The day started as it often does, with William and I discussing the game plan for the day. We knew we wanted to go to Zaks uniform store to get Conor and Raini their uniforms and we knew we wanted to get there early. We had heard about the infamous Salwa Road, so William studied the maps and says (as he often does), "It doesn't look too bad!" We left the house at 9:30 am.
It's a pretty straight shot, at least according to the map. But one must understand Doha maps. Doha is under construction. And I don't mean Spokane, or even Seattle construction. I mean "redesigning a city" kind of construction, "just when you learn the route and the landmarks to your destination, it changes" kind of construction, "the day a map is printed, it becomes outdated" kind of construction. And no, we don't use Google maps because we don't have a data plan and why would we need a data plan when we have a map of Doha in our car?! Well, today we found out...
At some point, we take a wrong turn. I suggest to William that we u-turn somewhere and get back on the straight path to Salwa Road....or...we'll just turn on a side road. That works too. Except it didn't. Eventually we turn so many times, we lose sense of any direction, and just start following the flow of traffic. And just when we're sure that we know where we are on the map, we spot one of the VERY few street signs that indicates that we are on the completely opposite side of town than we think. But it's ok, because at least we were still in Doha and not on our way to Saudi Arabia! Haha, not funny.
Believe it or not, we do find our way to Salwa Road, which is under massive construction, so we were stop and go. But this was a good thing, it allowed us time to find landmarks and make sure we didn't miss any more turns! Now, by this time, it was about 11:15 am, Zophia hadn't eaten for 3 hours, kids were restless, and the whole "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" was in full swing. We were ecstatic to start passing some of the landmarks on our map, and we eventually arrived at our intended destination, about an hour and a half late. Surprisingly, it wasn't busy in the store and we finished up in about half an hour, $250 less in our pockets.
As William checked out, I headed out to the Galloper to feed Zophia before we attempted the trip back home. Except when I put the key in and turn, it's dead. Nice. Back inside. Luckily, we have a mechanic's number who just so happens to be the same mechanic who rebuilt the engine in this very Galloper:) Unfortunately, he had never heard of Zaks uniform store and despite 5 or 6 calls to explain where exactly we were stranded, it took an hour before help arrived.
At that point, we were almost hoping that he wouldn't fix the car and just take us all home. We were done. And that's exactly what happened. So into his little car we packed, William in front and Conor, Kii, Raini and me (holding Zophia) in the back. Nope, no car seat, no seatbelts even. Before we even get out of the parking lot, we almost side swipe 2 cars. Our mechanic chuckles and says, "I must drive like Qatari or we get no where!" Then William says, "Yep, close your eyes hun!" And off we go...
Let me tell you, when you combine fast cars and roundabouts with no seatbelts, you get a pretty scary (more like awesome, if you were to ask the kids) roller coaster ride! Especially when Raini bumped the door handle and just about opened the door. So being on the opposite side, holding Zophia, I still managed to reach across and pull the door tight...phew, almost there!
Now for the cool part...
While driving in one of the roundabouts, we're blocked by a black suv cop car. Our mechanic explained that they were blocking the way to allow the Emir through to his palace. So sure enough, a parade of all black vehicles drove through. And I already knew the Emir's palace was pretty close to our development thanks to Google maps. Conor thought that was pretty cool.
Finally...we were home. It was 1:30 pm and we were physically and mentally exhausted. Take out anyone?
Monday, September 24, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Starting School
Well today is the day I dropped off half of my crew at Qatar Community School. With my two oldest out of the house, I must say it was a lot more quiet. I think Zophia would agree, seems how she took her longest nap in a long time! What's a baby to do without the seemingly constant fighting and screaming from her brother and sisters? Sleep, of course!
On the eve of the first day of first grade, Conor smiled his shy smile and whispered to me as I kissed him goodnight, "Mom, I don't think I'm ready for school." Of course I reminded him how beyond bored he's been here at home and reassurd him that his new buddy Drew from 2 houses down would be in his class and, like I knew it would, that made him feel better!
Raini, on the other hand, was ready for this new chapter in her big kid life. She was busy picking out her clothes (as we have yet to buy their uniforms) and laying them out on the stairs. And as William told her she was gonna cry and miss Kii, she laughed and said "No I'm not!" We soon shall see...
As all three kids piled in the Galloper (pics to follow) with their backpacks, yes even Kii, we headed out on our short trip to school. I have to admit, my nerves were kicking in, only because that meant that in a short time, I would be driving for the first time in the Galloper, as well as on the crazy streets of Doha in rush hour...
The school was beautiful, as are most things in Doha. It is only the temporary, however, as the actual Qatar Community School is still in construction. But I was still surprised by how welcoming everyone was. A group of teachers met us at the entrance and assigned us to a man, who ended up being Conor's PE teacher, who showed us to Conor and Raini's classrooms. Conor's was upstairs and of course, once he found his chair and saw that Drew would be sitting at his table, he was all smiles! Raini's was next, and she was a little more reserved. For those who know Raini's shy personality, you'll know that the hands went straight to her mouth. A nice lady came to greet her and give her a name tag, then she was off playing with a group of girls. Luckily I spotted another boy who wasn't wearing a uniform so she wasn't the only one! William and I braced ourselves for the tears as we left, but they didn't come...that's my big girl:)
Before we even got out of the school, Kii realized she was not going to be staying. "I miss Conor and Raini!" but once home (yes, I made it home, piece of cake once I got the e-brake off!) she was enjoying having the run of the house!
