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Thread hijack, personally I wouldnt put my real name on any web forum as anonymity is the best thing about it.

As for nouf, after living here for 23 years Im pretty sure she has a better grasp on life in Qatar than any ex pat. She has observed life from the inside of the closed doors that certainly do exist in Qatar and any other GCC state.

I cannot complain about the Qataris as I have found them to be genuinely warm and open and friendly to boot...however...it does wind me up that women here seem to have a natural aversion to being able to walk across car parks when entering shopping malls i.e. a line of cars having to wait to let the ladies exit vechicles directly opposite doors.

We came we saw we were Qatarized

For one I will completely disagree with Nouf. What she's saying is a load of nonsense.I know a lot of Qataris who are friendly and helpful. Of course there are arrogant ones. You can find them in any country its not paricular about Qatar. They are much better than many of their GCC counterparts.

"If your number one goal is to make sure that everyone likes and approves of you, then you risk sacrificing your uniqueness and, therefore, your excellence."

I can do nothing more than endorse Nouf’s sentiments. I’ve have been here over one year and can categorically say I have never been to a country as unfriendly as this. What is ironic is that having studied Arabic and the Middle East I was looking forward to meeting some local friends and breaking out of the ex-pat life. This comes as I’ve already spent time in other Middle Eastern countries. I couldn’t have been more disappointed. I would surely love someone to prove me wrong, that there are some Qataris who are decent. My only experience to date has been Qataris are arrogant, rude, selfish, close-mindedness and lazy.

What is the biggest shame I find is that most Westerners living here have not been to other Arab countries and falsely think that all Arabs are the same; arrogant etc.

In the 13 months I’ve been here I met one nice Qatari guy but given the closely nature of the society here, a catch up never eventuated. We spoke a number of times but nothing happened so I gave up. This is disappointing and completely against the grain of any other Arab country.

Nouf, is it possible to meet decent Qataris and how/where? The longer I spend here the less likely I thought that one exists but your blogs do give some light.

omg i love you nouf!

damn i love it when someone will just put something so bluntly, I admire your bravado and i really hope things work out for you, i didn't know about the 30yr old law, i always wondered why Qataris didn't flee their situation and you just answered my question, I don't know about you but that looks alot like a form of "house arrest" pfft.. can't leave the country.. my gosh, your a grown woman, 23 years old, In USA your future would be what you choose it to be, marry whoever u want to marry, work where u want to work (or don't work at all) Travel wherever you get the itch to travel to.

I feel like you just repeated everything i've ever thought internally about this country and the attitude of the locals.

much cudos to you!

It's not the system that bothers us. It's the people, the mentality of our people. The system can’t seem to work because of the ignorance of our own people.

Nouf84, if there are many Qataris that think like you as you are saying, why don't you guys start "raising your voice" and try changing things?

No... seems like all i can do is set a plan for myself.. i can sit here and wait like ive done for the past two years.. waiting on a miracle to lift me out of this hell hole.. but that aint gna happen..

unfortunately yeh... im not here by choice.. i never wanted to come back after i graduated.. i wanted to travel the world and work abroad... i guess doha wud be a "pleasant" place to retire in.. so seeing that im only 23... its not the place for me..

but it seems that once u grow up ur life becomes a series of obligations... my family wud never let me leave.... and it wud break their hearts if i just took off... so unfortunately for me... i have a conscience... and i cant do that (damn me and my stupid conscience - grrrrrrr)

well gypsy gal.. i know i represent myself, all my friends and family... and trust me.. thats alot of ppl... some ppl have a veil pulled up on their faces they cant see straight... but like u said and as is my situation... when u hang out with foreigners its bearable.. but i cant do that forever... and it seems with me that all my ex-pat friends end up leaving sooner than i thought and i dont blame them...

so my plan is two fold:

a) ive made agreement with a couple of my guy friends to marry one of them and take off... then when we get to our destination we get divorced and to each their own... but that plan may have flaws as after a couple of years my family mite wonder where the kids or more importantly the husband is or why he's back in doha and im not... lol

so enter plan B

b) wait til im 30 and i can leave the country alone without needing my dad/bros to sign me out(dont get me started on that stupid law) then bounce - by then i wudve given doha more than a fair chance..

so it seems ive got another 7 years of suffering and endless ranting... and ive run of ways to distract myself...so bear with me...

PS. if any of u have a magic lamp or know where i can get a hold of one... plz let me know... i am in desperate need of a genie...

peace out

"He who reigns within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than a king."

Nouf...no matter where you are, the grass is always greener on the other side. I can understand your frustration but count your blessings...no matter how many or how few. God has a plan for everyone!

Are you living here just because you dont have a choice? Do you represent majority of Qatari girls? just curious.... i know few Qatari girls who are dont think this way.

For example Aisha is a Qatari girl who is very broad minded and educated, who mingle with people from different cultural background....still I dont think she will agree to your answer.

That is so sad what you write - but I kind of know what you mean. I'm getting closer to feel the same about this place as well.

When the s*** hits the fan...

But could you be a bit more specific? ;-)

Shame as I have recently arrived here for work, originally from the UK.

oh Qatar

how i hate thee

let me count the ways....

this place sucks

its a piece of shiit

wats there to like about it

theres nothing to do

nowhere to go

the people are a bunch of idiots parading around thinking theyre god's gifts to the world

full of hypocrites and two faced morons

no professional ethics

no morals

everyone is spoiled rotten with poles a mile high up their a$$

they are blinded by wealth they lose sight of wats really important in life

no manners

no goals or ambitions

drive like idiots and think theyre entitled to do so (and dont get me started on the roads)

look down at women

look down at every other race

look down at their own ppl if theyre not of a certain family/class

claim to be modern and worldly when none of them even know wat that really means

its all a facade

and it kills me when ppl fall for it...

open ur eyes... its not wat it seems...

"He who reigns within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than a king."

Tell me why you hate your own country so much?

Farhan doha is tiny. Having a little bit of anonymity means that conversations can be much more interesting. Real names would result in a complete lack or any kind of controversy and also no one would say anything at all about Qataris and Qatar

Boring