Entertainment in the Kingdom

I couldn't make this stuff up even if I tried.  There are no bars, bowling alleys, movie theaters, regular theaters, plays, concerts, bands, dancing, etc. here in bustling downtown Jizan but in other sections of Saudi Arabia they really know how to draw the crowds...aside from the camel races there are now camel beauty pageants, yep, check this out: Camel Beauty Pageant.  Now that's funny, I don't care who you are!


I almost was refused entry to one of the shopping malls last evening because apparently this time I was indecent - I was wearing shorts.  I've been in this same mall a number of times, shorts, long pants, no problem.  I asked the guard what had changed as I had been in there before whilst, GASP, baring my shins.  He couldn't answer - either because he didn't know or didn't know English.  Either way, he nodded his head and allowed me in.  Of course when I got in there I could see why they didn't want my skin showing - there was black as far as the eye could see.  Thursday evening at this particular mall is "family" night and that's when all the ladies come out to shop.  I'm certain they were horrified seeing me in shorts, heck, I'm sure people driving by my house in Michigan are horrified to see me in shorts when I'm mowing my lawn!  They'll get over it.


Had some really great fish & chips (french fries) at our favorite souk restaurant last evening.  Deep fried, fresh fish, VERY tasty, I was stuffed with it topped off with a guava smoothie.  Price: 18 SAR or $4.80 - take THAT McDonald's!  Got my haircut (barbers are open very late around here) just before 11 p.m. at a little place within walking distance to my apartment.  Price: 15 SAR or $4.00 compared to the $20 I'd pay back home.  The guy was fast and did a good job (I think, you can judge for yourself when I post another picture.)  There's a pizza place and a couple places where I can take my shirts to be washed and ironed - 2 SAR each, much less expensive than back in the U.S.A.

Evening view from rooftop

360 view by night (same spot)

Video tour of my apartment

OK, for those interested in seeing what the accommodations (for my group) look like here in Jizan, here's two videos (part 1 & part 2) of a little walking tour of my apartment:  My apartment - episode 1  and  My apartment - episode 2.

more pictures...

360 view from the rooftop of my new apartment building

And here I stand, in the northwest corner...

My office space (for now)

More local flora I can't identify.

This is what you see when trying to visit
a web site that KSA doesn't think is
appropriate to their moral standards.

Working on keeping my sandal tan up to spec.

My apartment is the one with the ocean view!

...and not just one, but two views! (the
faint blue to the left and right of the
building in the background.)

Looking out my kitchen window.

...and down the way is my local mosque
(green lighting in center, reflection
of the window to the left)

My buddy, Sam Gauvreau, and me enjoying
a "beer" in his place - yes, that's a Bud.
(I'm the handsome one on the right.)

Happy Christmas Day to All!

OK, being on the outskirts of two mosques kinda sucks because of the "dueling" CtPs.  They are not in sync nor are they in harmony.  I vote we automate all of them and do away with the "live" versions, it's just too confusing.  However, since I've changed residences, I'm not right next door to a mosque - that means I've just lost my pre-alarm clock.  Bummer!  From one of the neighbors, an Indian gentleman, we got an update that this is one of the safest areas in Jizan.  There is some prince (not the 'formerly known as' kind) who has a big fancy compound just a couple blocks from us.  Also we are near the university so it seems there are a bunch of residences in the area.


Sam & I were joking around last "Friday" (Wednesday) and thought of a really great idea - casual Wednesdays.  Women could wear denim abayas or burqas.  Of course they'd have to put a riyal in the United Way fund.  


There certainly is a little hew and cry about the Canadian edict that Muslim women cannot be covered up while taking their Canadian citizenship oath.  This is part of the problem with the Canucks getting visas (mine took 3 days) and our classes are getting such a late start.  But they are all scheduled to arrive at 23:55 on 4 January (my big sister's birthday - Happy B'day Carolyn if I forget!)  It's good for them because they will have two full days to recover from the flight.


Sam and I are going to get all the guys (no wives yet) apartments set up a little, since they will arrive so late, so they have a little fruit & water, toilet paper, soap, a made up bed (not all still wrapped in shipping plastic) and their a/c turned on.  (Maybe I should tune all their TVs to the belly dancing station, good idea or no?)  I'm going to place a conversion chart on every floor for our British resident as he insists that the "first" floor is the one above the entry.  I asked him if he counted "ground, one, two, three...."  He's not a math major.  Must be a 'metric' thing.  Speaking of little differences, apparently as in Canada, Britain, and some other places, the light switches are in what is physically the down position for the lights to be on.  What's up with that?  Rather odd on top of the fact that switches are placed in what seems to be mostly random orientations.  There are very few outlets and none near the floor.  I want a light next to my bed - extension cord into the bathroom.  Don't even ask if they have heard of GFI's, it seems they haven't.  I'll get some more pics of the bathing arrangements as they just boggle the mind (mine at least.)


