Self-care is critical at any time. But during a pandemic, and while juggling work and family-life with blended learning, it is even more important to take care of our mental health for the sake of ourselves and everyone around us. Self-care should extend to every member of your family, as kids are finding these circumstances just as difficult as adults. So, here are some simple yet effective tips to keep the whole family on an even keel. Mental Self-careThe benefits of doing small but consistent actions have long been touted as essential in any successful self-care routine. Engaging in habits…
Author: Emma Morell
Distance education, homeschooling, unschooling and world-schooling are terms that have been around for a long time but have become more commonly used since the Covid-19 outbreak. School closures for months on end meant that families across the world had to follow a variety of regimes, using a combination of class calls and online resources. Homeschooling became a trending term, while the families who have been doing it for years rushed to point out that current online learning methods and homeschooling are very different. Five families who have been using a variety of out-of-classroom education techniques for years spoke to Doha…
Has the Covid-19 outbreak changed how you feel about expat life? Have you felt the pull of home more than ever before, missing loved ones or craving familiar landscapes or traditions? Or have you never been more grateful to live where you do, feeling safer than you could imagine feeling at home? Maybe you feel marooned in a host country that feels alien to you but cannot escape (or, critically, return). Perhaps the pandemic has inspired you to make the move you were always too scared to make before.However you feel now, and however you have felt in the past…
The airports are eerily quiet and have been for almost a year. The once crowded arrival and departure halls look almost practically deserted—social media images have been showing silent hallways and duty-free shops with the shutters down. In December, the World Tourist Organisation (UNTWO) said that international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) fell by 72% between January and October 2020. Industry headlines are of struggling businesses and bailouts, with travel pundits endlessly debating the return of any sense of normality and what the future of travel could look like. Meanwhile, the rest of us struggle to see a time when any…
At first glance, it is easy to think there is little more to Qatar than the glittering glass skyline that rises out of the capital, Doha. Indeed, few visitors (and even some residents!) have made it past Doha’s city limits, preferring instead to stick to the traditional attractions. Activities such as visiting impressive museums like The Museum of Islamic Art and National Museum of Qatar, touring Souq Waqif, and dining in five-star restaurants—all while enjoying panoramic views of the bay—are popular for a reason. But, there aren’t enough of them to fill the time that we once spent travelling.We have…
You stare out of the plane window at the country you will now call home.On the approach to landing, you flew over aqua waters so bright you would be forgiven for thinking they had been photoshopped, and you took in the semi-circles of high-rise apartments that make up The Pearl-Qatar. On the ground, though, the landscape is completely flat, your surroundings are mostly beige, and the horizon is blurry from the dust in the air. As the plane taxis towards the terminal, you can make out the shadowy skyline of West Bay in Doha. Mixed with the excitement of moving…
All new parents know the crushing exhaustion that comes with having a baby. Finding a good rhythm for this tiny person in their lives becomes an all-encompassing task, yet many parents underestimate the importance of sleep on their own short and long-term health. “Ensuring you get sufficient, restorative sleep is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family,” says Mary Foster, a certified sleep consultant and founder of Sleepy Lambs Sleep Consulting.As the child grows, the obsession with sleep can fade, but that doesn’t mean that it is any less important. “Forming healthy sleep…
Kids. They’re walking germ factories, or at least that’s how it can seem! But how do you know what’s normal and what’s serious? What do you hunker down with, and what do you go to the doctor for? When should you let things run their course, and when should you head straight to the hospital?After remote learning for so long, our children’s bodies have missed being exposed to normal, everyday viruses. With a return to in-person schooling, that has all changed. So here’s the lowdown on what’s common and what’s not, what’s serious, and what’s just another day in the…
It has almost been two long years since the world closed down to travel. Borders shut like falling dominoes and haven’t reopened fully to this day. At the time, the thought that travel would remain off-limits to so many people for so long was unthinkable. Yet here we are, scouring red lists and triple-checking quarantine requirements, vaccine regulations, and testing obligations to work out how to safely travel without getting infected or stuck. While more and more options for international travel are becoming available again, many people recognise its risks. The prospects of getting stuck or having to test and quarantine…
Lots of new people move to Qatar every year. The majority, of course, come to work in jobs across a variety of sectors. Their spouses, however, may arrive having given up lucrative careers elsewhere in the world and find themselves looking for something to do. Setting up a small business is a logical step for many creative expats, but unfortunately, it isn’t always straightforward or easy. We talk to three female business owners to hear their stories.Faiza Nakib – Dots and CurvesAlgerian-born Faiza has lived in Algeria, Egypt, Canada, and Qatar. With a PhD in Architecture, a busy career, and…