|
Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
|
 Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 6:50 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| Quote: |
| many years ago, when foreigners lived in Saudi Arabia |
???? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Queen of Sheba
Joined: 07 May 2006
Posts: 397
|
| Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 6:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| huntjuliehunt wrote: |
Guys,
Why is it, on so many of these forums, people are so snotty and always looking for something in a post to argue with? What is the purpose? Why can't people answer people's questions, or not... and save arguing for comments made that really deserve them? I really don't get this; I don't live in Saudi Arabia, and I haven't posted a lot on here yet. The same kind of messages always showed up on the South Korea forum when I lived there. I wish you'd all take a look at the way you respond, and observe how you get so caught up in patronizing other posters, or belittling them, or looking for something to take issue with. To me, it shows signs of discontent, bitterness; just plain unhappiness or boredom. Bluntly, I read these posts (not knowing any of you) and think "Gee, they all sound like petty little bi*ches". That said, I'll probably move there, and end up being a hypocrite. I imagine that this kind of jealousy, one upping, whatever else, must have happened a lot less, many years ago, when foreigners lived in Saudi Arabia. Back then, they were probably thrilled to find other foreigners at all. We take so much for granted with the internet. |
When people ask ridiculous questions about Saudi, like what is the cost of water there, and are there vegetable, and can women walk and go to the grocery store...what is a person supposed to say? These are ludicrous questions, Saudi Arabia is a country like any other, and people ask questions like it�s another planet. Okay, it is difficult in many ways, but not in those ways - in subtle cultural ways, people always go through culture shock. Yet people try to make it like it�s a DaVinci code thing, and its not, its mental culture shock that can only be understood once you live here and have dealt with it. Normal day to day life is just like it is everywhere else. In addition, Saudi can be boring, and being verbose on the internet incredibly satisfying and fun. That applies to everyone in every country. Furthermore, its fun to be snotty, and teachers are snotty know it alls in every country they are in � it seems to be part of the trade � to outdo and out academic each other. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Queen of Sheba
Joined: 07 May 2006
Posts: 397
|
| Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 6:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| The_Prodiigy wrote: |
Clopatra drones ...
our male posters - none of whom had never had a conversation with a Saudi woman in their lives - .. blah de blah de blah de blah
One of many examples of Clopatra's innaccurate ramblings.
Tiz peculiar to see so much nonesense spouted after having spent so much time in the country. |
When you start making sense, or stop posting, people will stop mocking you. In the meantime, let them eat cake! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bebsi
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 958
|
| Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 7:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| However, what a lot of women (the same ones fighting for equality) do to avoid lines in the female branches, is go to a regular (male) branch, and upon seeing something as scary as a woman (a lot of men here are afraid at the sight of a woman), all the men give her way to go all the way to the front of the line and be served first. |
Dammit, why didn't I think of that when in Saudi? By buying an abaya etc and covering up, I could have saved myself many hours of intolerable misery in Riyadh Bank once a month. Then I discovered internet banking!! 
Seriously, Riyadh is fine. There are many, many malls where women are perfectly safe and, according to Mrs. Bebsi who has visited Riyadh on business, perfectly happy at that. She likes Riyadh, and the feedback from her is that if she had to, she wouldn't mind living there at all.
As other posters have said, forget the criticisms you hear, go there with an open mind and as QoS has said, take it easy on Saudi, and Saudi will be much easier on you.
I would follow Cleo's advice too, and tend to avoid the shorts etc in the DQ. Don't get worked up about Saudi, go there, take it as it comes, exercise a bit of discretion and commonsense and just adopt theInsha-allah (God willing) approach like just about everyone else...and everything will be Mafi Mushkillah (no problem).
