The Apartment

Before I left, Matt sent me some pictures of the compound apartment.  It looked nice enough but for some reason everything looked pink.  I know that I showed the pictures to a lot of people and pretty much everyone thought that it was weird that it was all pink.  Well good news!  It was Matt's blackberry... not the apartment.  For some reason the pictures just looked pink.  When I got there, everything was just normal colors.  Regular wood and tiles.  I took some more pictures, because while I did show them to a lot of people, well I know that I didn't show them to everyone.  So here they are. This is our current apartment.

This is the patio where you walk in.  There is a little gate there but we never close it.  Screen door still off.  Must be broken.  Also notice the two dead palms there.  Bad Feng Shui if I ever saw it... but will worry about it later.

This is the room that you walk into from the front door.  See all the wood is just regular wood color.  Through the little archway is the TV room. 

Up close in the TV room.  Nothing to exciting.  Pretty plain.

Bedroom.  You can kinda see me in the mirror.  Hi!

The bed.  Nothing too exciting.  Still haven't been to the IKEA! Definitely needs a little color.  

Kitchen is actually quite large.  Didn't get the whole thing in the pic.  Also includes a washer dryer.  Love that since I had to use the laundry room in Sacramento... (Three flights of steps each way.)  Anyway, again, this is our current apartment.  Matt was actually eligible for a larger apartment but there just wasn't one available at the time, and yes, I pretty much insisted on being in the compound.  I mean really, can you blame me?  

Recently another apartment became available.  This place is a two bedroom with 1 and a half baths.  Currently we are in a 1 bedroom 1 bath.  I am totally looking forward to the extra bedroom and extra bathroom.  (When I arrived, Matt had pretty much completely spread out and was using all of the drawer space and most of the closet.)  Looking forward to getting my own space.  I am also looking forward to dropping my roommates.  

This only shows one of them... but the other day I saw that there were two!!  I was just getting used to the one and all of a sudden I see two of them running along the walls.  It was disturbing to say the least.  They seem to be living in the air conditioner. The other day I was sitting on the couch, and I heard a plop noise and it was a tiny little lizard plopping down to the ground from the AC.  I am thinking that he actually looked smaller than the other two... but I am hoping that I am wrong... because that would mean that there are three of those little guys and that is just something that I don't want to think about.  I mean, what if those two are having babies in the AC??  I don't even want to turn it on for fear of what the heck could come out of there.  

We aren't moving until Friday... which can't get here soon enough as far as I am concerned but I did get to see the new place and I took some pictures of that as well.  It actually looks a little smaller but it has a much more usable space.  

This is the downstairs part.  Smaller than the current apartment but we have a lot of wasted space there. 

 The kitchen.  Totally blurry.  Sorry. Can't retake till Friday.  Looks similar but smaller.

 Stairs..

 Downstairs half bath.  May not be exciting to you... but super exciting to me!!

 Washer dryer in the kitchen.  I kind of like the way this is laid out better.  More folding space.  Not that I am really folding much laundry... but there is space for it if I feel like it!

 Master Bedroom with king size bed.

 Both bedrooms have furniture that looks like this.  Means I get my own drawers finally!! Again, exciting for me.

Upstairs full bath.  The old bathroom was white.  Kind of like this one better.  

So that is where I am currently living and where I am going to be living.  I am hoping that my little room mates don't try and tag along in my luggage.  Also, Ramadan ends today!  It is currently something called Eid.  There were fireworks last night.  I could see them when I walked outside my door.  Now the Ramadan hours are going to end and maybe I can go to the IKEA.  

An Odd Discovery

So this is totally unimportant... but let's face it, it's not like I am writing about things that are all that important anyway, and I find this really odd.  Anyway, I have been here about a month and well, during the month... things come up!  Like that time of the month that all of us ladies know and love! (Not!)  So anyway,  I went over to the compound store to buy some supplies and they had a bunch of different kinds of pads but the only tampons that they had were o.b.  Those ridiculous little things with no applicators.  I mean, who ever thought of that was clearly not thinking at all.  They never go where they are supposed to and they are a total pain! Literally!  Hate them and never use them.  I still had a few regular ones left that I had packed in my luggage so I thought, well maybe it is just the compound store.

Later that night we went to the Iftar buffet for dinner and afterwards we had to stop at the pharmacy for some stuff.  I thought, oh good! I'm sure that they will have what I need there.  So we went in and I looked around and found again, a whole wall of pads and only o.b. tampons.  What the heck??  So I said, well I am going to try one more place before I form any opinions.

The next day we decided to go back to the superstore that I had deemed better than Target.  It has now been downgraded to as good as Target.  Honestly, the reason for this is that there is just simply too much stuff.  It is almost impossible to even think in there.  There is just so much stuff stacked so high.  It is completely overwhelming.  Now I figured that if I am going to find tampons anywhere, it has to be here. This is what I found.

An entire wall of pads.  Every kind that you can imagine.  The picture is really bad because I didn't want to get caught taking a picture of sanitary napkins.   As it was people were looking at me funny.  The wall was actually twice as big as the picture shows.  And if you turned around and checked the other side, on the far right down at the bottom was this:

More o.b.   And that was it.  Now if I can't find it in the Danube Hypermarket then it must not exist.  I am a little flabbergasted.  How is this possible.  Had I known this... I would have filled up my luggage with Tampax and or Kotex!  Anything with an applicator really! How is this possible?

