Well, it has been a very interesting couple of nights!! We had been working our butts off all week to get our classrooms in presentation order. The investors were coming for a look, a ceremonial handing over of the school, and blessings for the continuance of the project (more schools are going to be built thru 2011.
Last night we were at the school to greet the Bugshan family, headed by Sheikh Abdullah Ahmed Bugshan (I think!!). He was the guest of honour and was greeted with much reverence. The Bugshan family, who are originally from Yemen is apparently a very wealthy one, and they are the main investors in our school. A girl at work told us a little about them. Many years ago, the family business began with the construction of many mosques around Jeddah. Allah rewarded these deeds by affording great wealth upon the family. Since then, the family business has grown exponentially, and they are now involved with Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Christian Dior, and Bridgestone, just to name a few!! Bugshan is a very well known name around Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and in fact the Middle East in general.
All the teachers were lined up sitting against the wall, awaiting the arrival of the family, well, the men in the family. While we waited, we played 'Telephone" and "Word Tag". It was very funny. We were all so tired and worn out, but we laughed and had a good time. Though it is possible that the laughs were due to the fatigue!!! It also could have been the heat, as we were covered for the event. It was suggested, though not ordered that we cover our hair for the occasion. Of course, we all did, without hesitation.
So basically, he came, he saw, he waved and blew kisses, he ate and he left. He is the cutest little man. He is said to be in his 80s, but with lots of spunk. He was very pleased with the school and the staff. After his tour of the school, we all sat in the hall and had some food and drink before heading home.
So, tonight was similar, but not quite the same. Tonight, we met the women and some of the children (some of whom will attend the school) of the family. The guest of honour this time was the wife of the family head, mentioned above. There were lots of daughters and wives of the sons, and I assume nieces and cousins, along with some family friends. We met them at the school's entrance and walked through with them, showing them the classrooms and the resources. We hadn't done this the previous evening with the men. Then we sat in the hall for some sweets and beverages. At the end of the evening, when the family matriarch left, the rest of the women and all the teachers headed to the Hilton Jeddah for some dinner. It was an amazing open buffet with chicken dishes, a lamb dish, a fish dish, pasta dishes, vegetarian dishes, salmon sashimi, shrimp cocktail, salads, breads and spreads, and desserts (and that is just off the top of my head). Almost everything was absolutely scrumptious!!! Such an enjoyable meal. The food was great. The company was terrific! It was a wonderful evening.
I have heard about the tremendous generosity of the Bugshan family. They are known to be very helpful to the people of Yemen. They are supportive of those who are supportive of them, but they are also very generous to those in need.
Not that this compares to the kind of generosity that they are known for, but at the end of the night when we were going home, they sent all the Canadian teachers home in their limousine. They didn't have to do that, but they wanted to show us that we are welcome and that they are hopeful that we will enjoy our time here. It was an incredible ending to a great night and one helluva week!!
As we drove through town we got lots of looks from other drivers. At some point apparently the back windows were down, so some people were aware that the car was filled with foreign women. We had this one guy in a white sports car, like maybe a Corvette. He stayed side by side with the limo for as long as he could. As he drove by, he would rev his engine. It was so funny, such an uncool guy in such a cool car!! I felt he was overcompensating for something!!!! LOL!!!
It was a terrific night and a great way to end the week!!
Just a side note......we stopped at the gas station the other day to fill the school bus. He put 66.66 litres of gasoline in the bus and it cost 30 Riyals. This is gonna be a heart breaker Canada!!!! That is about 10 bucks!!!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Not So Good This Time!!
I am not so good at this blogging thing this time around. I guess when I was in Europe, I had lots of stories to tell and more interesting things to share. We have not been doing a whole lot since our arrival, and we have not even begun classes yet. Therefore, I guess there is not a whole lot to be saying.
I am learning a few things about the culture here, and I guess to a certain extent, I am experiencing some culture shock. Visiting a place, a people and a culture during a vacation is quite different from coming into a place, a people and a culture for a job. As a visitor, you are more an observer than a participant, no matter how much you try to dig in and experience it all. The bottom line is, you are a witness to the way people live their lives, but because you are not truly impacted by the way they live their lives, you are just an observer. When the way of life of the people from the land in which you are living has an effect on the way you want or are able to live your life, you become a participant. This is of course only my opinion, but I feel that experiencing the cultures in the places around the world I have visited, is not the same as when you are there long term.