Traffic update: if one stops at a stop light so you can actually see when the light turns green then some joker will pull in front of you and maybe even straddle your lane and the one to the left of you.  Apparently they are counting on you being the one to honk the horn first so they will know it's time to go through the intersection. Not just one person but two did that to me today at the same intersection, same stop.  Most drivers like to use the dotted lane guide lines as their personal "follow the dotted line" so I'm not clear on the meaning of lanes/traffic rules just yet.  My mother would have not just one but  a flock of canaries (as well as a litter or two of kittens) if she were unfortunate enough to ride around this city.


Still no phone or internet here at the compound since the construction crew next door seemed to cut the cable just before we moved in.  They gave the two of us internet 'dongles' and that works OK.  

Q&A with J of A

I've gotten quite a few questions from followers and since many people read the blog but may not follow the comment streams and others send me questions via email I thought I devote at least one post to answering questions that have come up.  I'll likely have future collections to answer.


Q. With what are you having allergy problems? Are meds available to you?


Most likely it was dust/mold/mildew.  The hotel had carpet but I don’t recall any sight of a vacuum cleaner and I dropped some tell-tales on the carpet to see if it was ever vacuumed – it wasn’t.  Fortunately the new apartments have all marble floors throughout and new beds.  The building has not been occupied before now.


They don’t have the meds I normally take but they do have some combos that seem to help.  Clarinase is the one I found.  Oddly enough, while the U.S. has severely restricted pseudoephedrine due to the illegal reduction into a street drug, KSA offers it over-the-counter, no prescription.  This is in spite of the fact that a drug conviction in KSA results in a rather swift death penalty.


Q. Of what are the most recent pictures?


The door picture was on one of the buildings on campus.  I noticed a door on the second floor and couldn’t quite figure out where it might lead.  So I investigated, the first step’s a doozy.  The ‘tent’ (not Madonna’s house) is another building on campus which is for larger gatherings.  I haven’t been inside it yet.


Q. What have you been busy doing?


One thing is speaking to high school classes (all male of course) about what they might learn at JEC-PT and what they might do afterwards.  The other, which has taken most of my time, is to inventory what equipment is already available on campus which we might use versus the equipment needed to run the classes.  I’ve put together some order lists but so far we’ve only received books for most of the first term classes.


Q. Do you have to work beyond the contracted hours on school stuff or are you moving into your new apartment and acquiring household items?


OK, two different topics here – work day is 8:00 to 16:00 (that's 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)  I try not to work on “work” stuff after hours but since I have two instructors in Canada (for another two weeks) I’ll hold Skype calls with them in the evening (morning for them) to fill them in on what to expect so they aren’t shocked quite as much as I have been.


I just moved into the new digs yesterday.  The other guy (who is staying in-country along with me) and I started stimulating the Saudi economy the first day.  These apartments, while nice enough, are dirty, not really visible but you can feel it on the surfaces.  (Maybe I should have opted for a one-bedroom for less cleaning.)


Q. Are these pictures of your new home? If so, I'm at a loss for words to describe the building. Shouldn't it be covered with a burqa or something? 


Ha Ha!, no, it’s the school buildings and no burka is needed since it’s a male-only school so all the buildings must be male as well.


Q. Do you actually get up at 5?  How long is your "work day"?  


I get up around 6:00-6:30 which will probably get a little later since I’ll no longer have to go to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.  (5 weeks in a hotel is not my idea of a good time.)  Work day is 8 hours, work week is Saturday through Wednesday with Thursday & Friday being the “weekend”.


Q. What do you do in your spare time?  What is there for entertainment?


We had a semi-routine that we went “to the mall” after 19:30 like everyone else (or to the souk) and got something to eat, we’ve got a few favorite restaurants, and then we walk for a bit before heading back to the room.  As for entertainment – there are no bars, movie theaters, bowling alleys, race tracks, etc.  I don’t know what the natives do to while away their leisure hours.  Although, there are a few empty lots where young boys play soccer.  I’ve found an English language newspaper that has a crossword puzzle & Sodoku so I get that on a semi-regular basis.


