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desultude
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 614
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 Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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| cassava wrote: |
| desultude wrote: |
So, do you/did you work at ha'il? Are you honestly advising people to not focus on working conditions and contract issues, and instead focus on learning to be a good underling for the Saudis?
One last question, Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Ha'il administration? |
Desultude:
I am wondering whether you are the newly-appointed Grand Inquisitor or whether you merely cling to bygone pseudodoxies. Anyhow, since you seem to be sincere, I will attempt to clarify my status.
I was a member of a team of Canadian educators, requested by the Ministry of Higher Education of Saudi Arabia, who assisted the Kingdom in the establishment of tertiary-level education in KSA. The role of the Canadians was purely advisory and we worked with another committee of senior administrators, many of whom were from KFUPM. The jurisdiction of the Canadian team was the Hail, Taif and Tabuk regions.
My work enabled me to acquire quite a detailed knowledge of these places and I found the people of Hail in particular to be friendly and helpful. After a few years in Saudi, I resumed my academic position at the Canadian university where I currently work.
As far as I am concerned, the manner in which foreign teachers approach contract issues is one that will have to resolve for themselves. In some respect, this can be a delicate balancing act, given the differences in culture and, at times, the variety of conflicting expectations.
I have always considered my time spent in Saudi Arabia to have been worthwhile and beneficial. It is for this reason that I have tried to keep in touch with events in the country through this forum as well as by maintaining contact with the many friends that I made during my stay in the Kingdom. |
I have seen far too many administrators being positive and encouraging, despite all evidence to the contrary, on this board, under the guise of a disinterested party. In my opinion, administrators (of any ilk) should be required to identify themselves for the sake of full disclosure.
I would think that you would have wanted to disclose your interests when you have been asked on this board before now. If I have mis-understood your previous posts and your intentions, I sincerely apologize. |
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elegant
Joined: 16 Sep 2009
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:09 pm Post subject: coming to Ha'il sept 26th 2009,,hello |
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HI there
I am coming ot teach english,, waiting for my visa to clear,,, is there anyone reading this who could make contact? cheers eleanor  |
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shinjinrui
Joined: 16 Nov 2004
Posts: 3
Location: China
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| Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:39 pm Post subject: enjazit.com.sa - Sponsor ID |
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Hi,
Supposedly heading to Ha'il soon. Does anyone know the Sponsor ID for UoH needed for the visa webform located at www.enjazit.com.sa? My embassy (US) told me I needed this before sending in my visa application, but I seem unable to get a reply from anyone in Ha'il (yes, I know it's holiday time there). Everything else is ready to go, just need that one bit of information. Any help/replies would be appreciated.
Hi Eleanor, feel free to contact me at [email protected] to chat! |
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ammziadh
Joined: 12 Nov 2013
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 1:53 am Post subject: Re: Hail, 2009 |
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| MyTrunkshow wrote: |
Mention U of Hail on the Saudi forums and there are several posters who have a mandate to slam it as the biggest hole on earth. Typically, threads get pulled as it gets so nasty. I contribute to the threads getting pulled as I won't let any inaccurate information to go uncontested about Hail. If it's true, no matter how bad it's depicted, I'll agree. If it's slanderous and inaccurate, I'll refute it.
I don't know why some feel that people from the smaller centers in Saudi aren't entitled to teachers. Teachers are condemned if think they can make it here. Just look at the older posts about Hail. Wow.
Hail is a nice city to live in as far as Saudi Arabia goes. The locals are friendly and hospitable. Bar none. I've been to the homes of 3 locals. (Of course that's limited to the visitor area, but that applies to Saudi friends as well.)
Potential hires have the right to access information. Teachers read these boards and make life-decisions based on them. It is not fair to slam Hail based on one's preference for a larger city or because one had a bad experience due to management that is no longer here.
Here is the most accurate portrait of Hail - both the good and the ugly. The school info. applies to the men's campus.
Work. The classes are now between 17 and 20 students. Some have in the low teens. Some are in the mid 20s. Books used are Headway and some in-country produced material for the higher levels. Students are for the most part, very responsive and congenial. Offices are shared but large. Computers are decent. The bad is that the facilities are spread out. Administration is in one building and the teachers are across town in a building with classrooms. To address this, a car ferries teachers back and forth at noon(free).
There was an issue with large classes last year (40) but teachers were paid double salary for this burden. Yes. Double.
Management The director is fair and is trying to run a show without being obtrusive, over-bearing or in your face. He is responsive and helps out a lot with many issues teachers have. All in all, it is a supportive environment. The ladies' college, by all accounts, as I have talked to the girls, feel similar about their director. They like her and think she is fair. Most teachers work 4 hours a day. Either 8-3 or 10-5 with a three hour break. Teacher's daily office hour is one hour of the break. Many leave for lunch. Other's surf the net or do prep/homework.
In the past, there was a director in 2005-6 who was not well received.
