Life in Saudi - The Bright Side

Since my last post was full of my frustrations I decided that I would come up with things that I actually like about living here...and yes, there are many things that I do like!  Some things are specific to Saudi while others are just things that I love about our life right now, things that we wouldn't have the opportunity to experience had we not moved.

First is probably the most selfish reason why I love being here.  I don't have to work!  I was a teacher for 7 years before we moved.  Now this may not seem like a long time, but ask anyone in the education field and they'll tell you that 7 years is a lifetime these days.  They should throw you a party if you make it past 5 years.  Seriously!  I can't tell you how many times I was sitting in the office at our house in the afternoon, at night, on the weekends...working...listening to Harry and Connor playing and making memories.  I feel like I don't have a care in the world now.  Not because I literally don't have a care in the world, but because I know what it's like to feel completely overwhelmed almost all the time.  Not having that feeling is amazing!  It's like I actually enjoy life now!  Some people said things like you'll get bored, I could never be a stay at home mom, yada, yada, yada!  I've felt bored maybe once or twice since I've been here and I was able to appreciate being bored!  Being able to stay home allows me to do things that I never had the time or energy to do, like cook.  I looked forward to cooking and I'm really enjoying it.  It's hard to explain, but basically I feel like a wife and a mother now instead of a teacher that's married and has a son.

The funny thing is, the next thing I love about being here is Harry's work.  I know that as time goes on he will have to start working more, but transitioning from a life of shift work and endless overtime has been awesome!  He is home every night and every weekend!  They have been extremely helpful and understanding about my pregnancy and everything that comes with having a baby under the circumstances.  It hasn't always been easy and we've hit some bumps along the road, but in the end it has always worked out and lots of people have gone above and beyond to help.  They have even started to allow him to work from home until the baby gets here!  We are so grateful for that considering the site is an hour an a half away from where we live.  Jameson will be the first baby born here with the project so we are kind of like the guinea pigs when it comes to the logistics of everything.  We are learning as we go because no one has "been there and done that" yet.  It's pretty neat that he will be the first Dow/Sadara baby born in KSA, but it definitely has caused some stress and confusion at times!

Considering that I dread going out to do things like shop, going to the doctor is actually easy (at least all my experiences at SAAD hospital have been)!  Much, much easier than in the US!  You can almost guarantee that you will be seen at or within a few minutes of your appointment time.  You definitely don't sit around wondering why you have an 11:00 appointment when it's 11:30 and you're still in the waiting room!  The Saudi girls at the reception desk are a real pain in the rear to deal with, but I just give them the same attitude right back and continue along my merry way.  Even though the nurses and doctors get you in and out in what feels to me like record timing, they are still very thorough.  I brought Connor to the doctor for the first time last week.  His appointment was at 10:15.  We were walking out of the hospital at 10:35 to go back home.  In 20 minutes we saw the doctor and got two prescriptions filled at the pharmacy.  Walgreens doesn't hold a candle to this pharmacy.  They are extremely efficient!  The doctor puts the prescription in the computer and then gives you a slip of paper with a barcode and your file number on it before you leave their office.  Then you go downstairs to the pharmacy, give them the paper, and they give you a number.  You sit down and wait for your number to appear on the screen to let you know which window to go to.  When it's your turn, you go to the window to get the medicine and instructions...that's it!  The longest I've waited has been probably 5 minutes!

Even though my last post was mainly about how I was so annoyed with not being able to drive, it's really nice to have drivers, especially the good ones!  Trust me, you don't want to drive here!  There are a handful of them that we love and are so happy to see when they come to get us!  It makes the car ride a whole lot less awkward when you can talk to them as if they were a friend.  And as weird as it sounds some of them do start to feel like one of your friends...especially when you see them every day.  Almost all of them love Connor and he has started to remember them by name.  A few have become protective of us when we go out.  The other day we were on our way to Babies R Us when I realized that we forgot the gift cards at home.  We were almost there and prayer time was almost over so I told Harry that Connor and I would wait in the mall for prayer to finish while he went back home to get the gift cards.  Harry texted me on his way back to tell me that the guy was hustling to get there and back and that he didn't like leaving us there.  We weren't in any danger or anything.  I think he just didn't like the idea of us being there without someone.  The guy that is on call to bring me to the hospital stopped by yesterday just to check on me and ask how I was feeling.  When you think about it, these guys are here to work just like Harry is and have to find friendship in strangers just like we do.

