So a few days ago I told you I finally received my Iqama and once I had that doors all over the Kingdom would now be open to me, so to speak! The day after I got the Iqama I submitted the paperwork to get my Saudi driver’s license. A couple of days later I have an appointment at the Saudi version of DMV, at 7:30 in the morning. Woo hoo…..I am on my way! One of the great things about working for a large company in the Middle East is that the process for most of the crazy stuff we have to do has been done so many times it’s second nature to the locals. One of the guys from transportation drove me out to the DMV (or whatever it’s called here) in his car and I’m ever so thankful that he did – I would have NEVER found it! We turn off the highway onto a gravel drive, through a gate and into an area that initially looked abandoned until I see all the men lined up to take the driving test! There must have been a couple hundred and I’m thinking “OH NO!” I’ll be here all day! But NO, I work for Jacobs and I have an escort! We are driving through a very large parking lot, passing lots of empty spaces and I’m thinking….uh, do you not see any of the empty spaces?? Hello!! He gets us to the entry and actually pulls up onto the sidewalk and drives to a “parking spot” in front of the door!! I asked if this was his “personal” parking space but alas, he doesn’t have any idea what I just said. We go in and he motions for me to have a seat – he’ll stand in line for me!! Cool huh?! So while he stands in line I read my book! Anyway, he gets to the window and motions for me to come up. All I have to do is put my left thumb print on the paperwork and we’re done! For Americans to get a Saudi license we don’t have to do anything other than some paperwork!
Back to the office and my normal day and to wait. The next morning when I should be receiving my driver’s license another guy from transportation walks up to my desk with my paperwork: my license had been denied!!! i see some red Arabic at the bottom and he proceeds to tell me my application was denied because, and I quote, “Denied, Ladies are not allowed to drive in the Saudi Arabia”! What?? By now all the guys around me are getting quite a laugh. Then I get the rest of the story. Apparently when I entered the Kingdom at the end of October on my newly acquired work visa the guy in immigration checked the “Female” box and NOT the “Male” box!! Seriously??!! My pictures are all over every document and in my opinion I am definitely a guy or I’m the ugliest lady ever to enter the Kingdom!! So now I’m a “lady” to the officials here! In order to fix the mix-up I had to send my passport and Iqama to some official office to get gender realignment!!
I can now say I have my gender corrected passport and Iqama back! However, I’m still waiting for my driver’s license!

There was another first for me here this week. It rained 2 days! It didn’t just rain, it stormed! I was sitting here in my apartment and saw flashes and deep rumblings and I’ll admit my first thoughts were NOT a storm! Happily it turned out to be lightning and thunder. The storm pounded this area for a couple of hours and the rain came in sheets….what a wonderful change. But the next morning, other than wet, sometimes flooded roads there wasn’t much to indicate such a powerful storm the night before.

I took a short video of the storm but I can’t seem to figure out how to get it off my phone and into this post…..I tried.

I just went through what I wrote….wow, I’m wordy! Sorry about that. I’ll spare you anymore this evening. Time for me to go to bed anyway.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, was a good day! I finally received my Iqama!! I’m guessing that you have no idea what I’m talking about do you?! In Saudi the Iqama is the equivalent of the US “Green Card”.  It is pronounced pretty much like “E-comma”.  At least that’s the way I hear it!  I started working to get this little brownish, laminated card about my second week in Kingdom…..that would be the second week of August and I got it today! Tomorrow, or maybe Tuesday, I hope to get my multi-entry visa which will then allow me to come and go as often as I please. This is a very important visa as it will allow me to move to Bahrain if I so choose. I believe I will “so choose”! I don’t dislike my apartment here in Khobar but I would like to be able to go see a movie or go bowling on a weekend. There are many benefits to living where I do now, above a very large shopping mall, but I think I want to give Bahrain living a try. I’m pretty sure that if the commute gets to be too much I’ll be able to come back here though maybe not to this particular apartment. This has been a very comfortable, safe, quiet and enjoyable place to live but I want a bit more freedom and to get that I need to move. I think this coming weekend I’ll head over to Bahrain early Friday morning to beat the traffic on the causeway and once there look for a new place to call home. A lot of the expats working here in Khobar live in Bahrain so there is a good chance that I’ll be able to find a carpool as well. I’ll keep you posted.

Now back to the Iqama. This little card makes many things possible here, such as; opening a Saudi bank account, getting an ATM card, buying a cell phone, buying a “personal hot spot”, get the local health insurance, get a Saudi drivers license! Of course getting a local drivers license will lead to much improved driving on my part! I just wish it would help all the other guys on the road!

This past Thursday evening I went to dinner with 2 of the guys that I work with, who are both from the States, at Outback Steak House located on the Corniche.  The following evening they invited me to their apartment (They share an apartment as neither believe they will be here very long).    They split the cost of a nice Weber BBQ and had decided to break it in.  So we had smoked chickens, beef, veggies and some misc. stuff.  A very good meal!!  I am now thinking that I might want to get a little Weber one of these days.  The meat tasted really good!  The only thing keeping me from getting a BBQ is that I’m thinking about moving to Bahrain and if I do that I may not have a patio/deck where I could actually use it.  Most of the buildings where other expats live in Bahrain don’t have decks and are high-rises.  I plan to go over next weekend to check into it.  There is another reason….I don’t have a lot of space so the more I accumulate the more I have to move and deal with over time.  Do I want to do that?!  I’ve already got a LOT of stuff here not to mention the 200+ pounds of what I brought from the States on my two trips here.

Granite pavers for the sidewalk……only here! This too is at the Corniche.

It was a beautiful morning at the Corniche…..again!

Guess I’ll post this and follow up with another this week about my trip to Bahrain.

During lunch the day of the dust/sand storm!

This is about the same view on a normal day..

Had a new experience this week:  sand and dust storm!!  Ok, so it wasn’t like in the movies where it comes as a wall of sand a thousand feet high with a snarling face but it did “roll in” across the gulf of all places!  Kind of ironic that the dust came from the water!  I know this because I sat at my desk and watched it roll in!  It resembled fog as it blocked out the light and visibility.  For any of you that have lived in the Midwest and have seen tornado weather, it was very similar to what it looks like when the weather is perfect for a tornado.  I walked to lunch that day which was without a doubt a mistake!  I was, yet again, thankful for the “farm boy” in me that insists on having a bandana in my back pocket at all times!  On my way back to the office I probably looked a bit like a “dandy bandit” with my dress shirt, jacket, bow tie and bandana around my face!!!  I’ll leave that for your mental picture.  Just breathing was tough and I’m absolutely sure it was equally bad for my lungs too!  I coughed for a couple hours after getting back into the office.  When we left work that evening I was reminded of winters in the Midwest and how an early light snowfall looked at night.  The lights had halos around them, there was drifting as the wind blew the dust around and there was a layer of dirt all over my nice clean car!  The next day though the air was clear and it was back to normal.  I’m just happy it didn’t rain that day!  One of the guys I work with was in Jeddah when it rained MUD!  There was so much dust and dirt in the air that by the time the rain drops got to ground it had become glops of mud!!  Yuck!  He said it was really nasty.

This is week 14 of my 2 year commitment….it’s going OK.  Honestly at this point I’m not able to say whether or not I’d re-up at the end.  There are good things but there is so much that has to be given up when living in Saudi.  Things we take for granted every day at home.  I think I told you before but I bought a candle for my apartment and it took me 2 weeks to find a lighter (never did find matches!) so I could use it!  I really miss the civilized driving in LA though!!  Until you’ve driven here you’ll think I’m totally nuts so just take my word for it!!  I’m getting used to driving the wrong way on a one-way, not stopping at stop signs, crossing lanes (all of them!) without using a signal, honking and pretty much parking just wherever I feel like it!!  I’ll have to amend my ways when I get back to the States!

I was at a very large hardware store last Saturday and saw somethings I’d never seen before.  Like the boxes of inflatable spas and pools where someone had been given the task of taking a black marker and “putting cloths” on the bikini clad women in the pictures!  There were short sleeves and long sleeves…. (see photo below)  But then there are some really advanced and modern bath tubs and showers!  Thought I’d taken a picture of this one shower unit but I guess I didn’t.  It was incredible!  Picture a half-round enclosure with radiused glass doors that slide on tracks.  This shower had color changing LED lighting, multiple shower heads, steam ports, seating for 3 (!) with rotating back scrubbers and on one side of the enclosure a powered foot scrubber but the best of all…..this thing had a waterproof TV and sound system in it!!  That thing was like a spa vacation in a box! I think the only missing items would be an espresso machine and refrigerator!!  I’m already accused of spending too much time in the bathroom…..can you imagine if I had one of these??  I might have to quit my job!

I think that every day I have at least one “…wow, look at that…” moment!  I’m not judging!  It’s just that I’d never thought of whatever it is in that way.  Here is an example: I see many people just open the window of their car and chuck out trash, this on a daily basis!  At first I was appalled and could not believe the total lack of care for the environment or how the roads look.  Then, I was informed that IF people didn’t toss trash on the road all the East Indian guys with brooms and buckets would not have jobs.  See what I mean?  Different perspective!  Ok, so I still take my trash into the apartment or office to discard but I sort of get it now and try not to be as offended.

High tech bathtub!

Look closely at the picture of the lady on this box….

Did I tell you about the practice of tipping here?  Well, there really isn’t one.  That said, I tip and when I go back to places where I eat and tip I’m treated extremely well!  So much different here than in the States where if you don’t leave 20 to 25% you might get spit in your dinner!!  Here 10% gets you the “royal” treatment!  Some of the service workers only make about 50 riyal a day.  That’s about $13!  So when I leave 10 or 15 riyals for a tip it makes a huge difference in that persons income.  Trust me, I have NEVER felt wealthy, ever, but living here has made me at least feel extremely fortunate, a feeling I hope to maintain even after I’ve been back home for a while.  We really are extremely fortunate living in the US.  I won’t get onto a political platform so you can relax now!!

Time to take a shower and get ready to go to dinner with a couple of the guys I work with.  We’ll either do Thai at a total “hole-in-the-wall” or Outback Steakhouse.  We were supposed to have dinner with our Scottish friend but he fortunately was able to get out of the country and home for a couple of weeks.  He has been having major visa and passport issues.  Last week we heard his passport had been taken by the police and he was in danger of getting put in jail for 90 days as well as a 10,000 riyal ($2,665) fine followed by being banned from working in the Kingdom!!  I’m very happy to know that as I write this he will be at home in Scotland and with his wife!

Have a good weekend!  More later…..

Oh, have to tell you this before I forget!  I took a drive into a part of the Eastern Province I’d never been to this morning after my run at the beach.  I came across a crew of construction guys digging up a busted water line in the street.  It was pretty much the same as you’d see at home; one guy sitting on a backhoe, one guy in the hole with a shovel digging and 4 guys standing around doing nothing.  Again, typical road crew at home.  The difference…..they were wearing utility company issued uniforms, gloves, hardhats and….wait for it…..wait….. sandals!!!  Ok, that was it….gotta go now.

I just realized that it’s been over a month since I last made an entry!  It’s been busy and I’ve been in the States for a good chunk of that time.  I left for my first trip home on October 2nd.  The flights out of Dammam are rather limited so I was on one that left at 4:30am.  I thought that I’d go to work on Oct 1st, go back to the apartment and get some sleep then have my ride pick me up about 1:30am.  Since my departure day was also the beginning of Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and Eid (week long holiday) the transportation department at work insisted that I get to the airport no later than 11:30pm on the 1st.  I didn’t know this until I got to work that day so hadn’t planned to be up for 3 days straight!  The airport wasn’t as busy as I think they thought it was going to be but it did still take me about 2 hours to get checked in and through customs and security.  I’m also the type of person that HATES to be “cutting it close” when it comes to air travel.  The Dammam airport really doesn’t have much to do while waiting for flights in the middle of the night!  I bought a cheese sandwich, diet Pepsi and read my book.  My flight from Dammam to Dubai (about 1 hour and 15 minutes) was mostly uneventful except for the guy in the middle seat next to me that apparently felt that at least part of my seat belonged to him as well!  What a jerk!!  Thank goodness the flight was so short and he wasn’t on my 18 hour flight to LA!!  I would probably have been arrested when we landed!  Once we got to Dubai the sun was up and it was a beautiful day.  The first thing I noticed when I got off the plane were women without coverings!!  Woohoo…..  In my time here I’ve learned to avoid looking in the general direction of women but the occasional really nice pair of shoes will catch my eye!  I think I just walked into the terminal and stood there for a few minutes just looking around.  The next thing that struck me was that the terminal was TOTALLY packed with people!!  I’ve been to busy airports before and I’ve been to Dubai before and never have I seen this many people packed in.  It was difficult to walk.  I ended up asking someone working in one of the stores what was going on and he told me that this particular day happens once a year and everything, EVERYTHING in the shops is 20% off.  That includes everything from candy bars to watches costing tens of thousands of dollars!!  I was in line behind a very tall (probably 6′-3″) beautiful blond woman who was shopping for perfume and bought just under $3000 USD in that single purchase!!  I made a comment about her really liking the Tom Ford line of perfume and she told me that she does this every year because it’s the cheapest you’ll ever find Tom Ford.  Ok, I get that, but $3000 really??!!  She had several other bags so based on what I saw I can only imagine how many thousands she had spent!  I’m guessing that day sees sales at the Dubai airport in the millions!