There was a great interim director who was very well like and supported but now there is a very able fella at the helm.
Housing.Most live on two small compounds. One has 10 houses and the other about 50-60?. The housing is 10mins. outside of the city. It is more than adequate accommodation. Some live in the city in one or two apartment buildings near the school.
The housing backs on to a mountain park so it's actually quite nice.
Transportation and driving There are 3 shopping trips into the city each week. Some of the men have cars, which provide a much different experience in Saudi Arabia, especially in Hail. If male and coming here, GET A CAR. If not, then take the 600sr transportation allowance and spend it on taxis. Bad- The buses aren't adequate and there are not enough trips to the city each week but to my understanding, anyone who wants to go goes.
Traffic is mostly light and there are no traffic snarls. Waiting for more than one redlight does not occur - except at one intersection that has a 17 second green! Things are too far apart to walk. The highways are decent but in town, there are many potholes and reckless drivers...mostly older Bedu who don't use mirrors! There is a new 6-lane freeway passing by Hail that runs from Riyadh to the Jordanian border. It is about 80% opened. It takes 3 hours to Qassim and Madinah and 5 hours to Riyadh. There are some fast young drivers but they usually pass on the left so it's not much of an issue. The compounds are outside the city and one can't just go in on a whim. A phonecall to a sometimes unreliable taxi has to be made. I hear that taxis cost 25-40sr one way in a taxi from the compounds to town. In town, I think it's a flat 10sr.
Hail City Hail has 250,000 people in the city and another 250,000 in the surrounding villages that come to shop in Hail so there is reasonable selection for half a million people. Stores include Panda (like a Carrefour or Tesco), a largish Indian market containing knockoffs of electronics, shoes and everything in between. There is a women's mall called Samah Center. Men can go but if suspected of fraternizing with women, you will be asked to leave. There are 2 malls opening up...but who knows when. There are 4 Herfys, 2 McDs, 3 KFC, 1 Hardee's and two or three decent restaurants. Two Pizza Huts, Little Caesers, Kudu and a bunch of Basin Robins are the extent of the western restuarants. There is great debate as to whether or not the decent restaurants are decent, but they're OK. There is a stripmall where Panda is but it's dinky. There are several gyms. We do have access to the best one (Fitness Time) but one needs a car as it's on the other side of town and only available before about 2pm for staff. There are many shwarma and Turkish restaurants with good cheap food. There are also several other larger supermarkets- Arbrar and Salaheia. There are no western style coffee houses like Starbucks or Java Time.
Locals Can't say enough about them. They are so friendly. I've been served more tea, dates and Turkish coffee than you can imagine. My car broke down 300km outside Hail. The police had my car towed, but took me to their station, provided refreshments and drove me back to Hail in their police vehicles, all within the afternoon. It is very easy to be here and get invited somewhere....but you need a car.
Airport There is nothing good to say. It has too few flights. Typically, an overnight has to be done in Riyadh if going anywhere to/from Saudi Arabia. The flights to Riyadh are cheap...99sr to 200sr one way. There are one or two flights in the morning and two or three at night to Riyadh and Jeddah. I drive to King Khalid Airport in Riyadh to avoid a 9 hour layover in Riyadh negotiating exorbitant taxi fares.
Furnishings Adequate to excellent. There is not equal distribution of furnishings. One has to advocate for oneself. BUT, if one has a car, there is no issue in getting anything from the warehouse. My one bedroom house came with: new fridge, new stove with 4 elements, new-ish washer, 2 air conditioners that have heating and cooling functions and lastly a radiant heater.
Kitchen: tea set/dishtowels/glasses/pots,pans/kettle/plate set/dish rack, cooking utensils/cutlery/frying pan
Living area: three love seats/sofa/curtains, sheers/high quality desk/coffee table, dining room table/chairs/office chair/end tables/lamps/2 nice area rugs
Bedroom: new mattress/wardrobe/dressing table/night stand/clother stand/iron/ironing board/clothes dryer rack
Bathroom is tiled to 2m height/easy to clean/sprayer/bidet/bathtub/two mirrors/shower.
House was wired so satellite leaves no cables anywhere. I believe good tvs are 1000sr, receiver and installagion run about 300 or so.
Bottled water is now delivered once or twice a week. 3sr for 20litre
The bad about housing: Lots of extension cords are needed. The cheap ones short-circuit. There is a feeling of being deserted as people lock themselves in their homes. The layout is suburban style, landscaped with desert shrubs, but not particularly appealing as say, the Dipl. Qtr in Riyadh. Internet is supplied but is unstable. A new provider may have changed that but no one's holding their breath. Water has gone off half a dozen times-usually for an hour or two but at least once, it was off for two days. There are two stores nearby. One is the gas station, 300m away and the other is in a small theme park, 300m away in the other direction.
