car shopping nightmare

so i go ages without posting and now i post two this week. this one is purely to get my thoughts on paper and maybe to get some advice.

car shopping here is soooooo different from back home.

first you have to understand that a car is everything. you can live in a shack, but it is shameful to have a shabby car. back home, you can live in a mansion and it's still cool to have a hybrid, or actually budget for your vehicle. it's not like that here.

back home, executives may chose to have a smaller more compact car for whatever reason.
here, no executive will compromise on appearances, no matter the reason.

back home hybrids and smaller cars are becoming more popular.
here (first off) gaz is SUPER cheap. about $.20/lt...but when i told a salesman about the popularity of smart cars in montreal because of the price of gaz his reply was:
"so people car more about how much they spend on gaz than how they look to others?"

it was the oddest thing, that people actually care about how they look SO MUCH. it's REAL people. you know, growing up, we're taught to not care about what people think, to do right by ourselves. for soooo long i've lived my life by my own rules, in a place where people play by those same rules. and now i'm in a place where i will actually be treated differently if i apply the rules the same way i did back home.

that being said...the drivers here are maniacs to say the least. you've got the driving habits of germans who are used to the autobahn, the indians haven't met a stop pedal they like and honk like mad, the filipinos who cut you off leaving a little less than half and inch between the cars, so the americans who signal and stop at lights are just a menace because they're the minority and catch everyone else off guard.

since i have gotten here, there hasn't been a day that i haven't seen a reaaallyyyy bad accident. more like collisions, cause one car is usually totalled. and by the way...they shouldn't be called accidents here. they should be called on purpose. the way people drive here it's no ACCIDENT they crash, it's a guaranty that they will crash.

so here are the rules to look at:
1- safety - it's drive at your own risk out here and the bigger your car, the safer your life.
2- reliabilty - because of the heat, engines die fast. a car with a proven history will be bought faster. the roads are really horrible too so SUVs are usually the better choice
3- resell value - (considering i wont be here forever) buyers are discriminating. the name behind a car will sell the car more than anything else.

i've been car shopping with that in mind. looking at the H3, Honda Pilot, Mitsubishi Pajero, Rav4, X3...i have no idea what to do. The pajero (called montero back home) is SUPER popular here, amazing re-sell value and very safe. but i test drove it and i haaaaatttttteeee how it looks and how EVERYONE and their dog has one. i also test drove the X3 and it feels light and flimsy. :( the H3 is empty inside. it looks really plasticky and the resell value is really low.

so that leaves the pilot and Rav4. hopefully one of those cars will fit the bill!!! anyone have experience with either in hot weather and bad terrain??

Where have all the beggars gone!?

Technically I haven’t been here long enough to know if there have ever been beggars here, but considering the amount of immigrant workers, you’d think SOMEBODY is out there begging. I have not seen an outstretched hand here once, but lots of people look like they could use some extra cash. Hhmmm…maybe it’s pride? Or maybe they should just beg for soap? The working population doesn’t live well at all and their access to water is limited. I can’t imagine what it must be like to only have limited daily access to water and maybe be able to shower once a week.

So I’m still cynical. It hasn’t gotten better at all. I hate that a qatari’s life is worth more than mine here. I hate the heat, you literally can’t walk anywhere without having your clothes getting wet. Yes…WET with sweat. Without ANY exaggeration, I had to peel my shirt off yesterday after walking outside for less than 5 minutes. I hate the way people judge. The middle-eastern mentality x1gazillion is getting to me. I hate that women cover their face and take the niqaab off when it suits them. I hate the underlying sexual undertone you can’t escape unless you are dealing with a real westerner. SERIOUSLY! Why is it that western men GET that men and women can be friends. JUST friends. They can talk, hang out, be workout buddies and THAT’S IT!??? It’s sooooooo frustrating!!! Everyone knows I’m spoken for, so there have been no advances, but I can tell that behaviors that no one would notice back home would get people whispering here.

I meet people here who have spent time in Canada and the US, they consider themselves western, but I STILL see their eyes falter when they ask me my fiance’s nationality and follow up with: “are you muslim!?”, “do your parents know!?”, “are you going to serve porc or alcohol at your wedding!?”, “is he going to come and live with you before you get married!?”, “do you pray!?”. This quasi-wahabi land is starting to get to me. Can you tell?

I’m gonna get off that topic now cause I feel I am at a boiling point. Let’s talk about shopping. I went to one of the malls here, called City Centre. Not bad. The quality isn’t in all the stores but all the major brand names are there. From MAC to Swarovski. So I’m not gonna complain about product availability too much.

Work is moving on. I can’t believe how fast I’ve gotten used to free food and drink all day. The idea of a company cafeteria or vending machines is starting to blow my mind. It’s pretty capitalist if you think about it really :P

I’ve been thinking about honeymoon destinations, any ideas people? I thought Disneyworld would be great guaranteed fun but now it just looks boring. I dunno. Considering the wedding is in early September and I have a MAJOR launch in the Qatar the following month, I wanna make sure Alex and I spend some serious relaxing time, but I also want to sight see and discover places with him, you know!? The invites aren’t out yet, so maybe I shouldn’t worry about it too much for now.