You may be thinking that I am talking about "all of the restrictions." That is not the case at all. In fact, I was very much over prepared for the 'restrictions' I thought I would be living under. The fact of the matter is, it is not at all what I expected. I suppose it could be due to a number of factors. Perhaps, times are a changing, even in Saudi Arabia!!! Perhaps, Riyadh and Jeddah are just very, very different in the enforcement of rules and behaviour expectations. Perhaps it is a combination of the two. My point is, it feels very different from my visit here 7 years ago. So far, (and I realize this could change tomorrow) the only thing that really feels the same is the required use of the abaya, and I have already told you that the abaya doesn't feel at all like an infringement upon my freedoms. In fact, it is just the opposite!
The culture difference that I feel the most is the relaxed nature of things and the seeming lack of urgency in getting things done. "Insha' Allah" is the phrase you will hear often, quite often, on a daily basis. It means, "If Allah wills it" or as we would say, "God willing". It seems to also imply, "in Allah's time" or "when Allah wills it"!!!Ha! For it seems to be used in response to inquiries about when things are going to happen. I think that as Canadians, we feel that if there is a job to be done, you do it when it needs to be done. If you are expected to be somewhere at a certain time, you be there. That doesn't seem to be the case here at all. Although there are expectations on us for getting things done or for being places on time (which we only expect as it is in our nature anyway), the same urgency doesn't seem to be there when we expect or hope for things to be done. We spend a great deal of time waiting. We wait after work for the bus to bring us home. We wait for prayer time to end. We wait for people to arrive. We wait for meetings to end. We wait for things to arrive. We wait for jobs to get done. It often feels like a hurry up and wait kind of situation. We now joke that our work day ends at 3:30 Insha' Allah.
I am not criticizing their way of life. To be honest, a part of me wishes life could be so relaxed. It is just not the way we are wired, so it feels stressful sometimes when we feels we could be accomplishing things in the time we spend waiting around for something that could happen in 2 minutes or 45 minutes. I suppose in time we will get used to it, and grow more accustomed to that way of living, but it will certainly take some time as it seems to go against every fibre of our being.
Moving on!!
I have had the displeasure of making the acquaintance of a new breed of cockroach!!! They are very different here from the ones in South Korea. The ones there were much bigger and they were black. The ones here (or at least the ones I have seen up to this point in time) are a gold/brown colour, which much to my delight blends in perfectly with the colour of the floors in my apartment! I was making my bed one day and saw one on the floor. I responded with my characteristic wail, followed by the question, "And what the heck are you?" I went to the bathroom to get a tissue so I could kill it. I didn't want to step on it because I had on new slippers that I had only bought the previous night!!! I threw the tissue down so I could crush it, and of course, having the strong survival instinct that a cockroach has, he crawled away from under it and went under the bed before I could get him. And before I knew it, he blended into the laminate floor and I could no longer find him. He escaped!!! Of course, I was on edge then, for I had no idea where he was, and I knew he could be anywhere. All I could think was, "As long as he doesn't end up in my bed, I think I will be fine." Has anyone seen or read, "The Secret"????? Dammit, dammit, dammit!! Wouldn't you know it. I forgot about the 'laws of attraction' and I willed it to be. When I went to bed that night, he was right there, right where my pillow would have been! I couldn't help but have the fleeting thought that he was my reincarnated husband from a previous life who was waiting for me to come to bed. Shoot, he must have been a real gem to be sent back as a cockroach!!!
Tonight, I made another new acquaintance. It was my first meeting with an Arabian gecko!! Actually, that is a lie. I met one in the hall one evening, but this was the first one to visit me in my apartment. I was about to start washing some dishes when I caught him out of the corner of my eye! Once again, there was the typical howl, followed by me running for my camera and some help. I ran into the hall and thankfully Osama from work was here working on somebody's computer. I called him in to help. I took a picture and then he was going to kill it, but I insisted that he just get it out. I don't have the same sentiment when it comes to cockroaches!! I got him some paper towel and he took it out. The poor gecko though! He left his tail behind. Apparently that is some kind of defence mechanism for them. They leave their tail behind flailing all about and it is supposed to fool predators or something. So, the tail was still there, flicking all around like a little worm. It was funny, gross and sad all at the same time. Given we are only 3 weeks in, I have a feeling I will be meeting many more interesting creatures!! The funny thing is, other people have talked about having geckos in their apartments, and I told myself, "I think if I ever get one in my place, I will let him stay. He will take care of the cockroaches." But, I changed my mind pretty fast when I saw him!!!
