back at it - with activities starting a new season, coffee mornings are up and running again!
I am serving as the President of the WACC (Women's Activities and Coordinating Committee) for women living outside of the compounds. Each Compound (Arabian Homes and the Cove) has their own groups that organize events and such, but we're a bit more spread out here in town. The WACC has been around for nearly 30 years, and it used to very active in Camp 4, where we live. However, about 10 years ago when ex-pats started leaving, things slowed down. Now, we are working to rebuild the group and get things moving again.
Two years ago, the women were given a house. From pictures we've found, it seems to be the same house as 30 years ago! It is in desperate need of repair, however, with a little prodding, we have been promised a larger home that is currently being renovated. We are so excited to have more space with a newer home to offer more activities. Right now, we are currently only offering a monthly coffee morning, but we are planning for more and more activities as we have more space. Things like "Family Nights" and cooking lessons, craft lessons and just a place for women to meet and visit outside of our own homes. A change of scenery can make such a difference here!
We are also looking forward to offering "orientation" classes for new women, to help with the transition of moving to Saudi. Often we have experienced that our husbands receive a full orientation, but the information doesn't always make it to us! :) We are looking forward to offering more activities for kids as well, setting up a play area and a place for mothers to have play dates outside of the parks (it gets very hot somedays so outside parks are not always ideal to meet at, especially when mommy has to wear a long black abaya).
All in all I'm excited about the women's activities for this year and cannot wait until our new house is up and running! Maintenance has been working pretty steady on it, so here's hoping it's sooner, rather than later!
Being an expat is certainly an adventure, but as I've posted before there are ups and downs to this life. Although I try to stay positive, I think no matter how long you've lived away from your "comfort zone" you still have your days when just getting out of bed can be a struggle. For me it's always getting dressed. That abaya covers so much it's very easy to be in pajamas all day
For anyone who's never been an expat it's hard to describe the emotional roller coaster that you go through on the adventure. First, you are cautious, doing all the research you can to find out about your new home. Then, the excitement sets in. Next, comes the frustration of waiting. Waiting while your family may be split for paperwork and movers, housing and anything else that comes your way. Then, the excitement again, finally every thing is in place and you are on your way.
The first few weeks are filled with happiness and relief, frustration and stress, sadness and a bit of loneliness trying to adjust to your new home. Friends and family are farther away, and let's face it, Saudi Arabia is not like any other place on earth. The culture here is very unique and there are many adjustments that anyone entering the country must make.
The key is finding a balance and not putting too much pressure on yourself to adjust too quickly. I was very bad at this. I tried so hard in the beginning to put my feelings aside and go with the flow. I had high expectations for myself to adjust quickly and easily. I think it's better to let yourself have your bad moments, let yourself cry for a bit, and then pick yourself up and focus on the good in your situation. Remember the benefits of being here and let the downfalls slide.
Keeping in touch with friends and family is so important. It's a break from the day and gives you a chance to vent, unwind and share your experiences (both good and bad) with others. I actually started this blog for our friends and family at home, so I could share our ride with them, without having to send emails and photos to every single person. I've now found that many are using it as a reference for themselves when making a decision to take their own adventure.
For those who are in the process or looking to start the process, the best advice I can give is go easy on yourself. Don't try and be perfect and certainly don't think that those of us who are knee deep in the weeds here don't have our moments also. We have days we cuss, we feel as though we're losing our mind and then we have days where we're up beat, loving life and smiling that big happy smile.
We all take the good with the bad and mix it up into one big adventure - that someday - we will look back on and smile, laugh and enjoy with family and friends, both new and old.
Very busy on our stay-cation! We made it to the beach with friends, along with a picnic in the park, lots of swimming at home and even decorated the house for Halloween! Abby and I were busy ladies during the Hajj holiday.
And now, it's back to reality. Abby started back to school yesterday and I was teaching again. I loved the break though! It seems like we had been going and going since we arrived back, but it was so nice to take a break.
We went to the first beach trip of the season with friends and introduced some "newbies" to the beach. It's so funny to say that as I haven't even been here for a year yet (still have a couple more weeks until my anniversary date). We enjoyed the sand and water and Abby put her swimming lessons to use (although now she would like to be a surfer more than a swimmer). We are still trying to explain to her that in order to surf, you need to swim - but hey she's three so we have time!
