Little things and big lies.

     To start, we will talk about the little things that make life here a bit nicer.  It took me a week or so to figure out that in Saudi, ALL bottled water is mineral water.  While they may tout the health benefits of mineral water, as someone who had passed a kidney stone, it is not always the best choice.  As soon as I figured out that I was pretty much screwed, I started looking for a Brita pitcher and filters so that I could make the water more health for ME.  I was able to find some online, but had not idea about ordering stuff online.  I was introduced to a new store called Saco, a store that reminds me of Home Depot and Costco.
    The tap water is NOT recommended for drinking, so the building provides us with large bottles of water.  Some units have the water dispensers, and some do not.  I do not have one and was told they had no more available.  This is where my trip to Saco became a wonderful discovery.  Because the standing dispensers are relatively expensive, and I didn't want to give up my table space for the countertop version, I opted for the inexpensive pump.  Not only was it a heck of a lot cheaper, but it makes filling my new Culligan water filter pitcher and humidifier MUCH easier.  Little things!

     Another "little thing" is that the janitor was able to fix the water heater so it still gets hot, maybe a few degrees cooler then I would have liked, but it no longer scalds me when I take a shower or wash my dishes,  Little things.  The nightlight in the bathroom allows me to turn off the light and still see to get to my bedroom, in my basically windowless apartment.  When I arrived back to Saudi, after my "visa trip" to Bahrain, I was able to snap a pic of the amazing garden inside the airport.  Little things.

     One big thing is that my school is an "actual school".  We give homework, we give tests, and we take attendance.  Each class lasts 4-6 weeks and therefore, we have a new schedule every 4-6 weeks.  My previous schedule gave me first and fourth periods free and then had me teaching all 4 evening evening classes.  It was nice to be able to relax at school and have my second cup of coffee and breakfast, but it made it difficult at best to eat dinner and relax in the evening.  This session, I am teaching all 4 classes in the morning and I have the last 2 classes free.  I am able to sit down, in an empty office, to have my light supper and relax.  When I come home, I am able to avoid eating too much before bed.

     The BIG LIES

"Is there a Dress Code for Females and Males?

Yes, Females are normally required to wear long ankle length dresses in the classroom , although you are free to don your jeans after work. The only precaution suggested is to cover yourself in the Black overall or a gown, called Abaya, which will be handed out to you upon your arrival, compliments of the company. Other than this there is no restriction on your attire."  WRONG!  We are required to wear a long black SKIRT, a white blouse for the first day of each new session, and a black jacket or sweater EVERY DAY!.  I now have a closet full of colorful long dresses and skirts that I will never wind up wearing.  I had to spend $$ to buy those black skirts when I got here!  I was NOT provided an abaya until I demanded the school provide me one.  It was a cheap thing and the snaps are already falling off.  I purchased a second one to "bling" out but I have not found a fabric/craft store yet.

     "What kind of recreational facilities are available in Saudi Arabia?

Riyadh and other cities in the Kingdom are full of recreational facilities. In Riyadh you can join a Health club, if you are unhappy with the one in our ladies housing compound."  There is NO COMPOUND and NO HEALTH CLUB in it.  The cost to join a gym is HUGE, you have to arrange and pay for your own transportation, and good luck finding one that allows women!  I am PISSED OFF!  I now have a complete Wii Fit set-up but no CD/DVD/games to actually use it.  That is my next big thing to find.  The issue is that the new system is Wii Fit U, and I have the old just plain Wii Fit.  FML!  I have expressed my extreme dissatisfaction with the company over this issue and was told by the woman in charge of personnel, "Sorry, but I can only tell you to find another job if you are unhappy."  I am actually thinking about finding a good lawyer.  I was told that other people had sued and won, but I am just enjoying my routine for now.

     The final thing is that I now have an actual "routine" of sorts and am settling in.  As soon as I work out the exercise issue, life will be better.  My last "little thing" occurred yesterday.  Apparently it was "teachers day" in Saudi and the staff provided us with little gifts.

I would MUCH RATHER they gave me my paycheck (payday falls on Saturday so we get paid on Sunday) but it was better then a kick in the face, I guess.

A call to....