Well, it is past my bedtime, so I am turning in. Not a lot shared here! Sorry!!
I am learning a few things about the culture here, and I guess to a certain extent, I am experiencing some culture shock. Visiting a place, a people and a culture during a vacation is quite different from coming into a place, a people and a culture for a job. As a visitor, you are more an observer than a participant, no matter how much you try to dig in and experience it all. The bottom line is, you are a witness to the way people live their lives, but because you are not truly impacted by the way they live their lives, you are just an observer. When the way of life of the people from the land in which you are living has an effect on the way you want or are able to live your life, you become a participant. This is of course only my opinion, but I feel that experiencing the cultures in the places around the world I have visited, is not the same as when you are there long term.
You may be thinking that I am talking about "all of the restrictions." That is not the case at all. In fact, I was very much over prepared for the 'restrictions' I thought I would be living under. The fact of the matter is, it is not at all what I expected. I suppose it could be due to a number of factors. Perhaps, times are a changing, even in Saudi Arabia!!! Perhaps, Riyadh and Jeddah are just very, very different in the enforcement of rules and behaviour expectations. Perhaps it is a combination of the two. My point is, it feels very different from my visit here 7 years ago. So far, (and I realize this could change tomorrow) the only thing that really feels the same is the required use of the abaya, and I have already told you that the abaya doesn't feel at all like an infringement upon my freedoms. In fact, it is just the opposite!
The culture difference that I feel the most is the relaxed nature of things and the seeming lack of urgency in getting things done. "Insha' Allah" is the phrase you will hear often, quite often, on a daily basis. It means, "If Allah wills it" or as we would say, "God willing". It seems to also imply, "in Allah's time" or "when Allah wills it"!!!Ha! For it seems to be used in response to inquiries about when things are going to happen. I think that as Canadians, we feel that if there is a job to be done, you do it when it needs to be done. If you are expected to be somewhere at a certain time, you be there. That doesn't seem to be the case here at all. Although there are expectations on us for getting things done or for being places on time (which we only expect as it is in our nature anyway), the same urgency doesn't seem to be there when we expect or hope for things to be done. We spend a great deal of time waiting. We wait after work for the bus to bring us home. We wait for prayer time to end. We wait for people to arrive. We wait for meetings to end. We wait for things to arrive. We wait for jobs to get done. It often feels like a hurry up and wait kind of situation. We now joke that our work day ends at 3:30 Insha' Allah.
I am not criticizing their way of life. To be honest, a part of me wishes life could be so relaxed. It is just not the way we are wired, so it feels stressful sometimes when we feels we could be accomplishing things in the time we spend waiting around for something that could happen in 2 minutes or 45 minutes. I suppose in time we will get used to it, and grow more accustomed to that way of living, but it will certainly take some time as it seems to go against every fibre of our being.
Moving on!!
I have had the displeasure of making the acquaintance of a new breed of cockroach!!! They are very different here from the ones in South Korea. The ones there were much bigger and they were black. The ones here (or at least the ones I have seen up to this point in time) are a gold/brown colour, which much to my delight blends in perfectly with the colour of the floors in my apartment! I was making my bed one day and saw one on the floor. I responded with my characteristic wail, followed by the question, "And what the heck are you?" I went to the bathroom to get a tissue so I could kill it. I didn't want to step on it because I had on new slippers that I had only bought the previous night!!! I threw the tissue down so I could crush it, and of course, having the strong survival instinct that a cockroach has, he crawled away from under it and went under the bed before I could get him. And before I knew it, he blended into the laminate floor and I could no longer find him. He escaped!!! Of course, I was on edge then, for I had no idea where he was, and I knew he could be anywhere. All I could think was, "As long as he doesn't end up in my bed, I think I will be fine." Has anyone seen or read, "The Secret"????? Dammit, dammit, dammit!! Wouldn't you know it. I forgot about the 'laws of attraction' and I willed it to be. When I went to bed that night, he was right there, right where my pillow would have been! I couldn't help but have the fleeting thought that he was my reincarnated husband from a previous life who was waiting for me to come to bed. Shoot, he must have been a real gem to be sent back as a cockroach!!!