So after this we did look around the food section of the store and bought a few things but seriously it was just so overwhelming to try and find anything or concentrate on anything.  I would have taken more pictures but Matt was getting all crabby so we just got a few things and got out of there.  I would have liked to look around a bit more... but I am used to shopping by myself... and since that is no longer an option... well, one makes due.  I did take a few pics.

This was a wall of organic foods.  Plenty of selection if one has time to look through it all.

This was artificial sweeteners and some other sweet stuff.  There are tons of aisles that look just like this. Also, there is plenty of fresh stuff.

This was just one side of a display for pickled veggies and things.  That first one says odorless garlic.  I think I would like to try that but there was a long line.  Not sure how they get the smell out of it but I would like to try it and see if its true.  There were so many other things but had to go.

But good news!  We went back to the compound and had dinner in the restaurant and stopped by the compound store afterwards.  This time they had several boxes of (still o.b. mind you) tampons that actually had applicators!  I guess the makers of o.b finally wised up and realized that they are missing out on a whole lot of business from those of us who prefer applicators!  But I guess when you have a monopoly on the market in Saudi Arabia, perhaps you don't care as much.  Anyway, I happily tossed a box into the basket and then thought about it and tossed in a couple of more.  I think I should be OK until I get back to the states!

Abaya Shopping!

The other night Matt came home early.  (Early is around 8:00 PM)  We were both a little hungry so we decided to skip the compound restaurant and head outside.  Since we also still had some things that we needed to get at the mall, we decided that we may as well eat there too.  We probably arrived at the Mall at about 8:30 and it still wasn't fully open yet.  (Ramadan hours are still in effect.)  I think that we also arrived at one of the prayer times because you could hear the prayers being said over the loudspeaker.  This is done several times a day.  I will go into detail a little more about this at a later time because at this point I am pretty sure that I don't have all my facts straight.  Anyway, I took a little video when we first got there so that you can hear the prayers and also see what the Mall looks like before it opens up.  (Some stores were open, but most were closed.)

This is my first time trying to load video so I hope it works.  It's very short, but I think it is kind of cool how you can hear the prayers.  They are very singsongy and melodic.  There is a mosque right outside the compound so we hear the prayers over a loudspeaker all the time.  They don't last very long and usually it just sounds like one person leading the prayers but sometimes you can hear a whole bunch of people praying together.  I kind of like it.  Has a nice energy to it.  

While we were waiting for the stores to open, we had dinner.  It was after sundown (6:30) so it was fine to be eating in public.  When we finished we came back out and the mall was in full swing.  I took a video of that too but it is taking a while to load the first video so I may save the second video for later.  

The mall that we were at was HUGE.  It is the same mall where the Danube Hypermarket is. (That is the store that is even better than Target.)  Anyway, it was so big, that we couldn't even find the Danube but we did find this row of stores that sold abayas.  And hey, I just happened to be looking for a new abaya! What luck.  Oh, I almost forgot, while I was at dinner I noticed my abaya was gapping... so I took a picture of it so you can see what I mean.

Yes... that's skin you see.  Not a ton, but I'm sure that no one wants to see that!  That would be what the whole point of the abaya is!  I'm thinking it probably won't make the "Hot Halloween Costume" list.  

There were probably about eight different stores that sold abayas, and yes, I went into them all.  If I am going to have to wear this thing everywhere I go, then I am going to make sure that I get one that I like! You would not believe how many different abayas there actually are.  There is your basic black to be sure, but there are so many different kinds of trims it will make your head spin.  Also, there are some that have Swarovski  Crystals all along them. I didn't want to get too flashy though.  I'm not quite ready for that yet.  Also, there are many different sleeve styles.  I was a little leery of getting something with sleeves that were too wide because I can just see myself getting food and stuff all over it.  Anyway, the previous video finally loaded so now I will try and add the one I took of the open mall.

                                 This one is shorter, and the mall is in full swing.

Anyway, have you noticed that I say "anyway" ALL THE TIME?  I can't help it.  You know who used to say that all the time as well? Yup, Grandma.  I remember as kids that we used to always try and work it into a conversation just because we heard Grandma say it all the time.  I guess I must have picked it up and can't seem to put it down!  But anyway....

I finally found my new abaya in the last store that we looked in.  It actually should have been the second store that  we would have looked in but for some reason Matt skipped it.  I wanted one that was not polyester and had some interesting details.  This was what I ended up going with.

I ended up having to take the picture outside because the light inside wouldn't show the details.  Its all black so I won't stick out, but still decorative so I won't want to hang myself when I put it on.  The next abaya... (and oh yes, there will be a third abaya!) is going to be a little flashier.  But I have plenty of time to look for that one.  For now, I just wanted cooler, less ugly, and no gaps!  

While at the store, we asked the man if the abaya came in a smaller size and he informed us that was the smallest size, but they could do alterations on it.  So they took it in on both sides, and shortened the sleeves a bit, and also took about an inch off of the length.  He was trying to convince me that the length was fine and it was supposed to be that long but I still feel better knowing that I am less likely to get sucked into an escalator.  

