Same But Different

In many ways life in Qatar is very similar to life in Canada. There are a few notable differences.

For instance, in Canada we often have hardwood trees, like maple or birch, in front of our houses. In Qatar we have Palm trees in our yards -- which boys still enjoy climbing.












In Canada, we have water and power meters for our houses. In Qatar, we also have meters to record our consumption of water and electricity. The difference is that regardless how much we use, the water and electricity are provided by the State free of charge.



In Canada, the telephone books have white and yellow pages.  In Qatar, the telephone books also have white and yellow pages.  The difference is that the phone book is alphabetized by first names rather than surnames. Almost all Qatari family names start with the letter "A".




In North America, Samaritan's Purse organizes the annual Shoebox campaign.  People fill a shoebox with useful items that will be given to children around the world.  In Qatar, the Box Appeal takes place in May. Families are encouraged to fill a box with toothpaste, deodorant, socks, soap, shampoo.  The boxes are given to the thousands of construction workers who have come from countries around the world to build this country.

In Canada, children arrive at school each day in a mini-van or car.  At Qatar Academy, the students arrive in Mercedes, BMW, Toyota Landcruiser, Cadillac Escalade, Bentley, and Rolls Royce.