Tonight, I made another new acquaintance. It was my first meeting with an Arabian gecko!! Actually, that is a lie. I met one in the hall one evening, but this was the first one to visit me in my apartment. I was about to start washing some dishes when I caught him out of the corner of my eye! Once again, there was the typical howl, followed by me running for my camera and some help. I ran into the hall and thankfully Osama from work was here working on somebody's computer. I called him in to help. I took a picture and then he was going to kill it, but I insisted that he just get it out. I don't have the same sentiment when it comes to cockroaches!! I got him some paper towel and he took it out. The poor gecko though! He left his tail behind. Apparently that is some kind of defence mechanism for them. They leave their tail behind flailing all about and it is supposed to fool predators or something. So, the tail was still there, flicking all around like a little worm. It was funny, gross and sad all at the same time. Given we are only 3 weeks in, I have a feeling I will be meeting many more interesting creatures!! The funny thing is, other people have talked about having geckos in their apartments, and I told myself, "I think if I ever get one in my place, I will let him stay. He will take care of the cockroaches." But, I changed my mind pretty fast when I saw him!!!
Well, it is past my bedtime, so I am turning in. Not a lot shared here! Sorry!!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
The Apartment, The Schools, Eid Begins
So, the night we arrived, we were brought to the supermarket, handed some cash and told to do some shopping for immediate necessities, things we would need before bed and in the morning. Then, we were brought to the apartments which are fantastic. We live on 'Saudia City' compound. There are shops, swimming pools, parks and more undiscovered goodies around. Now, I loved my time in Korea, and I adjusted to the apartment, for afterall, it was free, but this one is paid for as well and whoa, what a difference!!! We have a fully furnished living room including a TV and stereo, a fully furnished bedroom, an ensuite bathroom, another full bath, an office, another room with a dining room table and chairs, and a kitchen with microwave, toaster, electric kettle, blender and washer/dryer, and tons of storage space throughout the apartment. The rent, heat and light, cable, and internet are all covered! What more could you ask for? We were provided with laptops and cellular phones and all we have to pay for is the phone. It makes for very comfortable living quarters to say the very least.
The next day, we were brought to the schools for a tour and to meet the principal. She is terrific! She is so easy going and friendly. She knows her stuff and is very helpful, but eager to hear everyone’s ideas and experiences. She is open to all kinds of suggestions, and welcomes feedback on anything and everything. She has a great sense of humour and she is both interesting and fun! Everyone agrees it is going to be a pleasure to work for and with her.
The schools, oh my goodness, the schools. Where do I begin. Well, I guess I can start at the ‘old’ school. It opened last year, but they call it the old school for there is a new one still not quite ready for students!! This school will house the preschool and kindergarten classes. When you walk onto the grounds, there is a huge playground enclosed in a massive tent type cover. Then you walk into a huge hall off which are the offices of the administration. The classrooms are very large, all equipped with Smart Boards and microphone/speaker systems. There is a large library with lots of computers. We have just had 6500 new books arrive in addition to all the resources one can possibly imagine. There are lots of unused classrooms right now, but we figure they can be used for music and P/E activities that are not held in the hall. That is about it for the ‘old’ school.
Now, the new school is absolutely insane. This is the school I will be in as I am now teaching second grade instead of preschool. First, the grounds….There is another huge playground, a tennis court, a soccer field, and a basketball court. As you enter the building, there is another hall like in the ‘old’ school. There is a swimming pool and a store that will be run by students. We have Star Boards in all classrooms instead of Smart Boards ( I am not sure just what the difference is yet.) and the microphone/speaker system. There is another great library, a bio-chem lab, and a full learning kitchen (in which teachers will also get lessons is local cuisine!!). We were asked to compose a list of items we wanted in our classrooms with anything from rugs, to reading furniture, to bookshelves, to paper clips!! Everything would be provided. We have computers and art easels in our classrooms for students. We even marked the walls with the placements for our bulletin boards. The head honcho is like Santa Claus, the only difference is, he gives us everything we ask for whether we were naughty or nice!! They are even purchasing exercise equipment for the teachers so we don’t have to join a gym. We were told that their primary objective right now is to make us happy and then, to sustain that happiness!!!
That night, after fast broke, we went shopping for abayas. Stores and markets open at 9ish and are open then until 3ish. Apparently, many of the people who don't have to work, sleep during the day and stay up quite late at night, enabling them to get the nourishment they need before they have to begin fasting at sunrise. I don't know how the people who do have to work do it. No food, no water, nothing pleasurable during the fasting hours of sunrise to sunset. The food and other vices I think I could handle, but no water, in this heat and humidity? That I don't think I'd be able to do. Then again, I guess you don't know until you try, and it is not meant to be an easy feat.
