It is not a given that this post will be published on the blog in a timely manner but it is being written around 1:30 pm on the 11th. I am writing this at the compound restaurant that has one of the most diverse menus I’ve ever run across. French, British (fish and chips), Indian, Chinese, Thai, burgers are all on the menu. I certainly hope that the food is not compromised by the vastness of the menu. I am drinking a non alcoholic beer called Holstein that tastes more like a cow than a beer. And I have to admit, this is likely one of the few times I’ve ever needed a beer.
My flight in on Emirates airline for all practical purposes was an air India, or Bangladesh, or Pakistan for that matter. I don’t quite know how they knew the gate agent was ready to begin the pre-boarding process, but 150 people qued within 20 seconds. It was the fastest mass movement of humanity I have ever seen. I was able through a stroke of luck to board the aircraft prior to 80% of them. I say it was luck……however; I was watching the first one and got the jump on the second. I am trying to be open minded and such. Many people who read this blog likely think of me as inflexible, and I agree when it comes to doing things right or wrong, correctly or half assed. I like to think of myself as highly flexible and adaptable to new situations. But the smell of that plane made me lose my appetite. I tried the fasting Ramadan thing but admitted that I did have a banana and a bottle of water. I was hungry enough to eat airline food until they closed the door of the cabin.
When I got off the airplane in Riyadh, I was reminded of how pretty the interior of the terminal was and very much reminded of how small it was when it was time to get in line for immigration. I waited in line for a solid hour and moved 6 ft. While waiting, the lines had degenerated into a sprawling mass which the immigration official qued back up. I guess being white is quite an advantage because the immigration official read my passport and sent me to a much smaller line of ‘Europeans’. I then got sent to an empty line because I was the only American and got through immigration in 2 minutes. I found a porter and all of the baggage had been unloaded so we located the bags and boxes and went to the arrival area. Every other part of my trip had been fraught with misadventure; I was quite prepared to not be met at arrival at the airport. Perhaps the most welcome sight of the last month was a sign held up by a man that said “PHILIP WORTH”. This was the company’s driver and I met the Director of the school. I paid the porter…WAAAAAAY more than I expected to. The going rate is about $5 per item. We were forced to use a taxi and the company car. I rode in the taxi with a majority of my belongings following the company car to the compound. If I thought drivers in Dubai were nuts then I obviously wasn’t giving them enough credit. The taxi driver attempted to (NASCAR TERM) bump draft the school car. This time I was determined to die with my eyes open. We made it to the compound from the airport in about 20 minutes even though it’s a 40 minute drive.
The compound looks a lot like a retirement village in Arizona except with far more .50 caliber machine guns. There were two gates to go through that a Sherman tank would have difficulty in surmounting, razor wire and guards that checked the engine bay and trunk and mirrors to look underneath. The taxi was not allowed into the second gate and the driver told me “There were many problems with this compound” I asked if taxi drivers or residents had problems and when he told me drivers, it added a level of comfort for my visit.
The house we have has two dens a formal sitting room, dining area, a kitchen with a six person table, three bedrooms and two and a half baths……I don’t know how we made do with such a small house these past four years. I was able to sneak on an unsecure connection to email Chris and post my FB status. Currently all of the network connections are secure and I can’t log on. It will take several days to get the internet up and running and it’s the weekend here. The house needs a good scrubbing and I can’t (won’t) put anything away until it has been wiped down with a bleach solution. It isn’t dirty mind you….but it isn’t CLEAN. Also…..Shelf paper must be installed in the kitchen. There is lots to buy here…brooms, mops, trashcans, toilet brushes, clothes hangers, a new sheet set, towels, etc. But it will be home in short order.
Time for me to wrap this note up. Lunch was good. Pepper steak and fries. Not what I would call a pepper steak but more like steak with a pepper sauce. It was good and only cost about $8 US, so not too bad. I hope to send this to Chris and have it posted, perhaps with some pictures.
Worth
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