All of the students know my wife since she is pretty much in each class every week supporting and guiding the teachers. So my tutoring kids get tickled when I call "Ms. Selina" and ask a question about their instruction during a session. It's like I can see them thinking, "You be holdin it down Mr. Roderick, but I see you gotta check in with the big dog."
And I want to be like, "Word but I'm hittin' that though."
I'm sorry Qatar, but the representatives of your country that I usually come into contact with compel me to stereotype your people as extremely entitled, rude, and shockingly self-absorbed. I see so many examples of this each day that it could strictly be the theme of this blog if I wanted it to be. But Qatar is more than that, and there is no need to dedicate my blog to your ugly side. But...This lady honked me very loudly today after I had to slow down in the fast lane because the car in front of me suddenly put on hazards, had to change speed and switch lanes. Meaning I also had to change speed or hit the car from behind. Me being annoyed with the way she honked at me, not caring WHY I had to slow down (it was obvious even from her POV), I threw my hand up at her a couple of times. Nothing profane, just a few flicks of the forearm to show my displeasure. Maybe she took it as an aggressive gesture (I know, I know, different cultural norms and body language and yada yada), because she then proceeded to drive up very closely on me, deliberately get in front of me even though she didn't need to be in that lane, and press her breaks a few times as to mess up my driving rhythm. I simply decided to let her wear herself out since I wasn't in a rush, and that happened pretty quickly. They seem to express all of their emotions through their cars in this repressed-ass country.
Later on as I drove out of the mall parking lot, two Qatari males walked right into my driving path and looked at me as if daring me to keep driving. I stared them down, drove very close to them and honked as I passed. This is the kind of behavior I often see Qatari males engage in as their way of showing some sort of dominance. I get it, I'm getting used to it, but I'm from a different culture and I probably won't fully adapt. One step out of my car and things change very quickly. But the society here is built on the person in my position not getting out of the car. I'm usually the wild card though, because my music and dress often reveal that when confronted with me they are dealing with an element they aren't used to. Usually I let them rock because we meet in a fleeting moment that doesn't have to become more than that, or they back down after realizing I'm not an underclass worker scared to engage them. One day though, this will all come to a head, and I hope I remain cool. Knowing that any confrontation between me and a Qatari will undoubtedly lead to the Qatari's story being believed over mine, I assure you that if I'm in line for a flogging, the other party would have told their version of events through a feng shui-ed face.
I'm pretty sure that black Qatari women are intrigued by me. Maybe I'm looking too much into it, but there have been multiple instances in which black Qatari women have done enough to at least make me feel nervous about being on the other end of their attentions. First there were the women who very clearly flirted with me, surprised to see a brother like me in their office, smiling, joking and asking me personal questions while they processed my drivers license pictures. (You'd be right to assume Ms. Selina wasn't into it.) Then there was the lady who took my paid parking ticket as I drove out of the mall, all the while not taking her eyes off of me and giving me an enthusiastic "You too" after I told her to enjoy her evening. (I know this doesn't read like much, but understand that this is a Muslim country, liberal by their standards, but way conservative by western standards, and interactions like this are not the norm. At all. Especially with a black dude.) And today we had the two women in the Benz who wouldn't break their stares and seemed to purposely drive alongside me while I knocked my music loudly, arm hanging out of the window. I mean, yeah, OF COURSE I'm full of myself. We all know this. But that doesn't mean I'm wrong about this. I just think black Qatari women (and let's be honest, probably the others as well) think I'm the ish. Nothing disrespectful or anything, just the expression of recognizing "top flight" when they see it, haha.
Y'all be cool like how y'all be cool, and share the blog if ya dig it. Peace.
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