     I understood that I was coming to a country that takes its religion very seriously, but I didn't understand to what extent.  I respect everyone's religious choices, and will respect the religious protocols for the country I am currently living in, but the calls to prayer are still taking some getting used to.  When I arrived at midnight my first night, I was awoken by a loud noise in my neighborhood at about 4:30am.  It wasn't until the next call that I realized that it was being broadcast from a loudspeaker in every mosque in Saudi.  There is a call to prayers every day and it occurs 5 times per day.  I loaded an app on my phone that tells me what time this will occur.  It helps me to plan my shopping.  This is what I hear in my bedroom in my apartment.

   
This is what I hear at school, during classes most times.

I am usually able to sleep through the 4:30am ish call, but it is hard to ignore the other ones.  I am told by all the other non-Muslim teachers, it will eventually slip into the background noise that is part of my everyday life.
     Ok, now to the abaya.  It is a constant reminder that I am considered a second class citizen, and it makes you hard to find your friends when you get separated at the store or mall.  I don't object to wearing it, I just need to get mine shortened!
     When I was at the mall the other day, I noticed this sign in a space that there usually is no sign.  There are mini mosques in every mall, but women are not allowed, so the store set up this area.

After prayer time was over, it was removed a short time later.  That they feel like that have to set it up is just a gentle reminder.

     Now to my "exercise program".  I was given a Wii game set-up, but I still need to find a Wii board and Wiifit games for the board.  The person who gave me the games set-up did not have the power cord, so in my first official solo outing, I hit a small area of video game stores.  I was able to figure out the Uber thing for cabs, and managed to make it there JUST as they were closing for prayer time.  They would not re-open for another hour.  GREAT!  I had thought about getting food, but guess what?  EVERYTHING closes for prayer time.  THIS is why I need to better schedule my outings, and this is why I have the prayer app in my phone.  If you are already inside a store/restaurant, they may or may not kick you out until they reopen.  Fortunately, Carrefour (the store that reminds me of super Walmart), lets you stay in, but will not check you out until the employees are told to return to work.

     I took the time to wander the hood and finally spent enough time wandering that the restaurants started to re-open.  My two choices were fried chicken or Chinese.  I chose the Chinese place and found it was an upscale place.  The family section was nice and pretty empty, and my fish in black bean sauce was very good, if grossly overpriced.  They did not include rice with my main dish, which is good, but they poured me a glass of Perrier and charged me for the whole bottle.  After dinner, I wandered some more and look what I found!

I now have some craft supplies and a hot-melt glue gun!  I am loaded for bear and I DID decorate my door!  I am going to update it seasonally, so pics of that will be posted as well.

My front door and looking in from my front door.  My new "office" on the right.  Notice the nice Ikea lamp!

Looking at the front door and then looking to the left.  I got them to change the hideous red/gold couch and chair for a reasonable dark purple and black.  I then purchased a queen sized fitted dark grey sheet to cover the couch.  The thing on the right near the kitchen is my new butcher block work station/chopping block.  I have ZERO counter space and it was not a want it was a NEED!

Shower curtain :-)  Used cord from Ikea to create a clothes line in my bedroom for sheets and larger items.  Cost nothing, works like a charm, is thin enough to ignore most days!  My clothes dry in a matter of just a few hours hanging in my room.  It is a HUGE change from China where it might have taken 3 days to have something dry!

Black.

     Prior to leaving for Saudi, I had asked everyone if there was a clothing restriction or if I had to wear certain clothes to school.  The ONLY thing I was told is that it had to be long and cover the arms.  Ok, so shopping at the last minute, I was able to purchase 5 long, flowery, patterned dresses, and 3 long skirts.  Of all these items, I had just one black skirt and 2 black sweaters.  After being there for 3 weeks, with nothing being said to me, I was finally informed yesterday, in writing on a memo I had to sign, that there was actually a dress code for teachers and that we were required to abide by it.  The other teachers let me know immediately that the skirts had to be black, so I simply wore the same skirt and changed my tops.  When I purchased my second abaya, I had found some inexpensive black skirts so I upped my count to 4.  I still wear the same one every day, and take it off when I come home at lunch and at the end of the day.  I am also required to wear the black blazer/sweater top over whatever shirt I wear.  Someone was scandalized by the sight of bare arms.  It was not me, of that I am certain!
     On the subject of clothes, while I don't mind the abaya, I could not convince them to cut it short enough to keep me from tripping over it.  When I pick it up to keep from falling, I am certainly showing more skin then if they just took another inch or two off the bottom!  My long sleeve shirts from China have served me quite well, and meant I did not have to buy any new tops.  The one thing I do need is new shoes.  I wore out my go to shoes in China, but didn't want to buy anything new until I knew what I was up against.
     I am almost completely finished with setting up house so I will post pictures of the place next time.  After my last scramble at Ikea, I decided that this time I would take my time and look at everything.  If I am still missing anything, it is only because Ikea does not carry it.  Because I was going back on Saturday, I did my grocery shopping and cooking on Friday.

