Hot Water
Living the Confused Expatriate Life, Part 5
By: Ms. Hala
When I first landed in Qatar, I knew I would be learning a great deal. I didn’t realize that my first lesson would be a survival one, as simple as turning on a faucet.
Landing in the peak of Qatar’s summer months in 2012, after a long 17 hour flight, I exclaimed to my host and his daughter that I needed to take a nice cool shower. They in turn responded, “If you want to take a (semi) cool shower, turn the faucet to hot water.”
“What?”
“Yes, hot water is warm, cold water is really hot.”
“OK? Was it installed wrong or is that just how it is here? I thought hot/left, cold/right was universal?”
“It is just not in the summer months. Qatar uses a water tank system, water gets hit by the heat pretty bad.”
Did I believe them? Yes but I had to see this for myself. I turned the faucet right for cold and sure enough, without hesitation, steam of boiling water was rising. I then quickly turned it on right for hot and after a moment’s time, luke warm water was a flowing.
How am I going to survive this heat without cold water? I didn’t have this problem when I spent 4 long hot summer months in Egypt. If anything, the water was too cold and I’d turn on the water heater!
Sigh.
Here’s to my third summer living the confused expatriate life in Qatar. The water heater is turned off. The faucet is turned left for a sweet luke warm shower to start my day! Happy Thursday folks!