Q. Do you have full and free access to the internet or is it censored?


The internet is censored – no porn sites, no Netflix, no proxy sites (used for circumventing filters), nothing the government thinks might be detrimental, etc.  So there goes 90% of what the internet was invented for.  I was looking for some engineering machinery the other day at work and the online catalog was blocked by the state – I’ll get a screen shot of what the message looks like later.


Q. Can you buy or download books?


Needless to say, here in the backwater of Jizan, there are no places to buy books in English.  I haven’t looked into downloading books yet as I brought a couple along with me to read which will take a while.  I also have a bunch on Arabic. 


Q. So far, do the Saudi men and students seem to understand English well?


In a word – “la”; this is Arabic for “no”.  I don’t know much more of Arabic than to be able to say “hi”, “thank you” and “you’re welcome” so I can’t fault them all that much.  However, many of these students have been learning English for 18 months now.  We will have a lot of fun teaching them technical terms which don’t show up in the average ESL class.


Q. I can't believe how many questions I have about what you are doing.  I also can't believe that I can't ask many of them!


Asking is the easy part, answering may not always be the wise choice.


Q. What is TV like or do you know?  All news and religious programming? 


I wrote some about the TV here in another post.  Yes, there seems to be a preponderance of religious programs but there are also some odd ones like the Yemeni station frequently has a group of men who dance some sort of Arabic line dance.  On the plus side (no pun intended) there is a station with belly dancers much of the time.  (Now why did that one catch my attention, hmmm, I’ll have to get back to you on that after I do a little more research.)


Q. Do you have an option of bringing in local professionals to talk to the students about things they will be studying?


This is one of the things I’d like to do.  I’ve already spoken to a few potentially influential people here about ‘showing’ students successful Saudis so they might have some actual role models.


Q. Do you have any collaboration with the university in Jizan or are you creating "the competition"?


We’re the competition but more for the lower end jobs – trades & worker bees.  It will be mostly hands-on education.


Q. How is the desert treating you? At least you don't have to worry about snow this winter. Seriously, how is everything going for you thus far?


The desert is HOT!  (It’s hot, hot, hot!  Not cold.)  It’s a good thing it is winter now, maybe I can get acclimated to the heat a little before it gets up to 50 C (130 F).  Other than that things are going just fine.


Q. How does the masonic order work where you are?


In Jizan it doesn’t as in most of Saudi Arabia.  F&AM is considered a secret society and thus outlawed officially.  However there are Masons in KSA, mostly ex-pats, I hope to get to some of the more urban areas to meet some brothers I’ve been in contact with.


Q. Mr. M. suggested writing a book about your adventures ... I'd say go for it. What do you have to lose?


I’ll take that under advisement.  I’d need a good editor, know of one?


Q. What about the trash on the beach?


The trash EVERYWERE is abysmal.  I can’t believe how people just throw anything and everything on the ground.  It would appear that people have absolutely zero pride in their home land.  I’m going to start carrying a trash bag to the beach, etc. and pick up around where I’m sitting just to see the response to my little social experiment.


Q. I thought you couldn't take pictures of people... Or is it that they can't have photos of people in their homes? I'm confused by that "convention".


You are not supposed to take pictures of people without their permission.  There is also something about pictures of people in general I seem to recall about Islam.  But there are pictures of the king (not Elvis) all over the city and his is the only picture on the riyals.


Q. How many students are signed up to study at your school?


I’m not certain exactly how many we currently have but I’m told the plan is to have 2000 enrolled in our two-year programs.  That would be on top of the feeder year of ESL.


Q. Is the education free to the students or do they have to pay to attend?


Yes and they get paid a monthly stipend of 1000 riyals.


Q. Are all males required to serve in the military (as is the case in Argentina, for example)?


Not to my knowledge but I do know that only native born Saudis can serve – not any other ethnic group.


Q. How is Val handling the long distance marriage? 


Give her a call and ask, or email her.  She’d be glad to vent I’m sure.


Q. If you call yourself a chairman, would it make more sense?


This was in response to it being pointed out to me that when I introduced myself to students as the Chair of Mechanical Programs they thought I said “I’m a jelly donut” – oh, no, that’s what Kennedy said in Germany.  They were confused that I would say I was something to sit on.  I’ve since revised my wording.


Q. How are you doing with the new programs?


I’m scrambling to have our programs ready to get started January 14th.  The upper level students will be taking English placement tests for the week of January 7th.


