The roads of Doha....

I've had my rental car for about 2 weeks now, and thank God for that! Public transportation is virtually nonexistent here, so I am praising my little KIA every chance I get. Granted, the car has little power, a 4 cylinder, but it serves me well. You may wonder why having power is essential....anyone who has driven in a city with multiple roundabouts can tell you why power is an essential feature in a car, especially when aggressive, and defensive, driving is a must. Some people think I'm crazy, but I actually like driving here because I looove to drive aggressively, maneuvering my through traffic....only when necessary, however. Here, one must always be on their toes, or they will be under someone's SUV for sure. In fact, even other little cars seem to think they can just cut across three lanes of traffic without looking to exit, forcing a person to slam on their breaks, thanking their lucky stars no one is behind them; otherwise, the said someone slamming on their brakes would have a nice car smashed into their driver side. Yes, I'm speaking in the 3rd person...annoying for many, so I'll stop. Driving here can be interesting, frustrating (20 minutes at one stop light), time consuming (see prior comment), fascinating, dangerous, titilating, and a more than a little heart-stopping at times.

The radio keeps me company for now, but if anyone feels the need to get rid of some audio books (casettes for now), please feel free to send them my way! : ) The radio stations are fascinating to listen to. I can practice multiple languages on one radio station. One station has Arabic, English, and French programming ~ thank goodness I understand enough French and Arabic to sometimes get the gist, but the various music the programs play is nice. I can listen to Kenny Rogers, followed by Nirvana, a few minutes later some old French jazzy music, and then Garth Brooks. Ha! I must say that I do enjoy it, and find myself laughing at the choices the DJs make. Doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what they choose though people can request music as well. I also like to listen to the Hindi station for a good chuckle as well. Don't know if many of you have heard Hindi music, but it's quite fun to listen to, especially if you've seen some Indian movies (they're pretty much all the same....mostly a romance story filled with the leads singing their songs, popping out from behind pillars/trees, followed by a group dance to the music). I have a nice movie going in my head while others are flicking their lights and honking at people going to slow for their liking. All in all, every day is quite fun in the car! : ) Obviously, I am trying to focus on the positive....it's working so far.