Sunday: Report to work day. During Ramadan, Muslims only work 6 hours a day. The work schedule varies from company to company, but Yasref Muslims come in at 10 a.m. The compound actually runs 2 buses during the month, one at 6 and one at 9:30. We were instructed to take the late bus in, since most of HR wouldn’t be in until 10. While waiting for the bus, a British expat and my short lived roommate joined me. Another resident was leaving and stopped to offer us a ride. Another Brit. As we drove in the crazy but tempered traffic, he waited until closer to work to inform us that it was his first day driving on the Saudi roads.
Side note: The traffic is as crazy as promised. I didn’t know if the reputation had been earned from mid-westerners and Canadians who never saw more than one tractor at the stop sign moving over into a moderately large city. Nope. It’s bat excrement crazy. The major highways are lined, but these are just a suggestion. The other big roads (2 or 3 normal lanes wide, hard to tell with no demarcation) have no lines. No lanes at intersections. Sometimes they will have turn lanes. Pfft. EVERY lane is a turn lane. Turning left? If you are anywhere other than the far right lane, you better be. Driving in the far right lane to let others pass? That’s fine, but they will pass you on both sides, paved shoulder or not. Some of the highways have 120 kph limits, and they have speed humps. On the highway. We’ve been passed with no visual evidence, just a huge swoosh and rocking of the bus as the only indicators. My favorites I’ve coined Froggers. They come up to an intersection with stopped vehicles, and jump to either the shoulder or the turn lane. If timed correctly, they pop right through and swerve back into the regular lanes. So they can be in the turn lane and not turn. I’ve seen this all in one week.
First order of business was signing my employment agreement. This had been done twice before in the States, but this was the one that counted. I read it over and everything was in order. Next we went to HR and filled out an information form on the computer. I then was taken over to my department head, who had interviewed me in Houston. It was nice to see a familiar face, even one that I had only spent an hour with 5 months previous. We had a nice short meeting before he introduced me to the Reliability Section head, another American. He introduced me to a few people and told me I needed to worry about getting my paperwork completed for my Iqama and subsequent family visas before jumping into work. We took a lunch break, where I met a few other Americans and the Venezuelan Mafia – 4 recently arrived expats from…bom bom bom Venezuela. It would take a few days to get a badge, PPE, and e-mail. He logged into a computer for me and I started the application for the Saudi Council of Engineers. I had all the documents scanned in, but Yasref IT prevented me from accessing Google Drive. I caught the bus home and worked on completing the SCE application.
Monday: I caught the early bus and arrived before 7. This means I had 3 hours to kill. I had my medical exam set up for 10 a.m. that morning. I found some procedures to read and introduced myself to some people in the area. I went to HR at 10 to get a ride to medical.
This went fairly well, only because of a recommendation from a friend to carry tp with me wherever I go. They required several samples, without saying more, one of them started with s and ended with tool. Not all bathrooms have tp. This one didn’t. Other than that, the facilities were spotless, the nurses (male) proficient at needlework and the doctor sufficiently aloof.
Tuesday: 7 again. Waiting until 10 again. Safety indoctrination was scheduled for 10. I showed up and found a few Indian expats that I had met before. We sat together and made broken small talk for awhile. We’ve been instructed that things happen on Saudi time, so we weren’t concerned when we hit 10:30 with no instructor. By 11, we sent out the search party, headed by me. Well, led by default, since I was the only one. I got stuck talking to another American, so the others came out looking for help. They finally found out that the meeting was scheduled for 2 that day. Yep, time for lunch.
Back to the safety meeting. At the right time. The guy who delivered the training had this down pat. Not a glance at the screen, but made every point in the same order as the PowerPoint on the screen. About 5 minutes in, he looked in the back, said, “This gentleman is sleeping. Please stand up. Please come up here. Do you see that door? Walk through it.” I thought this guy was hardcore. Straight up gangsta, no quarter given. Mr. Bobbinhead got to the door and sheepishly looked back. “There is a washroom down the hall. Please wash your face and come back.” Then boom, back on the PowerPoint, like nothing ever happened.
Wednesday: Nothing. The machine slowed to a crawl. Talked to maintenance head again.
Thursday: I felt like Hannibal. The plan came together. Well, after 10.
I started out getting confirmation that my first payment for SCE had been made by HR. This gets the ball rolling on verification and certification, which leads to Iqama, which leads to sponsorship for the family, which leads to mia familia in Saudi. I then headed to IT to get my network access and e-mail. After lunch, I went to get my badge (needed safety indoctrination prior to this event). One failed trip, but the second visit got the job done. I then went for my PPE (Nomex shirt and pants, steel-toes, hardhat, glasses, etc). I then got to enter through the hallowed third gate and visit the refinery. I was given the vehicular tour by one of my Indian counterparts. He then took me to my temporary permanent office. I’ll have to order a PC, but it’s got a door that shuts.
I hopped the Thursday afternoon shopping bus and picked up staples for the long holiday (Eid) coming up. Had a member of the Venezuelan Mafia visit me for awhile that afternoon before crashing early on.
I made out pretty well for the first week, thanks to the Saudi government getting more and more programs online. But more so than that, the guys who’ve went through this already shared their collective knowledge with me. The experiences vary, with some steps being a breeze for some, a hurdle for others. It’s all part of Livin La Vida Saudi.
From Tennessee To Texas to Saudi Arabia 