I lived in the east coast in the US. I have to admit that I felt better over there personally. However I do miss the sense of family over there, what is even heartbreaking to see many fragile relations, there are no longer that bond that ties children and parents or vise versa.
I loved the sense of freedom there, and by freedom I still acted the same, wore my scarf and prayed and all, but still manged to make the best of my time. Maybe because I am social and very outgoing I found the culture there more welcoming but in Qatar it's not the case, where there are tons of restriction not religiously but more of norms and culture, these restrictions are applied only to Qatari women.
One more thing that I found it amazing in the US, is diversity, and being able to mingle with everyone. I visited cathedrals, churches and Jewish synagogues, I learned and I taught, and this is the beauty of diversity, unfortunately that's not the case in Qatar.
Yes, I have seen racism and yes I have given "the dirty look" because I am a Muslim women, who they thought I was oppressed :) But believe it or not that didn't bother me at all, knowing where do those people come from!
Qatar, is a unique place, there are many pros and cons, one of the greatest pros is safety, which is a HUGE thing, considering I witnessed a shooting incident outside my apt window in the US and that wasn't the ghetto !
See, I think when you have the freedom and liberty and then when you have options and choices to make about where you wana stay or where you wana work for instance, you tend to appreciate things around you, and life becomes much easier.
One last thing, make yourself at home and I am glad you are enjoying your stay. Please if you ever needed anything that would make your life easier here let me know.
I lived in the east coast in the US. I have to admit that I felt better over there personally. However I do miss the sense of family over there, what is even heartbreaking to see many fragile relations, there are no longer that bond that ties children and parents or vise versa.
I loved the sense of freedom there, and by freedom I still acted the same, wore my scarf and prayed and all, but still manged to make the best of my time. Maybe because I am social and very outgoing I found the culture there more welcoming but in Qatar it's not the case, where there are tons of restriction not religiously but more of norms and culture, these restrictions are applied only to Qatari women.
One more thing that I found it amazing in the US, is diversity, and being able to mingle with everyone. I visited cathedrals, churches and Jewish synagogues, I learned and I taught, and this is the beauty of diversity, unfortunately that's not the case in Qatar.
Yes, I have seen racism and yes I have given "the dirty look" because I am a Muslim women, who they thought I was oppressed :) But believe it or not that didn't bother me at all, knowing where do those people come from!
Qatar, is a unique place, there are many pros and cons, one of the greatest pros is safety, which is a HUGE thing, considering I witnessed a shooting incident outside my apt window in the US and that wasn't the ghetto !
See, I think when you have the freedom and liberty and then when you have options and choices to make about where you wana stay or where you wana work for instance, you tend to appreciate things around you, and life becomes much easier.
One last thing, make yourself at home and I am glad you are enjoying your stay. Please if you ever needed anything that would make your life easier here let me know.