Behold, one pan of veggie lasagna with spinach noodles and a pan of brownies with pecans to take to work.  The lasagna will give me 9 meals plus a bit extra to share.  I wrap the individual pieces in saran wrap and foil and freeze them.  What you do not see here is the huge batch of chicken sloppy joes I made as well.  After spending almost 2 hours slicing and dicing the veggies for both items, a work space went on my Ikea list.

     I have to admit the second trip to Ikea was TONS better, except for the part where I lost my phone!  OMFG I FREAKED OUT!!!  The other teachers, who had been in Saudi before, told me not to worry it would show up.  After retracing my steps, to no avail, I was THRILLED to death when the security man handed me back my phone.  

     I have been remiss in blogging because I have had nothing but trouble with my computer and its various programs for the past week or so.  My internet, better then China but not by much, was fighting with my programs.  I was not able to connect without VPN and VPN was not letting me into my usual sites.  The help desk at ExpressVPN told me to uninstall the program and reinstall....yeah, remove the only program that let me into the internet kinda sorta!  It did not work and I was out of touch with the world.  I can use the wifi on my phone, but that is at home only, unless I find free public wifi...not so much in Saudi.  One of the teachers at school is a techno wiz and she told me to restore the computer to a prior working date.  I hit the wrong button and returned it to a prior version of Windows and POW, I was back online. 

      Ok, having caught up on the second debate, I have become more convinced then ever that I have to vote.  I have registered online, dropped my paper copy with signature at the embassy, and now I just have to keep my fingers crossed my school gets my ballot in their mail AND manages to get it to me...LOL  Now it is time to nap.  I have a long night ahead of me.  Did I mention I hate the hell out of working until 8:00pm?  I am taking left over lasagna for dinner.  I have a 20 minute break at 5:50pm and I am finding that if I bring food to eat then, I am ok to try and make it into bed at 10:30.  Baby steps.

A typical day and how anger is a great motivator!

     Our work week is from Sunday to Thursday.  We are off the weekend on Friday and Saturday.  Our working hours are 8-8 on those days.  The bus to school leaves at 7:45am.  The SECOND the clock strikes 7:45 the driver is off.  It is only a 10 minute ride to my school, but I am not allowed to drive, so having a driver is actually quite nice.  I do not teach in an actual school, but rather an adult language center.  The girls, mostly teenagers or young women, pay to be there and it is allegedly expensive.  We have classes from 8:00 to 12:00 noon, and then the driver takes us back to the dorms.  We are free until the bus leaves again at 3:45pm and we teach until 8:00pm.  The classes last 50 minutes and there are 4 periods in the morning and 4 periods in the evening.  I teach 2nd and 4th periods in the morning and all 4 periods in the evening.  We finish working at 8:00pm and then they take us home.
     The working hours are the EXACT reason I did NOT want to work at a language center.  While it is nice to have 4 (well, actually 3 because of commute time and effort) hours free in the middle of the day, eating dinner at 8:30pm sucks.  Because I am supposed to eat 2 hours before going to sleep, this means I am not getting to bed until 11:00pm, on average.  This makes waking up at 6:30am difficult at best for me.  I am totally an 8 hours kinda gal and it is killing me.  I don't mind getting up early, I DO mind going to bed late.  I may have to start eating dinner in the classroom...LOL  I am sure that will go over like a lead balloon!
     One of the weirdest things in Saudi, is that they fingerprint the bejebus out of you.  They took full fingerprint scans at the airport and I have to sign in and out with a biometric timeclock that requires my hand print.  I wish I was kidding.  The funny part about this is that the women usually line up to clock out the SECOND it is time to leave.  In order to insure their place in line, they leave their handbags.  I call it the parade of bags.

