This Is Qatar

Ever wonder what it's like to live in Qatar? Well M hadn't. He couldn't have even found it on a map... then found himself there. <br>When M arrived in Qatar from London on his newly-minted expat assignment he didn't expect to be confronted with life's most existential choices...so immediately. <br>And he dragged his girlfriend-cum-wife too. <br>But I wanted to go to Singapore she said. <br>We got at least half-way there! <br>From job offer to eloping in Las Vegas (because living together out of wedlock is haram) to having a kid - and back again TIQ is a humorous if not slightly exaggerated acerbic account of an amateur expat's trials and tribulations waaaay out of his depth in a country frankly he had never heard of. <br>If you're about to move to Qatar or if you ever thought you wanted to visit (you KNOW you want to) TIQ will help you frame (and perhaps even answer) some non-trivial questions such as: <br>- What would you choose with your marginal dollar - beer or bacon? <br>- Is it OK to eat your lunch on the toilet? <br>- Who's that scary voice on the radio every morning? and <br>- Are traffic signs really just...guidelines? <br>If you weren't planning on moving to Qatar or even visiting - the shock laughs and jaw-droppingly ridiculous happenstances might just even move the needle (albeit slightly). <br>Way back when M got his Hebrew tattoo his mom like any good Jewish-American said Well now you'll never be able to go to the Middle East. <br>M just scoffed and said Middle East? Me? Never. <br>Who's laughing now? <br>(And by the way: the answer is definitely never bacon.)