Mitchell
by
Merritt_B

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HAVING ICE CREAM ? It is good. It used to be . The flavour of the vanilla would be simple and tender ,free of any exaggeration , No artificial touch in it .The chocolate ice cream would be little bit bitter .The strawberry one used to be sour a bit.These used to be the real ice creams .The ice creams of my early childhood .The smell of the ice cream used to be mixed with the smell of beer as it was at the drink bar where it had been sold .
It used to be in April that the ice cream parlour reopened after winter .Kids of the area would run around the blocks and shout cheerfully : ice cream .
Some years later the flavours changed .They became artificial . It seemed as we had a great variety of them but in fact the flavours became uniform .God save us from that period .That was the time when small shops were encouraged in Hungary to be opened and their was a great demand on colorful ice creams .These terrible things used to be made of imported ice cream powder ...
Nowadays we have a lots of very good ice cream parlor .They cook the ice cream and natural flavours are preferred in my country .If you happen to visit Hungary and you would like to taste some gourmet ice cream then try Szamos brand .
It is a family business with great fantasy !
And if you ask me what is the Qatari ice cream tastes like then I would say that there is no typical Qatari ice cream , but some of the imported creams are good .. Yeah ,if you ask me what it tastes then I would say it taste mocha almond yes it taste mocha almond

tall and ginger qatari expats fellow-blogger 's site is blocked by qatar censors .I wonder why ?
During the last five years I found that they block things which are difficult to explain why .They had blocked a Hungarian page"taltos" which was about the origin of the Hungarians .Then they had blocked our town 's favourite pizza restaurant's site -I have no idea why .I had my first gallery and still I have on a Hungarian page .
It has been blocked for three years . true ,there are some nudes among other artist's pictures - but my page was free of that . It is very difficult to manage a gallery when it is blocked . Then I decided to open a gallery at the biggest international site .Two month later my gallery had opened that was blocked as well .
I do not know why - but some month later they changed their minds and nowadays it is not blocked at all .

Summer holidays at my grandma's village - 1960s ,70s

It is hot here and dull . For some unknown reason the summer festival had been cancelled here in Doha . This period of the year make me homesick .
Strangely , it is not our beautiful little town, Tapolca that I miss - but the village of my grandma - what I did not like much in my childhood .....

______________________________________________
 Every year we  made the same journey - coming from Western Hungary to the Great Plain - I loved grandma and her house  but I found some things  in her  village simply horrifying.
The railway station for example:The village station was a building about to collapse .The rails had finished there . It was the end of the world . There was  some terrible smell due to a rubber factory nearby . This village station would have been a perfect scene for Adams family  as the cemetery was also near.It was thrilling and sad .
In this collage you can see the protestant church , the station building , the meditation chair and some houses .
 In  my hometown Tapolca we had a neat building  for railway station with slot machines , vendors , a cute restaurant and so on. 
We left early in the morning from Tapolca , Western Hungary .Then we arrived late at night to the eastern village or rather the day after -as we spent the night at my uncle 's home . He used to live in a posh area of capital .
I saw very different lifestyles around myself during our journey .

In the real  collage of my  memories there is the veranda of my grandma's house , the garden, the big sorghum among which we used to play hide and seek , the raspberry brushes , the carpenter's workshop , the smell of wood , the baker , the smell of flour and fresh bread , maize , cows going home from the village pastures in the evening and blocking the traffic on the road , my cousins skilled in farming , a nearby lake , simplicity , backwardness , the heritage of glorious past - the rights of a"free town " rights which were given by the great freedom fighter Rakoczi ...
And when I think about all that I feel how lucky I am that I had had a grandma for nearly thirty years ...

 It was really something different to be there . We loved very much her  storage loft . It was full of dried corns on the cob - our favorite activity was to  rub it with our little hands to get the kernel off the cob- we enjoyed it so much !

HOW DO I BEAT THE HEAT IN QATAR ?

I drink a lot . MY favourite ones are : Laban ( some kind of fermented dairy product)

kahwa maa zingibil( ginger coffee) ,jaljeera( cumin water ) karkade( hibiscus flower drink) .

APA
by
visionaryplaces

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Detail from The Birth of Venus by Botticelli Posters by Horsefeathers
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MORE CHEERFUL EVENT was an astronomic one. As we came home in the evening we saw the crescent of the moon with the Venus very near to it . I saw such things only in tales books for kids . It was so much delight to see . Unfortunately my camera was not with me . But you can spot it here .

Link

MURDER AT THE HOSPITAL It was shocking and depressing news . NO details were given ." A man " shot his own wife dead in the woman hospital . She had given birth to a child some days before it happened .
It is especially cruel thing to kill a mother of a newborn - I guess whatever the cause was . A woman who had just given a new life - who is exhausted ,needs protection and support . It is a real coward job .
It reminded me a case in Hungary . Just five years ago - when we left. There was a murder at the maternity ward as well- in the town of Kalocsa .I knew that woman . She was a Gypsy in her forties . Her husband killed her . For she had abortion against his will . She was seriously ill and that pregnancy could have killed her . She had a little baby to bring up . I am against the abortion - but in similar cases I do not know what is the right thing to do .
I knew that woman . Once we visited her with a worker of an American foundation .She was outstanding - soft speaking , intelligent ,poor and full of dignity ...It was really depressing to hear about her death .

A blog claims that this murder in Qatar was from the highest circles . And it was about money ...

Will Gonu cyclone hit Qatar ?

I have just heard that 12 people were killed in Oman by the cyclone .My husband says- he heard at work that the cyclone edges may hit Qatar as well .
I start to get worried .I start to ask myself where is the highest point in Doha- where to escape in case of tidal waves .

Cherry trees are all heavy with their fruits at this time in Hungary . Do not be sad - that you are not at home now . Act as you are there . Go to the supermarket and buy some cherries brought from Lebanon . Sure- there are some left - I mean - not all of them were destroyed by bombs last summer .
You got the cherries and make your own pie .Just get rid of the stones and pour some sugar on the flesh of the fruit s
Do you remember ? As a student you got once a summer job at the local bakery . They used to make cherry strudels and the students were pitting the cherries.What a fun was that to work around yummi cakes and eat as much as you could...
Mix some flour( half a kilo ), butter( quarter of kilo), sugar( a cup ) ,egg yolk ,baking powder and roll the dough into two layers and throw the cherries in between- bake it . During this sing the song "erik a ropogos cseresznye "- and imagine yourself to the cherry harvest into your step grandfather s vineyard where there was a big cherry tree with wonderful big cherries .Smell the nearby lake ,listen to the birds singing .
And do not get sad when you remember that your step grandfather had cut that cherry tree - for its great shade has covered some vine -and gave him less wine ...

horizontal flowers
by

almawad

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Summer dilemma : to go out or not

Summers are hot here . WE have no choice to go out for the most part of the day - but it is possible to bear the sun somehow early morning and half an hour before sunset .
WE may avoid totally to go out- but it may cause very quickly vitamin D deficiency .
It weakens the bone , the teeth , it makes us depressed ,irritated and for the long run it gives one bigger chance for developing any kind of cancer .
So , we must go out . But if we do so - we get wet very quickly - returning to our cooled homes we can get cold easily .Besides, we can get skin cancer when outside .So what to do ?
We must cover our body - look for the shade - drink a lot .What I have learnt about clothing : only cotton and other natural materials are bearable in the heat .Tight jeans are real self-punishment ...

ONCE UPON A TIME there was a city somewhere on the globe. it used to be unnoticed for centuries . until some economical boom which has brought much money and created lots of jobs to that city . foreign workers started to flow into but due to the poor planning there was shortage of accomodation.The suddenly came wealth created crisis in hospitals , and the traffic became chaotic the education simply troubled .

dear reader - you may think i am speaking about our much beloved doha .
oh no . it happened in south argentine in the city of Ushuaia .

WHERE ARE YOU FROM ? - asked me a doctora . She might have been Qatari or something like that .
-From Hungary .
- I am so glad - she told me at the end . This is the first time I meet a Hungarian in person .
You are famous because of your Gypsies !
- Are we ? - I asked back shocked .She nodded .


We are famous for our Gypsies . Not for Irinyi ,not for Kando , not for pick salami , not for cheap nokia made in Hungary - it is for some Gypsie violinists because of what people remember of our existence at all .

LAUGHING


a friend of ours had just returned from india and gave us a laughing brahmin statue . or is it rather a laughing buddha ? he is quite fat - with big belly and is holding honey and butter .It is difficult to understand how buddha could be fat .he had been fasting in the wood ..
anyway, we found some days ago a yoga master who teaches you how to laugh on purpose - to relax and give a massage to your whole body . try it !

MATERNITY is in the air. There are so many expecting mothers around here . The out-patient clinics are painfully overcrowded .The hospital must delay planned c-sections . doctors are busier than ever .
Why all this is like that ?
It is may be due to qatari goverment encouraging local people having more and more kids .Arabian penninsula is underpopulated and this is a way to boost population density .
Another explaination might be the large number of expatriate women . Even Hungarians a re getting babies here every year .We are so few here . And still babies are coming every quarter of a year .
People love having a lots of kids around them here . When I arrived five years ago I had only one kid . When people asked me about the number of my kids -they became embarassed hearing th answer .THey ususally answered :" God will help you " . It is something unimaginable here that someone wishes to have only one or two kids .Someone had advised me to have a test tube baby . It is also available here . Simply I was regarded as the poor infertile woman - just because I had only one kid .
Where someone can deliver the baby ?
Well the answer is : Hamad hospital . It is a governement supported facility and the cheapest way - though not always the nicest .
There is a single private hospital which can provide full service for delivery .I heard - it is half empty .Very expensive .It is like a nice hotel with friendly service and doctors , but it seems that even the qataris prefer Hamad hospital maternity is in the air

HUngarian Food industry is represented solely in Qatar by some kind of hard cheese .
It is called Hajdu cheese .Lately they came out with some new version : smoked one ,with herbs , with chili flavour .They are quite good and affordable ones .
I discovered also BIHAR cheese . It is something similar to Hajdu .BIHAR is the name of a county in Hungary. The same name goes for a state in India . These are the mysteries about us ,Hungarians and our origins ...
I was shocked to discover that the Slovaks came out with a copy of Hajdu .It is called :Hajji .Even they use our tricolor for the design .

