I experience time differently in Qatar.
First, there is the time shift. Qatar is 11 hours ahead of Seattle time. I am on the almost exact opposite time of friends and family. When they wake up, I have already experienced the full day. I am finishing dinner while they eat breakfast. My US colleagues send emails while I am asleep. Since I manage two work inboxes, I wake up to emails from US colleagues just as my Qatar colleagues are starting to send theirs. This has been difficult to manage (so I apologize for the missed emails!)
The work week is also different. The Qatar work week is Sunday to Thursday. Friday prayers take place on Friday morning so EVERYTHING closes on Friday morning, even mass transportation like the metro stays closed until 2pm. Saturday is a day of exploration where everything is open and everyone goes out. The metro runs every 3 minutes (versus every 6 minutes on weekdays). The roads are crowded. The time and work week shifts mean that when my colleagues log in on Monday morning, I have already worked two days. And when I log off on Thursday afternoon, they have two more days of work before the weekend. That means that if I want to make connections with my US colleagues, our shared work days are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Additionally the work and social hours are different. Work hours for government offices range from 7am to 2pm, with many offices closing for lunch at 2pm, and then often not opening again. Due to the heat, most people stay inside until after dark, with people going out after 7pm. Since we go out so late, the locations stay open late, so its not uncommon to stay out until 11pm or midnight. On weekends, most places stay open until 2am. And these places are crowded until late.
I have experienced this time shift for four months now, I'm still not used to it, but I am developing new habits. On Friday mornings, I sleep. I really rest. Nothing starts until 2pm, so I spend Friday morning sleeping, reading, or cleaning.
When I first arrived, Fridays were difficult. I felt completely stranded in my house, especially since it was too hot to run or exercise. I wanted to go out and explore. I could call an Uber to take me somewhere (Uber is readily available here!) but where would I go? Everything was closed! But now, I look forward to that quiet time, time when no one will disturb and I can just rest. Then on Friday night, I feel ready to head out and explore, able to stay up late visiting the museums or markets or drinking tea.
This is a different feel from the US, when the first day of the weekend, Saturday, is often packed with events or things to do. I am already exhausted from the week, and doing things on Saturday morning just wore me out more. Sundays are the sleepy day, where I recover from the week and weekend, resting just enough to start preparing for the work week. In Qatar, since I sleep on the first day of the weekend (Friday), Saturday is more enjoyed. Saturday has just as many activities as in the US, but I am less tired.
The other shift is my night time. In the US, I typically work late, go home, and then sleep. Here, I teach until 5pm (which is very late by Qatar standards). I often try to get home by 6pm, which leaves me the whole evening. I don't typically fall asleep until midnight so that leaves 6 hours to do things! Sometimes I work, trying to get ahead on work. But now that the weather is cooler, I'm trying to fill my evenings with outdoor events, like walks in Oxygen Park.
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