I think we are finally overcoming jet lag. Big E and Miss A sleep until about 5 am, 6 am on a good morning! Hopefully we can work on that, but with Steve having to be at work by 7am, I'm not thinking that we'll have many late mornings around here.
Our Villa is very nice. Again, if you haven't seen pictures, head on over to Steve's blog. It is set up in the middle eastern style and layout. So we have two front doors right next to each other. The one that is straight from the front steps is for the family and opens to the family room where the TV is and the rest of the house. The door on the left is for guests. This door leads to a living area and the dining room. You can enter the family room from this room, but there is a door that can separate them. There is a half bath here with sinks and an entrance to the kitchen with a door. The kitchen has another door that does to the laundry area and then the family room. Since we moved in last week, a play ground has been put in right next to our villa. We went out there to play at 7:15 one morning but had to come back in by 7:30 because it was so hot and humid. But it'll be very nice once it cools some. We also discovered that we have our own pool in the compound. It's just across the street from us.
One interesting thing is that not all appliances can be plugged into any outlet. For example, we were provided a vacuum cleaner (thank goodness!), but it has two round prongs on the plug. The outlets in the walls everywhere are square and so it won't fit. We have to have plug adapters. I was stuck sweeping until we could get some adapters, which wouldn't be so bad except that all we have is tile and it's dusty. Not all appliances need an adapter though. I bought a steam mop (which so far I've loved) and it has the three square prongs.
There has been so much to figure out here. Even things like running the dishwasher or the washing machine take a little bit to figure out. The labels are in English, but are so different. The dishwasher doesn't have names for the cycles, it's by temperature. (Thank goodness for science classes which taught the metric system. I at least have a sense of what the numbers mean) The washing machine has labels for the cycles but every cycle seems to have at least 2 rinses usually more and the spin speed is I am assuming revolutions per minute, but it doesn't really say. The dyer is a condensing dryer, so I have to empty it after each load.
I went shopping by myself last Saturday. There is a grocery store super close to our villa. You can see it out of Miss A's window upstairs. So I took the double stroller, left the kids home with Steve and went to figure out the store. It's two stories, but don't think big. This one is an express store. So just your basics, but you can find most of what you need there. I'm glad I had my phone with me so that I could use the calculator and see how much things cost and if it's a good deal. The exchange rate is fixed at 3.65 Qatari Riyals to the dollar. I'm still not used to seeing things cost so much more in terms of the number on the receipt. My first trip cost me 342 Riyals, which is $93.70, but seeing 342 almost gave me a start. Some food is more expensive here, especially after shopping at Aldi back home and some is comparable. So if any of you are wondering here are some examples:
Peanut Butter - 2 18oz jars (some things aren't in the metric system) $4.79
Olive oil - 750 mL $4.79
Milk - 2 L $3
Cheddar Cheese - 1 pound - $7.26
Frozen Chicken breasts- 2.5 kg $12.26
Eggs - 30 $3.84
The produce is advertised in the store with where is came from. So you have New Zealand Gala Apples, Australian carrots etc.
I'm glad I went out. At least I'm okay with going to the grocery store by myself. And now that I have a letter saying that I'm a spouse of an employee of Qatar Foundation, I can go to the club house which is across the street from the store.
Our Villa is very nice. Again, if you haven't seen pictures, head on over to Steve's blog. It is set up in the middle eastern style and layout. So we have two front doors right next to each other. The one that is straight from the front steps is for the family and opens to the family room where the TV is and the rest of the house. The door on the left is for guests. This door leads to a living area and the dining room. You can enter the family room from this room, but there is a door that can separate them. There is a half bath here with sinks and an entrance to the kitchen with a door. The kitchen has another door that does to the laundry area and then the family room. Since we moved in last week, a play ground has been put in right next to our villa. We went out there to play at 7:15 one morning but had to come back in by 7:30 because it was so hot and humid. But it'll be very nice once it cools some. We also discovered that we have our own pool in the compound. It's just across the street from us.
One interesting thing is that not all appliances can be plugged into any outlet. For example, we were provided a vacuum cleaner (thank goodness!), but it has two round prongs on the plug. The outlets in the walls everywhere are square and so it won't fit. We have to have plug adapters. I was stuck sweeping until we could get some adapters, which wouldn't be so bad except that all we have is tile and it's dusty. Not all appliances need an adapter though. I bought a steam mop (which so far I've loved) and it has the three square prongs.
There has been so much to figure out here. Even things like running the dishwasher or the washing machine take a little bit to figure out. The labels are in English, but are so different. The dishwasher doesn't have names for the cycles, it's by temperature. (Thank goodness for science classes which taught the metric system. I at least have a sense of what the numbers mean) The washing machine has labels for the cycles but every cycle seems to have at least 2 rinses usually more and the spin speed is I am assuming revolutions per minute, but it doesn't really say. The dyer is a condensing dryer, so I have to empty it after each load.
I went shopping by myself last Saturday. There is a grocery store super close to our villa. You can see it out of Miss A's window upstairs. So I took the double stroller, left the kids home with Steve and went to figure out the store. It's two stories, but don't think big. This one is an express store. So just your basics, but you can find most of what you need there. I'm glad I had my phone with me so that I could use the calculator and see how much things cost and if it's a good deal. The exchange rate is fixed at 3.65 Qatari Riyals to the dollar. I'm still not used to seeing things cost so much more in terms of the number on the receipt. My first trip cost me 342 Riyals, which is $93.70, but seeing 342 almost gave me a start. Some food is more expensive here, especially after shopping at Aldi back home and some is comparable. So if any of you are wondering here are some examples:
Peanut Butter - 2 18oz jars (some things aren't in the metric system) $4.79
Olive oil - 750 mL $4.79
Milk - 2 L $3
Cheddar Cheese - 1 pound - $7.26
Frozen Chicken breasts- 2.5 kg $12.26
Eggs - 30 $3.84
The produce is advertised in the store with where is came from. So you have New Zealand Gala Apples, Australian carrots etc.
I'm glad I went out. At least I'm okay with going to the grocery store by myself. And now that I have a letter saying that I'm a spouse of an employee of Qatar Foundation, I can go to the club house which is across the street from the store.
2 comments:
very interesting! It's hard to believe, but except for milk and cheese, your groceries are actually cheaper than mine! Glad to hear that you're getting everything figured out. Keep the posts coming!
So exciting. I love the pictures Steve posted. You have a nice place! I hope the kids get past the jetlag soon.
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