

Was it in Cairo or Doha that we saw the car with the bumper sticker that said "I am a terrorist" or something like that? I think it was Cairo, come to think of it. Yeah. Never mind, it was Egypt, and it may actually not have been irony.

This has been a very interesting post - although I have to say you are somewhat insulting to shrivelled Brazil nuts.

(Side note - the Daily Show showed a press conference in which Dubya reiterated to the crowd, over and over, that he thinks about Iraq *every day*. *Every single day*. Direct quote. He was so proud of himself for thinking about it every day. It's probably on his agenda - 11:13am, think about Iraq.)

Well, I wasn't going to bring that up, but yes it was in Doha, and it said "#1 TERRORIST." I've seen this bumper sticker two or three times and haven't worked out if it's the same Land Cruiser every time. I try not to get out of the vicinity when I see it. :-D

Good point about the Brazil nuts. Sorry, Brazil nuts of the world.

Seekarkrun...

Thanks for sharing that! It would be thrilling to see a book ad here in Qatar! (Hopefully) =}

KC (A Native Qatari)
www.kaptures.blogspot.com

I'd be happy just to see more BOOKS in Qatar! :-)

I'm wracking my brain for native Qataris with the initials KC, but I can't think of any. I don't know you in real life, do I? Either way, welcome to my blog! Feel free to look around more recent entries and post your thoughts. My not-so-secret blogging fear is accidentally saying something incorrect/offensive about Qatar or Islam, so please correct me if you see any errors. :-)

I just read your blog and enjoyed it. Well, I read the English entries, anyway. I can read enough Arabic to see your other two entries are about Ramadan, but other than the occasional word here and there (Allah, Qatar, Weill-Cornell, etc.) I'm clueless. :-) I really thought I'd have picked up more Arabic after a year here, but alas.

LOL I am enjoying this so much.. As an expat Western girl in Qatar, I can sign under pretty much everything you wrote :) Wish I discovered your blog earlier on!

http://qatarcat.blogspot.com/

I'm glad you're enjoying it! Welcome! :-)

Reverse culture shock

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Advertisements

Re: Advertisements

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject