I awoke at 6 a.m. to hear a man's voice coming over the mosque intercom system. The call to prayer can be heard around 5 a.m. but this was something different.
The man was speaking, not chanting, and he sounded agitated to me. I couldn't imagine why he was talking at 6 in the morning to the whole neighborhood. When I told Jon later he said sometimes they preach over the intercom but not usually so early in the morning. Maybe his tone was fervent instead of agitated. (Later I learned that sometimes they leave the microphone on and their speeches are anti-Western.)
The next thing I knew Jon was waking me up at 8:15 to say Hala had called for me to get my fingerprints done this morning at 9 a.m. I hoped the experience wouldn't be quite as shocking as the x-ray. Jon took me to Qatar Foundation, a very impressive office building near the Cornell building. They have a very large, open area with a fountain(not running) in the middle. Several groups of low couches along with some straightback benches make it a pleasant lounging area.
I recognized the driver from before and the young newlywed. It was nice to see some familiar faces. I sat with Abeer in the back and learned more about her. The fingerprinting place was not so far off the beaten path. A large dark-skinned man from QF met us out front. It was behind 2 large, black rod iron gates. There were several small concrete buildings with a couple of makeshift smaller buildings also. There was black ink smeared all over the walls of the buildings, as if people had smeared their hands on the walls after being fingerprinted. That's exactly what must happen!
As Abeer and I went in the ladies area more ink-smeared walls greeted us. One woman in a black abaya was seated near the wall with 2 small tables and the fingerprinting aparatus. She took a break shortly thereafter leaving a stack of fingerprinted sheets on a folding chair and others on a nearby bench. After showing our passports to a policewoman sitting behind a window I was instructed to go to "typing, outside". It was so nice to have Abeer there since she speaks Arabic. After typing we were back in the ladies area waiting for fingerprints. The lady came back from her break and proceeded to ink Abeer's fingers, print them all individually on the sheet and then the four fingers together and thumb separately. After this was done on both hands, she rolled ink all over the palms of her hands and printed them on the back of the sheet. They're very serious about fingerprints over here! It was good to learn from Abeer's experience, I still forgot to put all four down together. The lady had to instruct me "Four!" While she was printing mine a man walked in and she began a loud conversation with him. Afterward I asked Abeer what she was saying. She said Ramadan had just finished(a few weeks ago) and afterward people give gifts. This man in the past had given her children money after Ramadan. He hadn't done it this year so she was asking him where the money was. ;-)
I was glad to be prepared with my handwipes. It's no wonder the walls are smeared with ink. They give nothing to clean off your hands. Abeer was appreciative and so was the Indian woman after me. I got Abeer's phone number. Maybe we can strike up a friendship. I got to meet her husband when we got back to QF.
The policewoman's attire is interesting to me. She wore a long, fitted dark skirt with a light blue collared shirt. It reminded me of a police officer's uniform from the states with stripes and all. Her head was covered but the abaya was tucked under her collar with a thin band on her head that makes it look like a beret. I wonder if they have a summer outfit. Makes me hot to think about it for the long, hot summer.
Yesterday we had the fun experience of going to Palm Tree Island. It's a very small island 5 minutes off the coast with amusement rides for young children, a nice restaurant and a very nice beach. We met several of the Aggies and took the ferry over. The island might be half a mile around. There's a paddleboat area, a small car track area, a joy jump place and a nice playground area. (There were some pricey four-wheelers to ride too.) Each ride costs 5 riyals, ($1.50) so that's where they getcha! But it was worth the money. It was 70 riyals for Jon and me, including 2 lunches. Langston and Sen had a big time on the rides and then on the beach. We had fun looking for shells. There's also a swimming pool but it was too cool for that. We were glad we went on a weekday instead of the weekend. I can't imagine how crowded that little island would be then! Langston's all ready to go there again!
Posted by nellie at December 29, 2003 11:58 PM