Friday, September 6, 2013

Life in Saudi - Take 1

We officially moved to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Monday, September 2, 2013!  Dubai was a short 1 hour flight so we were in KSA in no time.  DOW paid for us to use the al fifa service when we arrived which made things much easier.  This is basically a VIP meet and greet service that allows you to bypass all the airport madness.  When we stepped off the airplane we didn't even go through the corridor.  We were met by someone who took us out of a side door and drove us to the al fifa office.  Once there we went through security and then into a very nice waiting area.  We were literally the only people there besides the security guards and airport personnel.  They took our passports and started the intake process.  Some guy brought us bottled water and hot tea in fancy tea cups on a gold platter.  Ummm okay.  Soon after we were ushered into a little office with some guard-looking man who took my fingerprints.  This is when I got my first taste of life as a woman in KSA (Disclaimer:  I've since come to realize that not all Saudi men treat women this way.)  The man behind the desk didn't look at or speak to me.  He talked to me through Harry.  This made my already anxious husband even more stressed.  At first he didn't know if the man was telling him to do something or getting him to tell me what to do.  I was just confused all around because I couldn't understand what he was saying.  I couldn't get the fingerprints done and get out of that office fast enough.  When we finished I told Harry that he really needed to calm down because him being so flustered was stressing me out just as much as trying to figure out what was going on was.  I don't even want to think about what it would have been like if we would have had to go through the airport with the lines and crowds!  Prayer time started right around the same time we went back to the waiting area which made me even more uncomfortable.  The men were praying right next to where we were sitting and I didn't know if it was appropriate for us to stay there or if we needed to move.  It didn't take long before Monther, the really nice al fifa contact guy, came to get us and bring us to another waiting area upstairs...whew!  The waiting area upstairs was just as nice as the one downstairs and we were still the only people there.  We were there for a total of about an hour and then Monther came to tell us that everything was done and we could go.  He took us out to a car that already had all our luggage loaded, gave me a tin of chocolates to welcome me to Saudi Arabia, and we took off to our new, albeit temporary, house!  (We are staying at the Las Dunas compound in Khobar for now.  After Jameson is born we will move to our actual house at the Al Jude II compound in Jubail.)  Needless to say, it was a much different experience compared to all the "fun" I had at the Dubai airport...even with the rude and uncomfortable fingerprint guy!

This is us in the waiting area in the al fifa building.


On the way to our new house!


Definitely not in Louisiana anymore!


Going through security to get into the compound for the first time was a little unnerving.  The guard looks underneath the car with a mirror and then looks under the hood.  After he's cleared the car, he moves the spikes that would have otherwise busted the tires.  Then we get to another checkpoint where the guard records the license plate number and checks credentials before opening the gate. 

Connor was so excited when we got home.  As soon as we walked through the door he said, "Our new house is perfect!"  Harry set up Connor's room before he left for Dubai as a surprise for him to find when we got there.  He loved it!








I've been here for five days now and life here is MUCH different than back home in the states.  Some things are good, some bad, some just simply different - you can decide which one is which.  So here you go...my initial thoughts/impressions about living in Saudi Arabia.

