Job Discussion Forums

nickienines · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 17

Hi all.

I have recently been offered and accepted a post at DCC. I have a few questions and would really appreciate it if anybody would be kind enough to help me out with a few answers.

1. What style of dress is expected of faculty wives on campus?off campus?
2. Are families likely to be housed on the KFUPM campus?
3. Will my wife be allowed to drive on campus?
4. Can we go to the KFUPM beach as a family? What kind of swimsuits should we bring?
5.Is there a creche?

All answers will be welcomed , even those which are flippant and facetious as long as they are genuinely funny.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

nickienines · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 17

does 'pathetic' suffice?

redsnapper · Joined: 01 Jul 2010 Posts: 60

nickienines · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 17

I also rejected the Bell offer in favour of DCC. Now, while waiting for news of a visa, wonderin' if I done did the right thing.

capthappy20002000 · Joined: 08 Aug 2010 Posts: 33

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Semester 1 started on 25 September 2010. Semester 2 begins 12 February 2011. Most teachers start in Semester 1.

capthappy20002000 · Joined: 08 Aug 2010 Posts: 33

nickienines · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 17

I am 'contracted' to start in September but have no idea how long the visa will take or if there will even be students for me to teach at this stage. The interview was pretty standard fare.

teachingstar · Joined: 02 Jan 2011 Posts: 7 Location: 4193

I am wondering if anyone recently got hired by them. And if they can shed some light on the working conditions and pay? It will greatly be appreciated.

Muhammed Abbas Khan · Joined: 04 Jan 2011 Posts: 73

I lived and taught in Riyadh for three years and in Khobar (right near Dammam) for one acdemic year. I can understand why you would have turned down the offer from Bell/Obeikan what with there being no educational allowance. However, in favour of Riyadh I would have to say that there are more possibilities when it comes to learning Arabic- at least for the female anyway. Contrary to what some have posted there isn't really a great amount of difference between MSA and classical (Quranic) Arabic.
Arabic for females in Riyadh
For females there is an excellent centre called Dar-ul thikr which my wife attended for a semester. They have six levels and and appear to have a well structured course for each level which takes in to consideration the receptive and productive skills. Passing on to the next level would require you to have studied consistently as summative and accumalive (marks for homework, attendance etc.) performance are taken in to consideration. Courses run in the daytime as well as evening times and would perhaps suit even your daughter if you wished to enrol her.

Arabic for males in Riyadh
For men there is an evening Arabic program which you can attend at Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University. This course runs two days a week on Saturdays and Mondays between the hours of 18:00-21:00. However, I did not find the course to be very good. Granted I was not as dedicated a student as I should have been. Nonetheless a particular weakness I found was that I was able to progress to the next level with relative ease as we would cover what was coming in the exam a week to two weeks before the exam.

"3) We're all really keen to learn Arabic and I wanted to know how easy that would be for us (we�d like to be able to read, write and speak in a year or two). Some people tell me my question is a no-brainer since �it's Saudi Arabia�. Others have said that ex-pats only meet Pakistanis and Philippinos and if we really want to make learning Arabic a priority we should go to Cairo, enrol on an Arabic course there and be prepared to dip into savings to top up my income. How easy would it be for us to study Arabic in Dammam?"

In Dammam- other than a private tutor not very easy. I would suggest that if your main aim was to learn Arabic then Cairo is perhaps the best option. I have actually returned back from KSA and am pursuing a degree in Arabic and English Language at Westminster Univesity. Given the option again I would have said that Cairo would have been a more productive option in terms of the acquisition of the Arabic language rather than KSA.

"When I asked about the package, I was told that we'd get family accommodation and an allowance for our children's education (we have a 12 year old daughter and our son is 8 )."

In reality the 25,000 SR will cover just one of your children for the academic year. You will have to minus 20,000 SR from your annual salary to cover education expenses for your second child. If both partners are working then that would make things much easier whether in Riyadh or Dammam.