Q. How is the job of creating a school coming along?  Are you developing curricula or using what you have already worked with at Baker?  Are there students at the school already or is this going to be a "build it and they will come" kind of thing?  Do you have any idea of what the interest is in attending?


Wow, lots of questions.  The job is interesting, I’m learning a lot and keeping very busy.  The curriculum comes from the Canadian partner school, Algonquin College in Ottawa.  There are students in the pipeline but we won’t know for a few weeks which ones have enough English skills to move into the technical programs.  The school has been in place as TVTC but they are leaving both the premises and much of their equipment.  As to the recruitment, I can’t really answer that with any knowledge but I have placed a bug in upper management’s ear as to how to more widely serve students even if they don’t have sponsorship from the government and want to pay tuition to attend.  We’ll see how far that goes.


Q. Oh, I also don't understand the Sunday/Tuesday thing.  It's something about their calendar?  They don't have 7 days in a week, maybe? 


It’s more about their religion.  For Islam, Friday is the Sabbath.  This makes Thursday = Saturday, and Saturday = Monday.  They convert between the Islamic calendar and the Gregorian calendar seamlessly except for the shift in the week.  It must make for some difficulty in business dealings and certainly has a great deal of impact in communications, etc.  They are completely based on the lunar cycle but do recognize the seventh day as being the day of rest.  It’s just that they picked a different day – and this in only in KSA as I understand things.

I forgot to add: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Yup, it's been a while hasn't it...

OK, I know, finally!  I've been a bit busy and I'm tired, cranky & 'enjoying' having my allergies act up.  That said, wow, I've been out of the U.S. for over five weeks.  Where to pick up....hmmm - how about television - so different from the west.  There are stations that stop any program if it is one of the six times that Muslims pray in a day and 'televise' the call-to-prayer.  The camel race channel is funny - it seems it was cruel to have children ride the camels and whipping the camels a la horse racing in the U.S.  The solution is this machine that looks sort of like a monkey riding the back of the camel but all it is is a motor with a whip attached, spinning and beating the camel. Probably my favorite station is the one where there is a young lady taking calls and the only other thing on the screen is two pictures where something has been changed from one to the next - VERY popular show!  

Let us revisit what can only loosely be called "driving" situation here.  We are all familiar with the dashed white line that would normally indicate the border of different lanes, correct?  Well, over here they are used more as suggestions or "guide" lines.  I am still amazed that I am yet to see any vehicle accident (*knocks on wood).  However, the road I travel to work is similar to M21/Corunna Road/Barre-Montpelier Road/Rte. 1 as far as it not being a limited access/interstate road but the speed limit is 100 KPH or about 63 miles per hour (which also is only taken as a suggested starting point and may rise of fall depending on the whim of the driver.  I'm told that there are sections of the country where traffic laws seems to be obeyed.  I'll let you know when I find such a place.  Now, even if I did see an accident, I would never be so foolish as to admit that I saw anything as all participants and witnesses must remain on the scene until the local constabulary deems that things are settled enough to let everyone go home.  Still, one would think that with almost every vehicle dented at least once, I'd have seen something - nope.  I have heard quite a few screeching brakes, but no 'bang'.

More soon, I promise...

Inside

Outside

2nd Floor!

No, Madonna does not live here...

I can't read Arabic but I'm
fairly sure there is a
closet behind this door

Some weeds growing near
the school

 OK, so it's the start of my 3rd working week here in sunny KSA, where the weather forecast is either sunny & hot or hot & sunny.  (I promise to feel sorry for anyone that doesn't like the cold if they return the favor when I complain about the heat here.)

A high school class on tour (they were taking
my picture so I figured I'd take theirs

Odds & Ends

My own personal "alarm" clock

"Proof" for 2nd sister, head still attached.

OK, so my "alarm" (the mosque just across the empty lot outside my hotel window) goes off at 5:00 a.m., noon, about 3:00 p.m., at sundown and at 7:00 p.m.  I'm sorry but I still haven't gotten used to the sound of prayers at the top of ones lungs.


Now the photo on the right is because someone seemed to want proof positive that I was not having someone write these blogs for me.

The Kingdom is an interesting place...I must say!

