This is the first Christmas that I will not be spending in the Philippines. I am usually uber busy preparing during this season hosting and attending parties and shopping for gifts.
As we just arrived here, there's no need to host parties and there's no invitations for parties. We would be celebrating the Christmas Eve at Millenium Hotel dining with Hubby's team who the same as us, stayed here. Most of the pinoys have gone back to Pinas to celebrate with their families so it would just be a small group here celebrating.
I was spared of the endless Christmas shopping for families, friends and godchildren. I managed to buy my 3 brothers their Christmas presents before I left (iPhones so they can communicate with me), for my mom, I just gave her the money to shop whatever she want. And gave bonuses to our helpers. We didn't get the chance to pick a gift for my Tatay and in-laws though.
We hope to celebrate Christmas in 2014 and thinking about that makes me excited, I have to start my Christmas shopping early to prep for that!
After weeks of raiding the malls here in Qatar, we decided to have a feel of sun and sand.
It was about an hour drive at 100 kilometers per hour from our place (speeding up can be very costly as they have cameras installed strategically to catch you). We troop down with Hubby's team. The drive is all worth it since we don't get to see enormous sand in PH. Yes, mountains of sand and just sand everywhere.
We paid QR120 for an hour use of the quad bike, we got two for me and Hermione and hubby. It can be tiring especially if you're riding with a demanding little girl who wants to go to the mountains of sand which I really don't agree. Some "dune bashers" are even using their 4x4s climbing up the mountain sand...I'm a bit scared just by merely looking at them. Talking about "flashsand" (read: flashflood but in this case sand). And some even have their own quad bike - its a sport!
There are quad bikes also for children. But I wouldn't imagine Hermione riding one of those, well, not until she's old enough to be scared of the "mountains"
We were supposed to have dinner with hubby's team when we returned home but we were so tired to go out so we just ordered at Take Away, just a few blocks from our flat. We feasted ourselves to ribs, chicken and cake!
SLEEP. From the usual 5 to 6 hours, I get to sleep around 8 to 10 hours now. Yey! When I was working, oversleeping (read: more than 6 hours then) would surely give me a headache. Now, I would be really cranky if my sleep would not meet that 8 hours minimum. Bye, bye, eye bags!
ROUTINE. My routine would usually revolve around household chores and mommy duties. For now that the little girl is not yet in school and I don't have my resident permit yet, its not advisable to roam around alone. Disney Channel is heaven-sent to me as it makes my little girl happy as I attend to the housework. It can be tiring at times especially that I'm not used to do physical activities, since I'm used to being paid for "thinking" and not mopping the floor. Hehe.
HELP. There are helpers you can hire here on an hourly basis. They are pinays who do this as their "sideline" during their off days. They charge QR25 per hour (PHP275) for cleaning and ironing clothes. We usually hire their services if I'm a bit tired or not feeling well. For ironing, we usually send hubby's office clothes to a laundry shop who does ironing for QR2 per piece (PHP22). I take care of mine and Hermione's clothes since it doesn't require much ironing skills like hubby's.
DINING. There are lots of food to choose from, being an expat-friendly country. They have just about anything except for Pork dishes that you can only cook at home (if you are lucky enough to have a permit to purchase at QDC). Eating out can be very expensive if you do it regularly. Serving is big, it can be for 2-3 people so its not that expensive after all. You just have to be mindful that an order can be shared already by a couple. A dinner can be between QR20-QR125 depending on where you eat. A 2pc Chicken at KFC is around QR19 (with fries, bread and drinks), while a Sirloin Steak at Applebees is QR90 (without drinks).
ACCOMMODATION. This is really EXPENSIVE. Most of the pinoys here and other expats (except for Westerners) share accommodation. We're very fortunate that we are able to afford our own flat. Accommodation depends on the location and type. Villas are usually the most expensive because of its size. Flats are similar to condos but much bigger. Accommodation can range from QR2500 (for a room in a shared flat) to QR20K (5 bedroom Villa).
VEHICLES. This is the land of Land Cruisers and 4x4s hehe. Majority of the population here have their own vehicle, since public transport is not that frequent (bus and taxis). Some of the expats here are making a living by driving other people to-and-from their destination (called "transport service"). Transport service are privately own car/vehicle - same as colorum in Pinas. They charge depending on the distance. A short 15-minute drive would cost you around QR25 while if you have your own car, a full tank would only cost you QR50, enough to last you for 2 weeks or more. Ladies here usually owns 4x4, they rarely drive a car. If you are a girl, the bigger your vehicle, the better. I guess, for the image. So I'll be getting a Hummer once I got my license *Wink*Wink*
GROCERIES. Or Supermarkets here are awesome! They carry almost everything, even XBox, iPhone, iPAD and Laptops! Fruits and veggies are way way cheaper here. For example, oranges sells for QR4 per KILO (PHP30 EACH in Pinas), fruits and veggies are sold per Kilo and not per piece. Actually, everything here is cheaper! much cheaper than in Pinas. I would remember buying a small pack of Ariel detergent powder way back would cost me around PHP 300++ while here you can get 2 big boxes of Ariel already for that price. Heck, when I'm at grocery I want to buy almost everything and send it to my mom hehe.
