You know you've been in Qatar too long when:

@ Sikander,i'm not ranting @ the situation,although there's nothing wrong with that at all but in this case,i was specifically replying to your post,sometimes in life we do need to make descisions that we're not 100% happy with but we have our reasons for doing it...so the choice will have it's advantages & disadvantages & there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeing & ranting about the disadvantages,just because we make a choice doesn't mean we just put up with all the disadvantages that come with that choice does it?...FYI buddy,life isn't just black & white,there are grey areas with a lot of things in life...

When you no longer pine to wet yourself in the first rain of the season, and forget the scent of the moist soil..

When you literally become colour blind watching only black abayas and white thobes all around you for long..

When you start answering almost every question with 'Inshallah'

you are in Middle East too long when you start reading an English paper backwards... and when you start counting the days left before you can have youre annual vacation... being away from home is hard... but being home without money is even harder... :)

With arms n legs and pits...

...when you're used to the smell of incense in the malls and...when you're used to the  smell of your neighboor who's like a "walking onions"

Same thinking of abv two ppl.. That was de reason behind being buddies :0

Just got de clue, :)

Sorry for hijacking de thread Brit

BE - every time of course...

also a shock when I go out for dinner and there is no-one to valet park my car

I hope you remember to switch off the engine :O)

When I am sitting in my car at the petrol station and suddenly have an awful shock because I have to ACTUALLY GET OUT OF THE CAR AND PUT THE PETROL IN MYSELF!

.......when u start acting like ur a citizen of the country when u go back home or any other country when they bad mouth it!

......when u honk at the neighbourhood grocery shop and pretend that the shopkeeper will come out of the shop to ur car and ask for ur "order"!

.......when u zigzag in traffic without showing signals and flash ur beams on the car in front of u to get out of the way!

......when u go to another country and ask for the nearest cafe that serves "karak" and ofcoarse brough to u to the window of ur car!

........when u wrap around the headfones of the mobile fone around ur face below ur chin and swing ur key chain or prayer beads because u think its cool

........when ur choice of the ultimate car is toyota land cruiser!!

........when u begin to wonder and say whatever happened to QTV2 and Doha club?

.........when u mistake a south-asian looking guy in another country to take ur order in a restaurant becuz u thought he worked there!!

hmmmmm thts all i cud think of.....

"you realise that no one is ever going to learn how to queue"

And then one elbows the dingbat who's jumping queue as time they learned a bit of manners. :P

when words starting with a Q look weird when the letter U follows.

Same here...

i am here because of money coz i get paid so less back in my country...here i would be paid almost five times more,plus it is a safe place for my kids though it is sometimes really boring without family and friends.

Count the benifits of staying in Qatar... I mean compared to the rest of the world, Qatar is virtually crime free..

kareena so wht u exactly want to say?

"we don't hear of rapes, murders, robberies etc. everyday". That doesn't mean they don't happen!

We are all here for the money and comfortable life.. Tax free salary as he said.. Plus the situation back home is not exactly perfect. Besides the advantage of a tax free salary, we also happen to live in crime free (almost) country where we don't hear of rapes, murders, robberies etc. everyday. It is a relatively safe place to live plus good money.. These two are good enough reasons to stay in the Middle East.

sikandar, oh ok, did not realize.

my reply was for gadarene

sikandar, I am not ranting. Just answering a post.

not by force then why rant about it , its us who make the decision

sikandar, because people sacrifice for a while for the family back home and to ease life later on.

@ sikandar pasha,because the earning is tax-free but one gives up on REAL life to come & live in this s*&thole,to earn that tax-free money,that is what ALL expats are here for,including you,so please don't patronize the rest of us & act like you're better than us,'cos you're not...you are here because you could never dream of making this kind of money back home,just like the rest of us...difference is we earn by working hard not by getting our noses brown,so we have no issues calling a spade exactly that...

if when you are outside on vacation you realize what life is really supposed to be likestill few will leave the life and come back why ??

When you feel like that the best place in Qatar in the Departures lounge and the worst is the arrivals terminal..:(

exactly nomerci is right

@ nomerci,spot on!...one realizes what a disconnected from reality bubble this place is...

When one is grateful to be given an exit visa!!

When 'turkey bacon' starts to taste like the 'real' thing

When one starts to feel like a servant........

You have been too long in Qatar, if when you are outside on vacation you realize what life is really supposed to be like.

its not for u as they take only humans for treatment in there

Rumailah Hospital is absolute rubbish! Oh Wait ! on a second thought.... actually i think all tradtional hospitals are full of **** Conentional treatment is the way of the future!!! now go cut down some sugercane make it like a pipe stuff it with some greens 'n go Halllljuiha!

