Eid break to KSA

Because this deserved its own post!

Early November over Eid (5-day holiday celebrating Abraham's sacrifice), we went on our first roadtrip in Ariane la Nissan (named after the French rocket) to the IKEA of Dammam, KSA. That is Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yahooo!

Our transit visas came through at the last minute, thanks to our wondrous contact, Waleed. I ran to buy an abbaya (the long black dress, can be found here in malls and souqs, even at our local Carrefour), we packed up and left Tuesday morning. The 450 km trip took us over the KSA border at Salwa, then up the Persian Gulf to the bridge leading to Bahrein. Simple, no? Well, crossing the border to KSA implies much more than covering your head: we had to deal with 6check-points alone... and this is with the proper visas! Then another 6 to enter Bahrein.

Dave did all the driving (women are not allowed this priviledge). Leaving our house at 7.00, we arrived at our destination at 2.30 - yikes!

The next morning, up again at the crack of dawn to hit the IKEA of Dhahran at its opening at 10.00. This small city is located just South of Dammam, home of the very powerful Saudi Aramco. Total bliss to stock up on furnishings from home, including a new sofa. Whew, what a trip. Will we do it again? In a flash!

Long overdue update

Greeeeetings from Doha! This is a picture of the city skyline, taken 5 minutes from our home - lots of desert land left to be built on, if anyone is interested in buying a plot? (Just kidding, none of you guys are Qatari anyways, a prerequisite to owning land in the big Q)

OK, so I guess I can conclude that I am not great at updating this blog, aye? Apologies all around, and to the grandparents in particular who beg for more photos of the offspring. Hairshirt and all that. But before I delve in the details of the Barillot clan, a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful big little brother Wash for his 21st!!! Party on, Uncle Wash! Here is a pic of the birthday boy with niece Loule and nephew Zozo this summer. Innit precious?

Back to our ducks. Since July, in short and chronologically....

7-week holiday extravaganza

This summer, we had the best holiday, that took us from Ohio to SC to Paris, Provence, the French Jura and Genf. Exhausting, but so therapeutic to see loved ones and green (never thought I would love the O2 this much, have become a perfect tree hugger!).

Louise and I traveled from Qatar to the US, via Paris (thanks again, TdR, you are ze bests) - VERY rough 48 hours for mama, but the Lord saw us through it.

My beautiful grandparents in their retirement patio home, sharing lunch with Mother, know as Super Janet.

Cute Canadian cousins Erik and Sarah Ibbie

Columbus Zoo with the Ibbies, Dad and Gigi

Hanging out in the pool with Gigi

Hanging out with cousin Joseph, aka Zozo

First spaghetti

Speedwalking with Gigi and los Johnsons from G-Vegas

Family shot in front of Max and Erma's, German Village, Columbus

Ahhhh, trop belle cette rade

Louise and Nick Nick, short but great visit with our Dixies

Our Parisienne at the George V bar, wearing no less than a Bonpoint dress and Chloé boots

WE LOVE YOU, friends and fam. Freak, you were a beautiful bride.

Return to the desert - Parents Barillot!

Our return to the desert was marked by a 2-week visit of the Barillot parents! Once past the initial culture and climate shock, they learned to love our strange city. Solange was relieved to find a (very expensive) bio corner at our supermarket...

... Christian worked for his keep, drilling a zillion holes for me (we now have toilet paper holders, a luxury), as well as installing two stair gates.

The Parents B also experienced a cross-Qatar day trip with our wonderful friends, Sandra and Richard (pictured here in the Qatari cave).

A small accident on this day trip brought us to meet Nasser, a lovely local gentleman, who invited us to his tent for refreshments - one UNIQUE experience indeed!

The following day, the Guignards treated Dave and his parents to a day in at the Inland Sea (Louise and I had to stay home with a team of electricians)

Pushing the car is part of the fun, so I am told

Dave and Papa

The local beasts

Other noteworthy events in Doha:

- Louise celebrated her first birthday October 14. All I did was back a batch of brownies (she hated them, spat out the only bite and rubbed it all over her pastel dress...)

Downtown Doha on a clear day (as in no sand fog)
- We attended the opening of the Christie's art show at the Four Seasons, with FRENCH champagne

- We also were given tickets to opening night at the TriBeCa film festival - fun!

- More of an unsettling site: we spotted this cougar being driven around our neighbourhood by its owner (a local), unreal:

Papa and girl at the not-so-scenic fabric souq:

National guard?

- Early November, we experienced the pediatric ER when Louise pried up a floorboard and ate the industrial glue she found underneath. Horrific for the parents (heightened by the fact that the doctor called me and me only negligent), but as you can see, Louise was quite cool with the IV and hospital surroundings

- We also got to welcome the Ibbies, as they traveled from Canada to Nepal, for a short 36-hour visit!

Other than all the above, Dave is still thriiiiiiiilled with his job at the FS Doha. Louise has started nursery two mornings a week so that mama can job hunt. Hmmm. When not on the hunt, we can be found in stressful situations such as this one:

or hanging out with dudes like him:

... when not overseeing the 156th changing of the water pump, like today.

xx

15 days to civilization

15 days to departure! Insane! But what is crazier still is that I will miss this boiling land. Qatar might be the most frustrating place on earth some days, but most, life here as the trailing wife is very sweet indeed. Louise and I will be shooting off to Ohio, leaving Dave alone in the desert. We will miss Papa.