It is the end of work week #2 and I think I’m starting to settle in (though, in a hotel, that’s a little tough.)  I’m starting to know my way around to a small degree.  I’ve learned that the leftmost lane is for U-turns and the middle (or even rightmost, sometimes) is for left turns.  In traffic, don’t get caught in the left lane making left turns – sometimes the middle lane is for U-turns.  However, I still have not mastered the art of honking your horn all the time at whomever, whenever and sometimes even for no reason at all.  Welcome to the N.L.Z (‘N’-‘L’-‘Zed’ if one is Canadian) – the No Logic Zone!  It makes the Twilight Zone look tame.  There are some really nice traffic circles in the area – quite the advancement in road technology, and each has a different “theme” so it’s easier to know where you are.  On the negative side, I have yet to figure out if one has the right-of-way entering or exiting the circle.  I don’t see any rhyme or reason and many of the drivers don’t slow down from the (sometimes) 100 KPH road speed limit to go into the circle.  YIKES!

I did end up getting a cellphone because I will need one to get a bank account – I don’t know the connection between the two except that if you do online banking they will text you a confirmation, I suppose it is safer.  (But I didn’t want to get a cellphone!)  Finally got caught up with my pay, there seemed to be some hitch with their direct deposit to a U.S. bank.  I had to get my pay in cash and take it to the bank to wire it into my/Val’s account so she can get back to paying the bills (sorry it took so long Honey!)  The stack of cash certainly was a lot of halala’s, I even felt a little uncomfortable walking around with that wad in my pocket (our company accountant walks around with a lot more than that every month as most Saudi’s get paid in cash and even many expats.)  Hopefully my next pay will be direct deposit.

Well, we still haven’t moved into our “compound” – read as “wall around a building at the curb edge”.  I don’t know what the hold-up is but living in a hotel is not all that fun even when the internet is working.  This evening (Thursday/Saturday) we went over to one of the older compounds as one of the expats from the U.S. likes to cook and he invited us for some potatoes au gratin, zucchini, grilled chicken, shrimp & fresh grouper.  It was very good.  I’m thinking when we get to our ‘permanent’ home it’ll be time to put a charcoal grill on the roof.

OK, before anyone (2^nd sister) freaks out I’ll fill you all in on what went down the other day.  Tuesday evening we were out and about doing stuff and I noticed there were police cars literally everywhere; almost every intersection, light, parking lot, you name it.  Of course we didn’t know what was going on.  Today I got a copy of the Arab News (English language newspaper – it has a crossword puzzle) and I read the story where a guy had been arrested (and they are still looking for another) for killing this 3^rd guy in Jizan.  Just like in downtown Flint, MI – only this guy actually got caught and probably will not get off lightly (alcohol and drugs were involved.)

Those of you not lucky enough to be friends with me on Facebook may have missed the following story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8930168/Allowing-women-drivers-in-Saudi-Arabia-will-be-end-of-virginity.html  I couldn’t make that up if I tried.

Some pictures from my 'road' trip yesterday

Took what could only be loosely termed a 'road trip' yesterday.  Pictures are here.  I didn't want to clutter this blog with too many photos as it might bog downloads for some people.

As strange as the city here might be the countryside is even stranger.  We went in search of the Jazan Economic City, and we found it (or where it will be.)  The beach area, as it was, is nicer than the one I went to in Jizan water-wise but the beach area itself was just as garbage-strewn.  Nobody seems to care about the environment at all here.  I didn't even take pictures of the dumps around the towns - they are unbelievable.

We stopped at one little 'strip-mall' to get some lunch.  (Don't even look at whether it would pass western health inspection.)  The chicken was marvelously delicious.  I was rather stymied about eating rice with my hands but there was too much to eat in any case - all for 8 SAR, about 2 bucks.  We ate sitting on this raised floor area in the back with the plastic sheet and opened the plastic bags the food is sold to you in.  I don't quite have the cross-legged sitting perfected.  A group of about half a dozen Yemeni men wanted to chat with me and were inviting me to share their meal with them, they handed me a cup of Mountain Dew so I did my best to talk with them.  They were a most pleasant bunch, wanted to know where I was from.

It certainly was a trip on "The Road Less Traveled".  There are sections of paved road, maybe 1-2 miles long then it will switch over to some sort of stone roadbed and then it might go back to pavement or even part of the time we had to follow tracks on the salt flats.  It was like landing on Mars.  As we got closer to JEC there were some fine roads with lights, sidewalks, three-lane each way, some parts hadn't been plowed of the drifts but then it all ended right in the middle of the desert - had to turn around and find a different way.

OK, that's enough for now. 

2nd Impressions (redux) ...

