The biggest factor in Saudi, as to getting to know people, is that they seriously separate the sexes. All women have to eat in the Family Section of the restaurant or get it to go. This doesn't bother me in the least, EXCEPT for the fact that this can generally include screaming children. So, I live in an apartment building (I still refer to as "the dorms") that is all women. There is a male security guard outside the door, who is only good for yelling at the cab drivers in Arabic when they try to rip us off for a ride home. They almost all run off meter and tell you to pay what you feel they should get. I figure it probably doubles or triples the amount of the ride. I use Uber. It lets me enter the destination in English and put it on a card. Also, it tells you ahead of time how much it will be AND I can complain and get a refund if I have an issue (like the guy who charged me twice after I cancelled the first time and got him anyways).
Living in the dorms here is vastly different than in China. NO ONE comes out to hang out. First of all, there is nowhere to hang out. There is no common area or patio. We can go to the roof, but there is no furniture and you have to wear your abaya...in the sun...in the heat....no shade. So, I have tried hosting a few open houses/crafting events, and had no luck. It seems that people here prefer to stay in their rooms or hang out with a few select friends. No problem, my Baby Girl gives me someone to talk to. I do occasionally have someone over for coffee and a chat, but mostly it is just me. My biggest complaint about China, ok, aside from all the other issues...LOL, was that I had no time for me or the space to do it in. I have that in spades in Saudi.
First of all, I have the space and the free Wii to exercise. I was doing really good until my knee started to bother me. See previous post for info. Doc said to NOT do any kneeling, so have to watch the workouts, and no going up stairs, but walking or running on a flat surface is ok. I can go for a 10 mile hike on the trail at the diplomatic quarters (DQ) and I can do it without an abaya. Also, they have a Starbucks for a post hike treat. Aside from the 40-60 SAR cost for the cab, it is a great option. The gal I have gone with once walked to slow and was always stopping to take pics...I will have to go it alone!
Because no one here "hangs out", because, with the exception of shopping, there is no place to go and nothing to do, I find I have a great deal of "me time" at my disposal. I have collected everything I need to start crafting and have been going at it like gangbusters! I made seasonal decorations for my door.
I crafted for the holidays.
I baked stolen as well.
And I traveled to Bahrain right before Christmas so I got to see a tree and holiday lights!
Now to the people I have met and with whom I work and live. Like the folks in China, there tend to be a few categories that the gals around here fall into: 1) mid-life crisis (me again); 2) loners; 3) Muslim women who appreciate living a purely Islamic environment; 4) nut jobs and whackos, or just plain too "unique" to qualify under another heading. My first real encounter was with a woman I rode the bus with on the first day. She was head to toe abaya, hijab, and niqab, and her fingers were covered in mostly silver rings. I saw nothing but her eyes. When we arrived at school and the coverings came off, it was a whole new ballgame. She had bleached hair that screamed mad biker chick and her rings, voice, and the way she carried herself, I didn't think I was mistaken with my first impression. I was singularly impressed with her intelligence and general knowledge of just about everything, but like others I met, I highly suspect Aspergers. These women may spend large amounts of time by themselves for mental health issues.
Another type I have met is the converted Muslim. There are a number of women (tending to be American) who have converted. How do I know they have converted? Well, the fact they are from Kansas and Texas and not at all Arab looking, just a clue. I had one of them living in my apartment on Granville and I called her ghad jane (spelling wrong to avoid NSA probe :-) There is one almost exactly like her here. She has issues and likes to hide behind her coverings and appear weak and incapable so folks do things for her. Both woman may have had prior drug and alcohol issues, but I have no real idea, and don't want to open that can of worms.
One of the women I have met came to us out of a bad relationship in the US. The man cheated on her, took her money, and basically used her. After divulging this to me, her first question was, "How do you meet men in Saudi?" I wish I was kidding. My heart broke for her immediately. I tried to explain that Saudi culture was not conducive to "meeting men" and that she should focus on herself. Her snippy reply was that she was fully capable of living on her own, she just wanted to meet men. I reminded her repeatedly, after she discovered they were mostly married men she was meeting on Internations, that you can NOT be "just friends" with a married man in Saudi! They stone people for that shit! They give you actual fucking lashes with a whip, if they don't just behead you!. She has been having these men pick her up, AT OUR DORMS!, with the security guard watching and everything! She sits in back so she can pretend he is her "driver", but she then proceeds to go out for supper with them or have coffee. (VERY heavy sigh and shaking my head)
I am happy to sit at home and read, craft, or watch tv. A HUGE reason for not blogging so much is that in order to watch my Netflix or my movies on my 32" TV in the living room, I have to move the laptop to the couch area and put it on my couch side table to plug in the HDMI cable. While I can still type and use the laptop, it is MUCH HARDER to do any serious typing. So, I tend to leave it by the TV and only move it back to the desk when I know I will be blogging.
Finally, we have to be at school for 8 hours a day (in a split fucking shift thing that is killing me!) and we are only required to teach for 6 of those hours. Because teachers are out all the time (sick, visa runs, or fake cough), we are promised "overtime" to cover their classes. Because we are already being paid to sit there, we just get an extra few SAR to cover it. I have told them repeatedly, that unless they give me comp time, DO NOT ASK! I was promised comp time last month and was looking forward to a 3 day weekend in Bahrain. Oops, wrong form, they gave me the pay. I quickly informed them to not ask me again! So, during my free time at school, I have taken up crochet. It is one of those tasks that is impossible to do in the presence of a cat. Yarn + cat can only = play time ....right??? I keep it in my locker and pull it out when I have some time or when I am proctoring tests. We do tests once every 4 weeks and I don't think I give a rat's ass if they are cheating, so I am free to crochet away. You can't tell but this is over a foot square. I chose poorly in that I chose a hard yarn to work with that requires a small hook...
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