Year 2 has been so different from Year 1, it’s like I’m
living a new life. An expected feature of my life this year is that it seems
like I spend most of my time…driving. Yes, driving. Driving in Doha is
precarious at best, suicidal at worst. Traffic laws seem non-existent, if they
do exist, they are rarely followed, even seldomly enforced. What’s a brother to
do? “When in Rome”-style driving? Well, you have to adopt the local customs to
an extent. There are certain things I do here that I’d never do back home, but
if you aren’t willing to cut people off, squeeze into tight spaces and speed
when necessary, it seems to me like you won’t last very long as a motorist. At
the very least, you’ll never be able to drive comfortably. As a New Yorker, I
can navigate these troubling waters with a high degree of skill, but that doesn’t
mean I enjoy it. I’ve already gotent my first accident out of the way. This is
what happened:
Traffic is a nightmare, of course. It’s a little city with a
lot of cars and not enough roads to accommodate them. Everyone here wants to
get everywhere as fast as possible at the expense of everybody. I’ve just
gotten used to using roundabouts, and they are already switching up the game,
closing a very crucial roundabout and re-routing cars to points unknown on the
way to work and other places. Hilarity ensues:
A great thing about living in a place that is always sunny
and rarely cold is that you can always unwind by taking in fresh air. On days
momma said would be “like this,” we like to head down to the pool where the
pale and not-so-pale (amazing how many olive-skinned Arabs seek the sun)
squeeze into the tiniest slivers of sun, on the squash court, in the corner of
the building, wherever, just to get a tan. I realized that being tanned-by-God,
I could never understand their pain; I don’t judge, but I do reserve the right
to be amused by a white girl using a sliver of sun not much bigger than her
body to get a little color. Either way, laying outside writing, reading and or
annoying my wife is something I didn’t really get to experience last year. It’s
much appreciated.
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| Promise we're actually happy about it. |
I’m doing 30-Day Yoga because I no longer want the title of “World’s Least Flexible Man:”
Think we’re going to Redbull Flugtag Qatar next week.
Tutoring is coming along sloooowly. We’re just not at the
point where parents are panicking (report card time), but it’s coming. Also,
teachers seem to be loading up on students themselves, and probably passing
kids along to teachers who are at the school, leaving precious few left over
for me. That’ll change soon. I just need two more families. I might have to
show up and do a little soliciting. I might stand in front of the school
hustling my services like drug dealers back home.
“Yo…ayo…come here right quick. Real quick tho. Yo, check it
out – I got that math, literacy, science and social studies. Might could even
get you a little p.e. My stuff is good, I got the best stuff. Guarantee your
DRA score goes up CRAZY high. And I got the good price. How much they chargin’
you now? Whaaat? My dude, listen, I could beat that AND I got my own whip. Kind
of. Don’t sleep. This is my number. Holla at me if you want that real spike on
your report card tho. Them other tutors got garbage, my stuff is pure...And by
the way, I don’t use this kinda grammar while I’m working; this is my solicitation
speech.”
Of course, baby is on the way. This apartment is so
baby-unfriendly it aint funny. BUT, we, the parents are very baby-friendly.
So, we met some black people this year. One I met through an
artist friend back home. She is very cool. Sadly, she is gone as of this blog
post, because she was working for a maniac. I had my issues with my school, but
they at least they weren’t maniacs. I think she would have had a much better
experience if she worked for the school I did. Her colleague is still here, a
black English girl. And we also have become acquainted with a principal at
another school here. A few weeks back, they all came over and we had some
drinks, a swim, all that. It was pretty damn cool. It was like a black people
meeting. We set the agenda for all black activities going forward in Doha. A
coupla weeks later we had a party in our house, and we invited a reggae band
from Barbados I met through a friend back home (who ironically, isn’t black –
what, do you think I only like to be around black people? Shame on you for
being somewhat right. Kidding. Somewhat. No really, I like a balance. I don’t
like to be around “too many of us or too many of them,” as my man Staff Ace
once said.) There were up to TEN black people in the house at one time,
sweartogod. We shared the agenda with them and now black people activities are
starting to be carried out in different places around Doha.
Not having a support system is really sucking. I think we
stay here no more than two more years, but who knows, maybe the baby becomes
school age in Doha. Doubt it, but I’ve doubted MANY things I shouldn’t have. No
I haven’t, I was being humble. Usually when I doubt something, it’s
doubtworthy and I'm eventually proven right for having doubts..
Starting class today! Online health coaching program. My
goal is to get my health coaching business into effect for 2015, or even late
2014. In the meantime, upward and onward.
Y’all be cool like how y’all be cool.
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