Update 3 - Poll Hall, Shisha Joint, and Work

  This last week some coworkers and myself discovered a place that has pool tables and a really nice indoor cafe. It's a ten minute walk from the compound and it just opened up a couple of weeks ago. Prices are nice and they make one mean espresso, for six riyals! It's a cool get away to go and grade papers and just relax while watching Twilight or soccer games. lol

 Just five minutes up the road is a cool shisha (flavored tobacco) place that is about as close as you're going to get to experiencing Saudi culture from where I stand. I'm no smoker, but the hookah is an interesting device that filters the tobacco through water and into the pipe. I've done it a couple of times, and have no interest of making a habit of it. I've tried double apple and it tends to be the sweetest, from what I hear. It's an odd scene seeing dozens of Saudi men yelling at the workers for more coal on their hookah to burn away the tobacco. 

 Work is going well and my class is progressing a long nicely. Life this week is pretty normal and nothing major to discuss. There is a visit this Thursday to a date farm in the morning, I look forward to tasting some good dates and to taking some nice photos to post. 

 Just a quick post before bed. It's time to sleep and get ready for another day in the Kingdom. 

 -  Jesse

Flea Market, Apartment Decorating, etc....

  Hello one and all.

 Life continues here in KSA and things are finally in normal mode. Work is pretty much routine by now and my day-to-day life is pretty much what you'd expect it to be: work, eat, sleep, and the occassional cultural experience.

 This weekend (my Thursday and Friday), I went to a local flea market with a few teachers from the compound. The market consisted of mostly farmers selling their wide variety of fruits and vegetables. The big thing over here for fall is the variety of apples that are being imported from the US and Egypt. According to my friend, Chris B., a crate of apples was selling for 20 riyals (about 5 USD). I plan on going back to it to buy some vegetebles in bulk (lettuce, tomatoes, etc...)

 While at the market, I went to the butchers section that was there. To my bewilderment, there was before me many camel and cow heads at the various butcher shop stalls. One of the butchers encouraged us to hold one the heads and take a picture. While my stomach was twirling itself in knots, I subjected myself to an everday occurence to them and truly got to know where my meat comes from. The picture below, while gruesome, was quite an experience and a positive one at that.

  After I was done holding decapitated camel heads and the like, I went over to the old women who were selling some handmade baskets and eating mats made out of dried palm branches. I decided that I wanted to buy a big four foot eating mat to hang on a big white wall in my place. My apartment, while nice and big, really lacks decor and does not feel like home. So, I bought this lovely piece (see picture below) for 45 riyals (13 USD) and hung it up. It makes all the difference to the place and I absolutely love looking at the dark red/green pattern in the middle.

  In other news, I'm still trying to plan something for the eid break that I have in November. Ten days off and I'm not sure what to do, if anything, or where to go. There is talk about a trip to Mada'in Saleh, the sister city of Petra, in Jordan. That would be great to see, but it's a tad pricy. Time will tell. 'Inshallah'

 Back to work.....

 - Jesse

Update 2

   Good morning from KSA! The mornings are now lovely without being too hot and just cool enough not to sweat. I go into work at 8:30 this morning and it will be another day of juggling a classroom full of students who speak good English, but who are bored with the listening book. They will accustomize themselves, I hope.

 This last week has been pretty 'normal' as far as things go, or so I think. This week is actually my first full week of work! It's my 'Thursday' here, actually it's Tuesday (see previous posts). Our program has been getting more teachers this week which means less covering by yours truly and my other colleagues! We found out that we start getting overtime this week! Yay for more money! I've worked four hours overtime on top of my normal classes, so I'm getting excited for October's paycheck which will be divied out in November. My first pay day is tomorrow!!!! It's only two-thirds of a check since the contract started on the tenth.

 My friend Dan, from Oz, and I had a great Indian dinner the other night near the compound where we live. It cost us 7.5 Riyals (2.15 USD). It consisted of beef, two curries, Pepsi, and some lovely flat bread. Afterwards, we decided to check out the neighborhood where we live, the backstreets of it anyway. This little treck turned into a three hour 'how to get back home' expedition as we got lost in the backstreets of Al-Mubarraz, the 'technical' city where I live next to Al-Hofuf. No worries, we took it like men and did what anyone else would have done: look to the sky for heavenly lights! hehehe.... The Al Othaim Mall where we live puts hugs spot lights in the air to attract attention and so we were following those in circles for about two hours..... just to find out the one we were following was the Al-Ahsa Intercontinental Hotel, Hofuf's premier luxury 5 star hotel! We were still a ways from home once we gauged our mental GPS's.

 Along the way, we stopped into an amazing backery that had a huge number of candies and types of 'beklava'. We chose to buy 1.2 pounds worth (1/2 kilo) for 30 Riyals (7 USD). Further down the way, we passed a rug shop. The first rug shop I've seen in KSA..... so, I bought a rug! It cost me 300 Riyals (77 USD) and is now on my living room floor adding positive vibes the bareness of my apartment, which is very spatious. I carried this thing for about a mile home and smiled as I opened the door to my airconditioned flat. After a rest, Dan and I opened the beklava and went home on the tray of goodies that we carried and did not open until we were back.

 My vacation in November keeps evolving. I'm not really sure where I'm going and keep changing my mind as to whether or not I want to stay in KSA or head to a near by place. Either way, this vacation will be small compared to the big one in January. I have to decide soon as my first break is less than four weeks away now. I'll have to see how far the money goes and how much to send home, etc..... For the first time.... well, ever, I have the time and the money (sort of) to go places. Now, it's about putting priorities in order. But what's life without a little fun?! :-) Afterall, I've already taken the plunge inside the Kingdom, that certainly deserves two or three trips per year somewhere..... hehehe...

 All's well inside the Kingdom.

 - Jesse