all we need is a place to call 'home'...

good news! our shipment arrived yesterday and thanks again to scott and joanne it is piled in the corner of their dining room! all the boxes are accounted for and it doesn't look as though they were opened and searched which is apparently unheard of when goods enter the country. receiving it was a bit of a challenge though as many of the streets are not identified here since they are changing constantly. roundabouts are often used as points of reference when giving directions. so having said that, I received a call from the driver delivering our goods asking for directions. since he spoke very little english, joanne and i thought the best thing was to meet him at the 'immigration' roundabout which is just around the corner from the compound. it was the funniest thing to me as we drove up beside a white pickup parked at the side of a busy roundabout, smiled and waved for him to follow. off we went back to the villa with a pick up in tow!!

later that evening, the four of us decided to pop over to the four seasons hotel for a bite to eat and to have a couple of drinks. on route we passed tons of police officers and traffic enforcers. you have to understand that it is very odd to see officials out on the streets here as they are not strict with driving regulations whatsoever, hence why they drive like complete maniacs!!! when we arrived at the four seasons the security was heightened for some unknown reason. once we sat down in the lobby bar we were advised that the french president sarkozy is in town and is staying at the four seasons. we had about 45min. in the bar until we got the boot to make way for the president and his delegates. pretty cool. this forced us to go to the ritz to a bar called habanos - a cigar and cocktail lounge. scott and joanne are regulars there which gives us exceptional service - could get used to it :)

today, we had a busy day! joanne took the day off from studying for her MBA and we gallivanted around town checking out malls and kitchen stores in preparation for our move. mike and i have so much to buy once we get our condo - i can't wait to start the shopping spree :) we definitely have all the stores mapped out! today we were also in search of a toni and guy salon (popular in the uk) and a prada store - turns out that the hair salon went bust and no prada to be found :( the highlight of the day however, was finding 2 cartons of convent garden leek and potato soup!! jo and i love the fresh british made soup so we were so excited when we found it. too bad there were only 2 left - must be someone else's favourite as well...

there is only one english radio station in the country - fm 97.5. since it is the only station of course it has to cater to all english music listeners so you can imagine the range of music they cover in one day! from hip hop hour to classical, you name it, they play it! the dj-ing needs improvement - today when we were driving, madonna's evita song was bellowing from the stereo then all of a sudden about half way into the song - it stopped. on came an advert then the song resumed right where it stopped. bizarre but pretty hilarious!

i am sad to report that it is still rainy and quite cold here - the turtle neck sweater mike bought for christmas is actually coming in handy (i forgot to mention the other day that we had to break down and buy 2 portable heaters). apparently, qatar had more rain last year than they have had the last 50 years combined...yikes. the sun is suppose to shine tomorrow so fingers crossed....