APPLIANCES. And gadgets here are sooooo cheap. Imagine, a 32-inch LED TV would only cost QR1,100 (PHP 12K if converted in pesos), and not the so-so brand, its the leading brands already. We bought a 55" LED SMART SONY TV for QR7K while it cost PHP165K in Abenson! Imagine the difference!
LOUIS VUITTON. is relatively cheap here, just a little over the price range when you buy it in Paris.
SHOPPING. Shopping here can be cheaper compared in Pinas, I think this is because they rarely impose tax. Even high end brands would usually go on Promotion (SALE, that's how they call it). They would normally give up to 45% discount. Just last week, we went to Charriol and hubby got me a bracelet and sunglasses only to find out that its 40% off for the bracelet and 45% for the sunnies! What a steal?!
JEWELRIES. And diamonds are CHEAPER! I'm going gaga over bling bling!
SERVICES are expensive, a regular manicure/pedicure would cost you QR120 (PH1,350), my my, how much more for a massage? Wahhhhh! I would really miss my weekly massage because I can't simply afford it here.
PEOPLE. Qatari are very gentle people. And they are so good-looking! They have very expressive eyes, pointed nose, they are generally beautiful people. While 11% of the population here is Filipino, I feel so at home, sometimes except for the beautiful surroundings, I tend to forget that I'm not in Pinas because there are Pinoys in almost everywhere I go. So except for Hermione, I don't even have to speak in english.
This place is starting to grow on me. I love it here. My new home.
Being a stay-at-home mom is a big change for me, especially now that I run the house without househelp and yaya. But its a very positive change for me since I get to be with my little girl everyday. This is what I have always wanted - to be a SAHM, by choice. In the Philippines, with the ever increasing prices of just about everything, its really hard to live as a one-income family. So its just practical for both of us to be working.
It's not that I don't enjoy working, the truth is - I love my work and I'm good at it. I love running the show in every project that I handle. But then, there are times that I wish I don't need to, so I can be with my little girl.
Thank God that I don't need to work here. And if ever I will, its because I want to and not because I need to. And that makes it more enjoyable!
Finally! An answered prayer! We were able to fly with hubby last Nov 16, to the land of Land Cruisers!
Last Nov 15, hubby was able to get our passports stamped and finalize the tickets with their HR. I wasn't able to host a decent send off party as planned since everything was only confirmed a day before our scheduled departure. But, I'm glad that it finally happened! Thank God!
It was really nice traveling with the hubby since he's the one processing all the documents for us. There was a long line at the Immigration but we were not questioned/stopped as I feared. They were so friendly, not like what I have been reading about. However, I saw some people being questioned, mostly traveling on business and visit visas. The flight was generally okay, we were given the best seats since we have a kid in tow. Qatar Airways is awesome. Great service!
We arrived earlier even if we were delayed since we had to wait for other passengers that were tied up at the Immigration. Hubby's team including his Manager we're all there to fetch us in the airport.
I'm glad that hubby has a great team, they are mostly Pinoys except for their department head who is a british national but is also as cool as everybody else in their team.
They immediately drop us off to our flat and let us rest. The flat is a little messy with no wifey around to clean up. We cleaned up the room while the little girl go ecstatic seeing her cooking castle cookies (Disney Talking Kitchen).
We woke up early and I started to clean the rest of the flat while hubby went out for breakfast. At 12NN, I'm all done, we went out to Villagio Mall for lunch, shopping and grocery.
Villagio Mall is so lovely. Lunch at Applebees and do a little shopping for winter clothes for Hermione. While hubby took me to Louis Vuitton for my welcome gift. He bought me the Sarah Wallet that I have been eyeing for quite sometime. Yahoo!
Then we went to the grocery before going home to stock up the kitchen.
Thank you Lord for bringing us here with dear hubby.
Name: JV Home: Manila, Philippines About Me: 30-something. A wife to a wonderful husband. A mother to my little chinita. Career Woman by Choice. A Coffee Drinker.Shopaholic.Book Lover.Blogger.Movie Addict. Know me more