It is one week since I left London (technically not for hours yet) and I’ve done quite a few things, been a few places, etc. This IS Mars.  The food has been good and some is very different from what I’m used to.  I had a bad case of jet-lag and spent most of my “Saturday” sleeping.  That stunk.  I'm still in the hotel but apparently the power is finally on at the compound where I'll be residing.  Cleaning is next and internet installation then we can all move in, perhaps by Wednesday/Friday.  

I got my car yesterday, a 2011 Toyota Camry, so I'm "free".  However, the way Saudi's drive, I'm not so sure it's a good thing.  I was advised that when I got my car (rental) not to care so much if the brakes worked, or the blinkers, but that the horn works properly.  This leads to stop lights; their placement is not conducive to visibility when stopped, however, that shortcoming is mitigated by the simple fact that immediately after the light turns green the 3rd car back (and all further) start honking their horns.  Then you know that you should proceed - what a simple solution!  Oh, and usually when you get a rental car, the fuel tank is full, here it was empty - I did make it to and from work though.  I filled it up with 91 octane (91 & 95 are the only choices) and it cost me an exorbitant 25 SAR - or $6.67 U.S.  Tried to find the local country station or top 40 on the radio without any luck, must be the poor reception.

My weekend is Thursday & Friday so I did get Thanksgiving "off".  Thursday evening we went to some restaurant and had roast chicken on rice which is apparently typical Saudi food.  One thing completely different and a bit surprising is that at some places (this being one) the table is 'set' with a large piece of plastic sheet.  When the food arrives you dump it all in the middle and everyone eats with their hands from the pile - hence the 'right-hand' rule (which is another 'toilet' joke.)  For us foreigners they provide plastic spoons.  The food was great and there was way too much of it.  Did I mention the fruit from the market?  I don't particularly like honeydew melon but the guy at the stall cut off a piece for us and it was unbelievable!  If I had a kitchen in the hotel I would have bought one.  I think I can get used to the fruit here.

OK, work, it's odd sometimes when you think about how westerners treat 'work' in comparison to other countries.  Here, some things are accomplished surprisingly quickly and other things, well, let's just say "they slide".  It's not really negative, just a completely different mindset.  "Blessed are the flexible...."  On the plus side, I have a very positive impression of the 'management team' at JEC-PT.  On my second actual day at work we had a leadership meeting where people respectfully offered opinions, suggestions and all were allowed to add to the discussions without any one person dominating the meeting and forcing their will on everyone else - oh and no one treated anyone else like a little child.  That's not to say that everything is sunshine and roses but it's a far cry from some of the places I have most recently worked for the past 12 years.  (Hence my need for a change.)

That's all for now as I want to upload some pictures as well, sweet dreams, gentle reader!

yet more pictures...

Flock of hawks where I work

East meets West

 Beautiful big birds just hanging out in and around our parking lot (left).  Two-step toilet and I still don't know how they dry themselves after "doing their business" - there's no toilet paper (below).  If you want to know how it's done, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKkryfdtMNQ&feature=fvwrel

"Lamp tagine" - for a 'light' lunch!

Me at the Red Sea on Sunday/Friday

The guys out for a swim
(the furthest one is standing up)

Funny story about the rest rooms (which, of course, are men-only since there isn't a woman at the school at all), there is no toilet paper so I asked the facilities guy if he could get some to put in there.  He told me he would get us some but "don't leave it in there because the students might use it."  Heaven forbid!


While at the beach I found a cuttlefish 'bone' laying on the shore - they have one sharp 'thorn' on the end and I'd hate to step on one with my bare feet (not that I walk around with bare feet.)  The trash around is unreal - everything is thrown down.  I even saw a guy at the grocery store the other day who just tossed a tissue on the floor.  And don't get me started on the lack of recycling around here - there just might be a fortune to be made.  Remind me sometime to describe the 'trash-pickers' in the city.

2nd Impressions…

moved above due to formatting issues....

View of the Red Sea outside my window.

View of hotel room.

2nd view of hotel room.

LARGE bath w/ a tub!

First impressions....

OK, Saudi Arabian Airlines was different from the get-go.  Jumping to the middle -  I watched "The Big Bang Theory" episode where Sheldon gets a whole bunch of cats (not that that information is relevant.)  What is "blanked out" (not bleeped) is odd to say the least, one word that was blanked was when Sheldon said "Amen to that" - came out as "_____ to that".  Oh, and the nice looking girl (Penny) who was wearing shorts in one part, was digitally blurred from the waist to the ankles. 

