Job Discussion Forums

[ruun1994]

I was just offered a post in Narjan through sgs. I am a single female and wanted to know more about the city and as a woman would I be able to go places without a mahram? Is it a modern city and does it have alot of foreigners? Any info on this city would be of help.

[trapezius]

It is spelled Najran.

Yes, there will be a lot of foreigners in Najran, as in any other city in SA, but in this case, it will be all Arabs and South Asians... I doubt there will be anybody there from Europe, Australia, or the Americas.

And no, it is not a very modern city. Yes, you will find most amenities there, but relative to the big populations centers of SA, it is nothing. It is in a way similar to cities such as Ha'il, Tabuk, Yanbu, etc. Small, not very commercially developed, and a lot greener than the big cities.

I am sure you can go places without a male, but it will just be odd and you will surely attract stares. Not a good place for a single expat woman.

Some info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najran_Province
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_community_of_Najran
http://www.nu.edu.sa/gui/default.aspx?langid=2

Hit up Google for more info.

[dnaleslie]

Trapezius,

I am also considering Najran. I have searched Google for a while and come up with information about the Ismaelis and Najran Christians, only. Did you work at Najran U? Or know anybody who has? It is a funny mystery that there isn't much in the way of pictures of the place. Any reason in particular?

[Demigod]

The distant mountains and the sporadic cloud formations. These are some the beautiful sites in Najran, Saudi Arabia. The loose gravel constructed mountains mask what we call a �hybrid hell�.
My smile soon turned too a very stern frown, as I stared at flies picking away at the dead monkey carcass. The stiff grayish finger appeared like a old witch, preparing to curse us all. A few minutes later my hopes were rekindled, as I stared at the beautiful campus and grassy soccer fields tucked away in a neat concave. Our tears of joy quickly turned in tears of pain as we learned that this beautiful campus was not our school. The sign read �Welcome to Najran school of Technology� The driver was silent as each passing mile marked the beginning of a pain stating ordeal.

The next day, I was confused because we were given a tour of some old chicken coop. The scene was quite traumatic. No one was around, except a family of wild cats chewing on old bones and paper. This old abandoned building was our place of employment. There was no internet and exposed electrical wires. The water pressure is very low and if you lucky the cafeteria staff would not pick their nose before delivering your order. We all would become skillful at avoiding the bathrooms. The permanent layer of brown water contain sand, poop, and sometimes articles of clothing. The stench of sewage lingers like a poisonous fog. I must have viewed the wrong website, prior to my arrival. The term Inshallah quickly lost it luster. It turned into a catch phrase for many definitions such as:

�I do not care about your problems because I have not been paid in three months�
� Hitchhike to work, I do not care what your contract says�
�I do not care if there is a small scale war only 15 km from Najran�
�f u Kafar�
: �(
The local soccer games serve as suitable entertainment. The lone western female player showed promise, until another player delivered the classic sub zero low sweep, mortal combat style (ouch). That event and complaints forced her into early retirement. WHAT SHALL COME OF US! ITS THAT DEAD MONKEY, I TELL YOU, ITS THAT DEAD MONKEY CURSING US ALL! We all look forward to the long walks around town. The piles of wore out sandals can be founded stacked in some Bengalis� room. At night, Najran blisters with noise and random car honking. The small groups of westerns search nomadically for their sense of belonging. They show patterns like small groups of endangered species searching for new sources of food. We are shunned upon and serve as magnets for Egyptian scam artists, who masquerade as hotel doormen. The shockwaves from fighter planes are felt outside our hotel. The concern for our safety is more of less ignored, so at night we maintain half packed suitcases. We just pray that they do not bomb the local airport.

The exam week is drawing to a close. The squadron of flies attack us relentlessly in school. The love letters from MALE STUDENTS, who seek free marks begin to stack up in the thrash cans. WHAT SHALL COME OF US? ITS THAT DEAD MONKEY. I can imagine that monkey unleashing all of Cupids arrows and slinging poop everywhere. The lack of the iquama prevents us from renting any form of transportation. We have to walk, hitchhike or beg the staff to take us somewhere. We just hope that our driver isn�t some angry militant from the mountains. I do not want to be on youtube with a piece of tape over my mouth
Our supervisor has been flagged for sending our salaries home for us. I guess we have to start keeping money in our rooms. I guess we have to wait for Edex/Skyline/Education experts to issue us the proper visas. Its nearly been three month already. Maybe that dead monkey is in Riyadh causing havoc. The hallways here are gloomy like some resident evil video game. My room is dark and the night air relieves all stress. Sometimes, I am scared, sometimes I can feel that dead monkeys stiff bony finger poking me at night trying to keep me awake. If you lay still you can hear him�you can hear that Dead Monkey whispering in your ear.. WELCOME! WELCOME! To Najran, Saudi Arabia WELCOME! To my hell