Stability and Pay There are quite a few men and women who have been here for several years. One fella 11 years and quite a few 5+ years and they are in no hurry to leave. Wages are on the rise and it will soon be no secret that Hail's wages, due to its being off the beaten track, will rise to be the highest in the region for a 4 yr college. 15000- 18500/month is now advertised for this September's openings. What this means is that turnover will be low come contract renewal. Pay is never late for direct hires and all paperwork goes very well if filled out properly.
Weather Hail is 1,000m in elevation. This means cooler nights and much cooler summers than all the major cities in KSA. Looking at the records of the past, it is not often above 40c in the summer and most days are in the high-30s at that time. Dec-March are cool, pleasant and very sunny. More duststorms than we'd like though, spring is the season for them. Spring should see many days between 25 and 35 until June. Of course, in the sun it feels like 50c.
.................J .. F ..M.. A ..M .. J .. J ..A.. S..O.. N..D (Wunderground)
High ( C ) 17 19 23 28 33 37 38 39 37 32 23 19
Low ( C ) .3 5 .8 .14 .18 . .22 .23 .24 .21 . 16 .9 .5
A few sentences has turned into a 'What to expect in you come to Hail'
I expect this post to be fully trashed so have a go at it 'Hail bashers'.
mts. |
I read your posts on u of hail and they were impartial and informative. Thanks for taking your time. I just have a question. I was contacted by the head of a dept and was told that he is interested in my CV. He asked me to fill an application form and told me that he had forwarded it to the relevant people. He told me that he is not sure when I will be notified about the outcome because it is beyond his control. he said that it might take 3 - 12 months. Do you know any idea about the duration? |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:39 am Post subject: |
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I assume that you noticed that this thread ended 4 years ago.
And I would believe what the head of a department at the employer tells you rather than take the word of an anonymous poster on a board who will certainly know less about it than the employer. It seems to be a remarkably honest answer to this question - as so many employers give applicants false hope of something happening quickly... and it rarely does.
All you can do is wait and see what happens. Good Luck!
VS |
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ammziadh
Joined: 12 Nov 2013
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:59 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
I assume that you noticed that this thread ended 4 years ago.
And I would believe what the head of a department at the employer tells you rather than take the word of an anonymous poster on a board who will certainly know less about it than the employer. It seems to be a remarkably honest answer to this question - as so many employers give applicants false hope of something happening quickly... and it rarely does.
All you can do is wait and see what happens. Good Luck!
VS |
Yes. I did notice it ended a long time ago  . I agree it is a wait game. I was just surprised to hear that the uncertainty range is 9 months! Do you have any idea about the average duration? Did it really take one year :S or is it just a worst case scenario? |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 4:50 pm Post subject: |
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No one knows... obviously including management.  Even if someone came on and said that they got on the job in 3 months... that really doesn't mean a thing as relates to your application.
Part of the adventure of Saudi Arabia...
VS |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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| ammziadh wrote: |
| I was just surprised to hear that the uncertainty range is 9 months! Do you have any idea about the average duration? Did it really take one year :S or is it just a worst case scenario? |
Oddly, nine months would put you right around the start of the 2014 academic year. |
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sicklyman
Joined: 02 Feb 2013
Posts: 930
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| Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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| It's not the U of Hail, but applying for direct hire positions to Aramco might not generate a response for up to a year. It's the way life is here. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 7:40 pm Post subject: |
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| This is one aspect of life in the Middle East that takes some getting used to ! |
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ammziadh
Joined: 12 Nov 2013
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:59 am Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| ammziadh wrote: |
| I was just surprised to hear that the uncertainty range is 9 months! Do you have any idea about the average duration? Did it really take one year :S or is it just a worst case scenario? |
Oddly, nine months would put you right around the start of the 2014 academic year. |
I know. I hope they ll consider intake for Spring semester  |
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ammziadh
Joined: 12 Nov 2013
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:02 am Post subject: |
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| sicklyman wrote: |
| It's not the U of Hail, but applying for direct hire positions to Aramco might not generate a response for up to a year. It's the way life is here. |
They can get good people if they change this. I think that a lot of people are put off by this alone. |
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ammziadh
Joined: 12 Nov 2013
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:03 am Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| This is one aspect of life in the Middle East that takes some getting used to ! |
Yep. I guess so.  |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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| ammziadh wrote: |
| sicklyman wrote: |
| It's not the U of Hail, but applying for direct hire positions to Aramco might not generate a response for up to a year. It's the way life is here. |
They can get good people if they change this. I think that a lot of people are put off by this alone. |
And sensibly so, as it also gives you a hint of the many other things that you will dislike once you are there. Many go after a hint like this and find that they can't accept the fact that the Saudis don't care whether this bothers us or not...
This is a country where teachers need to be the type that "goes with the flow" and has low expectations. 
VS |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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It's not going to change; it's bred in the bone. On the plus side, however, Saudi is a great place to up your patience level to previously undreamed of heights.
Regards,
John |
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