It was weird the way we felt about getting the abayas. One would think that it would feel as though we were cloaking our freedoms as we covered ourselves. However, truth be told, we actually felt relieved to get them and put them on. We felt out of place and even uncomfortable without them. Perhaps it was because we really stood out in the crowd without them, not only as foreigners, but as foreigners not yet melded into the society. There was less reason or need for stares once we were covered and that gave us a feeling of greater freedom. Ironic!
Tonight, Ramadan ended and we were invited out to dinner with our boss and some of the staff. We went to a fancy restaurant and joined our Muslim friends as they broke fast for the last time this year. I believe (but I am not positive) that Eid officially began at that time. Tomorrow is the beginning of the major celebrations. None of the locals will be working for the next few days, so we will be working from home, doing some long term planning. This evening was a wonderful experience, and I thought it was very nice of them to include us in such an important time of year in this culture/religion.
The next day, we were brought to the schools for a tour and to meet the principal. She is terrific! She is so easy going and friendly. She knows her stuff and is very helpful, but eager to hear everyone’s ideas and experiences. She is open to all kinds of suggestions, and welcomes feedback on anything and everything. She has a great sense of humour and she is both interesting and fun! Everyone agrees it is going to be a pleasure to work for and with her.
The schools, oh my goodness, the schools. Where do I begin. Well, I guess I can start at the ‘old’ school. It opened last year, but they call it the old school for there is a new one still not quite ready for students!! This school will house the preschool and kindergarten classes. When you walk onto the grounds, there is a huge playground enclosed in a massive tent type cover. Then you walk into a huge hall off which are the offices of the administration. The classrooms are very large, all equipped with Smart Boards and microphone/speaker systems. There is a large library with lots of computers. We have just had 6500 new books arrive in addition to all the resources one can possibly imagine. There are lots of unused classrooms right now, but we figure they can be used for music and P/E activities that are not held in the hall. That is about it for the ‘old’ school.
Now, the new school is absolutely insane. This is the school I will be in as I am now teaching second grade instead of preschool. First, the grounds….There is another huge playground, a tennis court, a soccer field, and a basketball court. As you enter the building, there is another hall like in the ‘old’ school. There is a swimming pool and a store that will be run by students. We have Star Boards in all classrooms instead of Smart Boards ( I am not sure just what the difference is yet.) and the microphone/speaker system. There is another great library, a bio-chem lab, and a full learning kitchen (in which teachers will also get lessons is local cuisine!!). We were asked to compose a list of items we wanted in our classrooms with anything from rugs, to reading furniture, to bookshelves, to paper clips!! Everything would be provided. We have computers and art easels in our classrooms for students. We even marked the walls with the placements for our bulletin boards. The head honcho is like Santa Claus, the only difference is, he gives us everything we ask for whether we were naughty or nice!! They are even purchasing exercise equipment for the teachers so we don’t have to join a gym. We were told that their primary objective right now is to make us happy and then, to sustain that happiness!!!
That night, after fast broke, we went shopping for abayas. Stores and markets open at 9ish and are open then until 3ish. Apparently, many of the people who don't have to work, sleep during the day and stay up quite late at night, enabling them to get the nourishment they need before they have to begin fasting at sunrise. I don't know how the people who do have to work do it. No food, no water, nothing pleasurable during the fasting hours of sunrise to sunset. The food and other vices I think I could handle, but no water, in this heat and humidity? That I don't think I'd be able to do. Then again, I guess you don't know until you try, and it is not meant to be an easy feat.
It was weird the way we felt about getting the abayas. One would think that it would feel as though we were cloaking our freedoms as we covered ourselves. However, truth be told, we actually felt relieved to get them and put them on. We felt out of place and even uncomfortable without them. Perhaps it was because we really stood out in the crowd without them, not only as foreigners, but as foreigners not yet melded into the society. There was less reason or need for stares once we were covered and that gave us a feeling of greater freedom. Ironic!
Tonight, Ramadan ended and we were invited out to dinner with our boss and some of the staff. We went to a fancy restaurant and joined our Muslim friends as they broke fast for the last time this year. I believe (but I am not positive) that Eid officially began at that time. Tomorrow is the beginning of the major celebrations. None of the locals will be working for the next few days, so we will be working from home, doing some long term planning. This evening was a wonderful experience, and I thought it was very nice of them to include us in such an important time of year in this culture/religion.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Jet off to Jeddah
After much time and effort spent on obtaining my work visa, I finally left on Thursday past for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to begin my teaching career.
