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robbie_davies
Joined: 13 Jun 2013
Posts: 133
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 Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 11:04 am Post subject: |
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| Expat101 wrote: |
| I don't think you would be suited to Saudi, you will end up blowing a gasket in public like I saw many do over there. |
I've been to probably thirty different countries and spent about a decade around the world as an expat. I've seen people blow up and get angry in public EVERY single place I have ever been to. Have you ever been to China?[/quote]
Two years there, in the middle of Henan province.
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| I was cheated there terribly and I did not 'blow a gasket.' |
Saudi is different man, it is a whole new level from China. And I was in the most backwards, peasant filled hole in the whole country.
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| I worked things out as best I could and got out, vowing never to return there again and I haven't. I got sick of listening to people yell and shout at each other so rudely all the time. |
It is grating at times, I have to admit.
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| There was no peace as I had to constantly listen to a man yell at his little son all day and night through the walls. I heard all kinds of people blowing up in Vietnam... I could go on. Getting angry in public seems to be the norm these days all over the world. Don't condemn your fellow whitey for getting angry with a bad employer in public. They probably deserve a good dose of verbal abuse from time to time. |
They don't blow up at a bad employer in public, it would be allright if that was the case, they usually take it out on their poor fellow teachers, the heat, the lockdown five times a day and the segregation where you hardly ever see women takes its toll, as does the lack of fun activities to do in your spare time. It is an accumulation of crap. Not just one thing. |
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robbie_davies
Joined: 13 Jun 2013
Posts: 133
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 11:06 am Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
By the way, not all westerners are white. |
Who said that they were? |
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Expat101
Joined: 09 May 2012
Posts: 108
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 11:15 am Post subject: |
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| Was anyone ever abducted like the warning said? Taxi drivers would have the easiest time of it I suppose as Westerners probably use them quite regularly. The country already has so many dangers, why make it worse by hiring a bunch of white psychopaths and forcing them all to share homes? Then to top it off, you steal their passports and refuse to let them leave the country! I'm talking to the idiot agencies out there and those who agree to their shenanigans. |
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Expat101
Joined: 09 May 2012
Posts: 108
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 11:22 am Post subject: |
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| they usually take it out on their poor fellow teachers |
I'm sure they do and they probably bully someone right out of their mind too. That's why living with them is against my religion. |
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rollingk
Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 212
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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Expat101
. . . why make it worse by hiring a bunch of white psychopaths and forcing them all to share homes? Then to top it off, you steal their passports and refuse to let them leave the country! I'm talking to the idiot agencies out there and those who agree to their shenanigans.
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I'm all for holding out for private housing if one wants it and can afford it, even though sometimes this may not always result in staying in a job. Recently, I had to hold out for this and there was something of a stalemate for a brief period, but when it became obvious I wouldn't budge on the issue proper accommodation was made available to me. In this region I try to start as I plan to continue and finish, especially given the often casual brutality within workplaces here. Require what you think is just if you can. Some would say this may result in a bad image with your new employer, while some would say this is necessary if one doesn't want to always be rolling over for practically anything. Many views out there.
However, your painting of everyone who would work for "idiot" agencies with shared housing as "psychopaths" is itself brutal and uninformed. As mentioned previously in this thread, direct hires often ask an employee to share, as in my case. Also, a great variety of people take these jobs for a variety of reasons, the biggest being money. Logistical and monetary restraints may require some to work for an agency. Some may work for an agency because in many ways there is more freedom when not harnessed into an iqama. Let's not imagine most poor souls have missed the boat, because the one we're sitting in probably wouldn't accommodate that many people anyway. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 6:27 pm Post subject: |
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| rollingk wrote: |
| As mentioned previously in this thread, direct hires often ask an employee to share, as in my case. |
Which employers are asking direct hires to share? I must have missed this in the previous posts. But I argue this is the opposite. For example, Prince Sultan Uni offers the choice of either employer-provided (private) accommodation or a housing allowance. The same options are available to teachers at Dar Al Hekma College.
On the other hand, King Abdulaziz Uni provides a housing allowance (along with an additional 8500 riyals for household items and furniture). Ditto for Al Faisal Uni which offers even richer benefits such as an allowance to pay for utilities. Then there's KAUST, the Kingdom's only coed university. No teachers sharing housing there; however, employees are responsible for rent (supposedly a nominal amount). But the university's compounds are very nice with equally nice amenities. Moreover, KAUST offers primo salaries.