So, after eventually making my way through the terminal to my connecting gate I pleasantly found out the plane was about half full!!  And this is how I think…..if it’s half full they must have available seats in Business and First Class, so really, how much would an upgrade cost?!  I’m thinking that getting a couple hundred is better than having those seats empty….yeah?  Oh no!  For me to upgrade it was going to be just under $3000!!!  I admit that I’m now a snob when it comes to sitting in coach or economy as they call it when it’s an international flight but even I won’t consider paying that much for more room and better food!  In retrospect maybe I should have!  I’ll get to that in a bit.  Anyway, I get on and take my “economy” seat.  At least I’m on the aisle with an aisle behind my seat as well.  I learned on my flight over that this is a very good seat to be in as one can stand behind and still have headphones connected and watch movies.  I would have had a row to myself if some guy hadn’t decided to take the seat at the other end of the row.  There went my chance to lay down! I would have asked that he move but I’m much to timid or nice to do that.  Surprisingly I was not as tired as I should have been so I started out watching movies.  Actually I started ready my book but once we got off the ground and all the announcements were done then I started watching movies.  Don’t ask me what movies I watched….I have no idea and I started to try to remember but decided that it wasn’t worth the effort because most likely you don’t really care anyway!

The flight from Dubai to LAX was just over 18 hours and it went pretty well.  I met a 12 year old kid from India that just competed in a Rubic’s Cube contest.  He was the youngest there though he didn’t win.  I asked him about how long he’s been doing the “cube” and he said about a year.  The flight attendant then asked him how long his average time was for solving the “cube” and he told us it was around….get this….40 seconds!!  To which she promptly said what I was thinking….show us!  He handed it to her and she twisted and turned until it looked thoroughly mixed up and handed it back.  The kid then looked at all 6 sides then looked up and said he was ready.  The flight attendant said “go” and his fingers took off in a blur.  Several times during his maneuvering of the cube he was looking at us and not at the cube!!  38 seconds later and it’s done!  Wow!  I told the kid’s mother that I had solved the cube once when I was young.  The middle white block is a sticker that covers a screw holding it all together…..I took the screw out and put it back together the put the screw back in.  So, which of us is the most impressive; me or the 12 year old that followed the rules??  Don’t respond – I don’t really want to know what you think!!  Hahaha…

Here comes the part about why I maybe should have considered paying $2.77/minute.  About 3 to 4 hours before we got to LA I started to notice that my left leg was beginning to hurt.  Yup, you guessed it – blood clots!  You know, those things that can kill you and they are always telling you to make sure you avoid when on long flights!  The frustrating part is that I was up walking around, standing, stretching – I even used the restroom at the top of the stairs just so I could go up and down stairs!  My first week at home had me in my doctor’s office twice, at an imaging center and then the pharmacy.  Before I came back I was at the doctor 5 times!  Now I’m on blood thinner most likely for the rest of my life!  It really sucks to get old!  I’m now on this drug called Xarelto (rivaroxaban).  The first 3 weeks of the prescription was $535!  Thank goodness for insurance!!  I brought back a 90 day supply because that’s how long I’m going to be here before I can get back and get more.  The tablets are small but look like little orange Ninja throwing stars and in some ways are just as dangerous.  Apparently the “downside” to this drug is there is no way to counteract its effect.  So if I’m in an accident and I’m bleeding the only way to keep me from bleeding out is to continuously transfuse until this drug is flushed from my system!  Now I’m afraid of a paper cut!  Or at least I was until this afternoon when I got one!  It only took about 10 minutes to stop bleeding!!  Woohoo….I’m alive!

I had a great time at home overall.  Got to see friends and hang out and get paid for it too!!  Of course there were stresses but I won’t bore you with those!

Now I’m back in Saudi and just completed my first full week back.  Only 11 to go before I get to come home again!!  The weather is actually about perfect here now; upper 80’s to low 90’s during the day and mid 70’s at night.  Of course there is the sun though I did experience a cloud this afternoon while sleeping by the pool!  Must be fall!!