Job Discussion Forums

[donfan]

Extrovert or introvert? I'm very interested in your thoughts.

[Cleopatra]

If by 'extrovert' you mean someone who can hustle for social contacts (which is hard work these days in KSA) and isn't ashamed to 'sell themslves' (not as seedy as it sounds, although ...) then KSA can be a good destination. people like this often manage to build varied soical lives for themsleves despite the ods, though it's much more difficult than it used to be.

I used to think that I had the perfect personality for KSA. i don't drink much or go to clubs, and I like nothing better than a good book or an inspiring conversation with interesting people. This last proved my downfall and the main reason I'm leaving imminently. Maybe I've just been unlukcy but I haven't met many people who I'd be friends with at home. Most of them are mainly concerend with the mundane and mercenery aspects of life and don't even watch the news - let alone read a book!

However, if by 'introvert' you mean someone who is a true loner and sits at home wathcing TV and reading all day, then KSA would suit such people down to the ground. I reckon it's those like me - who are somewhere in between - who can find it hard to find their 'niche' here.

[donfan]

Thanks for your thoughts Cleopatra. Very interesting. I am thinking of coming to Saudi Arabia and am wondering if it would be the right environment for me. I am probably much like you. I'm not a party animal and like to spend time at home by myself. However I do enjoy the occasional social outing as well. In terms of teaching how do the students expect you to teach. Are you meant to be a circus clown like students in some Asian countries expect you to be or do they expect a more serious academic approach?

[Cleopatra]

I can only speak for myself but I've found ss here to be very respectful and very good fun. Normall, they are taught according to the repeat after me and do boring grammar exercises model, so they find conversation parctice and pair work a bit strange at first. However, my ss adapted very quickly and loved games, dialogues and so on. Generally with Arab ss their conversation is better than their writing and reading, for obvious reasons, I suppose.
Maybe other people will post and contradict me re. my observations of life here. I hope they do! However, in my experience, you don't get many of the 'adventurous' EFL types you find elsewhere: especiallynowadays, people are in it 100% for the money here. That's fine, of course, but it can make for a rather disheartening social environment.
BTW, I live in riyadh (until next week!) and it has the well deserved reputation for being the dourest place in KSA (and that's really saying something!) Maybe you might have better luck elsewhere.

[ohman]

I think an introvert has an easier time playing the extrovert on an as-needed basis more easily than an extrovert can behave as an introvert if called upon to do so.

Come prepared to embark on a monastic voyage of self-discovery. If you manage to cobble together a social life, enjoy the baksheesh.

[johnslat]

Dear donfan,
Your question is not an easy one to answer. I guess I'd be classified as an " introvert " in that, during my 19 years in the Kingdom I spent most of my non-working time by myself - reading, writing and ( in the last 6 years of so there ) surfing the Net. I did go to parties, usually " holiday " celebrations. But I was no " party animal ". On the other hand, I've known guys who I'd definitely consider to be extroverts who have ( and are ) doing quite well in the Kingdom, and have lasted there a long time. Maybe it depends on more that just the " introvert/extrovert " division ( and, besides, I suspect most of us have some of both in us ). Being an extrovert there means you would have to hustle about to find sufficient " social diversions " and you'd have to make a lot of the right " contacts ". Also, you'd need a car to do it right. Being an introvert is much easier. Ohman made a good point:
" I think an introvert has an easier time playing the extrovert on an as-needed basis more easily than an extrovert can behave as an introvert if called upon to do so. "
So, on the whole, I'd say someone who has a lot of " inner resources ", who doesn't depend on the outside as much for entertainment, would likely fare better and last longer.
Regards,
John

[donfan]

Thanks for the information peoples. Seems like my personality would do well in Saudi Arabia. Anybody have any thoughts about Jubail Industrial College?

[Albulbul]

Saudi - some people make it and some don't. Some like, some hate and some just endure it.

I do not think that using some sort of artificial dichotomy like "introvert-extrovert" will help in predicting who will do well here.

You have to be adaptable. And you have to learn that there are different ways of doing things.

Your first visit to a toilet here will demonstrate that !

[Cleopatra]

Some interesting comments.

I agree that making a dichotomy between extrovert and introvert is too stark: we all have a bit of both. I also agree that intoverts find it easier to be extroversts when the need arises: unless, of course, by "introvert" we mean someone who actively dislikes being with other people, ie a loner.
I also like the phrase "inner resources" to describe those of us who don't have to be with people 24 hours a day in order to be happy. Sometimes the implication is that being always 'sociable' is a good personality trait. Maybe it is, but if you ask me, over dependance on others is plain unhealthy.

Back to KSA, I still believe that complete loners are in their element here, though it's probably not psychologically healthy. Party animals used to love it here, and some still though, though pickings are slim these days. I think a lot also depends on the people you are living and working with - it's harder to break loose from an unsatisfactory social scene in KSA than most other places.

[scot47]

As far as I can see most of the "social life" in KSA revolves around alcohol abuse and/or the pursuit of unnatural sexual practices. If you are into neither then you had better get yourself a stack of books or a VCR !

[Paul in Saudi]

Many years ago, when I was new here, an older, wiser expat told me "Whatever you are, Saudi Arabia makes it worse."

Truer words have never been spoken.

[johnslat]

Dear Paul in Saudi,
Not just to be contrarian - but that statement by the older, wiser ex-pat may have exceptions. Moi, for example. Of course, I AM prejudiced, but I like to think I left the Kingdom a better person than I'd entered it. One way it helped me, I believe, is I stopped drinking over there - for good ( inshallah ). And another improvement I've noticed is that I seem to have a LOT more patience now, also. I'm much more relaxed and far less likely to blow my stack when things don't go as I'd wished. Schway, schway, inshallah, bukhara mumpkin, etc ( pardon the spelling, please ) all had their effect on me. Plus learning ( the hard way, of course - is there any other? ) that all you get when you beat your head against a brick wall is a sore head. Would any or all of this have happened if I hadn't gone to Saudi Arabia? Maybe - but you know, I really doubt it.
Regards,
John

[Nomad Dan]

Man, I miss Saudi. I just loved going and doing very little work and then being able to do whatever I felt like. Basically I guess I do not require much entertainment. I like to run. I like to explore the outdoors and I like to meet interesting people. I really enjoyed many of the people I met in Saudi. Especially the South Africans Brits and Aussies. I guess because they brought a different perspective.
To make it in Saudi you need to be kind of crazy and very Flexible and Tolerant to a fault and I am talking tolerably TOLERANT ....
Nomad Dan

[ohman]

My initial experiences in the Khaleej disturbed me when I somehow got it in my head that this was the end of the line , that it would do me no good to keep up with the latest indie films, literary vogues and academic trends. I knew that I would never again find myself in a place where these things mattered. This saddened me.
Years later, when I'd resettled into a job teaching on a US university campus in a proper English department, I discovered that though these things still mattered to my colleagues, these things no longer mattered to me. But I began to miss those casual chats about "getting out" and "getting away" to India, the Alps, Spain, Cypress, the Himalayas, Thailand. . . .

There is a life beyond insane shebab behind the wheel and 5 AM wake up calls that you didn't request, but you might never be the same.

[Albulbul]

Ah Cypress ! What a wonderful island. I loved Siconia and those Cyprus trees !