It has been a few weeks since I last posted and it’s not because there in nothing going on…it’s the exact opposite. But let’s start with the basics. In case I had not mentioned in the previous posts but I arrived to Saudi Arabia in the middle of Ramadan. So what does that mean to all my friends back home? It’s like arriving to the U.S. on Christmas Day…only it lasts for weeks! In the U.S. it’s usually 7-11 types of stores that are open while everything else is pretty much shut down especially government offices. Without government services you cannot get your iqama (work permit) and without that little tiny document, you don’t get your passport back, you don’t get a visa and you are pretty much stuck here…living in limbo. This week I have had significant milestones! Because I am so far behind on my blog, I have broke the content down into sections and I will expand on each section to let you know a bit more about some of the hillarious moments that happened with each of these milestones.
- The government reopened on Sunday the 9th! Remember our work week is Sunday-Thursday and the weekend is Friday/Saturday.
- Sunday my golf cart arrived!
- Tuesday morning I finally get the email that states my iqama has been issued and is now being held in Dhahran.
- Wednesday my 2 e-boxes arrived from the United States!
- Thursday after checking the government online visa system every 10 minutes (for the past 2 days), at 1:03 PM I get what I have been waiting 4 weeks for…my ticket out of here…or more specially to Bahrain for some B&B
At 1:10 PM I realize I have made weekend plans with other colleagues who do not have the same freedom that I now possess and I come down off the B&B cloud called Bahrain and realize that you just can’t pick up and go in this part of the world so I am staying put for another 7 days.
Kate's Mulligan 