Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

It’s Thursday and the last day of school for the week. It’s actually her first week in the big school. Classes opened on Tuesday, September 4. As a newcomer, we were told to bring Xiane from between 8:15 and 9:15 in the morning and to go straight to the office for some briefing. Xiane drove us to school at 8:30 in the morning. We found the list of pupils per class posted at the gate. Naturally, we went looking for Xiane’s name on the KG4 class where we thought she would be. We we’re a bit alarmed when we didn’t see her name, so we looked into the Reception Class lists. To our relief, we finally saw Xiane’s name in one of the Reception classes. It was also good news for us because that means she skipped KG4 and it also means a year’s savings on her tuition fees.

There in the office we waited for our turn to be accommodated by the principal. It was just the school’s way formally welcoming newcomers like us to the school. Then a school staff accompanied us to Xiane’s class. We were welcomed by her teacher who is a British and a Filipina assistant. Immediately Xiane warmed up with her teacher by saying “Oh this is a beautiful classroom!” Then we knew that it was time for us to leave.

It is the school’s policy that children in the KG up to the Reception classes are to be picked up not later than 12:15 in the afternoon. So we had to cancel a transport service that we had previously arranged since the driver won’t be free until after 12:30. Luckily, our friend Sandro, the dad of Princess (Xiane’s best friend) who goes to the same school was on leave that day. He provided transportation for Xiane and I. We stayed in their place and then Tian just fetched us after work.

When I came to pick up Xianelle, I talked to her teacher and asked how she was. The first thing that the teacher said about her was: “She’s very lively”. Then the teacher informed us that Xiane was quite talkative, something that didn’t surprise us anymore. Actually, days before the opening of classes, we had been telling Xiane not to talk too much. That night, all we did was give her a pep talk about talking too much in, that she should listen to her teacher and to talk only when the teacher talks to her.

That night, we also had to look for a transport. I had to call several mobile numbers that were posted in Qatar Living.com. Luckily, one guy turned out to be available.  The guy started the very next day.

The following days were spent basically adjusting to our new schedule and daily routine. On Wednesday, after the transport guy drove me home, I had to do my chores in 3 hours (the time I have while waiting for Xiane’s dismissal). I had to make sure that food will be ready when Xiane come’s home from school. Part of our routine was putting Xiane to bed early so that she’ll have enough sleep and won’t be cranky when she wakes up early the next day. Upon arriving from school, I give Xiane a bath and then give her lunch.

So far our transport service which we share with Princess and her mom is ok. The guy comes on time and knows his way around the city. He knows several short cuts that I haven’t seen before. My only concern is that he drives really fast! Sometimes, his KIA car would sound like a Ferrari in the F1 Race. Maybe next time I would have to tell him to take it easy.

The scorching heat of the summer though has been the most difficult ordeal that we have to go through every single day. The burning heat of the sun really kills us each time we pick up our children at noon. We have tried using umbrella and hats but there is no escaping the heat. It comes from all directions, from above your head, under your feet and your sides as well. This afternoon my friend, Princess’ mom almost fainted. But I guess it is something that we just have to get used to especially now that we have taken on this new task as part of our mother roles. I guess we just have to apply more sunblock with a SPF higher than 35 and hope that the summer will soon be over. So this is how I’ll be spending the days, weeks and months to come.