NEW SCHOOL and a while new way of life!

     I have to admit, when I first left the US, I managed to leave my feminist card behind.  I knew that life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) would be hella different than life in the US, especially for women.  Where I was living in Riyadh, I had easy access to the mall and used Uber as my new BFF.  The one good thing I had to say about my old company, was that they paid "on time".  I can neither confirm nor deny if they paid in full, because I never received any form of pay stub.  I was told this is what you get.  If I asked them to detail, they gave me some line of crap and moved on.  It was a take it or leave it moment almost every month.
     That said, I hated the hours, despised the housing, but I enjoyed the company of most of my co-workers.  I miss nothing about my former life except my friends, Danube, and Tamimi markets.  I do not miss "the life" of working at a language center while living in a crappy apartment.  I will say that it was nice to be able to go to work and take off the abaya, but then I was required to wear a long black skirt and black jacket.  I do NOT miss the skirts, but...
     Ok, back to where I left off.  I headed out at the buttcrack of dawn to the airport.  Again, thank you Becky for the ride!  I corralled my 2 huge bags, my large as they allow it "carry-on", and my "purse".  Every woman reading this knows purses are suddenly huge and heavy when flying!  My first leg was on Delta from O'Hare to New York for a layover, and then NYC to Jeddah, KSA.  I paid $300 for the overweight bags, and was told to talk to Saudi Air when I got to New York.  Ok, fingers still crossed!
     The Delta flight was ok, and I was happy my bags had been checked through to Jeddah.  I did NOT have to do the customs thing at NYC and shuttle my bags across many terminals to get to the international terminal.  So far, so good.  I made my way to the Saudi Air check-in and held my breath.  My first question was, "Am I able to upgrade?"  They quickly told me the flight wasn't even close to full, and if I wanted to pay extra, I could indeed upgrade to business class.  The upgrade would mean I did not have to pay another overweight fee for my luggage.  Fingers crossed, I asked the next question, "How much?"  I actually screamed, "YES!" when they informed me that the cost was only $500.  Because the company had booked the ticket at the last minute, and therefore paid full-price, I was able to get by with what I felt was a nothing fee.  So, total cost, $800, life just got better.  Last glass of Moet before I left and I headed to my cubby!

     After flying business class across an ocean, you are spoiled!  I cannot imagine ever flying coach more then 3 hours again.  Oh well, have to collect my miles!  I was very glad to be able to sleep, or at least lay down for a good part of the trip.  I was able to watch a bunch of recent release movies, so even though there are no movie theaters in Saudi, I get to see movies when I fly!

     I landed about 12:30 pm and was met by someone holding a sign.  He informed me that the gentleman with him was a doctor awaiting the arrival of his family, so I had to chill until they landed about 2pm. No problem!  I actually recharged my Saudi phone, had a latte, and a bite to eat.  I had no problems waiting, and the doctor had the number to call our driver.  So, myself, the doctor, his wife, and 3 children piled into a minivan and headed from Jeddah to Taif.  I guess the ride was about 2 hours, and with the stops for the driver to get something to eat (which he sat down and ate there), and time for the driver to pull over and pray, we arrived on the base at about 5:30pm. 

 This was what we saw on the ride from Jeddah to Taif.

Hard to see, but if you look closely, this is a hooded falcon in the back of this guy's car.

     When I arrived on base, and I am living on a military hospital base, I was taken to the security hut across from the Community Center (OMG will talk about that in a bit).  He called the woman in charge of female housing and I was escorted to my room, right around the corner from where I had landed.  The outsides and halls of the buildings are nothing to look at, so I was a bit apprehensive.  I was told that I would have my own room, and I would share a common area between the two with a roommate.  I have my own private bathroom (WITH A TUB AND A SHOWER CURTAIN ALREADY THERE!), and the common area consists of an actual kitchen, with sink and stove, 2 refrigerators, and a BALCONY!  The couch is the WORST thing I have ever sat on but there is a TV with limited cable.

 Much bigger then it looks.  I believe it is bigger than the place in China.

 SHOWER CURTAIN

 TUB!

Wardrobe

BALCONY!  Although we are East facing so sipping coffee on the balcony in the morning can be brutal.

     By landing on a Thursday, I had the weekend to "orientate" myself and get the lay of the land.  This time, I had water (the gal who delivers for cash arrived shortly after I did), Saudi Riyals (SAR), and an abaya.  My roommate is named Christine and she is from South Africa.  She is about my age, and she is the head nurse in the pediatrics department at the hospital.  She is always cooking, so we have to sort of dance around each other on the weekends.  We both enjoy cooking for the week on the weekend so we can heat and eat the rest of the week.  The convection toaster oven is because our oven doesn't always like to work and has been fixed half a dozen times.  I am in no mood to fight with an oven when I wanna bake...just sayin!

 My room is the door on the left behind the fridge.

This is from behind the counter.  There are 2 burners in the countertop, but they don't work so they brought us an oven.  We can only use 2 burners as the other two are under the countertop.  We have 2 fridges because the freezer works in one and the fridge works better in the other.  Note a pattern here? 

     If you go back to the first picture, I have a tiny twin.  In Riyadh, I had a "single", which is bigger than a twin, but smaller than a full.  I put padding on it and was able to function.  The bed they gave me is wretched. It is hard and lumpy and tiny.  I need something big enough to roll over while I am sleeping, so when I have a massive hot flash, that wakes me up, I can roll over to the cool side of the bed and go right back to sleep.  Hard to go right back to sleep if you roll off the bed or hit the wall.  No problem.  They have an Ikea in Jeddah!  Next post, I promise!