I’ve not done much until today on updating the blog. I threw a few posts together and got them out, but it was just up to the point of landing in Saudi Arabia.
My first few days are a complete haze by this point. I was sleeping, watching T.V. trying to go to sleep, sleep walking, or showering.
Thursday: I arrived at the villa with my traveling companion, who was waiting for final clean-up of his villa. They were going to send him to the Holiday Inn to wait, but I had plenty of room for him to spend the day instead of paying for a room. We cranked up the air conditioners and rested, me on the couch and him upstairs on one of the beds. We went to the compound reception area to meet with the manager, but he wasn’t in yet. We took a short stroll around the compound and gave him time to arrive. He introduced himself as Cal. Then I heard him talk some more and figured out he was a South African whose name was Carl. He shut the door and offered us a couple of waters, safe from the view of any Muslims fasting for Ramadan. He assured us the other villa would be ready by 4 and offered to take us on a tour of the compound.
We started off with a visit to a few villas to see the layouts of others. We then visited the exercise room and squash courts, then went upstairs to the camp restaurant, which has a nice patio area overlooking a pool and set of tennis courts. Each group of villas is organized around a pool and/or tennis courts, with 16 pools in total. We walked by the small market, which has come in handy several times already. The prices are fair and the clerk doesn’t speak much English, but is very friendly and always smiling. We then made the trek over to the basketball court, soccer “peetch” (according to “Cal”), covered playground, a short little par 3 hole (around 40 yards), small cages that serve as a driving range, and a large putting green. While walking, we passed many workers busy watering, cleaning, maintaining, and one that appeared to be hiding.
We went back to the villa to sleep some more. This time, I made the decision to make the bed up and get some real rest. I heard a knock at the bedroom door at 4, my coworker telling me his villa was ready and he was moving his stuff over.
I visited D&M, a couple who were a tremendous help to us while making the decision and preparing to leave. They have two sons, and when the youngest walked in carrying a Minecraft diamond sword, I knew Cade had somebody to hang out with. They let me bum their internet, so I placed a Magic Jack call to Greene. It was the best medicine, hearing her voice for the first time since Istanbul. The stress melted away.
I made a quick tour of the compound market. Enough to sustain a bachelor, if needed.
I went to the restaurant that night for supper. I’ve been told all the food is good, which agrees with my small sample size, and the prices are cheap, also confirmed by my experience.
Friday: Don’t care what you say, Friday was stolen from me. Never happened.
Saturday: I went Saturday morning to pay for my internet. I passed the bus stop and saw my traveling companion/temporary roomate waiting for the shopping bus. There is a bus (mainly for the women and newly arrived men) that travels to the mall and supermarket on some days, then to old Yanbu on other days. It typically leaves at 9, but I had noticed on the camp T.V. channel that it would be 9:30 during Ramadan. I stopped and talked to him, let him know about the later time, then went to take care of internet. I paid for the installation and 6 months of service, and was told that it would be up to 3 weeks. Pete, the receptionist, made it very clear that it would be 3 weeks. He hoped it would be sooner, but do not call unless it has been 3 weeks. Saudi time.
I went back to the bus stop to wait. We left at 9:30 with one other guy, a Canadian in Public Relations. He had been here about 3 weeks, and I think made the trip just as much to help us out as to pick up things for himself. Our first stop was the Dana Mall, with the Panda Hypermarket attached to it. Most of the mall stores were closed. Ramadan hours vary greatly, but typically run from sometime in the afternoon/evening until late at night. The Panda was open, so I made my first grocery trip.
Now, the bus gets to the mall around 9:30. It returns to the compound at 12. We had decided to try to do both grocery stores (Panda and Star) within that time, so we gave ourselves about an hour in each one. Long story short, I’ve now been twice and still don’t know my way around. Or what is cheap and what is expensive. This will get better when I get my Iqama and can then rent a car. I will be able to go and slowly peruse and comparison shop.
I made a mad dash around, picking up some essentials and trying to make note of locations of other items. I checked out and walked down to Saco, the only other store open at the time. It’s a hardware store at heart, but like so many shops here, there is really no rhyme or reason to what they carry or don’t carry.
I got back and resumed my quest for sleep. I had just dozed off when the villa phone started ringing. I shook the cobwebs off and started to the phone, but missed the call. I resumed my position on the couch, and was soon interrupted by a knock at the door. The gentleman was there to install my internet. Shortest 3 weeks of my life, but at the time I was concerned I had just slept for 3 weeks.
People say it’s nice to get away from technology. Those people have never been forced to live without it. Communication lines were opened back up and I felt much better about being reached/being able to reach someone if needed. The emergency options were expensive, and it’s nice to be able to send a stupid text just because you can. And not have to proofread every word 8 times to make sure auto-correct didn’t change the intent of your message causing a $0.50 follow-up clarification. So a FaceTime that night let me see everyone’s smiling faces.
From Tennessee To Texas to Saudi Arabia 