L'Auberge Arabique
I was just commenting to my parents how much my work-life balance has changed in the last few years. For my first few years in Qatar, my job was boring and undemanding, and my life revolved around my friends; for a long stretch of time, in fact, the only reason I didn't quit my job was that it would mean seeing less of my friends.
Now all those friends have left. I miss them, and haven't really replaced them adequately. However, now that my job is interesting and stimulating, it's fine that I no longer have a tight-knit circle of friends for my life to revolve around. (The downside: my new workaholic life does not lead to interesting blog entries.)
I did have a fun social occasion last night: a group of TAs, young professors and staff went out for iftar (the fast-breaking meal at sundown during Ramdan) at a Lebanese restaurant. I had a blast. Even if I don't get as much social time as I'd like, I love that working here gives me the opportunity to interact with such a fun, smart, diverse crowd of people. (IIRC the 14 of us represented 9 nationalities.)
I think this is one of the interesting realities of living overseas. I imagined that moving to Qatar would mean meeting lots of Qataris and learning about their culture. That turns out not to be very easy: Qataris already have their own social networks and life routines that don't include me. This may be partially because Qatari society is rather insular, but I think that people living abroad in other countries often find the same thing. On the other hand, if you're lucky, you end up meeting lots of other expats in the same situation as you and learning about their cultures instead, so it all works out in the end.
Now all those friends have left. I miss them, and haven't really replaced them adequately. However, now that my job is interesting and stimulating, it's fine that I no longer have a tight-knit circle of friends for my life to revolve around. (The downside: my new workaholic life does not lead to interesting blog entries.)
I did have a fun social occasion last night: a group of TAs, young professors and staff went out for iftar (the fast-breaking meal at sundown during Ramdan) at a Lebanese restaurant. I had a blast. Even if I don't get as much social time as I'd like, I love that working here gives me the opportunity to interact with such a fun, smart, diverse crowd of people. (IIRC the 14 of us represented 9 nationalities.)
I think this is one of the interesting realities of living overseas. I imagined that moving to Qatar would mean meeting lots of Qataris and learning about their culture. That turns out not to be very easy: Qataris already have their own social networks and life routines that don't include me. This may be partially because Qatari society is rather insular, but I think that people living abroad in other countries often find the same thing. On the other hand, if you're lucky, you end up meeting lots of other expats in the same situation as you and learning about their cultures instead, so it all works out in the end.