The alterations were going to take 30 to 40 minutes so, in the meantime there was nothing else to do but shop!  So, we did.  By this time I am thinking it was probably around a quarter to 11:00 and Matt was pretty tired but we had to wait for the alterations.  We did finally make it to the Danube, but just outside the Danube was the Sunglass Hut.  We spent a good half hour in there trying on sunglasses.  Matt must have been really tired, because I ended up with a new pair that we normally never would have bought.  But I really like them and lets face it... no one is gonna see anything else!  

After that we went back upstairs to pick up my newly altered abaya.  I tried it on again, (over my old abaya of course) and it fit fine. (As well as an abaya is supposed to I suppose.)  It was probably almost midnight when we finally got out of there.  I did much better this time since I hadn't done any running earlier.  I was still glad to crawl into bed about 10 minutes after returning home though!

And here is the picture of me getting ready to go out in my new Saudi digs.  No need to post anymore pics... because this is pretty much what its going to look like EVERY TIME!!  Well... the hair may change.  Also, the maid took the door off to wash the windows and never put it back.  But I think we are moving soon anyway.  But that is probably another blog for another time!

Running Errands

I'm not sure if I am cut out for these Ramadan hours.  I am completely over the whole jet lag thing by this time but Ramadan is certainly making things a little difficult.  For one thing, most of the stores are all closed during the daytime and open up at night.  Usually around 9:00 PM and they stay open until like 2 or 3 in the morning.  In a way, this kind of makes sense because it really is rather hot in the afternoon and when one is required by law to be completely covered in black polyester... well, it doesn't exactly make things any easier.  Oh, and just for the record, not all abayas are made out of polyester.  I have seen some made out of silk and a fabric sort of similar to the polyester but thinner.  We did look into getting me a new abaya but we only actually looked in 1 or 2 stores and I didn't want to get the first one that I saw.  Actually they have tons but for the most part they are huge.  From what I can tell, they arrange them by size and the bigger ones all seemed to have much nicer details. (at least at the store I was in)  In the second store that we went into, one of the men working there told me that they could have the abayas altered to fit within 30 minutes.  There was one that was OK.... but I decided that I wanted to look around a bit more since obviously, I will be wearing this a lot.   My current abaya is a little annoying because when I sit down it tends to gap a bit at the snaps. There is a little flap on the inside that is supposed to prevent this but on mine it is only about an inch wide.  On other ones, I am noticing that the flap is more like 2 or three inches wide.  One even had a whole other flap of fabric that was about a foot wide with a hole in the top that goes over your head and covers your front before you snap up your abaya.   I am almost always wearing shorts underneath since it is 115 degrees outside, so when my abaya gaps I tend to show a bit of skin.  Shameful I know!  Reminds me a bit of Halloween during the Magic World days.   There were always two versions of most of the costumes.  ie- Nurse or Sexy Nurse,  Pirate woman or Pirate wench, Witch or Mistress of the Dark.  You get the idea.  Evidently I have the slutty version of the abaya.

The other night Matt came home around 10:00.  Since he didn't have to work the next day he suggested that we go out and get some errands done.  (Yes, at around 10:00 PM!)   There are several things that we still need to do such as get my picture taken for the Iqama card,  get me a new abaya (previously mentioned), and also get me a phone.  Despite the fact that I was getting really tired and probably would have been in bed by 10:30 otherwise, I agreed to go out.  What the heck?  I wasn't doing anything anyway.  So I snapped up my slutty abaya and off we went.  First stop was for pictures.  It was at this point that it occurred to me that I had no makeup on and that I had not bothered to do my hair.  I had done a 6 mile run that afternoon and had let my hair drip dry after my shower.  Not my best look, but I hadn't figured that I was going anywhere.  The guy taking the pictures pointed me towards a mirror with a ratty hairbrush under it.  I think he was trying to tell me something.  Anyway, I looked in the mirror, ran my fingers through my hair and gave up.  I will probably regret that once my Iqama card gets here but again, that is a worry for another day.  Also this picture taking stuff was a very complicated process involving all kinds of special lighting.  Anyway, errand number one... over and done!  Check.

On to errand number 2.  Get me a phone.  By this time it had to be after 11:00.  I was fading fast but evidently I was the only one because the phone place was packed.

We went in and the place was huge and there were phones everywhere and it was just too much for me to process at such a late hour.  Anyway, one phone looks pretty much like another.  In the states I have a cheap little pay as you go tracphone that has lasted me several years now.  Other than the fact that it takes me forever to send a text, it has served me well.  We looked at the phones and Matt was pushing either the super cheap phones (ha ha) or the blackberry.  I just don't think that I am a blackberry kind of gal.  Too many tiny little buttons.  Anyway... at 11:30 at night, I am certain that I am not.  Way too complicated.  Eventually he asked me which phone I wanted, to which I replied, "Well, of course if I am going pick one, I would pick the iPhone.  That being said though, I really don't care."  When we asked about the price, it was really rather ridiculous.  The cost was $2,800 Riyal.  This is roughly about $750 US.  And that is just for the phone.  I have no idea how much it costs monthly.  Anyway, it got to the point where they had the box with the phone out and Matt was filling out the paperwork.  I was standing around trying to stay awake.  While I did this, I snapped another picture of some guys who just seemed to be hanging out in the store.

