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bigdurian
Joined: 05 Feb 2014
Posts: 401
Location: Flashing my lights right behind you!
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 Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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How much fun you can have here.
So many people moan so much, but you can actually have a good time.
A great time even.
I've said this before I think, but we go out more here than we did in The City of Sin AKA Bangkok. Kids are a bit older now and it's safer for them when we;re out somewhere, but even so, I would never have predicted that.
KSA is not the death of your social life, it can be the birth of it. |
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cnthaiksarok
Joined: 29 Jun 2012
Posts: 288
Location: between a rock and a sandy place
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| bigdurian wrote: |
| KSA is not the death of your social life, it can be the birth of it. |
Agree 100x. Have some safety parameters in place and keep the "fun" in places where the Saudis not only know but expect it to be happening (while turning a necessary blind eye).
Lots of opportunities to have a blast here.
I spend my first 3 months off-compound and tirelessly networking....(back before internet or mobile phones had blown up)....I remember running with a list of possible compound partier invites to the Call Cabin, with a song of hope in my heart.  |
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Gamajorba
Joined: 03 May 2015
Posts: 357
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 6:22 pm Post subject: |
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| bigdurian wrote: |
KSA is not the death of your social life, it can be the birth of it. |
Are you kidding me? Mine died the moment I arrived. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Gamajorba wrote: |
| bigdurian wrote: |
| KSA is not the death of your social life, it can be the birth of it. |
Are you kidding me? Mine died the moment I arrived. |
Which was something you should have seriously researched and considered before agreeing to come to KSA. Not everyone can hack it, which is apparent based on your umpteen comments about the boring culture, your incompetent coworkers, your lousy students, the bad traffic, the high cost of airfare, being unloved by the Saudis, your decision to work for a crappy contracting company... yada yada ad nauseam. Khalas. Maybe you should put that negative energy into something positive like packing since you're leaving KSA for good very soon.  |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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Dear bigdurian, cnthaiksarok, and Gamajorba,
Thank you.
I rest my case. 
"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 |
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Gamajorba
Joined: 03 May 2015
Posts: 357
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| Gamajorba wrote: |
| bigdurian wrote: |
| KSA is not the death of your social life, it can be the birth of it. |
Are you kidding me? Mine died the moment I arrived. |
Which was something you should have seriously researched and considered before agreeing to come to KSA. Not everyone can hack it, which is apparent based on your umpteen comments about the boring culture, your incompetent coworkers, your lousy students, the bad traffic, the high cost of airfare, being unloved by the Saudis, your decision to work for a crappy contracting company... yada yada ad nauseam. Khalas. Maybe you should put that negative energy into something positive like packing since you're leaving KSA for good very soon. |
Thing is, I came here knowing Saudis, as I was teaching them back in England. They egged me on to apply, and I did as a joke. Never actually believed I would even be considered for a position, and took it for a variety of reasons that are NOT salary related. One of them was the impression that I would be able to meet up with my ex students and their friends.
Truth is - they were the same as the rest of the country; serial liars, fake and completely uninterested in anything outside their periphery. Even when I went back to the UK, meeting them was Mission Impossible. I very nearly wound up in Jeddah alone thanks to one student, and ended up wasting an entire day thanks to another for screwing me around in Riyadh.
Oh, and did I mention the UK embassy REJECTED my application to join them, because I don't live in Riyadh? Not to mention until this week, I've been left with precious little time to actually do anything socially or productive due to my location, lack of transport and not being able to drive. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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Your "application to join the British Embassy was rejected " You phoned up and asked if you could drop in for a G&T ? Was Carleton-Browne too busy ?
This is some kind of wind-up, right ?
Maybe you really are the self-obsessed narcissist that you portray in your posts ? |
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cmp45
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 1475
Location: KSA
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
Your "application to join the British Embassy was rejected " You phoned up and asked if you could drop in for a G&T ? Was Carleton-Browne too busy ?
This is some kind of wind-up, right ?
Maybe you really are the self-obsessed narcissist that you portray in your posts ? |
 sure seems that way... |
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cmp45
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 1475
Location: KSA
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 8:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Gamajorba wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| Gamajorba wrote: |
| bigdurian wrote: |
| KSA is not the death of your social life, it can be the birth of it. |
Are you kidding me? Mine died the moment I arrived. |
Which was something you should have seriously researched and considered before agreeing to come to KSA. Not everyone can hack it, which is apparent based on your umpteen comments about the boring culture, your incompetent coworkers, your lousy students, the bad traffic, the high cost of airfare, being unloved by the Saudis, your decision to work for a crappy contracting company... yada yada ad nauseam. Khalas. Maybe you should put that negative energy into something positive like packing since you're leaving KSA for good very soon. |
Thing is, I came here knowing Saudis, as I was teaching them back in England. They egged me on to apply, and I did as a joke. Never actually believed I would even be considered for a position, and took it for a variety of reasons that are NOT salary related. One of them was the impression that I would be able to meet up with my ex students and their friends.
Truth is - they were the same as the rest of the country; serial liars, fake and completely uninterested in anything outside their periphery. Even when I went back to the UK, meeting them was Mission Impossible. I very nearly wound up in Jeddah alone thanks to one student, and ended up wasting an entire day thanks to another for screwing me around in Riyadh.
Oh, and did I mention the UK embassy REJECTED my application to join them, because I don't live in Riyadh? Not to mention until this week, I've been left with precious little time to actually do anything socially or productive due to my location, lack of transport and not being able to drive. |
So you came to Saudi as a joke and you were upset about being stood up by some ex-Saudi student and you're miffed that the embassy didn't accept your request... ah it all makes sense now...good luck with your future endeavors...where ever you go there you are! |
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akoo1
Joined: 06 Apr 2015
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 8:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Poor Gambarjoba |
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