Heathrow terminal 4 is a mess - it was not easy to find SAA ticket counter, although security was easier than in the U.S. (didn't have to take my shoes off at all and didn't get x-rayed (GB has put a halt to that until studies about the negative effects are concluded. But of course I did have to take my PC out of my bag even though the case completely unzips and is designed so I shouldn't have to do that.  Everything was cool in KSA airport.  I don't think they really checked anything.

OK, after about 36 hours of being up and in airports and on planes and a short nap this afternoon, the guys that are already here took me out to look around.  We had to wait until after 7:30 p.m. so that the last prayer was complete.  Went to a good restaurant, I had some sort of shwarma roll-up that was cut up with some fries (oddly enough.)  With a Pepsi it came to 12 SR or $3.20, 1.5 L of water - 2 SR or 54 cents.

Here at the Alborg Hotel until our apartments are ready (which is supposed to be next week.)  With a holiday here for about the first two weeks of November, the electricity hasn't been connected just yet.  I had a look at where the school is, it's huge but if they get as many students as projected it will fill up.  Tomorrow will be my first day actually at work.  I'll post some pics in a separate posting.

...sorry, this was supposed to be posted 'yesterday' but I couldn't seem to connect then I got tired and went to bed.  TGIW - two days off.


If you go to Google maps and search for 16.84388, 42.60608 then switch to satellite view you can see where I work.

London is a bit odd (that may be an oxymoron)

Found my first (and likely last, for now) geocache in London (www.geocaching.com for those uninitiated but interested.)  And I was apparently the 1000th finder - w00t!    Chelsea (where I'm staying) lost at football (soccer) today and apparently it is now a law that pubs can only serve in plastic cups for an hour after a match.  Why does this make a difference?  Because I have to drink a pint from a plastic cup!!  It's just not the same.


Had a good walk up to Albert Hall (how do you get to Albert Hall?  Practice!) and stopped in at the science museum on the way back - it was a very nice place, well worth the time to stop in.  (The absolute best thing of all the places I've been here is that I've gone to the free ones - they are still excellent - sort of like the Smithsonian.)  They had a steam engine built by James Watt and I learned that another Scotsman, Murdoch, worked for him and had even more inventions & developed better engines.


The weather here has been just fantastic, I'm going to miss the cool when I'm in KSA, at least for the first six months.  Then I might get somewhat acclimated.  Hopefully I will find out tomorrow that my work visa has come through, cross your fingers for me.

OK, It's Friday night at the pub...

Yup, at the pub again - free and dependable interwebs access!  The steak & gravy pie was excellent and a pint to top it off with.  I'm going to kind of miss this place, um, starting Tuesday.  I heard today that my visa did get completed so I'll be flying out Monday evening to sunny KSA!  Best advice I got was today a lady on the tube told me that if I wanted to see London to take the #11 bus (of course top of the double-decker) as that bus takes almost the same route as the hop-on, hop-off tour bus.  (In case I didn't mention it before, a 7 day unlimited Oyster pass is a bargain - all bus & tube fares included, zones 1& 2.)


I have found the native Londoners to be extremely friendly and helpful even if they don't seem to smile much.  Maybe it's just because I'm a tourist and doing "touristy" things, but most people around these parts don't seem to speak English as their native language (either that or there's a big conspiracy to confuse me.)  I don't 'highly recommend' the hotel where I'm staying though, the internet connection stinks even though they moved rooms for me - it crashed every 5 minutes - probably didn't help that I was on the other side of the elevator from the wireless repeater.

Don't forget to close the lid
before taking a shower or
your first step will lead to
a wet foot

King Somebody the Fourth with his pet bird riding his head

The weather here has been just great!  Can't complain at all about it.  Unfortunately, the newest Twilight movie was not playing at a "theater near me" and I missed the premier... *sad face*... BTW, if someone feels that some of my "so-called" information in my blog is erroneous - write your own!  LOL.  This one is mine and I'll spread any misinformation I see fit.  


OK, that's enough of a rant for one day (or two). The gentle reader may take their leave now....

Half expected to see Mary Poppins or
Dick Van Dyke.

London Eye - nope, haven't ridden - it's high.

Big Ben before the sunset.

For some reason this makes me
think of Matthew.

Bill's house.

The two 'towers' in the background are from London
Bridge - looks to be falling down to me.

OK, London is completely different...