Not too interesting... just passing the time.  Anyway, I must have been really really tired because when it got to the point where money was about to exchange hands... I had second thoughts and said, "You know, I am just not so sure about this.  It sounds like a lot of money and then there is going to be a monthly cost as well, so I think we should wait."  Also, I am really having some difficulty with the accents here.  Usually I am pretty good at understanding what people are saying to me as long as they are speaking in English, but I guess I am just not at all used to the accent here because I only get about 50% of what is being said.  (This may also be due to the late hours as well, I think my brain ceases to function after about 10 PM.)  The other day we were out to dinner (again, around 10:30) and the manager of the restaurant came by our table, (I am assuming to ask how things were?) and he said something, and Matt replied something to him.  After he left the table, I leaned over and asked, "Did he just speak English to us?"  Matt laughed and said that he wasn't really sure.

End result of the phone errand was that last minute, we decided to think about it.  So still currently have no phone which is not that big of a deal since lets face it, I have no friends here and Matt pretty much knows where I am.  Where am I going to go?   So errand number 2 did not work out so well.  Matt is probably going to take one of his managers with him and get the phone himself, which is fine with me.  As it turns out, the phone store is kind of like Fry's or Moran's to me.  It's a place that I would rather not go.

By the time we left the phone store it was after midnight.  I was so done.  Except that now, I was hungry.  (Which would not be the case if I had gone to bed at 10:30 as previously planned.)  We ended up stopping by the Subway on the way home.  (In case you were wondering... the bread seems chewier here but other than that, not a whole lot of difference)  We took it home and ate at around 12:45.  I conked out shortly afterwards.  I think I will be glad when Ramadan is over.  I don't know how they manage to keep this up every night.

At the Clinic

Before I left for Saudi Arabia, I had to get a complete physical exam.  This included all the basic tests plus bunches for diseases that you would pretty much only get if you were living in a third world country.  At the time I was living in Sacramento and my health insurance was through Kaiser.  While my doctor was actually pretty decent, when it came to all the tests, she seemed to be very annoyed by me.  She had a tendency to argue with me about the necessity of the tests.  Of course, they weren't necessary, but they were required.  Needless to say, we sort of annoyed each other, but I had the lucky position of having to be a bit of a suck up.  Good times.  Anyway, in the end, after having to make two separate appointments because she didn't do all of the tests the first time, I got the majority of the tests done.  (There were a couple that she refused to do.  Said they were ridiculous.)  Again, I just smiled and continued to accumulate more grey hairs on the top of my head from resulting stress.

After getting the tests results a week later, (just FYI, I do not have intestinal worms, phew!) There was the added task of getting all of the test results stamped and signed off by the previously mentioned doctor.  Unfortunately, I had since moved back to LA at this time so this made things just a touch more difficult.  When I went to email her my latest request, there was a message saying that she was currently on vacation and patients should not email her until she returns on May 31st.  (at the time I believe it was May 5)  Oh good, more grey for me.  Also, it was at this time that I realized one of the tests that she left out was for HIV.  Basically the most important test of all.  Saudi Arabia is about 95% AIDS free and apparently they would like to stay that way.  I had specifically asked her for that test twice and I had told her it's very important, yet here it was... forgotten.  I'm thinking that was a bit passive aggressive on her part.  Considering the times we now live in, this is not an unnecessary test!  Am I really that much of a pain in the butt?  Don't answer that!

I ended up getting the HIV test independently done in Glendale for the low, low price of about $165.  Thanks again Dr. J!  Appreciate it!  I emailed her on May 31st and thus began a two week long email/ phone session with her assistant.  Two weeks after that, I had my paperwork. What a pain! Luckily, it was all approved and I eventually received my visa.  The visa is good for 90 days.  Hmmmm... I recall having similar problems like this in Macau.  "Why you come to Macau so much?" (Dawn, that was for you!)

Now that I am here, they will take the visitors visa and change it to a resident visa.  I will get something called an Iqama card.  I must have this card on my person at all times outside of the compound, otherwise I could get arrested and I really don't want that.  For now, I just carry my passport with visa inside.  So far no one has asked to see it.

Yesterday, I received an email from Matt saying that he would be picking me up at 9:00 PM to take me back to the hotel where a driver would take us to a clinic where I would have the previously before mentioned tests... preformed again.  Fun times!!  Apparently, despite the fact that the tests results were stamped and signed by my doctor, they don't completely believe them and want to make sure!  Also, did you see the time there?  Because of Ramadan, most things close during the day and then reopen at night. I guess this includes doctors offices.  So around 9:15 we left to go to the clinic.

When we walked into the waiting room, it was full of men sitting around waiting.  We were told by the driver to sit and he went and talked to the guys at the desk.  I wanted to take pictures but it was very obvious what I was doing and I didn't want to get into trouble so basically these pictures suck.  Sorry.

