Where in the hell have i been the last 3-5 seasons. Why didn't i know about this place yrs. ago.. Qatar has to be one of the coolest places i ever been to and of course played at (SO FAR). But, like any other place in the world, it has its good and bad qualities. Well, i did do a bit of homework before coming here. You got to know a bit of something before heading to your destination. doesn't hurt to get a head start. The day i arrived here i realized things pretty fast.. Actually, before i even landed in Qatar I was chating with this Qatari on the plane. So, given my chance to speak up before I’m over there, I asked him what should i expect when I'm in Qatar and would it be a smooth transition for me? To sum up what he told me, he basically said its like being at home in the states, but with a bit different laws and values of course. When it came to knowing about religion and politics in this area, i was told to pick all that up from AlJazeera. I learned that Qatar has made contributions to freedom of speech through AlJazeera. Aljazeera is a television network that is located in Doha, Qatar. Initially launched as an Arabic news basically.
As my first week went on here in Qatar, you pick up on the good and bad things fast. The Bad to mention a few: I haven’t seen any coin currency. In supermarkets, the total sometimes comes to 56.45, but it is always rounded up to the nearest dollar. Where the extra money goes? There are no streets here. There are, but nobody really knows street names. Everyone finds places through landmarks and roundabouts. To say it is difficult to get around is a bit of an understatement. Each time me and my teammate reach a destination (safely), it is a small miracle. Because they drive very very very impatient. Same as In Chicago, but times 10. lol Friday here is really sunday.. they shut everything down. I mean everything and for some reason I have yet to hear an answering machine on any phone here. Voicemails are nonexistent. your just ass out if they dont answer. lol The one thing that really blew me away was that you can not show any affection in public. No holding hands or even kissing unless its your wife i was told. Been mad as hell if i couldn't kiss the Mrs. right off the plane ride if she comes to visit me. lol
On the other hand, the bright things here is everyone speaks English. Qataries make up only 25% of the population and the other 75% are Americans, British, Australians, and Philipino. That is strange as hell to me.. but cool though.lol Qatar is considered the riches country in the world because of the natural gas they have here. I was told they have enough Natural Gas reserved for the next 200yrs. thats insane. Everyone is driving nice vehicles and you can get all the resturantes from home. McDonalds of course, Burger King, Fridays, Bennigans, Subway, Quiznos and even Krispy Kreme. Its only a 40 minute flight to Dubai. We all know Dubai is off the chain. With all these good things mentioned, im sure its a lot more great things about Qatar that i have not discovered yet.
When it comes to Basketball, its all universal. I have good teammates that respect the game and play with no worries. Maybe because they have six figure jobs outside basketball.. lol Basketball is a hobby for these guys and one day it will be for me too. till then i will continue to do what i love to do and take advantage of the many opportunities that basketball presents me.