I cannot wait to see friends and family. The main negative (aside from the blistering heat) is feeling so isolated from loved ones, so very far away - stemming no doubt from the extreme cultural differences? Note to fam, I will be rolling around in the grass at the first downpour.

HOT TAMALE!

We hit a historical high in temperatures last Tuesday at 53 degrees C (though many a friend noted 55-57 C in their cars), pushing some constructions sites to close down for the day. Oucheeeeee. We will never say it enough - air conditioning is a marvelous invention.

That night, we attended the Bastille Day celebration at the French embassador's residence, where we (and 500+ other Frouzes) were served champagne and PIG products - saucisson, pâté! Dave died and went to heaven. I stood feeling my foundation melt and sweat trickle down my thighs. Chic.

Louisette la Paquerette:

- Loulou in Lulu Hypermarket (pronounced - like all things Doha - with sing-song Indian accent, cf that of the Indian grocery store manager Apu of the Simpson's) riding in the grocery cart for the first time. Great, great success with the supermarket staff who couldn't keep their paws off of "cute baby boy" (baby with earrings = girl, baby without earrings even wearing pink = boy - I have given up debating the ear-piercing at birth question in public places)

- Episode of "my life as I know it is over": Loulou spends most of her waking hours pulling herself up my her prison bars. She can now stand holding herself with one hand only. And managed to climb up a step three days ago.

4-year wedding celebration:

We celebrated with dinner out at Pompano's, a Mexican restaurant at the Pearl, owned by Placido Domingo. Good guacamole, awful salmon. The best company.

Louise's room

Déjà fan du Iphone

Other recent desert likes

Daily attire
Mom and girl
Typical decorating scheme... very nice! great success!
à la cool

On vitamin D and Dean & Delucca

Greetings from the desert, where yours truly is contemplating investing in vitamin D supplements.

Our weather has been systematically between 40 and 45°C, way too hot for either Loule or I (taking the trash out is painful). OK, so the seasoned expats repeat that it will get even hotter by next month, up to 50°+. Interesting fact: Outdoor temperatures never exceed 50°C. Officially that is. Construction sites are shut down if temps exceed that marker. As I type this, a little Indian dude is installing a satellite dish on our roof. How do these guys cope? I cringe when we drive by one of the hundreds of construction sites - to see workers like ants on an anthill bolting, welding, whatever in this intense heat, ouch. My heart goes out to them.

Hades conditions aside, we are doing pretty well. Dave continues to love his job (his boss is the most brilliant man on the planet, his team the coolest, yadi yada), Loule the circus dog learns new tricks every day (clapping, waving, spitting food out). I am overall good, but defo riding the emotional roller-coaster.

Ups include meeting adventurous expats with positive outlooks on living it up in Qatar, spending quality time with my circus dog and her sausage papa, having a laugh with the watchmen/maintenance guys who can't get over that I, the Snow White of Al Wadi 2, clean and iron. Downs hit from all directions, every 10 days or so - missing family and friends, feeling isolated in this large house with nowhere to go, living in a neighborhood where maids work from 7 am to 10 pm every day of the week and are locked in the house when the family is gone, feeling landlocked (we have one exit visa for Louise until November), dealing with yet another thing breaking in the house. Fortunately, this is offset by a good church group (where we have befriended the most gracious and loving couple from Quebec, Richard and Sandra) and a growing circle of expat gals who are also new arrivals so therefore very understanding and supportive.

The great thing about the desert is that time flies. From 6.30 am wake-ups (compliments of the circus dog) to 10.00 pm dead as a doorknob in bed, there is never a boring moment, from the Doha Mums coffees to the twice weekly 5-hour cleaning sessions (mandatory due to the desert sand), we find ourselves as busy as we were in Paris. Weekends are no different. On Friday mornings, we hit our local supermarket Lulu, located a mere 200 meters from our compound, at 8.00 sharp to get the freshest produce and beat the crowds (it gets crazzzzy in there after 9.00, with huge families fighting around the veggie weigher chick, grocery carts colliding, eeek!). After a quick unload, we rush off to church (Friday is the local Sunday), followed by lunch and a nap for all three of us. Errands at 4.00 when the shops reopen, then off for dinner or a therapeutical bowl of pasta in front of the TV (currently watching "West Wing", Dave's bday gift). Saturdays kick off at the same pace, with us out the door by 7.45 (imagine!) to hunt for electricity shops / fabric souqs / carpenter workshops. These close at noon, so the rush is quite mad, then home for a spot of lunch (or at one of the malls, that stay open), nap and feeding for Loule, then back again starting at 4.00. Crazy!

A highlight of last weekend was visiting the newly opened Dean & Delucca store in Villaggio mall. Here are a few pics of the happy Papa Frog and Baby Frog (who is also happy, but for the sheer delight to be out of the house).

Oh look! A €12 head of lettuce

Or a whopping €32 for 250 grams of roquette salad. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Camel cookie

I came across this as I was looking for a tofu recipie. So cute, and made in a Parisian boulangerie. Non mais, c'est que les frouzes peuvent faire preuve de grande sensibilité.