People of Qatar

Many of my fellow Americans have asked me the same question over and over and over again. So here is my answer. "What are the people like, do you they hate you, are you scared". The people here are friendly, not as out going as in the States but by no means are they unfriendly. I feel like if i need help i could ask any one of them and they would try to help me out. I don't believe they hate me or America in general, and NO i am absolutely not scared of them. Well the driving here is a little ruff but no more scared here than on the roads in New York City. I walk around outside by myself, with my normal pants and t-shirt on. There are no laws forcing me to wear anything special. I CHOOSE to be respectful of the local culture and not bare a lot of skin. I do see some women who wear short skirts and mini shirts, but not many and it is obvious they are not from around here. Most of this country is expats (about 80% actually). Somethings i do notice is the abundance of wealth here. I have never in all my travels seen so many Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Hummers, Land Rovers, high end cars on the road. And driven by people who look so young. Women who are even wearing their robes have Prada, Coach, D & G shoes and purses sticking out. There are servants for everything. While we were out at a wonderful local restaurant we had one man just to fill out water, one to take our empty plates/things, one to take our order, one to bring out food, a band, etc. And it looked like each table had their own. I can't imagine there is even a 0.1 % unemployment rate here. Its like they have more money then they know what to do with. My husband works here in Qatar and has a little different view. He thinks they are more on the demanding side and do have a unofficial caste system, i don't go to work with him so i can't justify his thoughts. As far as a caste system, i don't see it any different then back home where the working class and the business class have their own issues as well. When it comes to women and men i also notice no hierarchy. The women here drive, go out by themselves, hold jobs, and hold offices. I don't know if its true but i was told that per Islamic religion the men are the ones how have to pay for the house/food/essentials and woman can not. So then the women who work get to spend their money on shopping and travel...sounds good to me. It does sound like the Muslim women have to keep their traditional rolls as well (cooking/cleaning/etc). But so many have hired help to do it for them as well.
So to sum it up...I think anyone from any country could come to Qatar and not feel threatened. Just make sure you know how to drive in roundabouts-they are the scariest things here.