{"id":4881,"date":"2017-09-26T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-09-12T15:14:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-12T19:14:46","slug":"so-your-character-is-from-qatar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victoriagracehowell.com\/staging\/6258\/so-your-character-is-from-qatar\/","title":{"rendered":"So Your Character is From Qatar … Featuring Sumaica @ Life & Times"},"content":{"rendered":"


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<\/span> It’s time for this week’s So Your Character is … Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I’m hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven’t checked out last week’s  So Your Character is from Pakistan … be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!<\/span>
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<\/span> I’ve mostly been fascinated by Qatar because it’s one of the few words I know that you don’t have to use a Q followed by a U like in English. XD I know it’s in the middle east but I didn’t know much else about it until Sumaica came on the blog to talk about it!<\/span>
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<\/span> Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts are as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.<\/span>
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Hi there. I am Sumaica, a 21-year-old student living in Doha, Qatar. In case you don’t know where that is, it’s in the Middle East, near Dubai. I am studying online from London School of Business and Finance. Hopefully, I will be a Chartered Accountant before all my hair turns white. Haha. <\/span>
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\nI love painting, practicing Arabic calligraphy, reading books, collecting books, pretty much anything to do with books. And I am married to my now best friend. I love traveling, exploring new cities, cultures, and the beauty in our world. That pretty much sums up who I am.<\/span>
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What do you feel is unique to your country? Landmarks? Celebrations?<\/b><\/span>
\nQatar is a very small country. But in recent years, it has grown exceptionally and is found its own place in the world. We are hosting FIFA World cup in 2022. Yup !<\/span>
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<\/span>  It is a Muslim country so a lot of celebrations relate to that. On the 13th day of Ramadan (It’s a holy month during which Muslims fast and evaluate how they are giving back to the poor), all the kids dress in their national clothes (long colorful maxis for girls and white for boys) and go to the neighboring houses to ask for money, chocolates, nuts etc. <\/span>
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<\/span> 18th December is the country’s national day which is celebrated with a bang. Cars are decorated with flags, glitter, pictures of the Emir (King) etc. There is a competition to see which car has the best d\u00e9cor. Everything is over the top and the whole country gets drunk on happiness. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\nTell me about your country’s environment. What are some of your favorite places?<\/b><\/span>
\nDoha is one of the friendliest places one can ever visit. People are kind, generous and humble. The weather is sunny half the year and chilly the other half. In summers the temperature can soar up to 50’C (there is a video, baking cookies on the hood of a car standing in sun).<\/span>
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<\/span> Some of my favorite places to visit are Souq Waqif, Museum Of Islamic Art, Sheikh Faisal Museum, Dukhan Beach. Qatar is a peninsula so it hosts beautiful beaches with clear blue water.<\/span>
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<\/span> Qatar has a population of 2.169 million people, out of which 88% are expats. So it is a multi culture community where you get to meet all sorts of people. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\nTell me about your country’s food. What are some of your favorite dishes?<\/b><\/span>
\nThe food here resembles a lot to basic Middle Eastern dishes. Things like Hummus (a dip made with chickpeas, Tahini, Lemon, Olive oil), Labneh (Greek yoghurt), Baba Ghanoush (egg plant curry), Mandi (fragrant rice served with a whole Chicken, lamb or Camel on the top), Khabsa (similar to Mandi but has a bit more spices), Shawarma, BBQ are quite popular. Harees is a staple of diet. Harees is shredded chicken and oats cooked together in a broth till everything dissolves and makes this hearty soup\/stew that is eaten for lunch or dinner. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\nMy favorite has to be the classic Hummus. And ‘Saroukh’. It is basically a large ‘Shawarma’ (BBQ chicken, lettuce, Tahina sauce, cabbage, fries packed in a pita bread), slathered with a red tomato sauce and grilled. Doha is a city of Karak addicts. Karak is strong tea made with evaporated milk and sugar. You can find a place that serves Karak almost in every corner. <\/span>
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\nTell me about any different speech patterns in your country. Slang? Idioms? Words for things such as \u201cbiscuits\u201d instead of \u201ccookies\u201d?<\/b><\/span>
\nArabic is the official language here. Unfortunately, I don’t speak the language. So I cannot tell you about the speech patterns. But almost every local speaks English so you can get around easily. Locals like to interact with the expats so feel free to say Hi. Do keep in mind that women are a bit more reserved. <\/span><\/p>\n

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