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| Diplomatic Dinner |
A consequence of being a member of the diplomatic corps at a small embassy is the number of diplomatic functions I was expected to attend. That
cultural guide for Saudi Arabia that advised bringing books, movies, puzzles, games, and hobby supplies might have been accurate for Qatar as well, if the staff of the U.S. embassy in Doha was as large as the staff in Riyadh. But I was invited to one function or another at least three nights of the week. Sometimes even two events in the same evening. And we were all expected to attend them all.
I got into the pattern very quickly as the embassy was preparing to host the first ever cabinet level visit to Qatar two weeks after my arrival. The ambassador was very pleased that the Secretary of Energy had agreed to come to talk with Qatari government and business leaders. The good news for us was that Washington sent plenty of people to help get ready for and support the visit. That was really good news for us, the club of first-timers, many of whom had never experienced such a visit anywhere.
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| Diplomatic Reception |
One of the events during the Secretary's visit was dinner at the ambassador's residence. I ended up seated at a table with a member of the staff of the French embassy and his wife who were leaving Doha very soon. I was surprised at how little food the diplomat's wife put on her plate - nearly all dinners in Doha were buffets. I thought she must have remarkable self control because the range of foods was more than I had ever seen before. It didn't take me many more such representational events to realize that with only three quality hotels with catering capacity in the city, the range of what was offered at each event was only amazing on the first two or three occasions. By the fourth event, I could predict what would be served based on which of the familiar faces I saw serving the appetizers before the meal. The Radisson, Sheraton, and Gulf Hotels each had their specialties and it didn't take long to become familiar, and then bored, with them.
In addition to receptions and dinners at the homes of ambassadors, counselors, and attaches, there were cultural performances sponsored by embassies. I attended concerts ranging from American jazz to opera, dance performances ranging from square dancing to native American Indian ceremonial dances, plays involving large casts and one-person shows. And there were academic lecturers brought to Qatar for educational exchanges.
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| Diplomatic Reception |
An aspect of life in Qatar in those days was that every cultural event was a family event. I referred to Doha as a G-rated country where parents never need worry that their children will be exposed to an embarrassing concept, word, or image. Several of my friends with children explained they had stayed in Doha longer than they had initially planned because they liked the fact that their children spent time with them while the children of their friends back home were trying to get away from their parents as much as possible. I think it meant that the children felt respected by adults because they spent so much time in adult company, and in return they showed respect to their parents and their parents' friends.
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| Ship Visit |
On the two or three evenings each week that were not taken up by diplomatic functions, we often spent the evenings entertaining the many temporary duty (TDY) visitors were in town. The hotels were comfortable. The food in the restaurants was excellent. But there wasn't much to do in Doha for those who couldn't get out of the hotels. So we invited them to our homes where they could have a beer, wine or something stronger - alcohol wasn't available even in the hotel restaurants in those days - and we could share stories and conversation. Since most of the embassy staff lived in the same residential compound, inviting the TDY visitors to one home usually meant inviting all the rest of the embassy staff as well. We rotated which house the visitors were invited to, sharing the entertainment responsibilities.
And it was our pleasure to do so.
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