Basically just a clinic.  It was a little worn but nothing scary.  It just feels a little overwhelming when there are always all these men around.  Eventually the driver guy told me to follow him and we went around the corner to where they were drawing  blood.  Again, there were a bunch of men hanging around in the hallway waiting to have their blood drawn.  The driver guy talked to someone and about two minutes later the woman inside called me in and told me to sit down which of course I did.  So I am sitting there, and the door is still open, and all the men are still milling around in the hallway, and several of them, are just looking in the room where I was sitting.  It was WEIRD I tell you!  The room was basically two areas separated by half of a wall.  I could tell there was a man on the other side of the wall and I could see his feet.  The woman took his blood and then sent him out of the room.  Then, as soon as he left, she sent me around the little wall to go sit on the other side.  I was actually glad to be back there where no one could see me.  (Perhaps the Saudis have a point there?)  She left me back there by myself, so I tried to snap a few pictures but there really wasn't anything all that interesting to see.

This was the view from my chair.  That must have been her abaya.  She must not have to wear it inside the hospital.  Probably because of germs and bodily fluids and things.  She was just wearing a layered hospital uniform and her head was covered but not her face.

This is from the chair I was sitting in.  The huge garbage can was right next to it.

This was where my arm goes.  That black thing is me in my abaya.

So, I sat there for a little while and eventually she came back and drew my blood.  Didn't hurt too bad.  After the blood test, she handed me a little cup and said that I needed to give a urine sample.  So I took the cup and walked out of the room.  The driver guy talked to her and then  repeated the directions to me.  "Only urine."  Ok... got it.  So then we walk down the hallway, and we stopped at this guy standing outside an x-ray room.  Some words were discussed and it was decided that I needed to go give my sample first.  For the third time, they told me... "Only urine."  Ok... so you're saying... Don't poop in the cup right?  I think I can handle this!

He pointed out which bathroom to go to.  Side note here- You know how in the US the pictures are a guy in pants and a girl in a dress?  Well here, (I guess since most of the men wear robes and caftans) the pictures are a head with short hair, and a head with a ponytail.  I was supposed to go into the ponytail bathroom.  Then he took my purse which also had my camera in it so I couldn't take any pictures... not that anyone would want to see what was going on in there!  I went in and there is no outside door to the bathrooms.  You would think there would be since anyone can just walk right by and look right in.  One of the bathrooms directly faced the hallway.  The door to the first bathroom was slightly open so I went in. The toilet looked a little yucky.  Aside from that, the door didn't lock.  In fact, it didn't even completely close.  This just didn't seem like a good idea so I came back out and tried the other two doors.  Both were completely closed and locked.  Rats!  So I went back into the first bathroom with my cup.  This time I noticed that there was no toilet paper.  Great!  There wasn't even a place for toilet paper, so it's not like they ran out.   (another China flashback... everyone there carries around little packets of Kleenex for such occasions.)  So I came back out again and there was a big TP dispenser hanging on the wall, so I grabbed some and went back into the bathroom stall which I would like to point out was not very large and again, was on the yucky side.  Also, there was no hook on which to hang anything and remember, the door doesn't completely close and it is located in such a place where if some one walks in... EVERYONE can see.  (Not that there was anyone standing around outside the door or anything but since the other two doors were locked... which bathroom do you think someone is going to try?)  So here I am in a full length abaya with toilet paper in one hand, a cup in the other, and trying to keep the door shut with my foot.  How the heck am I supposed to handle this?  The floor is rather gross, there is no where to hang my abaya, I am not about to put the toilet paper down anywhere and the freaking door won't close! And, to top it all off, I am probably taking way too long and I sure as heck don't want them coming to check on me to make sure that I am not pooping in the darn cup!

Anyway, I tucked the TP into the sleeve of my abaya and then pulled my abaya up as best that I could kept my foot on the door and very carefully managed to pee into the tiny little cup which I then set down on the floor so that I could finish up the rest of the job.  I could hear the woman next to me finishing up and leaving so at least there would be another stall open.  I managed to do the job with little to no mess, and with no intrusions.  (It's the little things.)  I capped off my sample and washed my hands and of course snuck a peek into the now open middle stall.  Just for the record, it was  a squatter, so I think I would have ended up in the first stall anyway.  Those things still confuse the heck out of me and I had about all that I could handle anyway!  Then the driver, still carrying my purse, showed me where to put my sample and that was it.  No chest x-ray and no, I didn't have to poop in anymore cups! (That is how they figure out if you have worms or not. I guess they were going to take my previous doctors word on that one.)   And that was it.  By the time we left, the lines had gotten really long and the place was packed.  I guess we were there early having had arrived at about a quarter to 10!

This Place is REALLY Small!

Before I left, a lot of people asked me about the compound.  The most common question was, "How big is it?"  To which I replied, "I don't know."  I had imagined it to be somewhat like a college campus since I was told that it had a small store, and a restaurant, and salon etc.  Also, for the first month or so, Matt was living at the hotel, so he really didn't know.  Later, after he moved into the compound... he was very vague with his answers to my questions... so no matter how many times I heard the previous question, I still had to answer with... "I don't know." (Although I usually followed that up with, "I'll let you know!")  Well, here I am, letting you know!

I attended college at Cal State LA which is not a very big campus as it is mainly a commuter school.  Cal State LA is HUGE in comparison to this place.   I also attended Glendale Community College which has a very small campus. (Unless you were walking from the lower parking lot up to the tennis courts... then it seemed huge.) Anyway, sadly GCC is also HUGE in comparison to this place.  Before GCC, I attended Hoover High School (shout out to all the Hoover Groovers out there!) Sadly, this is more on par with my current living quarters.  

Today I tried to go for a run outside in the early morning.  This is pretty much the only time to attempt something like this because even at night, it is still pretty hot out and the concrete just radiates heat for hours after the sun goes down.  During the day the temps hover around 110 - 115.  From what I hear, they are actually having a pretty mild summer.  August is supposed to be the worst month so hopefully it doesn't get any worse than this.  Currently this just seems like summer in Vegas.  Hot, but it's a dry heat so it is completely manageable.  It was about 81 degrees when I left my apartment at about 6:15 AM.  I had been previously running at the Rosebowl in about 85 degree temps so this was not a problem for me.  

In the compound, there seems to be one main block.  Just before you get to the block, right by my apartment, there is the village doctor.  (So far I haven't needed to go there, but nice to know it's there if I need it.) If you go completely around the main block you will pass a tennis court, then around the corner there is the store and right next to the store is the restaurant.  On the next corner is a small DVD rental place.  (An ok selection... mostly bootlegs.)  Turn the corner again and there is pretty much nothing but apartments and a very quick turn again will find you at the local tailor shop.  At the end of this block, you will find yourself pretty much right back where you started from.  I run with a nike + and I calibrated it at the Rosebowl right before I left so it is pretty accurate.  I measured the distance around the main block, and if you go all the way around it is 1/2 of a kilometer.  (It's all metric here.)  So basically, 10 times around for a 5k.  Instead of turning left to go around the main block, there is always the option to turn right and go down to the basketball court.  This adds on about another 350 meters, but it is basically down and back so it's not very interesting.  Of course, when the only people out so early in the morning are the gardeners, and you have already run past them 8 times... any little detour is welcome.  I am thinking that I will be doing a lot of my miles on the treadmill.  I did notice a flyer though for a local running group that is starting up again in September.  It appears as though they run on different compounds.  I'm not sure how that works or how I will get there since I can't drive... but that is a problem for another day.  

For now, here are just a few pictures of the compound.  Not very good ones because there were still gardeners everywhere and I felt a little self-conscience taking pictures of things.  But just to give you a little idea of what it looks like, here are some pictures.

This is the Village Doctor.  I haven't actually been inside so I can't really tell you what is in there, but if I ever do have to go.... I will try and take a picture.  Just so you know, from the outside, the DVD store and the tailor look exactly the same.  Still haven't found the Salon but I see advertisements for it so I know its here somewhere.  

Here is one of the pools.  They are everywhere.  I believe there are 10 of them.  At least this is pool number 10.  You can pretty much always find your own pool to swim in.  Behind it is just one of the many apartments on the compound.

This is the playground area.  I have yet to see any kids playing on it.  Probably because it is just too hot.  It is much bigger than the picture... about twice this size.  Behind it is another pool and behind that are more apartments.

This is just one of the streets off the main block.  It actually goes down pretty far and ends in the basketball court.  There is another of these streets that ends in the gym.  Went there today but forgot to take a picture.  

This is just the outside of the store.  To the right of this is the dry cleaners.  (Different from the tailors) I didn't take any pictures of the inside, although I went here today too.  Felt weird doing it.  

This is the outside area of the restaurant.  Sometimes they open up those doors so there is a bit of an indoor outdoor feel.  I kinda prefer that because otherwise it is rather freezing in there.  (See Gina... the little sweaters came in handy after all!) This is the only place to eat so even though I have only been here a few days, we have already gone here several times.  Also, they deliver which is sooo nice.  (After the Embassy party we had them deliver twice as I didn't even feel like walking over there.)  That's all for now!

Party at the US Embassy

I mentioned on my last post that we were planning on going to go to a party at the US Embassy.  The party started at 7 and you could only arrive during 7:00 to 9:00.  After 9:00 they would no longer let you in.  There is a lot of security that goes along with the whole thing.  But for now, I think I need to back track a little.

I started my day by eating a banana (from the fruit bowl that was replenished daily in the room) and then hopping on the treadmill for a 5 mile run.  After this I showered and then later Matt came back to the room so we could order lunch from room service.  (At the hotel, room service or the one Italian restaurant downstairs were the only options due to Ramadan fasting.  You are not supposed to eat in public so the hotel has one restaurant that is curtained off where you can eat or they will deliver room service to non Muslims.)

By the time lunch came I was pretty hungry so this is what I had for lunch.

This was tian of king crab.  It was so good.  Layered with avocado, pomelo, and other good stuff.  So yummy. I ate the whole thing.

This was followed by some roast chicken.  Three pieces to be exact and while you can't really see it, there is a round of polenta under the chicken.  Again, I ate the entire thing along with a little pita and a glass of fresh watermelon juice (the exception to my no juice rule.) Why am I telling you what I ate? Well, perhaps some of you can see where I am going with this.  Keep in mind that this was all at around 1:30- 2:00.

