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
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
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