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Post by ksa2012 on Nov 30, 2012 13:01:19 GMT
We have been in Kingdom for 9 weeks now. So far so good. Learning a lot from old timers about how to behave in meetings and how to interact with Saudi co-workers. I wanted to make everyone aware of the topic of conversions. 1. Power on the camp and the core area is 110 volts vs. 220 volts for the area outside. It is hard to find a water dispenser at Saco at is rated 110 volts. We buy a case of water a week for drinking because the sweet water really should be reserved for cooking. 2. The measurement is based on the metric system vs. standard or US units. By the way there are 42 US gallons per barrel of oil. Shopping for food is in kg and liters. Try converting your cooking recipes into metric like how much er you need for example. The speed limits on and off camp are in kilometers. There are apps that can help you convert: distance, volume, and temperature. 3. The currency is SAR which is pegged to the US dollar at 3.75 SAR per dollar. I believe other currencies are allowed to float. 4. The official language in Saudi Arabia is Arabic. My recommendation is to get familiar with at least how to recognize the numbers. Here are the first 10 starting from 0 and ending at 9: ٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩. There are number of resources like Google translate and www.arabic-keyboard.org that are helpful. 5. Saudi Aramco has two radio stations: Studio 1 (Classic Rock, Pop-Rock, Country, 80's, Oldies) and Studio 2 (Jazz and elevator music). The type of music are played on a set schedule. There is also a Bahraini top 40 radio station and an American Forces radio station the broadcast NPR for example. You may want to think about getting an Internet or Wifi radio to get your own music piped into your home (especially Christmas music that start after Thanksgiving). We miss KSBJ. 6. You have to familiarize yourself to the Islamic Calendar or Hijrah. It is based on the lunar calendar. This information will be useful when reading the expiration dates on your Iqama or Istamara or car registration which are in Hijrah dates. The current year is 1433. New Year is November 15th which will be (1 Muharram 1434 H.) There is also prayer 6 times a day: roughly early morning, sunrise, high noon, mid afternoon, sunset, 1 1/2 hours after sunset. Knowing the prayer times is important especially when you go to the stores and restaurants around town. I would suggest an App called iPray. You just need to tweek the settings for Dhahran. Saudi Arabia also does not recognize Daylight Saving Time. So the time difference between the Dhahran and Houston could be 8 or 9 hours (with us being ahead) depending on the time of year. Please forgive me for making only US references. It is because my eldest daughter is in Houston and we have to work around her waking and sleeping time to talk via Ooma or Skype. 7. The most difficult conversion is the days of the week. Yes, the work week also require conversion. Saay is the start of the work week and Wednesday is the end of the work week. So Thursday is virtual Saay and Friday is virtual Sunday. The middle of the week is Monday. |
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Post by JustMovedDhahran on Dec 5, 2012 10:52:10 GMT
As the time wears on, things are seeming to become more normal. Some great posts have been added to highlight some of the things to keep in mind. Here are some new things I thought of...... 1. Prayer times are especially something to be aware of. During lunch, the hubby can't pick up some fast food as the locations will be closed. Or if you go near sunset you are bound to be lingering outside the shops for sometimes more than 30 minutes for things to open. We tend to go much later in the evening on the weekdays if we need to grab something out of the camp. Don't be surprised if the store closes while you are in it, just wait until the prayer time is over and they will open up. 2. Another thing I will definitely bring up is the bus to Bahrain...as soon as we got our visas we took the bus offered for 25R roundtrip. It leaves in the morning and returns in the evening. Our trip took 11 hours. It was great to catch up on the movies! The bus trip we took was on Thursday, and that was good as the mall was not so busy. It is a nice day trip and a great way to see the in/out procedures at the border. It took almost 90 minutes each way as the border was a little busy and we had to get out in and out of the bus for entry/exit stamps twice each way. The last one the bus driver did it for us. Personally I think we will keep the Bahrain trip restricted to Thursdays as the mall is less busy and you should give yourself time to get thru the border. Perhaps if we rent a hotel, then we can make it a weekend trip. Next time I think we will take the car so that we have more control over the time and visit some other places. If you have a rental car make sure you obtain a letter from your car rental company to go to Bahrain. Also, for rental cars make sure not to rent for more that 1 month. You cannot get a temporary car sticker for the the same car for over a month. After one month our rental agent just switched the same type of car for us. 3. The salon is also starting to become a second home. The first visit was interesting...but as you get to know more of the people, the more accustomed you become. From massages to facials it is a great way to give yourself break. Just set a certain amount aside a month and enjoy! 4. An internet phone connection back home is also a great way to feel close to loved ones. I spend hours talking to family back home at night when the kids are sleeping. At night, it is afternoon back home so you can take care of some business and find out about all the things going on. You have to be a little patient until your internet starts up, and make sure you have a wireless router. 5. The weather has gotten quite chilly here. It has rained several times as well. Make sure to bring some light and warm jackets and umbrellas. If you have kids that get easy quick it is a good idea to get some undershirts they can wear too. Stock up on cold and cough things that you are used to. Also, bring a thermometer and plenty of testing supplies if you have such things as plastic attachments. I went thru two boxes of those ear testing plastics when the kids had a looong fever. 6. Can't stress enough to bring lots and lots of snacks. I have had to ask my mom to make me a new box with cereals, cookies, chips, candy that the kids are used to. Luckily I have family traveling this way  7. In the camp the dressing is very casual. You can wear your abaya or you can wear conservative stuff that you wear normally. Just know that when you are outside the camp, EVERYONE is wearing an abaya. You have to adjust to the country that you are in. I know there are people who say that outside the camp they wear conservative dress, but honestly I have not seen anyone wear anything except the abaya. It has become a normal thing, when I know I am going out of the camp, the abaya is the first thing I am going for. Can't believe it is going to be two months sooonnnn!!! |
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Post by ksa2012 on Feb 21, 2013 18:31:04 GMT
We are coming up to 5 months now. We have been to Al Hasa, Qatif, and Shaybah through SAEA. Our next trip is in March to Jeddah. We have traveled to Jubail, Dubai, and Bahrain on our own.