I spent the rest of the afternoon packing up my things since we would be leaving the hotel and returning to the compound later that evening.  Around 6:30 I started getting ready for the party.  These are my new shoes that I wore.

I love these shoes!  They needed their own photo since they are a nude shade and don't exactly show up very well in the picture.  And also they are so comfortable.  I have the feeling that I am going to be placing a little more importance on shoes these days since they are the only things anyone is ever going to see.

This was what I wore.  See... kind of grainy picture and the shoes don't necessarily show up.  There is no flash on the iPod camera and the lighting in the room was kind of dim but you get the idea.

It took about 20 minutes to get to the Diplomatic Quarter.  Once inside there are hundreds of different embassies.  Even though Matt had gotten directions from someone, it still took a while to find the US embassy.  All the embassies look alike.  Eventually though, we did find it.  Once there, they checked our passports and took Matt's keys and cell phone and also my iPod... so no more pictures.  After we were cleared we went in through a metal detector and they x-rayed the contents of my purse.  We both passed and then we were allowed to enter the party which basically had a heavy nightclub vibe going on.  Loud music, dim lighting, pool lit up, hookahs set up on the floor, and of course... plenty of alcohol.  Real stuff... not homemade.

Now at this point in time, it was probably about a quarter to 9, so we lined up in the alcohol line and ordered up.  I just ordered a white wine.  There was about 4 oz in a little plastic cup.  At this point, I still didn't really feel hungry, probably because I had eaten such a large lunch... but, to do the math, it had been about 7 hours since I had last eaten anything.  (Now can you see where I am going with this?)  The party was almost entirely out doors and it was still very warm out.  Probably low 90's, although there were ceiling fans and things.  Apparently casual at the US embassy means anything from jeans and a tee shirt, to something you would wear to a nightclub.  I fell somewhere in between.  Although I must say... there was a lot of cleavage going around.

We did a lap around the place and Matt recognized no one, so we found a seat near the dance floor and drank our drinks.  After a while, Matt went to go get another round and asked me if I wanted a refill... to which I said sure, why not?  At this point, it did occur to me that I should probably eat something... and there was food there... but it just seemed to be too much of a bother and I really wasn't hungry, and once you start drinking... well, who really wants food?

By the time Matt returned with round two, I had just about finished my first drink.  We danced a little and then Matt said that he had run into some people that he knew so we decided to go join them.  It was nice to actually meet people in an environment where you don't really have to worry about what you do or say.  Eventually Matt and I went off to go find the bathrooms and after that we somehow ended up in the drink line again, because there were people he knew that were almost to the front of the line.  That was how the crucial drink number 3 ended up in my hands.  (Please note that in between drinks 2 and 3, I did have a cup of water and a cup of ice.) Also, who wants to go back to a table where everyone is drinking and not have a drink?  So we went back to the table and I had quite a good time.  Met some very nice people and I completely behaved myself.  Well, I did pretty good for me.  At 11:30 they shut down the bar, and at 12:00 they kicked us all out.  I left on my own two feet a little tipsy but definitely not sloppy!  Had a marvelous time and definitely want to attend more of those parties.

The problem came when we left the embassy.  They had blocked off the main entrance (and the entire quarter is HUGE) so Matt ended up driving around and around and around before we finally made it out.  Then we were on an unfamiliar street with no gas and all of the signs are in Arabic making it quite confusing to figure out where one is going.  When we finally arrived at a gas station the smell of gas was quite overwhelming and I said, I think that I am going to need some water.  So Matt purchased me a bottle inside the little shop.  I drank some but it took forever to get home and due to Ramadan, the traffic at 1:30 was CRAZY! So there was all this stop and go and stop and go.  Eventually we arrived in an area that I recognized and I think it's kind of like when you really have to go to the bathroom, the closer you get to it the more you have to go.... till you just can't stand it?  Anyway, we were about five minutes away and I knew that I was never going to make it so Matt pulled over and I puked out the window.  Not my finest hour.  Not a single chunk in case you were wondering... just straight wine.  Felt much better afterwards.  Also, when we got back to the compound about 3 minutes later, I realized with all those speed bumps and windy roadblocks, there is no way that I would have made it.  And better to puke outside the compound than inside.  Later, when we were inside, Matt asked me if I puked on the car, to which I answered... "Come on, do you really think that I managed to puke away from the car?"  Yeah, probably not.  (He cleaned it off... sorry about that!)

So what is the lesson to be learned here?  Don't drink?  No, that can't be it.  If you are going to drink... eat?  Probably closer.... Or maybe just get better directions home.  Yeah, I think I'll go with that one!

Out for Dinner

The other night we ended up going out for dinner at a place near the hotel.  Crossing the street in Saudi reminded me a lot of Macau because, well... the cars just don't always stop.  There was a crossing signal but it really didn't seem to mean all that much.  Anyway, we decided to go to an Arabic restaurant that Matt had been to before.   The thing about restaurants here though is that there are two sections.  There is a men's section and a family section.  It seems as though the men's section is generally in the front where the people from the street can see, and the family section is in the back or upstairs... away from prying eyes.  If you are a man eating alone, or with other men, you must eat in the men's section.  If you are a man eating with your wife,  or a group of women eating together, then you eat in the family section.