[Demigod]

Urggh!! We are all losing sleep and bashing the bishop has become trends here in Najran, Saudi Arabia. The dead monkey is pressing forward and we are running for cover. I toss and turn at night in a cold hotel room. I can feel its wet tongue licking my neck and drooling on my scalp. I wake up in the morning cold and feeling violated. I am scared because the dead monkey can appear in many forms. It is poking the local laundry mat workers. My shirts are returned two sizes smaller and sometimes with bleach stains on colored material. Our western clothes are replaced with Saudi throbes that are too long. They are very comfortable, until you have visit the restroom. The dead monkey laughs at you because you tip- toe through brown water. The monkey pokes your thighs because you forgot the toilet paper and it hurts to squat using Eastern tiolets. The spray doesn�t work and the water cohesion turns the bottom of your white throbe, doo doo brown.

So many valued customs stand on opposing sides. The memories of fresh flowers and running water soothes the mind. The sun bakes the body, as pay day becomes the only motivating factor in Najran. The days and nights quickly pass, but the smell of sewage lingers in our hotel. The days are glaring and the nights are cold. The apparent hate from the Eastern teachers have provided meaning to an already dismal experience. The attempt of building bridges has only cemented defense positions. The random verbal light fire provides brief entertainment. We have learned that the greater the smile from Eastern teachers, the more hatred is brewing inside of them. The more the dead monkey is poking them.. Islam teaches us to be patient and humble, but this mean that we have to let people run all over us? Does it means that we just bend over and let the dead monkey have its way with us? In the west, we are taught to beat the crap out of anyone, who attempts anything insulting. The dead monkey has even learned to play mind games. It has divided our work force and it is eliminating the western teachers at will

I find myself wearing throbes on the days that I believe the dead monkey is sleeping. Urgghh!! The monkey doesn�t sleep,�it is just poking other individuals. I find myself wearing pants or Paki. Clothes, when the dead monkey takes the form of locals and teachers alike. Its our defense mechanism, that is permissible only for a short time. The dead monkey has learned to take different shapes and forms. The dead monkey has even kept our passports in an undisclosed location in the Rimas hotel. I can see that dead monkey..I can see its rotten fingers wrapped around our passports and copying information. I CAN SEE IT, CLEARLY!!! I can see the dead monkey going to the UK with the British passport. I can see it poking some bloody tosser. I can see the dead monkey in America, urinating on the recent health care bill and poking Brett Favre in the red zone.
"In Riyadh, in Riyadh your passports are" This is what we are told constantly for over a month. The dead monkey has made a home in Jordan. This time his bony fingers are holding their forked tongues. So many lies, ..hmm maybe it�s the southern bone that the dead monkey is putting on their tongues. The dead monkey is quite global. It has even been with that Nigerian idiot and poking airplane mechanics working in Lebanon.
LETS GO DOCTOR!, let us eat and become great friends!, YES! YES!, welcome to Najran!
, but if you marry any Saudi girl, I will KILL YOU!
Welcome people, welcome to Najran, Saudi Arabia.. WELCOME TO MY HYBRID HELL!

[johnslat]

Dear Demigod,

You're recycling old material. WE WANT NEW DEAD MONKEY!!!!



Regards,
John

[dnaleslie]

yes, please!
new material.

[Demigod]

Ok give me a few days too sort out everything

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[veiledsentiments]

No no... he meant too days!!

We can barely wait demigod...

VS

[johnslat]

Let's hope it won;t be like Waiting for Demigodot.

Regards,
John

[scot47]

I do wish the OP would fix that spelling so it reads NAJRAN !

[veiledsentiments]

If ruun1994 doesn't know how:

Go to your original post and in the upper right corner there is a button that says 'edit.'

It will allow you to correct what is typed in your subject line...

and

taa daa... it looks so much better.

VS

[Mia Xanthi]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Yep. Now we can all go to obsessing on something else, eh?

NCTBA