You know you have been in Qatar too long When every woman you come across seems gorgeous.

Rumailah hospital

Which rehab?

u need to visit a Rehab to the earliest ;-)

I have none of those habits.. I never quote currency in rupees over here nor in riyals when back home.. Even in the US, I quoted currency in dollars from day one and never said riyal even once during my one month stay.. I never use any Arabic words like Shukran or yaani or whatever.. I never use B instead of P and even now when someone says something like Bebsi or Bobcorn, I stare at them with a bewildred look. In 32 years, I am not in the least bit affected by the culture here..  What does it mean I wonder? I don't go to malls every weekend.. In fact I prefer to do my groceries once a week from the nearest place possible.. I do not go to the malls unless and until I really need to buy something or if I want to go and watch a movie. What does it mean that eventhough I have been here 32 years, it is still not enough?

i ve been here for almost 4 years and still...OMG i hve a wrinkles on my forehead!!!

as I did this morning - say 'I am just popping to Sainsburys for some milk' :-/I have already written a shopping list for when we get home lol

When you say SHUKRAN to a non-Arab guy instead of Thank You...

when weekends become just a day to go to Lulu or any other Mall.when a weekend gets over and you wait again for a thursday or friday thinking to go out and lands up at these malls.you know u r in the middle east when you quote ur local currency here in the middle east and when at homeland quote with Riyal or Dirhams.

When you respond to every question with, "Enchiladas" :-(

when u know that ur love got married n hav 3 kids.... n still u re dreaming of marrying her... lol

i only been here for 2 yrs 'n i'm already talkin to my self  'n i  think i killed a kat muhaahaha!

.... you realise that no one is ever going to learn how to queue especially in the hospital/health centers so you start pushing in and make your way to the front regardless of whoever may be in your way!

very valid qquestion brity............... nw tell kareena :p

So what will make you think that "you've been here too long" ?

when u start eatin ur nails and tearin ur hair ^_^ that's time to go home

with living here...

bebsi is costly than betrol

And  I don't feel that I have an iota of arabization or qatarization in me. First of all, I do not have any knowledge of the Arabic language which might surprise some people but I guess I never tried to learn because I am just not interested. I still find it strange why men wear white all the time, througout the year and how they don't get bored with the same white uniform. I still have not developed the taste for Arabic food of any kind whether its Qatari or Labenese or Egyptian or Turkish or anything. I just cannot stand bland food no matter where it is from.. So it all depends on yourself, how strong your roots are and how strongly you can hold on to your own country's culture..

You know you've been here too long, when you buy a bottle of beer for 25QR and think...that's actually quite cheap!!! 

when you still treat your children, nieces, nephews a baby, even though theyre already grown up...

when i remember the stupid mistakes which i have made in my life coz i was too young and away from my parents :( and the result is coming monthly by mail to remind me that there is still Q.R.170,000/- debit balance in my account

Thanks Tinku for the links.Now britey, do a search before posting - you embroeided lungi seller...:)

+1 tinkerbell10, you know you have been here too long when you see poor laborers working mid day in soaring temperatures whithout blinking

When "ya'ani" becomes a word you use most frequentlyYou give up the "square shaped hijab" for the "sheila"Buying drinking water and having it delivered is not a luxury!Even a two year old knows all the malls by name!

when i see my tummy that it is going bigger and bigger.. and when every new day i feel like am getting older, losing my mind... feeling old like the guy in my display picture.. :( 

I am gonna complete 9 month by this weekend but i  feel like I am already staying here from a long time. May be it is because of my static life routine. 

Don't cry.. Its another beautiful day ...

You know you've been here too long whenyou pine for your first cup of Karak Chai in the morning to start the day :O(

U only order online to have onion bhajias...I m preparing ur order only.... :(

nowreasonforsmile now can u stop cutting Onions please...:(

when reading all the bashing and racist comments in QL.....

guess when you notice what positive thing have you done with your beautiful life.

I m here for almost 1 and half years and I know that going malls doesnt help..going to beaches matters when u have somebody laughing and inspiring..u live life when u are able to talk to somebody for atleast 10 minutes in a day...otherwise it is a golden cage without oxygen around...throat,eyes and heart feels so suffocated..I cant even breathe sometimes....OMG why these tears in my eyes...?

Brit,in keeping with your take on the topic,you know you've been here too long when you consider the dailies published here newspapers!!!...

Saturdays and Sundays are not anymore the weekends of your life. :((

when i walked out and saw the temparature reading 39C.. and said to myself.. thats nice...

When you give up screaming at people in traffic for cutting you off.

When you want to go home

i have been in Qatar too long, coz i have devoted all my precious and silky hairs of my head to this country...:(