Good luck, ProfessorsWife. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
huntjuliehunt
Joined: 09 May 2007
Posts: 87
|
| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:39 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| What's wrong with people wanting to know the cost of water, or if women can walk on the street, or whether they sell pantyhose in extra large? If you keep seeing the same questions, let someone else answer them. But obviously the person posting those questions hasn't heard the answer before, and is trying to make a decision on whether to go there, or wants to know what to expect. Those were not my questions, but I do have many others that would probably irk you as well. The fact that you live in a country that entertains public beheadings in the year 2007, and one in which Al Qaida is running amok, however quietly, reveals that you do not live in a typical, "Hey let's take a trip to the beach with the top of our convertible down, blasting the Ramones" kind of place. Of course people are going to want to know what they're getting into, down to minute details you don't feel like answering. You don't have to answer them. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
|
| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:46 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| The fact that you live in a country that entertains public beheadings in the year 2007, and one in which Al Qaida is running amok, however quietly, reveals that you do not live in a typical, "Hey let's take a trip to the beach with the top of our convertible down, blasting the Ramones" kind of place. |
Stick with the hogwan. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
|
| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Some people should not even THINK about coming to KSA ! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Queen of Sheba
Joined: 07 May 2006
Posts: 397
|
| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 7:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| huntjuliehunt wrote: |
| What's wrong with people wanting to know the cost of water, or if women can walk on the street, or whether they sell pantyhose in extra large? If you keep seeing the same questions, let someone else answer them. But obviously the person posting those questions hasn't heard the answer before, and is trying to make a decision on whether to go there, or wants to know what to expect. Those were not my questions, but I do have many others that would probably irk you as well. The fact that you live in a country that entertains public beheadings in the year 2007, and one in which Al Qaida is running amok, however quietly, reveals that you do not live in a typical, "Hey let's take a trip to the beach with the top of our convertible down, blasting the Ramones" kind of place. Of course people are going to want to know what they're getting into, down to minute details you don't feel like answering. You don't have to answer them. |
The problem is you can do all of those things, yet you are told you can�t do this and that. Yet you can! This is s country of contradictions and many faces, and when people stereotype and assume they know things about what they can and cant do, when those of us here are still figuring it all out and being challenged, its a little annoying. Stop trying to make sense of something you haven�t even seen or lived. You see, you can find all of those "illegal" things here and some of them, like listening to music in your car and going to the beach are simply false. Saudis even do those things because you see they are humans too! You have so many preconceptions when you come here, only to find you were so wrong about many things, yet you didn�t think about other things. Its best to make a deal with your employer and come, if you can be flexible and are willing to be challenged in your thinking, if you cant make it you will go home in an academic year's time, if not you will have adjusted and decided that you can deal with it all. I think the best thing someone can do to assess whether they should come to this country other than reading and trying to get to know the culture and the people, is to ask themselves: how willing am I to change my life and environment to something very different? Am I able to adjust to anything? Am I willing to search for things that I am used to being able to find easily? This country is more about you than it is public executions and the artist formerly known as, �Al Qaeda� � which by the way are not so different than capital punishment and the �war on terror.� |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
|
| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| "Hey let's take a trip to the beach with the top of our convertible down, blasting the Ramones" |
Male Saudis do that all the time, though not listening to the Ramones. Those that do listen to the Ramones need room in the convertible for the nurse and their Alzheimer's medication.
There are three things that do irritate people in postings here. Firstly there is the person who can't be bothered to do a search and read other postings on the subject. After you've replied to the same question five times you get annoyed. Secondly there are the ridiculously vague questions that you can't answer. Nobody would dream of asking a question like, "What's it like in the USA?" so don't ask the same questions about Saudi Arabia or Taiwan or wherever. And the third irritating question is the ridiculously petty one: "Should I bring a shower curtain with me from Canada?" , "Do they sell shoes in Saudi Arabia?". Rule 1 of EFL is that language schools come after Dr. Livingstone, not before. If the place can offer you a job, it can offer you a shoe shop. There'll be things you'll miss but you'll never remember to ask about them in the first place. (For example top of my list of things to take to India are wire clothes hangars and plastic bags - doubt if you'd think about asking about them). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397
|
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
| What's it like in the USA? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
|
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:48 am Post subject: |
|
|
| It's like a deictic pronoun like, dude; that's like when it's not like a dummy subject. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bebsi
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 958
|
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 2:48 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I need some help.
I'm thinking of going to Iraq to teach, and have a few questions:
First of all, what's it like?
Secondly, is it an Arab country, being in the middle-east?
Thirdly, I like listening to the Ramones. Is it possible to buy Ramones memorabilia there, like t-shirts, mugs etc? Maybe some CDs too, because maybe the customs people there won't let me bring my collection. Which reminds me, I have a load of mags and videos about people whipping, tying up and stuff like that (in a nice way). Will it be a problem getting them through, and is it possible to get handcuffs there? I also like hunting deer, will they allow me to bring my hunting rifle in, and where is the best snow?
All replies will be greatly appreciated. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
trapezius
Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
|
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 3:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Seeing the current situation in Iraq, handcuffs, rifles, whipping, and tying people up shouldn't be a problem. In fact, not doing those would make you stand out!  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bebsi
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 958
|
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 4:08 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Well, that's what I was kinda thinking but I needed some reassurance from you good folks out there. So, I should be OK in Iraq, then?
I've actually decided not to fly there, as I would have to pay a lot in excess baggage, and also I hear airports are dangerous. Instead, I've decided to go there in my open-topped Corvette, it's a really nice car, very 60s, stars and stripes all over it. Also, I've an old orange Kaftan, with a hood..would it look cool? The idea of cruising across the desert with the Ramones, the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones blaring forth, is something I'm dying to do. Bet it'll be a blast!!
I've another question, what's the rest of the world like, you know, those places I haven't been to? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Queen of Sheba
Joined: 07 May 2006
Posts: 397
|
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 4:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Dmb and Bebsi,
Watch out for Al Qaeda when in the US and Iraq, they are everywhere these days. Actually they have gone through the branding process here in Saudi, and they distribute media kits and have a neat new logo too on all their thobes. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