We spend a lot of time together and our life is really laid back!  We don't have many options when it comes to things to do around here, but that is okay.  We do things as a family that we probably wouldn't do together back home because there are so many other distractions, places to go, and people to see.  We take walks around the compound while Connor rides his bike, have lunch outside on the patio, play games, watch movies, and read books.  It took me three days to make a crib skirt for Jameson's bed, but it didn't matter!  I've got the time!  I go to coffee morning with the ladies on the compound once a week.  We laugh and have a great time and just walk back home whenever we feel like it!  Some may disagree, but I enjoy not having somewhere to be everyday.  We lead sort of a simple (sometimes lazy) life here, but I love it!

I love living on a compound!  It really feels like we are in our own little world inside these walls.  Actually, when I think about it, we kind of are in our own little town...smack in the middle of Khobar.  Our friends stop by to visit and we stop and chat with people sitting outside while we are on one of our walks.  We can let Connor ride his bike without much worry...since none of us can drive, there isn't much traffic on the road!  He knows how to get to and from the clubhouse and he can tell you where a few people live.  His favorite thing to do while riding his bike is jump the speed bumps.  We walk to the restaurant for dinner on Fridays while the cleaning guy is here.  If we have a craving for ice cream or a cold beer 0.0% alcohol malt beverage we go to the store in the clubhouse.  Before we came here I was completely obsessed with the tv show Lost.  I watched every episode of every season in a matter of about two months.  I often joke with Harry that we live in the little village on Lost...the one they live in when they go back in time...minus Jacob, the smoke monster, and the Dharma Initiative of course.  What makes it feel even more like Lost is that the maintenance guys and yard guys all wear overalls, the Coaster buses, and the fact that we are kind of self sufficient in here.  Speaking of the guys that work here...Connor loves them and they get a kick out of him too.  He loves to get way ahead of us when he rides his bike.  I guess he feels independent without us right beside him.  We laugh as we watch him waving and saying hello to the guys as he rides by.  Some of them stop him and give him a high five.  It's quite funny!

I love that we now have friends from all over the world, while also realizing how small the world really is!  Connor's best friend here is from the Netherlands and even though I'm not sure where all his classmates are from, I know that none of them are from the US.  I have made friends with most of the ladies here and I've had a great time getting to know them.  A few of them even got together and gave me a baby shower!  I definitely didn't expect it, but I loved that they did that for me.  About 30 ladies came, some from other compounds, and some that I had never even met!  You quickly realize that while we come from different countries and cultures, we are all very much the same.  One day we are hanging out with our friends from Canada or stopping to chat with someone from Argentina, and the next day we run into someone from Lockport, Louisiana while grocery shopping!  I know that our lives have already been enriched just in our short time here!

I love the iced tea here and I've also come to like the abaya (most of the time).  I don't know why the tea here is so good, but it is!  They serve it with simple syrup as a sweetener, not packets of sugar or splenda.  The weird thing is that it usually tastes different everywhere I go, but 99% of the time I love it!  It will definitely be one of the things I miss about living here lol!  Now that the weather has cooled off some, I actually don't mind having to wear the ababya most of the time.  It definitely has it's advantages because you don't really have to think about what to wear...it doesn't matter anyway.  I can't tell you how many times I've brought Connor to and from school or gone to the grocery store or the mall in my pajamas!  You could, if you really wanted to, go without a bra...just saying...not that I know anything about that ;)

And last but certainly not least, the best thing about life in Saudi right now is that we have only days left before Jameson arrives (hopefully).  We are so looking forward to becoming a family of four!  I'll leave you with the only "belly picture" that you're probably going to get!