Qatar for dummies

I think I will no longer update on all the makan-makan session that we had or will have in Doha. Coz, I'm pretty sure it will be same old story;- the malays and their Hidup-untuk-Makan principe, memang tak boleh lari.. but the makan-makan session we had last Wednesday was a bit special, it is for Abe's farewell, sesi makan nasik kerabu plus nyanyian karaoke from the departee( wujud ke such word? hehe). I wish all the best to Abe; leaving Doha for good, after more than 5 years of services. Good to know you man! ;)

Pic: Abe is the guy in white shirt..

Anyho, I'm here to write more on the process(es) involve in starting off our life in Qatar. Before we even arrive, the sponsoring company has arranged for a visa, which will be valid for 3 months. Once here, we then have to go through the process to convert the visa to Resident Permit (RP), which will be valid for good two years, after which, they only need to renew, so makin senangla harapnye. Some company here would allow the employee and family to come together and sort all the Resident Permits processes all in one shots (how lucky). But, unfortunately, not for our company. Their policy is for the employee to arrive in Doha first, sort out his/her RP; THEN only bringing the family and sort their part of the RP. Menyampah kan? that's why it took 45 days for my hubby to finally get us here.. (anyway, still legelaa dah lepas)..

The first step to get the RP is to go for medical check up; which actually to get some blood sample and X-ray; which are only for adults, kids can be left at home. The only place to get this done is at Abu Hamour (which by the way, used to be my first port of accomodation when I first resides in Doha dulu.. sekarang Abu Hamour dah ade sedikit perubahan, jalan dah besar gile, and the chokia mini market area dah jadi bes gile, lengkap with all those pizza hut, kfcla to name-a-few; hurm untung sape yang still stay kat Cascade!). Anyway, back to the process, when I'm there, I was taken by the company's external affair personnel, Amal. She is a pleasant woman wearing a hijab and that thing that cover her face, so the only thing visible is her sexy pairs of black eyes (ape tah name die? i forgot already). I can't believe that she still recognize and remember me ;) She was the one who took care of my RP when I was here last time... But she was a bit shocked to see me with my new image, yup.. I'm now wearing a hijab too.. just started about 2weeks ago. And hopefully this time, will remain forever ;)
Amal basically knows every officer there, so dengan senang hati she pass me on to her friends there and off we go, cutting all the Q to payment and x-rays. Padahal ramai gile manusie time tu, kalau kene beratur like normal people, mau tahun depan baru siap? haha
Yang menakutkan experience time nak bayar, the lady was kind to me, but when she turn her self to face other people on the line, she changed to a fierce monster! I think because most of the guys there were indian workers, who arabs takes as the lowest possible kasta. (Tak baik kan? tapi nak buat camane, negare dieorang, suke hati laaa... ) Yang dasyat tu, the lady siap boleh pilih-pilih lak kalau taknak layan orang tu, terus jerit 'Yala! yala! NEXTT!!' . huuu.. seb baek laa i was taken by a rep.
After the payment, we (oh, yeah, there were two of us, me and another girl) were taken to the X-rays room. We were told to change to the standard clothing, removing all jewellery, anak dan mak baju. Pastu cam biase, di bawak potong Q, then off to the X-rays screen. Abes je X-rays trus gi bagi blood sample to a stick-no-facial-expression-like nurse. She was surfing the net when I was there, i think looking for a new handphone! Adehla.. cam takde time lain je nak carik?..
Lepas abes jer then Amal said, that's it. Will be in touch! So, kire-kire in less than an hour, I've finished the 'medical check-up'. Hopefully result okla, kalau ok, next week you'll find my entry on finger print laks! ;)