Job Discussion Forums

Hatcher · Joined: 20 Mar 2008 Posts: 602

Yes, Gamajorba is right

I will add the skylines of major cities are horrible.

Maybe the biggest surprise is how spiteful Saudis are in spite of 70 haddiths against it.

water rat · Joined: 30 Aug 2014 Posts: 1098 Location: North Antarctica

mnruman · Joined: 30 Mar 2015 Posts: 93 Location: Manchester, UK

Gamajorba · Joined: 03 May 2015 Posts: 357

hash · Joined: 17 Dec 2014 Posts: 456 Location: Wadi Jinn

1. Disabuse yourself (that means: to discard an idea….) of any feelings of self-importance that you may have once you actually get hired.

You definitely were not hired because or your sterling qualities or experience…….you were just next in line or your application was the one they didn’t lose or something like that.

2. You’re not going over to KSA to teach…..you’re going to pretend to teach. An ESL teacher’s real job in KSA is largely (though not exclusively) more a matter of baby-sitting than it is academic instruction.

Every once in a while, regale your classes with cakes and cookies – this is considered “culturally sensitive” and will bring you high marks in your evaluations. Keep repeating to yourself throughout the day how “wonderful” everything is, even though inside you’re raging.

3. Keep in mind that ultimately, you’re not really wanted in KSA. Most ESL programs are totally fictitious in form and function and exist solely because of government edicts in an attempt to appear “modern” and “up to date”. At your place of work, you will be at the bottom of the totem pole and you will be viewed with a mixture of revulsion and contempt, especially in the military programs.

4. Don’t believe a thing you hear, either from a local or from a “collegue”. This is especially true with regards to “salaries”. Demand to see a payslip to confirm what you’ve been told (although no one will ever show you his). Your collegues will regale you with astonishing past accomplishments and stories: “We own a tea plantation in Sri Lanka (real name: Ceylon)……my grandfather established Lufthansa……I don’t really have to be here – I got a high pension coming in from the govt………I’m building a house in Chiang Mai (Siam)……..we have a tourist spa in Manila….. "I was in charge of" ..........and so on. None of it is true.

5. Be careful with ESL self-infatuation: “I do this in class with my students and it works great….we pass pieces of paper around and then we…….” “I have a Saudi friend !!!..... These and similar statements of grandeur are rife. Don’t believe a word of it.

------> be especially careful of people who want to befriend you at once. These are usually the people who have been rejected by others and so try to latch on to any newcomer.

You don’t have to be or become cynical…just realistic. Remember, though: don’t fall for the trap of thinking to yourself that “your case will be different” “that may have been true for others, but it’s not going to happen to me” and so on. It will happen to you….in spades.

akoo1 · Joined: 06 Apr 2015 Posts: 87

I like the way you think, hash.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I lost count of the number of dysfunctional "Walter Mitty" types I met amongst the foreigners working in KSA. Just avoid them - of you can. There are some people around who have a little sanity left.

Learn to be self-sufficient and self-contained. Books are a great solace. It did seem to me sometimes that those under the age of around 50 are incapable of reading a book.

johnslat · Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 7:35 pm Post subject:

Don't think that any one person's experience of Saudi is the final truth. Some people hate it, some can tolerate it, some (believe it or not) actually enjoy it.

Your experience will depend mainly on two things: who your employer is, and who you are.

No one can accurately predict how Saudi will affect you. All they can tell you is how it affected them.

Regards,
John

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

The Sage of Santa Fe got it ! Egad - another Thoreau or Mark twain !

Gamajorba · Joined: 03 May 2015 Posts: 357

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

In 1970 when I arrived in Jeddah at the age of 23, no one had "explained" anything to me. I knew how to use a public library and did some reading before I went.

I had travelled a bit in Europe -West and East - and could speak a couple of foreign languages. Nothing prepared me for the experience of living in KSA and working as the only non-Muslim in a Saudi Intermediate school. Life-changing.

In 2011 I said my "Adieu" to Saudi. I miss the place. Sometimes - especially on payday.

Looking back, I was young and naïve. Now I am just old and naïve.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Gamajorba · Joined: 03 May 2015 Posts: 357

Just to further add to the expensive getting in/out of the country business (I'm using Riyadh as the basis of my comments as that's where I fundamentally live):

Riyadh airport is served by a wide range of carriers, including:
Air France x 1 (Paris)
Lufthansa x 2 (1 to Munich, 1 to Frankfurt)
British Airways x 1 (Heathrow)
Qatar x 2
Emirates x 2
Etihad x 2
Flydubai x 1 (Dubai Int)
Middle East Airlines x 2
Turkish x 2 (Istanbul Ataturk)
Gulf Air x 6

These are pretty popular routes from what I've noticed. But look at how poor the frequencies are. That's at a daily maximum. Plus Saudia/FlyNas may only have one or two extra to bump such services up. So, lets take the UAE, probably the most popular destination country - 6 flights a day across 5 airlines. Are the prices cheap? Oh hell no they're not. I still see flights to Dubai International (served by FOUR of them) constantly above 1500SAR for a 90 minute trip each way. Even booking 6 months in advance is still around 1000SAR.

Let's bear in mind another thing - think of everything that is not permitted in Saudi; pork, alcohol, gender integration, etc. It isn't even just the expats going for such things, it's the Saudis themselves going for it! And Saudis LOVE spending their money on material things (that's another story). Many of my students have told me they have spent thousands of riyals simply to go to Dubai for a few days. They don't care with things like this. And they're too good for buses, which is a super cheap alternative, but the land borders are absolutely miserable - Bahrain in particular (where the border is just flooded with desperate Saudis who have no driving etiquette)

And if anyone is in the same situation as me where planning anything even for the next week is nigh on impossible, then flying is an expensive affair. Case point - I somehow got 4.5 days free, and didn't want to spend them in Saudi, so I looked for the next available flights to countries I hadn't been to already leaving that evening, and had a choice:

Doha - 3500SAR
Hong Kong - 4500SAR

Naturally, I chose Hong Kong. Admittedly, that ticket was half Premium Economy, but going to Doha was only Economy. Go figure eh? (and thank god Cathay Pacific upgraded me both ways too, so definitely got value for money!)

Another point - when do you ever see Saudis use buses? or taxis for that matter? They're above such modes of transport, thus they drive or fly. So because they're all prepared to pay the top dollar, and combine it with limited flight schedules, the prices simply go up and up.

Speaking of taxis - using taxis that go out of Riyadh are also a great way to spend a fortune. If one is stupid, that is. I live some 100km out of Riyadh and have no car, and colleagues are rarely prepared to drive to Riyadh outside of work time, thus I have to use taxis to get to Riyadh. Given how cheap gas is (a full tank in a Hyundai Sonata is like, what, $5?), you'd think taxis driven by Saudis would be cheap - WRONG. They instead insist on fares of 200-350SAR to go 100km...so greed plays a part in it as well.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

4 days free and you could not spend them in KSA !? Wow.

ADHD ?

Gamajorba · Joined: 03 May 2015 Posts: 357