It was a hard send off, and it was an interesting send off all at the same time. After a wonderful lunch with my aunt and my niece at Press and Bean, I headed to the airport to meet Dad. I had already said my farewells with Mom. It was a blessing in disguise to have the good-byes split up, as it was hard enough as it was.
Steph and I went through security where we saw Alan Doyle, Sean McCann, and Bob Hallett from Great Big Sea. It was a coincidence that theirs was the only music I had in my suitcase. Being the big old dork that I am ( I completely admit it!!), I felt compelled to go up and talk to them. I introduced myself as a huge fan, and informed them that I was heading off to Saudi Arabia with only their music in my suitcase. They all thanked me. Alan asked me what I was going all the way over there for, and Bob suggested that I keep the Ol' Black Rum on the DL. I mentioned very briefly to Sean a previous encounter compliments of Sherry and Mike! They were very nice and wished me well, and off I went as happy as a lark. What a way to leave the province and the country!!! It was much more pleasant than the tearful departure of moments just gone.
The flight to Toronto was uneventful. Just chatted with Steph and I think I watched a movie. The flight to Frankfurt was another story. We were in the middle set of seats, where I was on the aisle. Poor Steph was seated next to the most foul smelling man I have ever come across. I didn't know who to feel worse for....him for smelling so foul (he had to know it, the poor thing) or Steph for enduring it. I had to endure it enough, so I can only imagine how bad it was for her. Of course, I chose to feel worse for Steph.
The flight then to Jeddah was also uneventful. We were not sat together, but in window seats in consecutive rows. I watched some more movies as I wanted to stay awake for the rest of the trip to try to avoid jet lag. I ended up watching in total, "The Proposal", "The Hangover", "Hannah Montana:The Movie" and I saw parts of "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and "Fast and Furious 4." It all made the flight go very quickly.
We landed in Jeddah, along with 2 others who were coming here to work, and were met by some of the people who work for the school. We had a bit of a wait, had a photo (which I am sure was my best ever!) and our fingerprints taken and headed to the bus.
I want to write more about the arrival, but I am just too tried right now and want to go flake out for a while. It is Wednesday, which is the start of the weekend here, so I will have the day tomorrow and will perhaps write some more when I get back to my apartment from our morning out!!
It was a hard send off, and it was an interesting send off all at the same time. After a wonderful lunch with my aunt and my niece at Press and Bean, I headed to the airport to meet Dad. I had already said my farewells with Mom. It was a blessing in disguise to have the good-byes split up, as it was hard enough as it was.
Steph and I went through security where we saw Alan Doyle, Sean McCann, and Bob Hallett from Great Big Sea. It was a coincidence that theirs was the only music I had in my suitcase. Being the big old dork that I am ( I completely admit it!!), I felt compelled to go up and talk to them. I introduced myself as a huge fan, and informed them that I was heading off to Saudi Arabia with only their music in my suitcase. They all thanked me. Alan asked me what I was going all the way over there for, and Bob suggested that I keep the Ol' Black Rum on the DL. I mentioned very briefly to Sean a previous encounter compliments of Sherry and Mike! They were very nice and wished me well, and off I went as happy as a lark. What a way to leave the province and the country!!! It was much more pleasant than the tearful departure of moments just gone.
The flight to Toronto was uneventful. Just chatted with Steph and I think I watched a movie. The flight to Frankfurt was another story. We were in the middle set of seats, where I was on the aisle. Poor Steph was seated next to the most foul smelling man I have ever come across. I didn't know who to feel worse for....him for smelling so foul (he had to know it, the poor thing) or Steph for enduring it. I had to endure it enough, so I can only imagine how bad it was for her. Of course, I chose to feel worse for Steph.
The flight then to Jeddah was also uneventful. We were not sat together, but in window seats in consecutive rows. I watched some more movies as I wanted to stay awake for the rest of the trip to try to avoid jet lag. I ended up watching in total, "The Proposal", "The Hangover", "Hannah Montana:The Movie" and I saw parts of "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and "Fast and Furious 4." It all made the flight go very quickly.
We landed in Jeddah, along with 2 others who were coming here to work, and were met by some of the people who work for the school. We had a bit of a wait, had a photo (which I am sure was my best ever!) and our fingerprints taken and headed to the bus.
I want to write more about the arrival, but I am just too tried right now and want to go flake out for a while. It is Wednesday, which is the start of the weekend here, so I will have the day tomorrow and will perhaps write some more when I get back to my apartment from our morning out!!
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