We also went on a picnic in the park with some friends. It was so nice to get out after the sun had gone down and enjoy the evening. We even had "pumpkin" pie with cool whip! This is a big deal, as this is the first time any of us had seen real cool whip here! (I've stocked up with 3 containers for Thanksgiving). Our pumpkin pie was actually made with butternut squash, but unless you knew, you couldn't tell the difference - At least everyone who ate it seemed to enjoy!
Speaking of new introductions to Saudi, I'm very happy to say that we are now able to find Reese's Pieces and Peanut Butter Cups here. It's the little things that make my day, but it was so exciting to see them in the stores. Oh and we found Tony's Pizza Rolls, so Abby is one happy girl. Right now our freezer is full of supplies, turkey (you never know when they might have them again, and it's likely they will disappear before Thanksgiving), Reeses, pizza rolls, cool whip and REAL popsicles! We even saw Eggo Waffles and Aunt Jemimah pancakes along with Weight Watchers meals! This is a big deal and certainly worth posting on my blog! :)
Abby and I even found time to decorate for Halloween!
I really think it's important to keep things as "normal" as possible and I certainly don't want my little one missing out on all the holidays and things we take for granted in the States. So, we decorated for halloween. There have been some television shows on here, especially on Disney, that are halloween related and she's excited to dress up, even if we are only visiting 1 or 2 places. I don't want her to miss out on the fun of the season (or the candy and sugar that we all enjoyed as kids).
While we were in the US this summer, she informed me that she wanted to be Dorothy, so I worked hard and actually made her a Dorothy costume from the Wizard of Oz. She's worn it most of the summer, but it's still got a couple of wears left for Trick or Treating. The only problem is now, she's thinking of a princess or maybe a surfer, or a matador. I'll be sure to post in a couple weeks as to what we end up being for Halloween. The adventures of a 3 year old!
So we are starting the Hajj holiday here in Saudi. For us, it means a week or so off, but I had to do some research to find out what exactly what Hajj is.
The Hajj (Arabic: حج Ḥaǧǧ "pilgrimage") is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and the largest gathering of Muslim people in the world every year. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, and a religious duty which must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so at least once in his or her lifetime. The state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called istita'ah and a Muslim who fulfils this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah in the Arabic language). The word Hajj means “to intend a journey,” which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions.
We live in the province of Medina, so it gets very busy this time of year in our area with pilgrims traveling from Jeddah to Mecca and Medina (the two holy cities in Saudi).
The Hajj is associated with the life of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time of Abraham (Ibrahim). Pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: Each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Ka'aba, the cube-shaped building which acts as the Muslim direction of prayer, runs back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, drinks from the Zamzam Well, goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, and throws stones in a ritual Stoning of the Devil. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three day global festival of Eid al-Adha.
Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى ʿīd al-aḍḥā, "festival of the sacrifice"), also called Feast of the Sacrifice, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honor the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his young first-born son Ismail (Ishmael)a as an act of submission to God's command and his son's acceptance to being sacrificed, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a Lamb to sacrifice.
This is one of the two large holidays in Saudi, with Ramadan being the first. Traditionally many expats leave and go out of the country on vacation during this time as all schools and many businesses are closed. We decided to stay in country this year since we just unpacked our suitcases from our last trip and will be leaving again in December for Christmas and New Years. I’m actually looking forward to a little down time and spending some time with Abby. We have a beach trip planned and some shopping, sleeping in and relaxing at home – just enjoying the break!
to Saudi life. Things are obviously not always cheery and roses here - yes we all have our days when things get tough and we stop and think, "What have we done?"
I'm going through a bit of that time now. It usually comes about a month or so after I return from a vacation and the "honeymoon" period has worn off. When reality sets in again and you begin to get homesick and missing friends and family. Especially after we've spent so long this summer with my parents and in the US, I'm starting to miss the little things and conveniences of "home".
For example, driving. Chuck was recently given a company vehicle, however we had purchased a vehicle last year when we arrived, so during the day there is a car sitting outside my home, with the keys hanging in the entrance way, that I cannot drive. Instead, I have to take a taxi. This is a little frustrating and I know I make a face every time I walk past the car to get into the taxi. I plan on starting to look for a driver soon, because if the car is there, why not use it? And as a friend said, we could use it to take a day trip to Jeddah for a girls shopping trip, or a trip to the beach or anything, just have to find a driver - but that's easier said than done at times.
