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Coming to Saudi Arabia - Questions from a "noob"
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Cleopatra



Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago

PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
In Buraydah, ultra conservative Qassim Province, one of our female teachers just couldn't stand the heat any longer and jumped into the hotel pool fully clothed and wearing an abaya.


Yup, because that's what you do when you feel the heat, isn't it? Just fling yourself fully clothed into the nearest available swimming pool...
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 11:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One does suspect that there is more to the story... of why she did it. But from my experience in the Gulf, stranger tales have been heard and even witnessed. Laughing

VS
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

.......on the other question the place is full of males who will happily indulge in those practises condemned in Leviticus.

I,of course, am free of guilt.
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cmp45



Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 1475
Location: KSA

PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

She lost her marbles and thought she could find them at the bottom of the pool.

In a crazy sort of way, I can understand why she did it... Laughing a fast track out of a bad situation????


Last edited by cmp45 on Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
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mariowski



Joined: 23 Jun 2010
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 3:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Coming to Saudi Arabia - Questions from a "noob&quo Reply with quote

I think a character asking all these questions should not even think of putting his foot in the holy kingdom. Hey dude, stay whereever you are and remain "happy" with your drinks and swiming shorts or whatever... sounds pathetic to me...
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Bebsi



Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 958

PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, I was just thinking: could they not have wet-abaya competitions?

It'd be a lot more interesting than those tacky wet T-shirt competitions, which have become so dry at this stage.
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PastorYoon



Joined: 29 Jul 2010
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 2:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What other things are illegal?

I'm a guy. What do I have to wear? Do people wear jeans in KSA? I heard that people wear long pants all of the time. Isn't it too hot for that? Are air conditioners typical in KSA apartments?
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Never Ceased To Be Amazed



Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 3500
Location: Shhh...don't talk to me...I'm playin' dead...

PostPosted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 2:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

PastorYoon wrote:
What other things are illegal? I'm a guy. What do I have to wear?


Clothes...

PastorYoon wrote:
Do people wear jeans in KSA?


Levis usta be illegal...

PastorYoon wrote:
I heard that people wear long pants all of the time. Isn't it too hot for that?


Yes...except for the wintertime when you seemingly can't wear enuf...

PastorYoon wrote:
Are air conditioners typical in KSA apartments?


Rolling Eyes

NCTBA
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svatopluk



Joined: 16 Sep 2009
Posts: 81

PostPosted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In Jubail, when we got back from work, we'd pile off the bus into the compound and one guy used to walk straight into the swimming pool, fully clothed, briefcase in hand. Very amusing when you've been there a while.
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PastorYoon



Joined: 29 Jul 2010
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 1:44 pm    Post subject: Re: Coming to Saudi Arabia - Questions from a "noob& Reply with quote

mariowski wrote:
I think a character asking all these questions should not even think of putting his foot in the holy kingdom. Hey dude, stay whereever you are and remain "happy" with your drinks and swiming shorts or whatever... sounds pathetic to me...


Hey dude,

for your information I am happy. What are "swiming" shorts, anyway, holy man? I hope you stay "whereever" you are, too. I hope you stay there for the rest of your miserable life. That would be pathetic!

Laughing
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Mia Xanthi



Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Posts: 955
Location: why is my heart still in the Middle East while the rest of me isn't?

PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pastor Yoon, it seems rather obvious to most of us who have lived there that the apartments/villas would be provided with A/C, simply because people would be dying all over the place without it.

Yes, all accommodation will have some kind of A/C. The question should be whether the A/C will work properly. That's the nightmare that you don't want to think about, but it does happen quite frequently. The Saudis tend to buy cheaper (European?) units that have two settings: freezing or hot as hades. Most of us choose freezing and find a way to live with it. If the A/C goes out, you will probably have to live with a friend until the unit is fixed or replaced.

Maintenance is very, very slow in KSA, so be good to your maintenance guy just in case such a condition occurs. Slip him a little cash once in a while even though he is just doing his job. Remember, most of these non-Saudi workers are trying to support a huge family back home on a salary that is less than 10% of what you make.
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear PastorYoon,
And, if you have window units, don't forget to check the filters fairly often (I used to do it once a month in summer) and clean them (i.e. the filters) when necessary.
Not doing do can cause the units to overstrain and eventually to conk out.

Regards,
John

P.S. I suspect that PM (Preventive Maintenance) is likely still a concept that many/most in the Kingdom have not quite grasped yet.
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killthebuddha



Joined: 06 Jul 2010
Posts: 144
Location: Assigned to the Imperial Gourd

PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 5:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Middle East Beast wrote:
Regarding reception of US TV shows:

http://www.free-tv-video-online.info/



And there's this, but I wonder, coming as it does with an "Adult" option:

http://www.ovguide.com/

Also, there's been some hue and cry over entering the KSA with "pirated" material, even though the veterans here have downplayed the actual likelihood of being troubled about such. I'm just wondering whether the availability of "streaming pirated material" within the UAE translates into fewer hassles entering the KSA with such (on hard drives, etc.)? I think Sheikh N Bake said elsewhere that, realistically and resource-wise, one's chances of having something confiscated were maybe 2%. I'd feel even better knowing that those odds were attributable, at least in part, to some laxity.

--ktb
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PastorYoon



Joined: 29 Jul 2010
Posts: 19

PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the heads up. You guys should check out these sites:

www.justin.tv.com
www.myp2p.eu
www.surfthechannel.com
www.mlb.tv

Do you guys ever use proxy servers if something is banned? I was traveling recently, and in the country I was in, youtube was banned. There was a notice that popped up on the screen. I had to go to www.translate.google.com to figure out what the notice said. I used a proxy and got on youtube within a minute.

Ever use proxies? Are they illegal in KSA?
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