Duh !

Sometimes it takes a little while to click. I work in an office with some Qatari gentlemen (refer older post) next door there are four Qatari women and then next to that room is my female counterpart and another Qatari women. The door to my colleague’s room remains open. The Qatari woman she works with is fully covered apart from her eyes. When I enter I knock first, wait a second and then enter with a greeting “Salam Aleykum”. Now the room in the middle is always closed and I have t knock and wait until I am called in. The woman in this room range from wearing a sheila (head scarf covering head and under chin) to fully covered (behind a veil covering their entire face). Now I always find it best to discuss things directly with my Qatari colleagues (face to face) whereas my two male friends tend to use the phone. I was thinking they were lazy by not getting out of their chairs and going and discussing the matter in question until I had a conversation about it this week. Why do you not go and ask her directly about this rather than phone as what you are discussing is hard to explain over the phone? …. Duh…. It is because Martin, every time I (we) go into the room they have to cover up. It’s an inconvenience. When we leave them to it they can remove their covers because they are safe from the eyes of strange men. This makes it easier for them to work…sometimes I’m a little slow!