Job Discussion Forums

007 · Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 11:00 pm Post subject:

These are some of the recorded true stories about crazy Saudi students:

Saudi students rumble:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4d8_1176404070

Cleopatra · Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 10:28 am Post subject:

In my first job in KSA we had an ongoing variation on the insoluble nature-nurture debate: namely, are the weirdos already weird before they come here, or is it just that this place makes you weird? The general agreement was that the answer was "A little bit of both".

Personally, I partly agree with Stephen when he says that people here aren't any more weird than people elsewhere, it's just that you notice them more. I do think that there is a higher proportion of crackpotsworking in KSA than in other places, but I don't think that the weirdo count is quite as abnormally high as we sometimes think. It's just that conditions here tend to bring out the inner weirdo in all of us: what's the old saying, "Whatever you are Saudi Arabia makes it more so"?

People tend to live in one another's pockets here, not only working together, but travelling to and from work together and living in close quarters too. Combine this with the frustration, boredom and routine many people experience when living here, and any eccentricities tend to be magnified. I really don't think you can overestimate the importance of the boredom factor: people who elsewhere would have their frustrations and oddities channelled into other activities (or at least diluted by contact with a wider range of people) can begin to seem distinctly weird in the goldfish bowl environment of life in the K of SA.

Van Norden · Joined: 23 Oct 2004 Posts: 409

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Now that I am 'reformed' I find Saudi easier to deal with. This is not an easy environment for a performing drunk.

007 · Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 11:30 am Post subject:

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

I had nothing to do with the above list.

proof?

007 · Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 1:42 pm Post subject:

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

007 · Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 6:42 pm Post subject:

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

didn't you know copper wire was discovered by two Scots fighting over a penny piece?

running dog · Joined: 20 Oct 2005 Posts: 37

While no fan of eccentricity for its own sake, I have to admit the creepiest teachers I ever came across in Saudi were the supposedly "normal" ones. How could it be otherwise? Oh, they'd heard about the place before they arrived; the cultural and religious differences, the climate, the political situation, but what they seemed to have been expecting was somewhere like Mexico with perhaps a few more palm trees, and camels instead those cute donkeys you see in all the westerns. And then, bit by little bit, the truth would start to sink in ...... How long did it usually take before signs of incipient psychosis began to appear? A month? Two? The sudden, unexpected losses of concentration ("Where did I put that pen/worksheet? I mean, I had it in my hand a minute ago"), the unwarranted bursts of fury or paranoia ("I know what THEY'RE saying about me"), the attacks of lethargy or asthma ("Not coming in this morning. Sorry. Can't seem to get out of bed"), the grandiose plans for immediate escape ("I'm outta here, man. Now! Back to Japan!"). The predictable bafflement and fear of a western educated mind when forced to deal with a set of demands and mores that have all the consistency of phantom spaghetti. Alas, poor "sanity" ............. When the going gets weird, the weird are as close to being in their element as they're ever likely to be

Beast · Joined: 13 Nov 2005 Posts: 120

There was a guy with International House in Jubail that used to send Camel Dung to people in the US and UK that he didn't like. They finally dropped him off across the bridge in Bahrain with No ticket and a promise that a visa was coming. None ever did.

Queen of Sheba · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 397

The thing thats amusing with this story is that this guy used to pay to send those camel dung messages. I would have thought the school would have kept him around, if for nothing else, cleaning the streets of dung.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

The fact is that you can function fairly well in Saudi even when you are very odd. Nobody notices or, if they do, they don't care.

It is when you get back to Planet Terra that peoiple beging to notice. The men in white coats are often called in then. Or the pychonaut comes back to the Magic Kingdom. Personally I have reached the stage where I like it here.

It IS much nicer than Broadmoor or Carstairs.

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124