Settling in fine. Still have some moments though...it means you are still alive. Even the old timers still have them occasionally. You will know when it is time to go Bahrain. Here is the sequence to help you get across:
Saudi side of the causeway
Pay SAR 20 at toll booth
Approach Customs booth slowly, they are looking up your license plates
Get big ticket with your name on it based on the auto registration
Present passports with unfolded entry visa at the Passport booth
Get passports with smaller tickets; One for each person in the car
Give smaller tickets to the last Passport booth
Bahrain side of the causeway
Present passport with entry visa folded
Customs will request you to stop sometimes
Buy Insurance SAR 20 and give the big ticket then get the insurance papers; good for 3 days
*** Change cellphone carrier on phone Settings / Carrier
Upon Return to Saudi Arabia
Bahrain side
Pay BD 2 or SAR 20 at toll both
Get paper from Customs booth
Present passports
Drive through next booth
Saudi side
Present passports
Give paper to Customs; they may ask to open your trunk
Customs returns the paper with a stamp if all is clear
Give stamped paper to last booth before exit
It can take as short as 30 minutes to as long as 3 hours to get across depending on the time of the day and day of the week. It always helps things along if you greet the toll, customs, and immigration folks with a smile and a greeting in Arabic.
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Post by ksa2012 on Feb 28, 2013 21:15:07 GMT
Enjoyed the flower show this weekend. If you are looking for coffee near main camp that is less than 5 minutes away: Coffee Starbucks (Prince Sultan Rd, Doha, Dhahran) plus.google.com/101407913360220 ... l=sa&hl=en Costa Coffee (Mall of Dhahran near Saco World) plus.google.com/117517672692753 ... l=sa&hl=en Also went shopping for Persian Rugs in Bahrain and then in Khobar. A good friend of ours said that there are four things that are available to Aramcons, but you can only pick any two: gold, carpets, travel, savings. |
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Post by gbhatia on Feb 28, 2013 22:05:12 GMT
LOL. Can I have two (savings and travel) and my wife the other two?
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Post by stevenmahon32 on Mar 1, 2013 3:16:34 GMT
Hi KSA2012
This information is great for some of us who will be coming to KSA later on.
Is a Visa required to go to Bahrain, if so how difficult and is this a visit visa.
I did send you PM. Thanks
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Post by GroveWanderer on Mar 1, 2013 11:23:16 GMT
stevenmahon32,
Once you have your iqama (to show you are resident in a GCC state) you do not need to apply for a visa beforehand to get into Bahrain. You will be issued a visa automatically at your point of entry (for instance, as you cross the causeway).
However (and more importantly) you need a visa to get out of Saudi Arabia. This is known as an exit/re-entry visa and the company will normally issue you with a multiple exit/re-entry visa valid for one year.
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Post by deuxislandmat on Apr 1, 2013 17:40:07 GMT
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Post by vpainter on Apr 1, 2013 18:34:40 GMT
Forum is not fb so I for one am glad there is not a like on. Just saying.
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Post by Khaleeji on Apr 25, 2013 20:01:03 GMT
Hey JustMoved, could u PM me? I have a few questions regarding the move. Thx!
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Post by ksa2012 on May 24, 2013 15:30:06 GMT
Coming up on 8 months. Time seems to go faster now that we have a lot of activities. Work is still very good. My wife is involved in a women's group, goes to a zumba class, and fitness bootcamp on top of going to the gym. My daughter likes her school and has made a number of friends. She has gotten involved in track, visited South Africa on a school trip, and saved a life. We have decided on a boarding school and making arrangement for her to start in the fall. My son enjoys the after school activities including swimming. He got his swim badge just recently so that he can swim without a parent being in the pool with him. We visited the Aramco beach twice and had a great time at the yacht club. There is shwarma night night at the Hills pool on Wednesday evenings where you get a variety of food including the stir fry at a reasonable price. I've been regular at the gym. The equipment at the 3rd Street gym is world class. I've also been out early in the morning to go jogging around the perimeter of the golf course. I go to the driving range at least once a week to straighten up my slice. After all that, we schedule a masseuse to visit our house.