Another thing is that Yanbu is a small town, especially in the expat community and everyone knows each other, so there are little to no secrets in the group. Personally, I like being anonymous and although I blog about our life here, I like keeping a lot of our family affairs and my thoughts private. I'm picky about my friends and who I share what with. Sometimes the lack of privacy does wear on me as everyone knows what happened at work with your husband, or who had what dinner guests over, or who just hired what gardner. All the little things that make it a sort of "desperate housewives" setting (without the murder or affairs).
I know that this too shall pass and I will get back in my groove again. I am, however, looking forward to the upcoming Eid holiday next week. Abby will be out of school starting on Thursday and we have 11 days where we will be home together. Mommy is also on vacation as all schools and government buildings are closed. I'm looking forward to the break and enjoying some time with Abby and her friends. With her in school she's been missing some play dates, so it will be good for her to spend time with some of her other friends she's missing due to her school - and mommy to catch up too! :)
All in all, I try to blog about the good and focus on what I enjoy here, but have to be honest too and show both sides to the adventure. All in all, the expat family has a roller coaster ride of a life!
Continues. Not only to the return to Yanbu, but all the new faces and changes to the area as well.
We hosted our first party of the year (well I count it as a new year, since we are officially in the second year of our contract) this past weekend. Had some newbies over to mingle with some of our good friends. It was fun, but whew! I forgot how much work hosting a simple bbq could be!
There are so many new faces here and many more coming. It's hard to keep up with the changes as an expat, but one thing is for sure, there is never a dull moment here!
Abby is slowly adjusting to Pre-K. She's not a morning person - takes after me - so the schedule has been a little rough. The class is 7:30am-12:30am, which I love. I do get some free time this year - although it's used to plan lessons for college, get together with friends and of course clean! haha. But it does give me a little break.
I have to say though, I am so impressed with what she's learned in a short amount of time. She's already learning her Arabic Alphabet. This weekend we went to the mall and she looked at a sign and said, "Look daddy. A." I was so happy!
Her teachers also sent home some of the work that she had been doing this weekend for us to see. When we ask her what she did, we get:
"Colored." "What did you color?" "A basket." "Were you learning the letter B?" "Um, I think so." "What was in the basket? "Nothing." "So why did you color it?" "Because the teacher gave it to me."
This is the standard conversation about school. I now understand my parents' frustrations! But regardless we were able to say the basket was for the letter "B" and for the sight words "in" and "out" which she showed me on the worksheet!
She is starting to color within the lines and is learning to trace circles and other shapes. She is getting better and better at cutting, but most importantly, she is socializing more and more. Many of the kids in her Pre-K class are also in the college nursery so she spends the afternoon with the same kids while I'm teaching. It's good for her and good for me. I'm meeting more and more parents and slowly feeling more and more normal with life here and with Abby's schooling.
We've also gotten back to our family time. 3 months apart can take a toll - so we're making sure to make time for each other again. We always have dinner together. With Abby in preschool we drop her off together and pick her up at lunch time (since I can't drive, Chuck is my chauffeur). We eat lunch together and weekends are family time.
We work in the yard, play in the pool, have picnics and outings with friends and just enjoy the unique opportunities we have here. I still have to say I do enjoy the time that my family gets to spend with one another! It's something we missed in the US, with me working full time, Chuck traveling most of the time and Abby in daycare, the time we spend and the closeness of our family has increased so dramatically over the past year. Not to say there aren't challenges - when we aren't used to each other, there have been some ups and downs adjusting, but all in all it's been the best part of this whole adventure!
In May 2012 my husband came home with a proposal. Move to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia for a position. At first I was stunned, but having lived and worked as an ex-pat myself before meeting my husband, I though that it may be worth looking into.
I quite my job, am now a stay-at-home mom and we live in Yanbu Industrial City in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The process has been interesting and we are learning more and more everyday. But I have a feeling this is only the beginning of our adventure!
Content Disclaimer: Please note that the information, content and editorial on this blog, including all articles and photos are my opinion only and are not affiliated with any corporation or organization. It is respectfully offered with the hope and intention of informing the reader and offering a woman's perspective of life abroad.