Job Discussion Forums

[Zargon]

Hafr Al-Batin is Hell Revisited

About ten years ago, an article called Hafr Al-Batin is Hell was posted on Dave's. The author obviously didn't have a good time there. Have things changed for the better . . . or worse? The weather's the same: during the five months of summer Hafr is an inferno; the rest of the year would be fine except for the frequent schmall which sweeps across the city making respiration nigh impossible for pedestrians and covering interiors with a layer of dust. Hafr is situated in flat desert in the middle of nowhere, far from any weekend escape (It's a five hour drive to the causeway leading to Bahrain.) Ten years ago, the best restaurants in town were a sub-par Holiday Inn and a Herfy's. They've since then added a KFC and Pizza Hut. There's nothing else and the shopping in Hafr just isn't very good. There's a lot of garbage lying about Hafr, although the street are reasonably clear.
Access to women in The KSA is �limited�. Hafr is extreme. There is �no chance� of meeting a woman. One student claimed that he once bribed a Philippino nurse to go out to the desert with him. I have heard of no other Hafrani heterosexual exploit, real or imagined. Indeed, the under-staffed public hospital (which is the college hospital) is the only place where you might see a woman's face. If you don't mind poor-diet skin problems and teeth that have never seen a tooth brush, an uncertain number of male students are gay (as everywhere).
There are two male colleges: The Technical College and HBCC (Hafr Al-Batin Community College). HBCC has about 300 students. There's a small library. The sports hall has never been opened up to extra-curricular use. There's a cement football pith in back. There are no other facilities. As limited as that sounds, and is, HBCC is arguably the cultural hub of the city. The students are of Bedouin extraction. They're generally quite nice but not well-behaved so you're allowed to shout at them (often necessary). There is a pretence of streaming before they're accepted but loads of under-achievers get in every year. Almost a third of them leave during the first couple of weaks. Thirty percent of the remainder fail the first semester of English. This weeds out the students who would never have got into KFUPM, the mother institution, in the first place.
The English courses, entirely in-house productions, are not impossibly difficult. The combination of reasonable courses and the demand that students perform must be considered a plus for those who want to do serious teaching. Unfortunately, this may be the only significant improvement from ten years ago. I forgot: every teacher now has his own computer.
Course booklets are shared between teachers. This means that your intention to do a serious job teaching the booklet may be largely nullified by your teaching partner. Like many institutions in the Middle East, it's almost impossible to be sacked for incompetence, provided you steer clear of immoral behaviour and come to class regularly. This is a plus for those who can't get or hold a job elsewhere. Also, there is little of the busy-work burdening teachers at other Middle Eastern establishments. Time off is not as good as in the past but stills compares favourably. Unfortunately, HBCC is now following the example of other institutions in keeping faculty inside the country when not teaching. You can still count on 60 days summer vacation and 10 days in each of Ramadan, Hajj and mid-semester break.
Good teachers get paired with bad teachers to avoid embarrassment or catastrophe. As a new teacher you will be expected to teach the lowest level (new students) as advertised. One tends to teach the same level indefinitely, as if there weren't already a desperate lack of variety from just living in Hafr. Pleas for greater flexibility in assignation can pass through auditory channels but never penetrate hearts of stone. Be humble. Teachers complain that the course materials are inadequate but they are no worse than what's taught in most other public institutions.
The married teachers' accommodations are the same as they ever were: apartment block near the college, large enough and with a small weight room with dilapidated pool table on the main floor. Children can play in the lobby and car park.
Single teacher accommodations are now small and mostly windowless. There are better rooms in the building but they're all taken. Small weight room downstairs (improvement). The soldiers are there only as a precaution. Attacks on westerners have almost never gone further than shouting and bad language.
Whether one prefers HBCC to other Gulf postings depends upon the individual. If job security, little opportunity to blow your money and doing a little less work are important . . . and if watching fashion TV while drinking home-made with your clique is all you need of western culture, or any culture, then maybe HBCC is for you.
If you want to stay saner longer, you are better off elsewhere, some place with a faculty club, or any club, female faculty members, hash runs, a real library, weekly seminars, staff restaurants, the opportunity to collaborate on research, frequent cultural events, enjoyable trekking opportunities, good shopping, decent super markets. Some or all of these are indeed available at many postings in the Gulf. Then you won't have to sit through yet another HBCC graduation ceremony with a feeling of silent panic as you watch another batch graduate who, so it seems, were �freshmen� only recently . . . and you won't have to look back at the intervening time as a sterile wasteland interspersed with short, desperate intervals during which you tried to squeeze in a real life.

[Grendal]

Wow

G

[scot47]

I thought it was okay but not for the sybarites in our midst. I spent the last two years of my teaching life there before retiring in 2011. I would have stayed but for accelerating chronic medical problems.

[bulgogiboy]

[johnslat]

Dear bulgogiboy,

Saudi IS the "middle of nowhere" as far as many/most Westerners are concerned.

And, when you're already IN the middle of nowhere, does it really matter a whole lot whether you're in the middle of the middle or in the outskirts?

Regards,
John

[Sheikennotstirred]

[scot47]

In Hafr Al Batin the travelling time to Dammam, Riyadh, Kuwait and Baghdad is about 5 hours by road. I never did make it to Baghdad.

I had been told that Khafji was the end of the world. I noticed as I was heading to Hafr that it is 150 km BEYOND Khafji.

As for it being like unto the Nether Regions visited by Dante I cannot comment.

[johnslat]

Dear scot47,

"As for it being like unto the Nether Regions visited by Dante I cannot comment."

That's understandable - but when you get to the Nether Regions, would you be kind enough to post a comparison (presuming they have computers there )

Regards,
John

[desert_traveller]

...

[vva]

1. Are there any employers who hire female esl instructors in Hafr Al-Batin?

2. Did you have reliable internet access in your accommodations?

...doesn't seem that bad to me...

[bulgogiboy]

[johnslat]

Dear bulgigoboy,

But according to Dante, even Hell has it's "circles."

Regards,
John

[bulgogiboy]

[johnslat]

But the "Welcome" over the entrance is the same for all:

"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate"

"Abandon Hope, all ye who enter here.

Regards,
John

[Sheikennotstirred]

Bulgogiboy:

My point isn't so much that certain cities here are paradise. Trust me, they're not.

Rather, I'm saying that when you come to a country that is as big as Saudi, and where your happiness depends so much on your work/life situation and your personal expectations, it's probably a good idea to try and get a realistic idea of what your life is going to be like in your prospective job and city of residence, and to be aware that no two postings here are going to be the same.

For example: