Job Discussion Forums

[scot47]

For me it was a night in 1971 when I got drunk and crashed my decrepit VW Beetle into the Mercdes that belionged to the American Lietenant Colonel who worked with the US Corps of Engineers in Tabuk.

I am pleasedto report that I am now on the narrow path and have not tasted Sidiki or other forms of beverage alcohol for many years..

[Barbaros]

I guess that Tabuk city is a modern city compared to 1971.
Scot47, what was the penalty in 1971 in the Magic Kingdom if someone is caught drunk?

[scot47]

I was lucky because it happened on the Holzman Compound and the police were not involved. Prison and probably deportation for those found guilty.

[KME0050]

For me, it was a cab ride during my first trip to Jeddah during (what seemed to be) a VERY long drive from the airport to the apartment of a friend. The driver was a toothless old Saudi man who appeared positively gleeful when I got into his car, and then adjusted his rearview mirror so he could see me in the back. I don't think his eyes ever left my face during the entire drive. He had one hand on the wheel and the other was quite busy in his lap, and I actually had to listen to his heavy breathing during the whole ride. Apparently, the busy hand would get tired because first the left hand was on the wheel, and then the right, and then back to the left. I was wearing an enormous very plain black abaya and black hijab--no niqab though. Clearly, seeing the face of a fair-skinned, green-eyed woman was just way too tantalizing for this old dude.

[scot47]

The wife of an English colleague used to recount her experiences on a Jeddah Bus. She was in the back - in the part reserved for women, which is separate from the front of the bus, with separate doors and a physical barrier to separate males from females. She related how a male passenger openly masturbated in front of her. No one intervened !

Going downtown to the Balad at the weeknd was a challenge for most females. Thousands of TCN's in the market who had not seen a female for months !

[KME0050]

YUCK! I swear to God that if this happens to me one more time, I am actually going to wear that damned niqab.

[Barbaros]

It seems scot47 has plenty of mysterious stories about the Magic Kingdom!

[Gulezar]

Being locked in the housing compound.
Being locked in by the haris's five old daughter during Ramadan. The haris was staying in the mosque for the last ten days of Ramadan. His wife was fixing the iftar, so she gave the keys to the little girl.

[posh]

Drinking sid and wardrobe wine are my worst experiences. Gave it up Boxing Day 2002. A Job Skills trainer at Aramco once got deported in an ambulance having been found on all fours barking like a dog at 7am after a night with sid. They kindly pumped his stomach before the journey.

A teenager once followed me into my building and began jerking off through his thobe. An old fat guy once propositioned me in the street, desperately asking me and another guy, "You want sex?!" I gave them both some aggressive advice to 'ferk off'.

[tacomaboywa]

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My first time in the Kingdom was in August 2002 when I started a new position as an English Instructor with Vinnell Corperation. Saudi Arabia and the region was all new to me and I was not deterred by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I lived on the Vinnell Compound and taught English to Saudi National Gaurd officers. Things were going well. My new position allowed me to travel to Italy, Japan, and Egypt during my first 8 months of work. However, on the evening of May 11, 2003 I was in my room when something horrific happened (Rm 106 - Highrise 1).

I had just finished sending some emails that night around 11:15 p.m. and decided it was time to go to bed. I was actually up later than normal. As I got into bed I heard several loud, thunderous noises. It sounded strange, but I thought to myself that it was only thunder. In reality it was two other compounds about 3 miles or so away that were also hit by terrorists. After the thunderous explosions, I looked out my window and couldnʼt see anything and peaked out my door to see if there was any activiy in the hallway. Since there were no alarms going off and no one was running around I decided to go back in bed.

Unfortunately, some seconds later I heard gunfire from a semi-automatic weapon and it was near by! At this point I started to worry. I locked the door and jumped back in bed thinking to my self, �I hope things just pass by! Let it be over soon!� But then there was a huge explosion and dust was everywhere. I felt the power of the explosion. It is something one never forgets. I got out of bed and had to just stand there while the dust settled. I then dug through the debris around my bed for some shoes. Luckily I only ended up with a few scratches on my feet and legs.

After things settled I got out of my room and checked on my neighbor. He was just getting out from the mess of his room and we both exited through the front, side wall that was no longer there. We actually went right by the area where the explosive device was detonated. I went directly to the bachelors' swimming pool area, this was the spot we were suppose to go in case of an emergency. I found a few other English teachers there. One was hurt and drenched in blood all down his left side. There were several other people seriously wounded in the vacinity.

As the chaos continued around me, I just stood there watching the fire from the blast and a second fire that started on the 4th floor of the building I just escaped from. I just couldnʼt believe what had happened. I was thinking that the fire might spread and destroy what little that was left of my belongings.

There were some who started search parties into the wreckage of the building. I felt I needed to do something and decided to go around and check on my fellow English teachers. I found them all and they were relatively safe. Some time later, maybe an hour or so, we started to congregate around the Family pool. That section of the compound was less damaged.

Approximately 2 hours after the bombing, the Saudi military and police were on the scene and secured the area. There were helicopters circling with bright search lights. We were stuck in the pool area for the rest of the night and a long night it was. I had no phone and had to barrow a mobile from a co-worker. I tried many times to place a call to my parents. The phone network was overwhelmed by the event. Finally, I was able to get through to my parents. They were not home at the time and I had to leave them a message on the answering machine. It is not the kind of message a parent wants to get from their son or daughter. The message went soemthing like this:

Mom, Dad, I am fine. I�m sure you�ll hear something on the news soon. There was a terrorist bombing. I�m OK! I�ll call you back as soon as I can. I�m OK!

By 7:20 am the sun was up and we were allowed out of the pool area. I went directly to Highrise 1 where I was living. There were all sort of Saudi Police and a few reporters around. The front of the building was closed off and we were not allowed in. Some of us went to the back of the building were no one was stationed to stop people from entering. I climbed over rubble to get back to my room. There were piles of debris everywhere. When I got back in my room I started to dig around and salvage what I could. I lost a lot but still ended up with three suitcases of belongings.

For the rest of the day we were basically left to fend for ourselves while management was talking about what to do. I still had the keys to one of the cars the English Department had access to. Fortunately, it was located far enough from the explosion and was not damaged. I drove it as close as I could to my building and packed it with my things. I also helped a few other teachers to pack personal items in the car. My camera was still working and charged so I went around and took pictures of what happened. Amazing my PowerBook Computer was still working too. It was on at the time of the explosion and ended up with some rubble on top of it. I started to collected the pictures on my computer and other details.

We finally were moved to Eskan Village, the US Army base in Riyadh, around 7:00 p.m. that day. They welcomed us and provided temporary housing and some emergency goods: towels, soap, etc. They were very helpful, much better than the company I was working for. It was some 18 hours after the bombing when I finally had a warm meal and a bed to sleep in thanks to the US Army.

That night 3 compounds were attacked by Terrorists with a total of 35 dead. At my compound alone 10 were killed. Several of them in my building. A couple weeks later two more died in the hospital. I was very lucky to have survived. I was in just the right spot in my room. If I was in the middle section I would have been hit by the windows and door being blown in by the force of the explosion. Iʼm really glad I didnʼt go investigate the noise after the first bombing. If I did, I would have went out the front door right into the heart of the explosion itself. I surely would have been killed. This has been an experience that most fortunately do not have. I will never forget that night.

[scot47]

That certainly makes my experiences tame in comparison. I was at KFUPM when the Oasis Massacre of 2004 took place - about 3 miles from us. That was scary enough and I left KSA as a result of it. Came back after one semster though.

[KME0050]

Wow tacomaboywa--that is some story. Did you go home afterwards or did you have to finish out your contract? I am curious to know how it colored your perceptions of the country and desire to return to work there . . .

[tacomaboywa]