Well, here I am in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia at the start of a one month stay here. Today we finally have internet connection, so I can share the tales of my adventures here.
We arrived very early on Saturday morning after an overnight flight. The flight in itself was an adventure. We left from Terminal 5 at Heathrow, my first time there - it doesn't take much to amuse me. It actually felt quite exciting, although when our luggge disappeared through the tunnel I did wonder if we would ever see it again! However, my fears were in vain as it all arrived safely (and believe me there was a lot of it - I never pack lightly, I probably take more on a day out than the average person takes for a two week holiday!). The flight was quite turbulent which was not that great for some people on board. Unfortunately the man sitting in front of me was taken ill part way through the flight. He really was very poorly. Then came the call 'if there are any medical practitioners on board...' As we were sitting right there my husband was first on hand to help. Thakfully the man soon picked up. I was unaware that there is a medical advisory centre somewhere in the USA which deals with emergency calls from aircraft all over the world and talks the staff through what they need to do - really amazing. As a precaution the man was taken off the flight by paramedics. We were met by a hospital representative and shown to a bus to bring us into the city centre and to our 'home' for the next 4 weeks. As the working week here starts on a Saturday, my husband had to leave almost immediately to go to work. This after a full week at work in the UK and a disrupted night on a plane must have been really hard for him. I have to confess that I slept nearly the whole day! I think that the events of the last year caught up with me and a deep sense of exhaustion washed over me.
Our first day was therefore quiet and in the evneing we had an ealry night to catch up.
The working day here starts at 7:30am! Not good for someone who doesn't do early mornings!
I admit now that on day 2 I had a really rough day. I have never felt so homesick in all my life. I felt as if I wanted to get on the first plane back to the UK. Life here is very different. For starters it is really hot, even at this time of year. The locals as I have discovered call this pleasantly warm! I however declare it to be HOT!!! Now those who know me know that I like hot, sunny weather, but this is different. For starters there is the dress code wich even on the compound where we are is strict. On day 2 I spent a lot of the day in tears. It all felt very alien to me. It is hard to play the game when you have no idea what the rules are. Not wishing to cause offence to anyone by doing the wrong thing made me possibly over cautious and I felt as if I was in prison. My husband went and got me an abaya which is required for anywhere outside the compound. We met for lunch which got me out of the flat for a while. In the evening we had our first adventure.....to the supermarket! This was of course necessary so that we could eat and drink. Whilst we were there we bought a mop for the floors as there wasn't one here. I have to confess that in my abaya (long and black) with a mop, I felt like an extra on a Harry Potter movie set, ready to join in and play Quidditch! Most of the malls are air conditioned which is great, however, the one we went to seemed to be having some technical difficulties with air conditioning. So, on day 2 I tought I might pass out in the supermarket - what a great start. To explian the heat, it was about 8:30 in the evening and probably about 34 degrees. As we all know, black attracts heat, so wouldn't be my first choice of colour for an overgarment, but that is the colour they are. Whilst an abaya is long, it still necessitates wearing other clothes underneath for modesty as it has poppers down the front so is not all encompassing! So, in this heat, with effectively two layers of clothing, I was hot. Add to this menoapusal hot flushes and you have a recipe for disaster! However, we got back safely-not on my broomstick (well, mop actually!) but in a taxi.
End of day 2 and our first adventure.
We are now on day 4, so there is lots more to tell, but my bed is calling me so I can be ready for another early start in the morning.
Watch this space for updates.
Bye for now.
Rxxxx
apologeis for any typos, I can't make the spellcheck work!
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