     Through trial and error, I try to get all of my errands and projects done during the lunch break so I can come home and relax.  I find eating salads for lunch and soup for dinner to be a great way to eat the good stuff while not eating heavy meals.  I made my first "meal" on Saturday.  I made a pot of chicken soup and cooked a batch of quinoa.  I can eat this all week.  I am slowly starting to stock my pantry with the basics, like seasonings (I brought 2 jumbo containers of Jane's crazy mixed up salt so I am good), crackers, quinoa, pasta, pasta sauce, canned tuna, etc.  I have some beef and chicken patties in the freezer, so I am good there as well.  Because I have a full size fridge/freezer, I have plenty of room for ice-cream as well!

     Now let's talk about the abaya.  YES, I am required to wear the abaya, a black covering that pretty much looks like judges' robes, or the gowns we wear for graduation.  It is worn to cover you from neck to the ground.  They tend to be very lightweight, and aren't really that cumbersome.  My complaint is that you HAVE to wear it ANY TIME you leave the house.  I was given one (finally) by the school, and had it shortened so I was not tripping over it.  I purchased a second one with lace trim on the sleeves and I have every single intention of blinging it out!  Apparently, full black and black on black are the standard, but trust me, the younger gals have fancy ones.
     I am not required to wear the hijab (the head scarf that covers your hair and head) or the niqab (the thing that covers the face but leaves a slit for the eyes).  I wear my hats for sun protection and gets tons of looks from the older women and the women covered from head to toe.  Spending time in China made me totally unconcerned about the stares.  At night, when it is dark and much cooler, I don't bother with the hat so I don't leave it in my basket at the store....LOL

     Now to the anger part.  Apart from salary, the ONE THING I made a point to ask about was access to a gym or healthclub.  I was told that I would likely have an exercise area/facility in my compound.  If the compound did not have a healthclub, there was likely to be one nearby so working out would not be a problem.  Reality is a bitch, and my apartment building (not even CLOSE to being a "compound") doesn't have squat.  The only facility nearby (remember the part about I cannot drive and there is no public transportation?!?)  is expensive and restricted to men.  So, "access" to a gym means finding one (good luck with that), paying a HUGE amount of $$, and then procuring a driver to take me and pick me up.  

     I can work out at home, but I hate having to spend money to buy something I won't be able to move, like a treadmill.  One of my fellow teachers thinks she might have a wiifit at home...hmmm.  I have some sort of 90 workout dvds, and I bought a cable to run my tv via my laptop...we shall see.  Today I went running....YES, in the heat, and in a full abaya...it sucked really, really, really, bad, but I did it.  Who knows, maybe the neighbors will be soooo offended by this, they will contact the school and shame them...one can only hope!

IKEA!

