It's funny how being back in the States makes me realize little things I had forgotten I was missing so much.. For example, picking up a People Magazine and not having any pages ripped up or legs and bossoms blackened with a thick sharpie. I guess I was getting used to it or was not paying attention anymore. This week, I'm leading a workshop and some participants started talking about censorship, which made me think of Saudi and of how aggravating it is to not be able to purchase a magazine with the guarantee of having all the pages still in the mag.
Might as well enjoy those while I can!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Ghost town
Imagine standing in the middle of a street and seeing the dust around being picked up by the wind, hearing the distant calls to prayer, marveling at the almost but not quite ripe bunches of dates hanging heavily from the palm trees, laughing at the stray cats frolicking in green lush front lawns, listening to the birds chirping in the lime trees. Imagine children's bikes nicely parked under fabric tent carports, ripsticks waiting to be picked up again, lawn furniture gathering dust under the heavy sunrays...but not seeing a single person!
Our compound has turned into a ghost town! With the advent of summer and the summer vacation, all the families have vacated the premises, some with and some without the dads. The maids are finding that their usual villas have been emptied for the summer, the nannies have been left behind, giving them also a much deserved summer break to enjoy.
Last night, we took our evening walk around the compound and truly did not see another person during our walk. Some cats, some children's bikes and toys, but nobody else. The majority of the villas seem emptied, many are actually being repainted and refurbished before new occupants move in. That's the sad part of the summer, as we had to bid goodbye to some of our new friends who completed their contract in the Kindgom and moved on to literal and figurative greener pastures.
So, to all of you still here, congrats, you are part of the few die-hards sticking it out during the summer.
And to those who have left, we are not very far behind...13 hours and 19 minutes to be exact until take off!
Our compound has turned into a ghost town! With the advent of summer and the summer vacation, all the families have vacated the premises, some with and some without the dads. The maids are finding that their usual villas have been emptied for the summer, the nannies have been left behind, giving them also a much deserved summer break to enjoy.
Last night, we took our evening walk around the compound and truly did not see another person during our walk. Some cats, some children's bikes and toys, but nobody else. The majority of the villas seem emptied, many are actually being repainted and refurbished before new occupants move in. That's the sad part of the summer, as we had to bid goodbye to some of our new friends who completed their contract in the Kindgom and moved on to literal and figurative greener pastures.
So, to all of you still here, congrats, you are part of the few die-hards sticking it out during the summer.
And to those who have left, we are not very far behind...13 hours and 19 minutes to be exact until take off!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Summer Exodus
Every year, a massive Exodus out of the Saudi capital city takes place. The Saudi schools finished this past Wednesday, many of the international schools finished a week or two ago...which means that Riyadh has already lost about half its population and that King Khaled International Airport is seeing its heaviest traffic since the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Summer in the middle of the Arabian desert is hot, temperatures are averaging 45 Celsius daily, in the shade and it's much hotter in the sun, as you all know.
Riyadh is a desert town with the old city of Diryah having been built at this location because of a wadi (Underground River) that could provide water to the Bedouin tribes on a consistent basis, giving them and their animals a little oasis of greenery in the middle of the unwelcoming expenses of sand. Things have changed since then, as most Saudi are urbanized, cars have replaced camels as daily mean of transportation, water comes from a water "factory" that desalinates water from the Gulf to use for daily household usage and bottled water comes from deep water wells and natural sources. BUT one thing has remained the same: the desert heat and dryness.
So, once school is over, Saudi and expat families pack their suitcases and leave the country behind. Their destinations however are different. Expats, like us, go "home" for the summer, wherever home is! So, tomorrow evening, we are heading home first to Belgium and then back to the States where we will stay away from the desert heat, although we will tackle the summer humidity when back in the South! All of our colleagues, almost without exceptions, have already left and are homebound for the summer break. They are going back to Canada, Australia, Singapore, Lebanon, Syria, the States, Colombia, Sweden, UK…
Most of our students also have already left Saudi to go spend the summer in one of their residences scattered around the globe. A few of the favorite places that kept popping up when they were discussing their summer plans included Paris, London, Rome, Madrid, Lebanon, New York, Los Angeles, the Maldives, Provence in the South of France...
So, who is left behind? Those who can’t afford a plane tickets, including manual laborer from Asia, families who just welcomed a baby, people who keep on working during the summer, those not fortunate to have an almost two month long summer break. There are advantages at staying put: the streets are much less congested with traffic, the shopping malls are running insane sales, like 70, 80 % off everything, hotels like the Four Seasons are almost giving you their rooms for the weekend for ridiculous amounts compared to the rest of the year..
Would all this entice me to stay? Heck NO! We are so getting out of Saudi Arabia! Too hot and so many other reasons. Just ask when you see us ...
Masalama and have a great summer.
Riyadh is a desert town with the old city of Diryah having been built at this location because of a wadi (Underground River) that could provide water to the Bedouin tribes on a consistent basis, giving them and their animals a little oasis of greenery in the middle of the unwelcoming expenses of sand. Things have changed since then, as most Saudi are urbanized, cars have replaced camels as daily mean of transportation, water comes from a water "factory" that desalinates water from the Gulf to use for daily household usage and bottled water comes from deep water wells and natural sources. BUT one thing has remained the same: the desert heat and dryness.
So, once school is over, Saudi and expat families pack their suitcases and leave the country behind. Their destinations however are different. Expats, like us, go "home" for the summer, wherever home is! So, tomorrow evening, we are heading home first to Belgium and then back to the States where we will stay away from the desert heat, although we will tackle the summer humidity when back in the South! All of our colleagues, almost without exceptions, have already left and are homebound for the summer break. They are going back to Canada, Australia, Singapore, Lebanon, Syria, the States, Colombia, Sweden, UK…
Most of our students also have already left Saudi to go spend the summer in one of their residences scattered around the globe. A few of the favorite places that kept popping up when they were discussing their summer plans included Paris, London, Rome, Madrid, Lebanon, New York, Los Angeles, the Maldives, Provence in the South of France...
So, who is left behind? Those who can’t afford a plane tickets, including manual laborer from Asia, families who just welcomed a baby, people who keep on working during the summer, those not fortunate to have an almost two month long summer break. There are advantages at staying put: the streets are much less congested with traffic, the shopping malls are running insane sales, like 70, 80 % off everything, hotels like the Four Seasons are almost giving you their rooms for the weekend for ridiculous amounts compared to the rest of the year..
Would all this entice me to stay? Heck NO! We are so getting out of Saudi Arabia! Too hot and so many other reasons. Just ask when you see us ...
Masalama and have a great summer.
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