OK, so "English" may not be the most common language I've heard since I've arrived.  French is right up there along with some I couldn't identify.  Oddly enough, on BBC, I've seen more "American" shows than I'd normally watch (though some were quite good - PBS 'quality'.) 

It really s*cks not having internet included in the hotel - however $16 U.S. per day is a bit steep - and the connection isn't even good.  :-(  <-- for those unfamiliar, that's a "frowny"   I did go see the Wallace Collection (home to "The Laughing Cavalier" and lots of armor, clocks and china.)  Bonnie would really have liked the artwork, although off the beaten path it was worthwhile


Hamburgers, at least where I went last night, aren't like in the U.S. at all - tasted more like horse meat - blech!  At least the beer was good and the place had free interwebs.  I'll have to try the fish & chips next time.

OK, got my medicals done today, visa MIGHT be ready by Friday, more likely Monday which will delay my flight of course.  Oh the horror of having to spend the weekend in London.  What ever will I do?  At least my tube pass will be valid through Sunday.  It's a very nice day so I think I'll head downtown and walk along the Thames, maybe have an ale or lager (or two.)  Since Lindsey hooked me up with the zone map for the tube/bus, getting around isn't as difficult and it is rather easy getting around.

I found Dr. Who's house
 (it's much larger on the inside.)

On the plane & here in London

Wow, business class is awesome.  I make my way to my seat and have to move a bunch of stuff before I can even sit down!  There was a pillow there (not the chintzy little ones you sometimes can get in coach but full sized), a quilt – not thin blanket, a bottle of water, a decent pair of headphones and a dopp kit – which included; footy socks, ear plugs, sleeping mask, toothbrush and toothpaste, lip balm, lotion, pen (for filling out your immigration form or doing the crossword puzzle), cleaning wipe and tissues.  Did I mention that the seat reclines to be completely flat for sleeping – and has a massager built-in?  And the menu – four courses with choice of four entrees (I had the beef, it was very nice.)  Maybe I’m just easily impressed.

I did get at least a couple hours sleep, woke in time to have the breakfast – which was a lot of food, more than I’m used to in any case.  Getting through customs/immigration was easier because there’s a ‘fast-track’ for the “important” people.  (No, I didn’t see anyone that I recognized as famous on board.  Maybe Sam-I-am?)  My taxi/driver was there (with my name spelled correctly, I might add) and it was a fairly easy drive to the hotel.  OK, I landed at 7:45 a.m. approximately and I think I was at the hotel before 9:30 a.m. so I didn’t have a room for a while obviously.  So, it seemed like a good idea to head out for a walk.  Ended up at the Museum of Natural History where there was a line to get in.  Must be that since it was Remberance Sunday, the U.K. takes Veterans Day seriously, many families bring their children to a place where they might learn something.  After stopping for some fish & chips for lunch, I made my way back to the hotel.

I apparently got ‘upgraded’ to a double room (read double bed in a room build for a single bed).  It is a very small room and since I’ve got my entire luggage that is packed for the year not just a week, there’s not much extra room in the room.  When I sit on the loo I bump my knee against the angled wall on the opposite side.  There’s no closet, no bureau, no towel racks – just a basic room.  It makes one appreciate Motel 6 (maybe this one is cleaner.)  OK, the biggie here is no free internet as I’m used to from every place in North America.

Suffering from some jet lag here which I hope clears up some by tomorrow.  I’d post some pictures of my room but I don’t have a wide angle lens so can’t get any view of exactly how small it really is.

Well, one end is in sight...

So, one more full day (filled with tasks) before I'm ready to go.  At least I'm almost packed - two suitcases (one of which is over 50#,  that's going to cost a pretty halala for my loafer!)  Ah well, it's reimbursable.  I think I've got everything packed that I'll really need for the next 12 or so months.


My next task is to figure out how and when to get to this office where am staying.  With out a good public transportation map and good idea of the best ways to get there, it is rather haphazard.  I have no clue as to how much money I'll use in this week.  Will I have some spare time to sight see?  Is there anything in the area worth seeing.


Gotta go to bed, I'll add more in the morning...


OK, so I wake up at 6:00 a.m. knowing full well I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.  It's kind of scary that I'll be an expatriate in a mere 48 more hours.  I just know I'm going to miss my wife, yes, we'll have skype but it certainly isn't the same.


Thank you to all past and present who have served in the armed forces.  Today on 11-11-11 I'm taking some time to reflect on the sacrifices you each made and are still making so that my family and I can enjoy the freedoms we have in such abundance.