Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Ten more things I like about Saudi Arabia, and some that I don't liketoo....

Things I like....

1.My amazing mother-in-law and beautiful sister-in-law are taking care of the kids while Sohail and I are at work.

2.Sohail gets the kids ready in the morning, takes them and picks them up (my husband is awesome-right?!)

3.I get home from work at 5:15 and have up to 7:00 quiet time/me time by myself until Sohail arrives from work, after picking up the kids.

4.Most custom-made furniture assembly and delivery is free!

5. Fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, for less than $1.00! Mmmmmm!!!

6. I have a coffee shop nearby where I work!

7. The beach is less than a 15 minute drive away.

8.I love the people I work with. Work is so much fun!

9. We have “watch guys” outside of our apartment (that’s what I named them). They stay outside of our building all day/night. If I forget my key-they let me in. They also wash our car each evening. Sometimes they take our garbage out too. That’s nice.

10. I am saving the best for last……my FAMILY! I am so blessed to be here with them. Omair, Rohail, Farwa, and my mother-in-law and father-in-law are all here. Soon, Shoaib will arrive and then all of Sohail’s brothers will be here. I love it. They helped clean the apartment before me and the kids arrived. They love the kids so much and play with them. The kids love them just as much and so do I!

Things that I don’t like….

1.When in line to order food, if a man walk up, he gets his food first-even if I already ordered. If two women are in line, the non-American woman gets her food after me, even if she ordered first. I don’t like either one. I think that whoever ordered first should get their food first, right?!

2. Cooking with a gas oven-yikes! I am scarred for life after I lit the stove and caused a minor explosion, causing the exhaust fan to fly off the wall. That oven scares me!

3.I haven’t unlocked my iphone yet, so I use an outdated cell phone. I know-I am spoiled, due to the iphone. It’s hard to go back, people. When I text, I have to push the number button, then use the arrow button to scroll down to the correct letter, then hit enter to choose that one letter. Do you remember those days? I am glad smartphones were created!

4. I miss my Keurig machine-so much! I should have just brought it over and had K-cups shipped here. There is a Nespresso machine, that is similar here, but is more than $300!!!

5. I REALLY miss not having the movie theaters here, to go to. That was always a fun family time for us, back in the US. (*sniff*sniff).
Things that don't bother me at all...

1. The heat -  I am used to it. Houston was actually hotter than Jeddah, yesterday!

2. Wearing an abaya - Out in public, it is required that women (not children) wear this black robe/cloak covering atop thier clothes. It's actually not very hot, protects my skin from the sun, and keeps me from having to worry about ironing my clothes and picking out what I will wear each day. I guess it is like wearing a uniform, kind of. I have 4 abaya's now. One goes over the head, like a dress and zips on the side. The others button up in the front. I just wear short and a tank top or a summer dress underneath.

3. Not driving - It is kind of nice to not have to be stressed out about finding directions to places I've never been. I don't mind being driven to and from work by a driver and having Sohail take me everywhere that I want to go (hehe!)

4. The dust and sand - It's out there, and I'm in here!

5. The language barrier - There really isn't one. Most foreigners and natives here speak English. If they don't, they understand my charade like gestures very well!

Well, thanks for reading my post (s). I hope that I have provided a little bit of Arabian enlightenment or entertainment to you, today!

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