  • I've only seen two refrigerators, but neither had an ice maker.  The one at Al Jude II actually has two ice trays connected to some handle that you use to turn the trays over so the ice will dump into the ice bucket.  I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it's...well...different.
  • The light switches at the hotel in Dubai and here at Las Dunas are backwards from what we have in the states.  You push the switch down to turn the light on and push it up to turn it off.  The switches at Al Jude aren't like this though.
  • You always have to pay attention to the voltage and watts on the plugs.  I can't even keep track of what I can use where and if I need an adapter or not.  A lot of the outlets have a switch on them so you have to turn the outlet on in order to use whatever you plugged in (and yes, you have to push the switch down to turn it on).
  • The driving.  OMG, the driving.  I'm not even sure you can call it driving.  They basically do whatever they want and they honk the horn constantly!  I think the only traffic law I've seen them obey is to stop at a red light.  They literally drive in the middle of the road, pass people up on the shoulder, turn two lane roads into four lanes, jump curbs, drive as fast as they want, turn in a non-turning lane across traffic going straight, cross four lanes of traffic to exit, and turn an exit ramp into a three lane highway!  It's not so bad in actual parking lots, but along the street they will park any kind of way they feel like it.  I laughed out loud when I saw at least 10 cars parked in all different directions and at all different angles crowded around a sign that said "No Parking or Waiting".  I'm actually glad that I'm not allowed to drive here!
  • Speaking of no driving...we are driven everywhere.  We call or email someone to let them know when and where we need to go and someone comes to our door and picks us up.  I was really nervous about this, mainly because I get car sick so easily.  Thankfully we've had very good drivers and it hasn't been an issue.  They definitely don't drive like the crazy people on the road!  It's basically a chauffer service.  The guy drops us off at the door and when we are finished and ready to leave we call him and he meets us at the door to pick us up.  If we shopped and have bags, he helps load them up and unload them when we get back home.  I've talked to a few ladies who have had unpleasant experiences for one reason or another, but I don't have any complaints yet.  Of course Harry is still on vacation so he's been with me for every trip which makes a difference.  Things tend to not go as smoothly when you don't have your husband with you (or so I've been told).  I'm nervous to find out what will happen when I need something right away and have to call for a driver when I would have otherwise jumped in the car and taken off!
  • Some traffic lights have timers on them.  So you sit at the red light and watch it countdown to green.  And as soon as it turns green they're honking lol!  There are also timers for the green lights so you know how much longer it will stay green. 
  • The wheels on the store buggies are casters.  It drives me insane.  They are soooo hard to turn!
  • Trying to shop is extremely frustrating!  In most of the stores, there is no rhyme or reason for the way things are organized.  A lot of the merchandise at the first store I went into didn't have prices labeled.  The grocery stores are a little more organized, but things are definitely foreign to me right now.  It's hard to figure out what things are because the packaging is different and sometimes you have to search for the English writing amongst all the Arabic characters. 
  • Muslims pray 5 times a day, starting around 4 am.  If you are out and about you will hear the call to prayer.  If you are in a store you can continue to shop, but you can't check out until prayer is finished.  Because they pray throughout the day most stores have prayer rooms (one for men and one for women, of course).
  • A lot of the bigger chain stores have some type of restaurant or café in them.  The grocery store I went to yesterday actually had a small strip mall inside of it.
  • No ceiling fans.  At least I haven't seen any anywhere.
  • The escalators inside the stores are more like moving ramps because they don't turn into steps.  I found this extremely comical when I saw them...given the close call we had going down the escalator at the airport in Dubai!
  • I haven't seen gas prices and since we don't drive there isn't a need to even go to a gas station, but Harry said it is extremely cheap...like 60 cents a gallon cheap.
  • Most restaurants have separate dining areas.  Some of them go so far as to have separate entrances to the building.  One for families and one for single men.  I actually saw a men's line and women's line at the pharmacy in a hospital, as well as separate waiting areas.
  • Trying to do conversions has been extremely difficult, even for this former math teacher.  Turning SAR into USD, kilograms to pounds, centimeters to inches, and Celsius to Fahrenheit in your head gets confusing.
  • The language barrier is probably the most frustrating thing, for me and the person I'm trying to communicate with. 
  • Keeping track of what day and time it is here compared to back home gets confusing. 
  • The sun starts to come up around 4:30 am and it goes down around 5:00 pm.  No daylight savings time here.
  • Compound life has been really fun so far.  Once you go through the gate at the entrance it doesn't even feel like you're in Saudi Arabia, well except for the desert-like heat...that's a quick reminder!  Life inside these walls has somewhat of a family feel to it.  You are in walking distance to everyone here and to the clubhouse where all the amenities are.  Here at Las Dunas the clubhouse has a restaurant, convenient store, aerobic room, nursery, library, salon, gym, tennis court, squash court, and swimming pool.  We don't have to worry about much here.  There are people who work here that take care of most everything.  We don't even take the garbage away.  We have a garbage can outside the back door and someone comes around everyday to empty it.  If we need something done inside the house we call maintenance and they come take care of it.  We all got together last night for a pool party so I got to meet most of the people here which was really fun.  The ladies get together to do things often.  They went to lunch yesterday, but I couldn't go because I had an appointment to visit one of the hospitals.  I am going shopping with a few of them tomorrow though.  Many of the wives are starting to put different clubs and activities together to help occupy our time.
  • I had two hospitals to choose from in terms of where I wanted to deliver Jameson.  SAAD is here in Khobar and Royal Commission is in Jubail (where are permanent house is).  I visited SAAD first and was pleased with the experience.  The doctor that I met with was very nice and she was extremely thorough.  I was really hoping that I would feel just as comfortable at Royal Commission so that we could move as soon as the house is ready.  That way we could actually get settled before Jameson arrives and not have to worry about moving with a newborn.  Unfortunately it didn't take long before I realized that I would probably go back to the USA before I would have a baby there.  I felt pretty uncomfortable from the beginning because I didn't see any other non-Muslim women there which meant I was the only woman without her hair covered.  I get funny looks and stared at most places, but I felt it more so here.  Especially when I walked up to the counter and all the women in front of me in line turned around and stared at me like I was an alien....strike 1.  The intake nurse was very rude.  I was having a really hard time understanding her and she said, "Well I'm not speaking Arabic, I'm speaking English"...strike 2.  I met with the chief OB doctor there and I was satisfied with his bedside manner and explanation during the ultrasound...maybe they can turn this around after all?  Then I asked him what differences I can expect in comparison to delivering in the USA.  He said really the only difference is that they don't have epidurals available in the facility...say what?!?  Strike 3...time to go!  He said they use injections and gas as pain relievers during delivery.  I have nothing against people who choose to deliver without an epidural, but I am not one of those people.  Even so...if you don't even have the option available to use, you are not modern enough for me!
  • Last but certainly not least are the bathrooms (or toilets as they call them).  I carry around toilet paper and baby wipes because you'd be hard pressed to find it in public restrooms.  However, I've never actually used my supplies because I have always just turned right back around and decided to wait until I got home.  This coming from a 7 month pregnant women should tell you something about the condition.  They use sprayers to clean themselves, which also means that the floors are usually wet.  I have yet to figure out how/where I am going to change diapers when we go out!
Well I hope this has satisfied some of your curiosity about what it's like to live here.  There are many, many challenges and I get frustrated a lot when we are out, but then we get back home and I am in my happy place again.  I keep reminding myself that I will learn, adjust, and adapt to day to day life.  The most important thing I've learned is to always keep an open mind and think about the big picture and all the reasons why we came here in the first place.  Even during the most frustrating moments I'm trying to embrace what's different and grow as a person from it.   

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