All in all I wish there were more Hungarian food products here .When buying food here - only i understand how great is our food at home and how lucky we are to have them there .
I miss the paprika of Kalocsa , tasty fruitful jams of Nagykoros , the white cheese with no flavour (turo) .The frozen dumplings with plum , the chestnut puree .
I do not list Pick salami here because unfortunately it has not got "halal" version .

LETTER TO MY IMAGINARY ARAB FRIEND

DEAR SADIKA ,

I was really shocked to know how much you do no t like us foreigners in your country .When we met last time , you were full of woes : every kind of strange people are coming to this country and they are bringing every kind of strange ideas .You do no t like them -you said.
While your Filipino maid was serving us some tea you had complained to me about the future , about the hotels arising here in Qatar , whom will need revenue , and they will bring just more strange people with strange ideas here .
I was shocked because your country had developed at crazy speed due to these strange people who came here to this strange country ,living here among you strange people , and whom you gave not much right .While skyscrapers are rising and the camels have robot riders my husband has to apply for a permission if he wishes to leave this country . Just like a serf .
Or do you wish that the gene of the bottle jumped out and would build everything around here ?
Dear Sadika , you should have a look at your grandma s generation ,and you would understand - that how lucky you are .
Be grateful for God for all the good things that you had got in life !

middle east sunrise
by
almawad

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THE WEATHER IS QUITE HOT HERE and taxis are scares . .Especially hearttaking to see at Hamad hospital as pregnant mothers , out-patients , tired nurses are queueing in front of the Taxi station . Station ? It means you have to queue
standing in the scorching sun . Taxis if any will arrive there .There is a supervisor who does not allow anybody to jump the queue .
As a new immigration office was opened at the hospital district there are too many nowadays wanting a taxi .
The Immigration office was a nice idea . It is a lovely place , my husband has just arranged our visas there . ON the other hand it seems that nobody thought about how to arrange the increment of the passengers .

CHERRY trees are blooming in Hungary . It is so nice part of the year .Especially in the little town where I had spent most of my school age .Walking to school and coming back was a half an hour daily routine .But the blooming of the cherry trees had made it very special . Like all the streets got in their Sunday bests .There were a lots of trees in the streets in front of the houses. The dwellers of the houses regarded them as their own ones .Though I think it was rather an old municipality project due to which there were so many cherry trees in the green belt .For me it meant school is soon over , we can eat cherry while going home to school and summer and freedom is near .
Here , no cherry trees , no wonderful nice summer weather ... we got dates instead .

WHERE ARE YOU FROM ?

asked me a Qatari woman while waiting at the doctor s .
From Hungary .
AAAh, Hungary ... she does not understand .
Min bilat al madzsar .Min madzsar ..
AAAh majar , anti majari ... she smiles satisfied under her veil . Then she adds : From Africa ...

I could not help laughing ...

Finally it turned out that she knows my country by the name of "hungariyyya ".It is typical .

LETTER TO MY IMAGINARY ARAB FRIEND
Dear Sadika ,
You asked me about my Easters .It was the nicest in my early childhood ,I think . That was the time when I was able to be so happy with the good weather with the fresh grass and the daffodils , with the arrival of the spring .The Easter eggs used to be red like the lipstick on the women .I remember the taste of these red boiled eggs the most .
Easter Monday is the most important in Hungary .It is almost unknown in the other parts of the world .On this day the boys and lads and men go from house to house and sprinkle some water or perfume on the ladies as a sign of well wish for the coming year .My brother always went and came home with a lots of sweets and lots of red boiled eggs .That was his reward from the ladies .I used to be very happy with his luck .Later when I grew bigger and my heart was not so innocent I kept asking why only boys can go and collect presents . Why do we have to sit at home and wait for them to give them something .
Later when in Qatar I saw at Eid boys and girls going together from house to house to wish Happy Eid I was really satisfied .
I would like to tell you more about my Easter .To choose the most memorable one .But it seems that every one gave me something and like transparent layers hey are lying on each other : my years and my Easters .Once our teachers surprised us .They took us to the forest and hid the presents there .How happy we were to find those paper bunnies with some sweets !
Then my father comes to my mind and a nice Easter in the park , when I was adult .The lights were so nice and everything and everybody was so peaceful ..I wish I had the flying carpet of Aladdin to visit him now . Or at least more reasonable air fares to go to Europe from Doha !
But the most important before Easter is the peace .As a great poet of ours Babits told : enough ,let the war end and let oh let the peace come .
Peace on the dead peace on the alive !





Your Friend : Alma