Hello, Houston!

The Houston skyline

Sitting in traffic...ugh!

Yikes!  And this was the best we saw...

Adam after a hard day of shopping

We went back to "civilization" for a little while, all of us desperately needing an escape from Doha.  We only stayed a few weeks, but I guess that's better than nothing.  We had a great time seeing our family and friends, and we wished that we would have had more time, but that's the way it goes...  

There are a lot of things that we miss about the Houston area, and a lot of things that we don't miss!  We miss green grass, trees, people driving normally (trust me - drive in the middle east for a while and Houstonians seem like pleasant drivers!), rainstorms, and Mexican food, just to name a few things.  

It is amazing how much things that were normal to us just 2 years ago are now foreign.  I was overwhelmed by the shampoo aisle at Target!  There are just too many kinds of shampoo!  We are not used to the enormous selection of items that is available there.   We are also not used to Houston traffic anymore - if there are more than 3 cars ahead of you at a light or roundabout, that is traffic in Doha!  And of course the gasoline prices...we really can't complain about that since we pay so little here, but it was astounding to see some pumps near $4.00! 

    

Our vacation started and ended with someone being sick.  It seemed that someone was sick on every day of our vacation!  First it was Adam, who came down with a virus the day before we left Doha.  Then Shane came down with it within the first few days of being in Houston.  My brother Joseph was next, followed by my Mom.  Last but not least - Adam came down with it again 2 days before leaving for Doha!  I managed to stay clear of whatever it was they were all passing around, thank goodness!