     YES, I made it to Ikea to shop.  I did NOT get the lamp of my dreams, but I did get a fairly decent alternative.  Pics will follow when I have finished putting my place together.  The gal who arranged the ride had informed me that she had nothing she absolutely needed, but was willing to shop at my pace.  She then invited another gal along and the three of us set out on our journey.  The first gal (FG) had told the cab driver the night before that we would leave at 9:00am.  When I went upstairs at 8:30 to see how she was progressing, we googled Ikea and found out they were NOT opened at 9:00am on Friday, the Muslim holy day, but rather, at 1:00pm.  When the driver then called us shortly thereafter, we all agreed that he could come after noon prayers, so 1:15ish.  FG had repeatedly told me she didn't want to stay that long, and that she was only doing this for me, but that she loved to shop and was happy to come along.
      The other gal, the second gal (SG), was very anxious to shop, but FG INSISTED we HAD to stick together like glue.  The SG agreed, but indicated that she, like me, wanted to look at most things to get what she needed and wanted.  When we got to Ikea, I explained that I was an expert.  I explained that the upper floor tended to be bedding (as in actual furniture that had to be purchased from the bins downstairs) and room mock-ups, and that unless you were planning to actually design an empty apartment (and our apartments had all the basic furniture), it was best to proceed downstairs to the actual shopping part.  They BOTH indicated they wanted to look around so we headed about the maze that is the second floor.  We had told the driver to return in 2 hours (based ENTIRELY on how long I could get through Ikea by myself), and I kept telling FG, that she should just tell the driver to not wait.
     EVERYONE agreed that we were hungry and that the food court, which was VERY empty, as prayers had begun, we would take time to shop and eat.  They do not have the traditional Swedish meatballs, that we all know and love, but I had food that was very good.  When we were almost finished with lunch, the driver called to indicate that he was there, as it had apparently been close to 2 hours, and FG freaked out.  I explained, in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, that I was NOT finished, and that everything I really needed was downstairs and I was not leaving without lamps and a shower curtain at the very least.  SG agreed that we would need at least another hour, and FG spoke to the driver.  FG is on a very tight budget (and she is a tightwad), so I had told both gals I would pay for the taxi.  When the driver called and FG freaked out, I told her in no uncertain terms that she could leave me there and I would pay for her cab home.  She refused and INSISTED we all had to go together.  The SG told her she was willing to leave and headed to the check-out, but I still had no shower curtain, as I missed them when I was bum rushed through the bath department as they were hidden in a corner, and I had no lamps.  Shower curtain, living room lamps, and bedside lamp were NOT negotiable, as they were the SOLE real I had wanted to go to Ikea in the first place.
     We then proceeded downstairs to shop and FG kept telling us that it could take HOURS to get through check-out.  She kept saying she wouldn't buy anything (although her bag of stuff said otherwise) and I explained I was not leaving without the non-negotiables.  I again told her to leave without me and offered cabfare.  She again insisted we stay together as she rushed me to the checkout.  One look at the ladies only line (which was seriously short for Ikea), she freaked out again and just left.  I didn't offer to pay for the cab because I was not done shopping.  They left and I was relieved.  I took the time to go and procure the shelving unit I wanted from the bins and proceeded to check out.  I spent about 1000SAR ($266), but walked out with almost EVERYTHING I WANTED AND NEEDED!  Imagine that!  The only problem with everything I brought home is that I wound up with the wrong lamp, although the second for the living room was cheaper by half then the one I wanted, and only one light bulb that fit.  Fortunately, the one bulb that fit was for the bedside table lamp.
     I was home by 4:30 with my bags of treasures and I was ready to start assembling.  I bought 2 lamps for the living room.  One corner, by the TV, now houses a paper shade, tall, standing lamp that provides soft light when I get home and just want to relax.  The lamp behind my desk contains a bulb that simulates daylight so I can work.  The shower curtain was about a foot too short, so I bought curtain, hooks, and took about 25' of the wonderful black cord they provided at Ikea to rig a proper working shower curtain.  I bought one cheap metal storage shelving unit to put by the front door.  It functions as a book/dvd shelf, place to set my phone to charge, and is cheap but highly functional.  I bought everything with the idea in mind that I am leaving it when I leave.  Of the entire 1000SAR I spent, I consider only about 200SAR to be "wants" instead of needs.  I purchased the shelving unit because I need a bookshelf and a place to store my art supplies.  It is ugly but works.  I bought the 2 lamps for the living room because, even though there is plenty of overhead lighting, I HATE overhead lighting, just ask Mike and Ian about their new lamps....LOL
     I do NOT consider my bedside lamp a luxury because it is how I best fall asleep at night and the biggest problem with overhead is having to get out of bed to turn off the light.  I purchased a small humidifier for my bedroom and it was a waste of money.  It only lasts for about 2 hours so it doesn't go all night and I wake up every morning with a headache, feeling hungover.  I am going to try and figure out how to get a venta for here, or a comparable substitute.  It will be expensive, but I cannot keep going like this if every morning I wake up feeling hungover and with a sinus migraine brewing.  It would be one thing if it was only some days, or every now and then, but so far, I haven't had a trouble free morning yet.  If I wanted a hangover, I would NOT have taken a job in Saudi Arabia,  As for the drinking, I really don't feel like I am missing anything.  For a country that does not allow alcohol at all, they sell a lot of alcohol free drinks like sparkling cider and near beer.  It is weird.
     I promise to post pics when I am finished, as there are still boxes lying about and I had to wash the fitted sheet I purchased at Ikea.  Are we the ONLY country that regularly uses fitted sheets?  "Sheet sets" in Saudi are 3 piece sets, but that means one flat sheet and 2 pillowcases.

     Finally, for today, I will say that I was able to figure out my washing machine after I googled the brand and model number.  Turns out, it is pretty idiot proof.  Unlike China, the buttons ALL have English translations AND you simply put the clothes and detergent in the machine and press start (+25 points KSA).  Life is not great, but it is getting better.  Maybe I should bake something IN MY OVEN!