Why in Qatar...
It was very sweet of The Impolitic to blog about me. Very encouraging and motivating indeed. Thank you.
He wonders why I am in Qatar. I have answered that question to myself in my previous posts on several occassions. Let me today take this a step further and tell you how other expats here think... about their life.
Name: Prashant
Age: 28
Pofession: Sports Journalist
Duration in Qatar: 4 months
Hails from: Mumbai (India)
Maritual Status: Going back on August 10 to get married and bring wife here.
Yaar apun log India mein hi theek thhe, nahin? Saala kuch excitement toh rehna ka thha na. Story karte thhe, likhne ko kuch thha. Yahaan par toh saala ghar se office aane ka aur office se ghar jaane ka. Na left, na right. Paisa kamao, aur niklo idhar se, nahin?
Translation: Pal, we were ok in India only, no? At least there was some excitement there. We used to do stories. there was something to write about. Here we come to office from home and go home from office. Not a left or a right in the way. Earn money and get the hell out of here, no?
Name: Johny
Age: 32 (guess)
Profession: Business journalist
Duration in Qatar: 13 months.
Hails from: Kerala (India)
Marital Status: Married, one kid.
See, I tell you everyone here is for money only. There is no point trying to be dynamic here because if you get screwed up this management won't help you out at all. I tell you, just do your work and go back home. Life is dead here, I tell you. What to do? There's nothing to do. Play it safe and take your salary at the end of the month.
Name: Christopher
Age: 41
Profession: Sports journalist
Duration in Qatar: 3 months
Hails from: Bangalore (India)
Marital Status: Married, one kid, who live in India
The frustration is getting to me man. Seriously. There's nothing to bloody do. Life was so much better in India. At least there was some action going on. People coming to meet you, friends, family... No? Here there's nothing to do. How much can you read? How much TV can you watch? Boring bloody life. Not a single sport happening here. They could have very well hired page-makers. We're only picking up news from agencies and making the page. Nothing bloody to do out here. I am here on a short term plan - 5 years, I have decided. And then go back home and do something with the money saved.
Name: Pushpa Raj Shrestha
Age: 36
Profession: Page lay out
Duration in Qatar: 15 months
Hails from: Nepal
Marital Status: Married, one kid, who live in Nepal.
Boring life. But I have problems... financial problems. I have to feed my family back home. I won't stay here forever. When I pay off my debt I'll go back. But people say once you enter the Gulf, it's hard to return. Money. You get used to the money.
Name: Nisha
Age: 26
Profession: Manager, Ad-space selling, Doha International Airport.
Duration in Qatar: 2 years.
Hails from: Mumbai (India)
Marital Status: Single
I love this place. I know what I am here for. It's the new airport thats coming up. I want to see it grow big, just like the Doha International Airport - my baby. I'm ambitious.
Name: Suraj
Age: 27
Profession: Own business
Duration in Qatar: 27 years - minus quite a few when he stayed in the US.
Hails from: Qatar (But is a Keralite)
Marital Status: SINGLE (bigtime)
It's the crappiest place in the world. I've ruined my life being here. I pass my time playing video games on my bigscreen. I came here because of Nisha and Roshan, who said they needed me here. The day I landed here from the States, Roshan packed his bags and left for Dubai. He hasn't returned till date. He just coulnd't take it anymore. Now it's just Nisha left. Yes, if you have your wife here, this place can be fun. You can f*&^ throughout the damn day. F*&^ in the morning, F*&^ in the afternoon, F*&^ at night. That's all there is to do here. Bloody shit hole.
Name: Lena
Age: 31
Profession: Features desk (sub-editor)
Duration in Qatar: 3 years
Hails from: Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Marital Status: Married, husband on the news desk of the same publication.