And after a movie, some snacks and coloring, it was time to go pick up Raini...or so I thought. I had two different people tell me that Raini's class got out at 12:30 so that's when I showed up, only to find out that her class gets out at 1:40, same as Conor's, so back to the house we went, ate lunch and drove back to the school.
As soon as I spot Raini, she smiles and says "No! I don't want to go home!" She was reading a book with her new friend:) Her teacher told me that she was a great helper and that she volunteered to help her clean up the toys. I told her she was my helper too and that I missed her today. After all, she's the only one who will hold Zophia so I can have a potty break!
Before I even got to Conor's classroom, he was down the stairs and yelling "Mom! Come look what I did today!" His teacher said that she can tell he likes to read because he read a lot for the class. I asked him if he talked with anyone besides Drew and he said no, he couldn't understand the kids at his table! Give it time bud:)
So on the way home, I heard all about their day. Raini colored and played with PlayDough, had snacks and took a nap. Conor drew pictures, went to art class, and read. Oh, and only had a sandwich and a pear for lunch. He said he was so hungry but he didn't want to ask for more because first graders don't do that!
In the end, both had a great day and can hardly wait for tomorrow! And me and Kii will do our own little home preschool, assuming the baby continues her long naps:) and soon hopefully, we'll go get their uniforms and I will post pics of them! I say hopefully because it will cost close to $500 for them...yay...and that's only for 2 outfits and PE clothes!!
Day one is a success!!
This is the pretty paper they sent home in Raini's backpack...wish I could read Arabic, especially since they didn't send the English version!
On the eve of the first day of first grade, Conor smiled his shy smile and whispered to me as I kissed him goodnight, "Mom, I don't think I'm ready for school." Of course I reminded him how beyond bored he's been here at home and reassurd him that his new buddy Drew from 2 houses down would be in his class and, like I knew it would, that made him feel better!
Raini, on the other hand, was ready for this new chapter in her big kid life. She was busy picking out her clothes (as we have yet to buy their uniforms) and laying them out on the stairs. And as William told her she was gonna cry and miss Kii, she laughed and said "No I'm not!" We soon shall see...
As all three kids piled in the Galloper (pics to follow) with their backpacks, yes even Kii, we headed out on our short trip to school. I have to admit, my nerves were kicking in, only because that meant that in a short time, I would be driving for the first time in the Galloper, as well as on the crazy streets of Doha in rush hour...
The school was beautiful, as are most things in Doha. It is only the temporary, however, as the actual Qatar Community School is still in construction. But I was still surprised by how welcoming everyone was. A group of teachers met us at the entrance and assigned us to a man, who ended up being Conor's PE teacher, who showed us to Conor and Raini's classrooms. Conor's was upstairs and of course, once he found his chair and saw that Drew would be sitting at his table, he was all smiles! Raini's was next, and she was a little more reserved. For those who know Raini's shy personality, you'll know that the hands went straight to her mouth. A nice lady came to greet her and give her a name tag, then she was off playing with a group of girls. Luckily I spotted another boy who wasn't wearing a uniform so she wasn't the only one! William and I braced ourselves for the tears as we left, but they didn't come...that's my big girl:)
Before we even got out of the school, Kii realized she was not going to be staying. "I miss Conor and Raini!" but once home (yes, I made it home, piece of cake once I got the e-brake off!) she was enjoying having the run of the house!
And after a movie, some snacks and coloring, it was time to go pick up Raini...or so I thought. I had two different people tell me that Raini's class got out at 12:30 so that's when I showed up, only to find out that her class gets out at 1:40, same as Conor's, so back to the house we went, ate lunch and drove back to the school.
As soon as I spot Raini, she smiles and says "No! I don't want to go home!" She was reading a book with her new friend:) Her teacher told me that she was a great helper and that she volunteered to help her clean up the toys. I told her she was my helper too and that I missed her today. After all, she's the only one who will hold Zophia so I can have a potty break!
Before I even got to Conor's classroom, he was down the stairs and yelling "Mom! Come look what I did today!" His teacher said that she can tell he likes to read because he read a lot for the class. I asked him if he talked with anyone besides Drew and he said no, he couldn't understand the kids at his table! Give it time bud:)
So on the way home, I heard all about their day. Raini colored and played with PlayDough, had snacks and took a nap. Conor drew pictures, went to art class, and read. Oh, and only had a sandwich and a pear for lunch. He said he was so hungry but he didn't want to ask for more because first graders don't do that!
In the end, both had a great day and can hardly wait for tomorrow! And me and Kii will do our own little home preschool, assuming the baby continues her long naps:) and soon hopefully, we'll go get their uniforms and I will post pics of them! I say hopefully because it will cost close to $500 for them...yay...and that's only for 2 outfits and PE clothes!!
Day one is a success!!
This is the pretty paper they sent home in Raini's backpack...wish I could read Arabic, especially since they didn't send the English version!
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