Job Discussion Forums

[kierith]

I'm not sure what to search for to get answers on the forum. I kind of wish the KSA forum had multiple boards/heading like the Korean board. Ok here goes.....

1. What power amps/volts and plugs does KSA have? Are plug adapters and transformers needed coming from the US?

2. The apartments in the compounds/apartment blocks have standard beds for sheets etc? Are sheets readily available for inexpensive purchasing? (Again I'm coming from having worked in Korea last and sheets were a bit hard to find and when I did find them they were expensive.)

3. Is it possible to buy a bike and ride it around like to the grocery store etc? Or is that a no go since I'm female?

4. What region is KSA for videos/dvds?

These are all I can think of off the top of my head right now....if I come up with more I hope you all can answer them for me.

[scot47]

It all depends.

Generally voltage is 220 but in ARAMCO 110 Some compounds follow Aramco precedent.

Anything you want can be bought here. Do not bring sheets etc with you.

A female may not use a bicycle in public. On a compound (well some compounds) it is okay

Most video/dvd players here are multi-system.

The crucial question is WHO IS YOUR EMPLOYER ? The answer to that is crucial in giving you information. Aramco - good. EdEx - bad.

[Mia Xanthi]

Sorry, scot47, but I have to disagree with you on the sheets. Where I worked, we were provided with very large, king-sized beds in some rooms, and some kind of bed that was between a single and a double in the other rooms. I had trouble in both cases finding sheets that 1)matched the size of the bed, 2) matched each other in terms of the top sheet matching the bottom one and both matching a blanket or bedspread, 3) were of decent quality to sleep on (many sheets in KSA are pure polyester - horrible), and 4) met all the above specifications and were reasonably priced.

You can go to places like Zara and find lovely all-cotton sheets, but they will cost a small fortune compared to what you would spend for similar high-quality sheets at Costco or Sam's in the States. Plus I could never find a top sheet and a bottom sheet (always sold separately, not in a package as in the US) that matched and were of the right size.

You can go to Geant and find passable sheets for a cheap price, but some of the patterns are awful and they'll fall apart when you wash them a couple of times.

On my first trip back home, the first thing I did was buy good sheet sets and comforters and ship them back. I feel that I saved money, time, and effort.

As for bicycles, I would agree with scot47 that you should leave it at home. Even Western men riding bikes attract a lot of unwanted attention, contempt, and smirks. A woman riding a bike would have to be wearing the requisite abaya if she wants to go outisde of her compound. The abaya would get caught in the chains, and that would be a mess. Even if you could get away without wearing the abaya, you still would attract far too much unwanted attention, because it's something women just do not do in the Kingdom.

Even young Saudi girls are prohibited from riding bikes at home in their compound. Many of my female students did not know how to ride one. There is some kind of belief that a girl who rides a bicycle can somehow end up interfering with the technical aspects of her virginity, if you get my drift. And that alone should give you an idea of what a strange, strange place you are considering travelling to.

[007]

[Mia Xanthi]

Never even thought about riding a bike in my abaya, 007. In the heat in KSA, I cannot imagine anyone riding a bike by choice, whether dressed in an abaya or not.

BTW, thanks for introducing me to the el-khoshary website. It's very, very funny. Everyone on here who enjoys a good laugh should check it out.

[veiledsentiments]

I love Al-Koshary or as we call it... The Egyptian Onion!!

Quite the picture accompanying the article.

VS

BTW... back to Ms Kierith... I don't think I had two beds the same measurements in the Gulf. So, forget about fitted sheets!! I always carried my own sheets as I am VERY picky about these. I found the sheets to be usually scratchy and... some really ugly colors and prints. I just took with me two king-sized flat sheets with pillowcases... and was ready for every possibility as to bed size.

[KME0050]

[scot47]

It just shows that men and women think differently. I would not think of bringing in sheets and I cannot imagine that any of my male colleagues would either !

[veiledsentiments]

So Scot... you just figured this out? That explains many many things....

VS

[scot47]

I long ago gave up trying to figure out what happens in the dark recesses of the female mind.

[cmp45]

[kierith]

Let me see if I understand the info so far....

The outlets are 220 but on occasion might be 110. But what are the plugs? Standard America style with the DC plug or an AC plug? Are they like Korean plugs (two round prongs) etc I need to know if I need a plug adapter for the laptop.

Beds could be any size so concensus is bring a large flat sheet or two.

A bike is not going to happen unless I want to potentially deal with a lot of needless hassle.

DVD players are multi-region so if I bring some of my favorites from the States and Korea I can play them without having to switch regions on the comp. (Not that I plan on bringing my video collection but one or two of my favorites mainly).

So did I get the correct impression from the posts or am I still missing something?

Also a couple of questions for the other women out there~~

Are larger sized clothes available I mean larger than a 14/16 (US/UK/OZ).

Are women's shoes available in larger sizes? In Korea the largest size for women was a 250mm which is about a 7.5 US. The other problem is they were all narrow or medium width. Is it possible to find shoes in larger sizes without having to get them custom made.

[scot47]

Plugs/sockets here come in every different specification known on Planet Earth. Aramco does the US style. Others use - whatever they think is okay !

[kierith]

[007]