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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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 Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:46 pm Post subject: |
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| and Gulf TEFLers age even faster |
Presumably you're referring to the Hijjri year having eleven days less than the Gregorian ;) |
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thrifty
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 1665
Location: chip van
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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| No, I was referring to them aging faster because of the misery, stress, miserliness, homebrew, bad diet, obesity, lack of exercise etc. |
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Will.
Joined: 02 May 2003
Posts: 783
Location: London Uk
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry thrifty I pm:ed this to you by mistake i think,
And I think to myself
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What a wonderful world/job/career |
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Justin Trullinger
Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 3110
Location: Seoul, South Korea and Myanmar for a bit
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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What are you doing in TEFL?
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Erm, I enjoy it. And like the lifestyle that I have and the country I live in. It's provided me with opportunities that I feel my peers back home have missed.
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| Can't you get out? |
I suppose I could- I've seen others do it who are no brighter or more talented than I. I don't want to.
And Will, no worries about quotes or context. I think that's probably true in TEFL. I think it's true in most fields. A job for life isn't reality in our generation. I don't think I'd want it to be in any case- I like change.
But in most fields, one uses a job to get experience and expertise that enable one to move to another job that one likes even better. Nothing wrong with that.
justin |
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Henry_Cowell
Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 3352
Location: Berkeley
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Justin Trullinger wrote: |
| But in most fields, one uses a job to get experience and expertise that enable one to move to another job that one likes even better. |
Once again Justin hits the nail on the head. With some TEFLers, however, laziness and lack of self-esteem prevent them from "moving" ever again. How sad and pathetic is that?  |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| them aging faster because of the misery, stress, miserliness, homebrew, bad diet, obesity, lack of exercise etc. |
Misery & stress in the Gulf? Boredom certainly, but no more stress than elswhere, or maybe stress over different things.
miserliness; some are misers, some are spendthrifts; doubtful if either affects life-expectancy.
homebrew; plenty of us don't drink in Saudi; and is homebrew that much worse than 7 cans of EFe from Carrefour?
bad diet: the quality and variety of food in restaurants and supermarkets is excellent here - not as good as Spain or Italy or India maybe, but much better than the US, UK or Korea.
obesity; any evidence that TEFLers in the Gulf are more obese than elsewhere? In general obesity seems to vary more by country of origin than country of residence as far as TEFLers are concerned.
lack of exercise; I walk about an hour a day. Loads of my colleagues work out at the gym. Plenty play tennis or basketball or even cricket well into their fifties. |
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thrifty
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 1665
Location: chip van
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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Last edited by thrifty on Fri Jun 16, 2006 8:05 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Name me one Spanish or Italian restaurant in Jubail. |
I didn't say there was one. Looks like you're curing the hangover with the tail of the dog.
As far as restaurants go Jubail is no great shakes. Riyadh, Jeddah or Khobar are excellent though.
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| Homebrow is infinitely worse than 7 bottles of Efes. |
Depends who's brewing it :) On a more serious note plenty of people don't drink at all in Saudi, and only at weekends in other countries in the Gulf. Probalby extends longevity.
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| Supermarkets-a tiny Panda, a Giant Store and Same Sameway-no organic food is there? |
What percentage of the western population eats organic food anyway. And you're talking about Jubail, not the whole of Saudi Arabia. And even in Jubail there is an immense choice of fruit and vegetables at a reasonable price (take a look at the price of those in Korea).
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| There is more obesity amongst Gulf ex-pats and miserliness too. |
Perhaps it's just the company you keep :)
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| Stress-don't make me laugh-look at what has happened at your place this year. |
One year in six. And stress at work depends on the particular employer more than the country. There's little job security anywhere in TEFL, but at least if you work in the Gulf there's some money to tide you over. |
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thrifty
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 1665
Location: chip van
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="Stephen Jones"]
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| Name me one Spanish or Italian restaurant in Jubail. |
I didn't say there was one. Looks like you're curing the hangover with the tail of the dog.
As far as restaurants go Jubail is no great shakes. Riyadh, Jeddah or Khobar are excellent though.
Riyadh is excellent for restaurants, no it isn't. How many Spanish restaurants are there?
| Quote: |
| Homebrow is infinitely worse than 7 bottles of Efes. |
Depends who's brewing it On a more serious note plenty of people don't drink at all in Saudi, and only at weekends in other countries in the Gulf. Probalby extends longevity. Sure, it just seems longer.
| Quote: |
| Supermarkets-a tiny Panda, a Giant Store and Same Sameway-no organic food is there? |
What percentage of the western population eats organic food anyway. And you're talking about Jubail, not the whole of Saudi Arabia. And even in Jubail there is an immense choice of fruit and vegetables at a reasonable price (take a look at the price of those in Korea). Where is this immense choice? Even the wholesale market is not that good.
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| There is more obesity amongst Gulf ex-pats and miserliness too. |
Perhaps it's just the company you keep We keep the same company.
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| Stress-don't make me laugh-look at what has happened at your place this year. |
One year in six. And stress at work depends on the particular employer more than the country. There's little job security anywhere in TEFL, but at least if you work in the Gulf there's some money to tide you over.[/ Depends also on your collegues and management.
You must be sorry to be leaving. |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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| no it isn't. How many Spanish restaurants are there? |
You seem to have a fixation on Spanish restaurants. Presumably Istanbul is awash with them. The last Spanish meal I ate in Riyadh was at the Khozaima, when they flew a chef in from Madrid. The meal was excellent, but exorbitantly expensive and the portions were miniscule - I went off and had a hamburger afterwards.
There are a large number of excellent Chinese, Indian, Lebanese, Moroccan, Thai and even Saudi restaurants in Riyadh. Nothing compared to what you get in London (except for the Lebanese), but probably a quarter of the price.
MOD EDIT |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 12:29 am Post subject: |
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There were many things I didn't like about my five years in Saudi Arabia - but one of the things I liked MOST was the great variety of excellent and relatively inexpensive restaurants.
From great sushi and tepanyaki (Tokyo Restaurant in Riyadh) to a great Korean buffet, to French cuisine - to Indian and Pakistani foods - even a decent Mexican joint - it would be hard to replicate anywhere else.
Personally, I made a d*mn good home-made vodka while I was there.
Last edited by tedkarma on Sat Jun 17, 2006 12:32 am; edited 1 time in total |
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saint57
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 1221
Location: Beyond the Dune Sea
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| Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 12:32 am Post subject: |
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Personally, I made a d*mn good home-made vodka while I was there.
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Please explain the process. I want to become a moonshiner in Malaysia. I have heard you can make some booze out of pineapples. |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 12:38 am Post subject: |
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| Shoot me a PM - probably best not done on the board . . . |
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saint57
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 1221
Location: Beyond the Dune Sea
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| Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 12:53 am Post subject: |
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Giddy Up!  |
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Henry_Cowell
Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 3352
Location: Berkeley
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| Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 1:10 am Post subject: |
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| Palm and rice both make for most excellent beers (as well as wines). I myself like a nice red palm wine. |
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