On the weekend, we go to Safeway to do our weekly grocery run. I'm so proud of my wife. After 18 year of marriage, she is finally able to refine her cooking skills in Saudi Arabia of all places. Every other week, we have a lady come over to clean the house and do the windows. It gets very dusty inside the house (be sure to get a Dyson) and the sand sticks to the external siding and needs to be hosed down. Summer is starting. It is starting to get really hot. A lot of the wives and children head home for their repat. The scooter really helps get to the Tower and home for lunch. One can either bake in the car after a short walk on one of the surface lots or bake in a convection oven riding your home. The main advantage of a scooter is you can park close to the gate so the walk to the building is manageable. Check the local temperature for Dhahran to get mentally prepared. The husbands stay through Ramadan then everything starts back up in the fall when the weather cools down.
The internet is slow relative to what you are use to. You have to schedule movie downloads during lunch or late at night. We have an Apple TV and use iMac to store the rented movies from iTunes. I would not advise streaming. The speed again is unpredictable. Slingbox is also an alternative. We have one connected to our home in Houston with AT&T Uverse but you get tired of using the virtual remote. There are a number of satellite cable offerings like OSN. Our biggest complaint with the Dreambox is the lag when the signal is descrambled. This again due to the slow internet.
Be sure to purchase an internet radio so that you can tune into your local home radio station. It is a little strange to hear the morning traffic report in the afternoon but it makes the house feel normal with songs and radio personalities that you are familiar with. This was really great during the holidays.
One thing that is a must is a VOIP phone from Ooma or Vonage. We ported our home telephone number to Ooma. So calling the credit card company is a breeze especially as you explain that you are actually in Saudi Arabia and that the charge that they have declined for purchasing furniture at Ikea or the Home Center is not a fraudulent transaction. You can use the +34 on camp to call long distance but it can get very pricey. The one irritating thing is getting the telemarketing call in the middle of the night. What you can do on Ooma is to block the phone number and include it on the blacklist so that they cannot get through next time. It is always funny how friends and family react as they make or receive a call from you. Skype is another alternative. For some reason, the internet speed does not effect the VOIP or Skype. Both comes in very clear. There is one other piece of equipment that you need. Just ask around.
To wrap up, don't be fooled by the glowing account of life on camp. Living here is not easy. It is not for everyone. You are far away from your friends and family. Keeping in touch is a challenge. Facebook and e-mail helps. There will be things that you see and experience that will not make sense to you. I will not even start to explain it. Trust me, it is beyond words. You will be pulled in a different directions whether you made the right decision to move or if you should have stayed. You will be reminded in many ways that this is not home and the earlier you come to grips with the fact that you are here to do a job and get paid to do it, the better. There are a lot of opportunities to spend with your immediate family, travel, and do things you have never had time for in the past but there is always a price. Managing expectations is the key. If you read through all the posts and get informed of life here, you are half way there. When you get here and realize that it is exactly how it is described then you are that much closer to getting settled in. Most people have a plan to stay two years but end up staying 5 to 10 years. You need to find things that will make life seem normal.
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Post by vpainter on May 25, 2013 13:31:09 GMT
Thank you for sharing ksa2012.
It took me 3 years to call this home. I was shocked the first time I said it was good to be home when we landed and was going through customs. It has become home with all its differences and all the difficulties at times and the sacrifices I am making to be here. 12+ years later (we did come knowing we would stay this long) it has mostly been worth it, there are a few regrets of things I have missed, but there are always regrets in life regarding something, whether I am in the states or in KSA. Overall, so glad we came. I am so glad my boys are world travelers and have a larger worldview than if we had stayed at home.
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Post by justthe4ofus on May 29, 2013 21:02:51 GMT
Great post ksa2012!
I'm so glad you mentioned your kids. Mine are 5 years and 5 months. Part of why I wanted to do this was so they could travel and see things that we wouldn't have had an opportunity to had we stayed in Alabama. The 5 year old acted like he's lived here all his life. He questioned me about a woman with her face completely covered only once, and no more. This is such a great age for us to have made this major change.
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Post by Carolina-girl on May 30, 2013 19:59:38 GMT
justthe4ofus,
We are in the early stages of our hiring process and we will be bringing our 1 yr old and 3 yr old. As you mentioned in your post our feelings are the same as well about traveling and experiencing different cultures that we could have never been able to see otherwise. Kids are resilient and at a young age this seems to be holding true for your kids too.
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Post by justthe4ofus on Jun 2, 2013 18:23:38 GMT
I can't say enough about how these are perfect ages to turn their world upside down and make this move. lol. My 5 year old (He turned 5 the week before we arrived here) acted like we moved from one street in the states to a different street. Nothing has phased him. He quickly made friends and acts like he's been here his whole life. Where do you live? We came from Alabama. I did try to bring a lot of things to make him feel comfortable until our big shipment arrives with all of his toys, bike, etc. I think that helped a little.
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