The restaurant that we went to had a big glass storefront and inside was the men's section.  You could see some stairs at the back of the restaurant so we thought that this may be where the family section was.  Since Matt has been in Saudi by himself for the last three months, he has yet to sit in or see the family section of a restaurant.  When we got to the restaurant, Matt walked in and asked them where the family section was and the waiter there told him that it was outside and around the corner.  He must have looked confused because the waiter walked us outside and down the block a bit to the corner and then pointed to a neon sign.

It's kind of hard to see but the neon sign says Family section.  So you go in that door and then up the stairs and you are in the family section of the restaurant without having to ever set so much as one foot in the men's section.  Now the family section has all of these tables that are partitioned off so that women can remove their head wraps (I really need to look up what the actual word is for that) and eat without being seen.  They sat us in a corner table that was all partitioned off and there was a curtain covering where you enter.

This is the view from the table.  Basically the "walls" are partitions that can be moved around.  They put us in a room with a curtain, probably because I wasn't wearing my head scarf.  (I still don't like to wear it.)  The whole point of the separate room is so that you can take your headscarf off while you eat and not be seen.  For a while, we were the only ones up there but eventually they sat a family in the room next to us and they had another partition (not a curtain) blocking the entrance.  Apparently the waiter has to knock when they are coming in so that the woman can cover back up again.  It was kind of a pain for the waiters to keep dealing with pushing aside the curtain so he eventually asked if he could just leave it open, did we mind?  We said that was fine so he opened it back up again.  It looked like this.

Now I am a big fan of hummus and baba ganoush and tabouli,(not sure if I am spelling these correctly so please forgive me) all of which I generally used to buy at the local Trader Joe's.  I thought they were really good.  I was wrong.  The stuff that they have here is INCREDIBLE!  I'm telling you I could live off this stuff, and once I get back to the compound, I am probably going to try and do that.  We bought two very large containers of the stuff at the local market and they lasted maybe a day and a half before we inhaled them both.  Once I leave here, I will be forever ruined for anything we have back home.  Kind of like the mango we used to get in Macau.  There is no comparison.  Anyway, here is some of the food.

Starting from the back is the baba ganoush, then there is assorted pickles (love those) and in the front there is the hummus.  It came with pita and a bowl of assorted veggies and mint leaves.

For dinner Matt ordered the lamb.  I tasted it... very good.

I can't remember what this was called but it was some sort of ground meat with eggplant.  Very good.

After all that food we were pretty full and we did not order dessert... but apparently it came with it anyway.

And look at how much dessert they brought out! But of course if they bring it... well, I am going to try it.  The two white things were some kind of a milk custard.  Very yummy.  Definitely had some of that rose water in it.  The square things were some kind of an almond sponge cake.  It was good but very sweet.  I took one look at the little round things and I knew they were not for me.  I could see that they were loaded with honey.  But I did break one open with my fork and as predicted, tons of honey came out. Too sweet for me.

Not sure if you can tell here... just take my word for it.  Would I lie to you?  Of course not.  Lastly, the long stick things that look like eggrolls.  Those were very good.  They had some sort of a custard inside. Yummy!

I think I need a manicure!  Anyway... that was what I had for dinner, in the privacy of my own little partitioned off table.  Tonight we are going to a party at the US embassy.  I actually get to wear something that someone will actually see!  Just have to figure out what Embassy Casual is....

Fast Food

This is just a quick one about something I noticed while walking through the mall food court. Basically, they seem to have all of the same fast food establishments that we have.  I am noticing a lot of Baskin Robbins, tons of Burger King, and of course... America's favorite... Mc  Donald's.  I took a couple of pictures while I was in the mall.

Look, I am getting better at this.  I figured out how to enlarge the pictures!  Anyway, obviously this is Auntie Anne's pretzels, and to the right you can see the Pizza Hut Express.  Just FYI behind the pretzels is the Subway but you can't really see it.

Look, even bigger!  Here we have the Dunkin Donuts, the Baskin Robbins, and that red one on the end is actually the Cheesecake Factory.  (I've never seen a Cheesecake Factory stand before.)  I'm going to need that last one like I need a hole in the head.  Anyway, the one that I really found amusing was this one.

I know, you're thinking... Danielle... you have already shown us a picture of Mc Donalds.  Besides, they are on every street corner in America!  What is so interesting about the Mc Donalds??? Well, you need to look a little closer.  In fact, I can't believe that I didn't notice this the first time.  We will zoom in so that you can see what I am talking about.

Now I know it's blurry, but I lost the cable to my actual camera again so until I get another one... or another camera my Ipod photos will have to do.  I would like to draw your attention to the two red signs on either side while still noticing the partition down the middle.  There is a ladies section and a mens section. Separated of course, by a partition.  From what I have seen so far, Mc Donald's seems to be the only one doing this. There is a man at both registers so I am assuming that it is only so that you don't have to line up with members of the opposite sex.  I just thought that this was too funny.  Had to share.  Also, I was so caught up in the separate sections that I forgot to check the pie!  I always check to see what the pie is at McDonald's when I go somewhere new.  (In Macau they had red bean pies... and for a limited time they had banana.) I guess that I will just have to save that update for another post!