Do you speak ‘excuse me’?
I’ve been in Doha for 20 days now and I generally like it so far. The city is hosting numerous cultures and people from different backgrounds, giving it a sweet international flavour. It is clear that English and Arabic are the most widely used languages to communicate between people from different origins. I speak both of these languages so I was interested in seeing how people use them here. Now I can confirm that there are few essential words and phrases in these two languages that are omitted from communication between people in general, regardless of their mother tongue. I tried to count how many times I heard expressions like excuse me, thank you, please, hi, hello, good morning, have a nice weekend, etc. I even tried to stop using such words of courtesy in my dealings with all types of people for a whole day. Surprisingly, no one really bothered! My goodness! What’s wrong with us people? Is it fixable? I certainly hope I am just imagining things, but I am afraid I am not. Any thoughts? Cheers.
Gidday Kiwi!I am an Aussie as you might have guessed and I was brung up the right way too to always say please & thank you and all those so-called common pleasantries that we were taught both at home and at school. I have lived in the Mid East now for 3 yrs and I don't care what people think or respond - I always say those things! haha. It's actually quite amazing some people's reactions - and surprisingly, some people respond accordingly. And funnily enough so do the Qatari women and men. I personally believe that the "locals" as we call them are so betwixt and between loving all us expats here and hating it at the same time... it really is a dilemna for them and I fully sympathise with their plight. They are smack in the middle of the greatest conflicting lifestyles their culture has ever seen and it will be a long hard road before they resolve those conflicts I think. Be as friendly as you no doubt are and you too will see that some embrace you and it doesn't matter about the rest. Welcome to Doha! LOL and Good Luck!
yeh i tend to get that cold response alot 'n specially from the locals! even the office-boiz when i ask they bring me a cup of tea or whenever i ask them to do work for me i will always say thank you and lolbut i wil lnever stop saying these words no matter what.
just stay the same... don't mind them. it won't make any harm to you anyways... simply just don't go down to their level.. you know what i mean...
Many times I actually get no reply even when I say "Assalamu alaikum"! They are Arabs and obviously Muslim ladies(abaya and niqaab etc) and yet when I greet them with what Muslims consider the best of greetings they give me the blank stare! Sheeeeeesh....mind you I cannot say they are being discriminating cos afterall they can't tell my nationality since I wear niqab too. Some people just lack knowledge,manners, and social etiquettes..period! That said I believe we should continue being our polite selves and maybe Inshallah inspire others to be more polite too.
indeed:Treat others the way u want others to treat you!Respect others the way u want others to respect you!
lolz flanostu
i randomly wave to other drivers, i usually get the blank stare back.
Some people here don't know what good manners is all about,no wonder why mostly kids here are rude and spoiled bratts,well just continue being polite to others,maybe they'll get a shame of themselves and realized the proper manner,show them the right way and maybe they wll follow you or better tell them to go back to their parents and ask them to teach them some manners..,..;)
Treat others the way u want others to treat you. Cheers!!!
Kiwi you are right to a great extent however I think only the plasticity might generally be missing but the intention remains within tolerable limits in the air.
As long as you are courteous and polite, most people will follow suit. if they don't, then don't worry about it. :o)
Be polite always, especially to those who provide a service to you
Some people over here - do not have excuse me or please or thank you in their vocab. Please forgive them - they will get there eventually - after Qatar :-0