Anyway, these employers do their own recruiting rather than outsource that function. |
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rollingk
Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 212
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| Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Which employers are asking direct hires to share? I must have missed this in the previous posts. But I argue this is the opposite. |
According to a post above BAE requires this of single folk. When I worked at Vinnell this was also required. My present employer, who is also a military contractor, tried to put me in with someone, but I refused.
Please, I'm not trying to disprove what people say here, it's just that so many issues are not so definitely one way or another as many posters here would infer.
And one is not outside the magic circle because one does defense contract work; teachers often move between these jobs and university jobs. |
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2buckets
Joined: 14 Dec 2010
Posts: 515
Location: Middle East
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| Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:51 pm Post subject: |
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| I"ve rarely seen people "blow a gasket" especially in E. Asia. Doing so causes one to "lose face', very important in public social interaction. |
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Kitkat Biriyani
Joined: 10 Jul 2013
Posts: 51
Location: New Venkatanarasimharajuvaripea, Missouri, USA, Q!Q!QQQ!!!
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| Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:07 am Post subject: The Gasket Clan |
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Really...??
Pretty interesting.....
John Gasket
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Expat101
Joined: 09 May 2012
Posts: 108
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| Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 3:58 am Post subject: |
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| 2buckets wrote: |
| I"ve rarely seen people "blow a gasket" especially in E. Asia. Doing so causes one to "lose face', very important in public social interaction. |
I guess you don't remember all the televised rioting from Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and so many other East Asian nations. PM me and I'd be more than happy to send you some links to videos online. When people get angry enough, it doesn't matter what nationality, they can and oftentimes do blow up or worse (they blow others up too). Losing face isn't just a metaphor. People do what they have to do.
Even in the seemingly most polite of all East Asian nations, I saw a Japanese man "blow a gasket" in a restaurant, breaking glasses and dishes everywhere, throwing everything on the floor and yelling at the top of his lungs at a terrified waitress. Do you think he cared about losing face in public?! Honestly! |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:11 am Post subject: |
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| rollingk wrote: |
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| Which employers are asking direct hires to share? I must have missed this in the previous posts. But I argue this is the opposite. |
According to a post above BAE requires this of single folk. When I worked at Vinnell this was also required. My present employer, who is also a military contractor, tried to put me in with someone, but I refused.
And one is not outside the magic circle because one does defense contract work; teachers often move between these jobs and university jobs. |
Which is why I specified direct hire and not via contractors. Plus, women are ineligible for defense jobs, so no moving between these types of jobs and university situations. In fact, I wonder how frequently (male) teachers change employers. |
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2buckets
Joined: 14 Dec 2010
Posts: 515
Location: Middle East
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| Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:15 am Post subject: |
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The places you mention had violence for political or religious reasons.
I've lived in Asia/North Africa for more than 30 years. From Japan, China, Thailand, Loas, India, Afgh., Iran, SA, UAE, Morocco and others. In my personall experience, I must reiterate that I rarely saw people go wild in NORMAL EVERYDAY SOCIAL INTERACTION.
I'm sure the Japanese you mentioned was drunk and if you spent much time in Japan you must be aware that a certain percentage of the population is genetically predisposed to NOT be able to function well while under the influence of alcohol. I know this well because I was employed in a nightclub in the Gion district of Kyoto, my job was to sit with the customers and make English conversation with them. More than once I had to practically carry some of these customers home and help the wife subdue them and tuck them in. In these situations, the general population gives them a "pass" for their face losing tirades. |
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Expat101
Joined: 09 May 2012
Posts: 108
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| Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 3:39 am Post subject: |
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| ^2buckets, we can discuss and debate this after you start another topic and in another category besides Saudi Arabia and Shared Accommodations. See you there! |
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myohmy
Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 119
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| Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:42 pm Post subject: Re: Absolutely NO Shared Acccommodations will be tolerated! |
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As to photos, I have never heard of employers providing photos of housing. AUS in the UAE used to have photos on their website, but they are an employer that one doesn't have to worry about every detail of your employment.
VS |
PNU provided photos of their on campus housing, so it is not unheard of. |
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Kitkat Biriyani
Joined: 10 Jul 2013
Posts: 51
Location: New Venkatanarasimharajuvaripea, Missouri, USA, Q!Q!QQQ!!!
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| Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 5:08 pm Post subject: The detective.... |
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Probably only ever unheard of if....
You haven't heard of it before...
Would be my guess...
Time for a break,
Time for an unheard of
Kitkat biriyani |
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