I usually keep my views to myself. I don't voice them out. This place is a little slow. It can get on your nerves at times. But we're here to experience it. Next stop is South Africa. We don't know when though. I freak out on food. We try all kinds here. I love Arabic food, and thai, which is the closest we can get here to Malaysian food. I work very hard. I find journalism, especially desk work, very exciting. Writing is easy. Being a sub is much greater work.
AND FINALLY...
Name: Rohit
Age: 24
Profession: Feature writer
Duration in Qatar: 2 months and one day
Hails from: New Delhi (India)
Marital Status: Married in every way, except that he's not married yet and can't have sex with his 'wife' who's waiting for him in Delhi.
I came here so that I could run away from Delhi, where I was getting bored out of my guts. I wanted to see the world, experience a new culture, a new nation, new people. I wanted to see new things, write about new things. I was hoping my search for the great unknown comes to an end here. I don't know if it has. I am here to make a little money as well, which I am trying really hard to save but I just can't manage to. I am going to from next month on. I have to. That's the only way for me to open my beach shack in Goa, and have all the time in the world to write my books, and all the time in the world to travel around the world with my wife.
But I doubt I'll stay here for more than one year. Maybe a new country, maybe some more new people. But I don't know. I don't think that far. I can only tell you what I'm going to do in the next two hours. I'm going to the zoo at 3.30 pm (Qatar time).
He wonders why I am in Qatar. I have answered that question to myself in my previous posts on several occassions. Let me today take this a step further and tell you how other expats here think... about their life.
Name: Prashant
Age: 28
Pofession: Sports Journalist
Duration in Qatar: 4 months
Hails from: Mumbai (India)
Maritual Status: Going back on August 10 to get married and bring wife here.
Yaar apun log India mein hi theek thhe, nahin? Saala kuch excitement toh rehna ka thha na. Story karte thhe, likhne ko kuch thha. Yahaan par toh saala ghar se office aane ka aur office se ghar jaane ka. Na left, na right. Paisa kamao, aur niklo idhar se, nahin?
Translation: Pal, we were ok in India only, no? At least there was some excitement there. We used to do stories. there was something to write about. Here we come to office from home and go home from office. Not a left or a right in the way. Earn money and get the hell out of here, no?
Name: Johny
Age: 32 (guess)
Profession: Business journalist
Duration in Qatar: 13 months.
Hails from: Kerala (India)
Marital Status: Married, one kid.
See, I tell you everyone here is for money only. There is no point trying to be dynamic here because if you get screwed up this management won't help you out at all. I tell you, just do your work and go back home. Life is dead here, I tell you. What to do? There's nothing to do. Play it safe and take your salary at the end of the month.
Name: Christopher
Age: 41
Profession: Sports journalist
Duration in Qatar: 3 months
Hails from: Bangalore (India)
Marital Status: Married, one kid, who live in India
The frustration is getting to me man. Seriously. There's nothing to bloody do. Life was so much better in India. At least there was some action going on. People coming to meet you, friends, family... No? Here there's nothing to do. How much can you read? How much TV can you watch? Boring bloody life. Not a single sport happening here. They could have very well hired page-makers. We're only picking up news from agencies and making the page. Nothing bloody to do out here. I am here on a short term plan - 5 years, I have decided. And then go back home and do something with the money saved.
Name: Pushpa Raj Shrestha
Age: 36
Profession: Page lay out
Duration in Qatar: 15 months
Hails from: Nepal
Marital Status: Married, one kid, who live in Nepal.
Boring life. But I have problems... financial problems. I have to feed my family back home. I won't stay here forever. When I pay off my debt I'll go back. But people say once you enter the Gulf, it's hard to return. Money. You get used to the money.
Name: Nisha
Age: 26
Profession: Manager, Ad-space selling, Doha International Airport.
Duration in Qatar: 2 years.
Hails from: Mumbai (India)
Marital Status: Single
I love this place. I know what I am here for. It's the new airport thats coming up. I want to see it grow big, just like the Doha International Airport - my baby. I'm ambitious.
Name: Suraj
Age: 27
Profession: Own business
Duration in Qatar: 27 years - minus quite a few when he stayed in the US.
Hails from: Qatar (But is a Keralite)
Marital Status: SINGLE (bigtime)
It's the crappiest place in the world. I've ruined my life being here. I pass my time playing video games on my bigscreen. I came here because of Nisha and Roshan, who said they needed me here. The day I landed here from the States, Roshan packed his bags and left for Dubai. He hasn't returned till date. He just coulnd't take it anymore. Now it's just Nisha left. Yes, if you have your wife here, this place can be fun. You can f*&^ throughout the damn day. F*&^ in the morning, F*&^ in the afternoon, F*&^ at night. That's all there is to do here. Bloody shit hole.
Name: Lena
Age: 31
Profession: Features desk (sub-editor)
Duration in Qatar: 3 years
Hails from: Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Marital Status: Married, husband on the news desk of the same publication.
I usually keep my views to myself. I don't voice them out. This place is a little slow. It can get on your nerves at times. But we're here to experience it. Next stop is South Africa. We don't know when though. I freak out on food. We try all kinds here. I love Arabic food, and thai, which is the closest we can get here to Malaysian food. I work very hard. I find journalism, especially desk work, very exciting. Writing is easy. Being a sub is much greater work.
AND FINALLY...
Name: Rohit
Age: 24
Profession: Feature writer
Duration in Qatar: 2 months and one day
Hails from: New Delhi (India)
Marital Status: Married in every way, except that he's not married yet and can't have sex with his 'wife' who's waiting for him in Delhi.
I came here so that I could run away from Delhi, where I was getting bored out of my guts. I wanted to see the world, experience a new culture, a new nation, new people. I wanted to see new things, write about new things. I was hoping my search for the great unknown comes to an end here. I don't know if it has. I am here to make a little money as well, which I am trying really hard to save but I just can't manage to. I am going to from next month on. I have to. That's the only way for me to open my beach shack in Goa, and have all the time in the world to write my books, and all the time in the world to travel around the world with my wife.
But I doubt I'll stay here for more than one year. Maybe a new country, maybe some more new people. But I don't know. I don't think that far. I can only tell you what I'm going to do in the next two hours. I'm going to the zoo at 3.30 pm (Qatar time).
posted by Once the Conman at 12:51 PM
7 Comments:
qatar doesnt sound fun at all. hehe :)
but well if the money is good, u can have your fun later. :)
Oh no Gulnaz.
It really depends on what fun means to you. yes, it really doesn't have a pulsating nightlife, or lots of gossip doing the rounds of the city, but yeah, it's really really peaceful... and it's different.
It's a very very new country. Till 15 years ago, all there was here were sanddunes and pirates (lol), but now... you gotta see this place to believe it.
God knows who they're competing with... whoever it is, their competitior might be shitting bricks right now.
tks for blogging this , its one destination I won't be visitng real soon, in fact it goes to the bottom of my list now:), seriously though does it matter where you are..what does is.. how you see it. True happiness is really something you carry within you..
Misreflect: Ur right, it really doesn't matter where you are. But I didn't mean for this blog to discourage people from coming to Qatar.
If you want to see a country developing at the speed of light, it's now, it's here.
And don't ever go on hear say. See it for yourself and form an opinion. Like you say, you carry happiness within you.
I think no matter where you are...if you can find some time you can call your own, do things that you like doing or make you happy...thats the place to be, albeit briefly.
Going out in the world, meeting new faces, deriving one's conclusions...all a must, especially for a writer. :)
"He who does not travel will never know the value of man."
Moorish proverb
Thanks for the link, by the way.
LOL! I am sorry but i just had to laugh at Suraj's plight :) the poor guy... :))
currently in Indonesia and having as bad a time as you guys in Qatar though wouldnt know whether it's as bad--on secnd thoughts.
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