Still wet...

     In China, the bathroom floors were always wet because I was sharing squat toilets with other members of the general public who may not have had the same aiming skills.  In Saudi, my school has Western toilets, but no tissue inside the stalls.  Instead, they use the spray nozzle, and well, their aim is not the best either.  So, once again, in long skirts and abayas, I am wrapping everything into a bundle around my waist and try not to get anything wet.  NO, I do not use the spray nozzle, they have tissue in the bathroom.  At least the spray is not that of urine.  However, the smell....OMG the bathrooms reek of urinal cakes and incense.  The smell of incense first thing in the morning when I get to school is ........ no words.
     So,   a typical day at my new job consists of a split shift schedule.  Like China, we take a break for lunch, but in Saudi, it is a four hour break and we return to teach another 4 hours.  I work from 8:00 am to noon, and then 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.  With my severe acid reflux, this makes dinner a rough go if I am teaching all four classes in the evening.  We teach each session for 4 weeks and then spend 2 days grading exams.  After that, we start a new 4 week session with all new classes.  So, this means my schedule changes every 4 weeks.
     My current schedule has me working 4 hours in the morning and then 2 hours after the break.  My contract says I am not to teach more then 6 hours per day, and anything beyond that is OT.  Unfortunately, my current schedule now has me tutoring IELTS classes for the last 2 hours so I am teaching all day every day.  I have a 20 minute break to shovel food down my throat before I return to teaching.  I just can't handle eating at 8:30 pm when I get home from work because I was told not to eat for 2 hours before bed.  By the time I get home in the evening I am just wiped.  I am just about able to get to bed by 10:00 pm each night.  THIS is why I hate working at a language center.  The hours just plain suck!
     My school is far more modern then the one in China, but the computers never seem to work, the overhead projectors connected to the smart boards are for shit, and the "smart boards" just plain suck. We struggle and fight every day to scrape up enough paper and printer ink to print anything we need, like exam papers, and for the last few days we were out of tissue for the bathroom.  I am told the male school wants for nothing, but they  have no students.  Almost all of the profits for this company apparently come from the female schools, but we apparently get the dredges of everything.  The male teachers apparently work as outside contractors for businesses in town, but I could not tell you if this is true.  I am pretty damned sure that the men live in much better accommodations.
     Enough about school for now.  Let's talk about where I live.  I still choose to refer to this place as the dorms.  My biggest complaints, other than the totally sucky quality of everything in it, trust me, I am waiting for my kitchen "cabinets" to fall down or collapse, is the fact there is NO circulation, no fresh air, and NO direct sunlight!  The window in my bathroom is tinted, which is ok, but the window in my bedroom is blocked by a brick wall.

I tried to upload a pic of the brick wall outside my window...no go!

     In China, there were many dogs roaming the streets.  You saw few if any cats.  In Saudi, I have seen NO dogs and stray/feral cats run the streets.  We have a small group of cats that live around our complex and we were finally told, in no uncertain terms, to stop feeding the cats.  I still feed them, after all, what do you do with all that delicious leftover turkey skin and fat?  Now, I just feed them across the street.

     Because I will likely stay in the Middle East for another year or two, I am tempted to adopt a cat from the shelter.  They are fixed, have all their shots, and come with a pet passport so I can take them when I move....still thinking about it.