Arrival in Qatar - Is there a world standard for orange juice bottles?

Before I left for Qatar I read both non-fiction and fiction books about Qatar. One of my favorites was  "Love from A to Z" by S.K. Ali (highly recommend as it is a cute love story). The book centers around the journal entries of two Muslim teenagers - who write their journals around Marvels and Oddities - which was based around a book found in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha.  I found the framing of Marvels and Oddities to be a great way to frame my thinking about this trip, so many of my blog posts may take the Marvel and Oddities structure. 

Marvel - Birdsong

 I arrived in Qatar on Saturday. After about two hours walking, dealing with passport control, carrying 70 kilos (150 pounds) of luggage and buying a local sim card, I met my driver and made it to my new home at Faculty housing. I fell asleep around 10pm  but woke up again around 3am (my body thought it was 6pm in the evening). After trying to use yoga and meditation to fall back asleep - I finally gave up and just got out of bed at 5am. What caused me to finally get up was birdsong. 

Everything I read about Qatar discussed the gigantic building boom and the desert weather. It neglected to mention that Qatar University is isolated from the city. Much of the campus is set up as a type of desert oasis - with trees and bushes between campus buildings. Additionally, traditional Arab architecture uses gardens and courtyards as a cooling device in building design. I should not be surprised to hear birds. Since I couldn't sleep, I embraced the opportunity to listen to this chorus of birdsong. It was so lovely that I recorded a short video to share. 

One of my worries for this trip was being detached from nature while living in a big city, so I am very relieved to enjoy this symphony just outside my door. Just a few minutes of sitting outside in the birdsong helped me feel like a new person. 

Oddity - Orange juice bottles

Is there a cartel that decides the shape of Orange Juice bottles?

The faculty housing at QU is just lovely. And they helped ease my transition by supplying some fresh foods like coffee, fruit, and cheese to tide me over until I figure out the grocery situation. It is very thoughtful. I have been pleasantly surprised at how easy the transition has been so far (I'm not teaching yet so we will see how that transition holds.) 

Notice anything strange...or maybe not strange... about the shape of the orange juice bottle? The bottle shape is identical to bottles in the United States - even though I am 6000 miles away! Did someone decide that juice bottles should look like this? 

I moved 8000 miles away - things should be completely different. Its odd how similar some things are.