What a crazy couple of weeks it's been! Abby has been sick with a cold. Let me start by explaining something. When she would get a cold in the US, it was a few days, maybe 1 bad day and then we were getting better. Here - it just seems to drag on and on! She still, two weeks later has a runny nose and a bit of a cough. We went to a Dr, and were given a perscription, but it's just hung on. So then, of course, I catch it, which means another week shut up in the house. (Right now it's ranging from 95Deg F to 100Deg F during the day, so with a cold, it's not very pleasant, also, we don't want others to catch our sickness because of a playdate, so we're in quarantine). So for the last two weeks Abby and I had been prisoners in the house.
I think that the lack of interaction in public, ie, movie theaters, restaurants, etc. can really break down the immune system here. Also, we've only been in country for about 6 months, so there's a whole new set of germs and viruses for our bodies to build an immunity too. One nice thing, you need a prescription here for well ... nothing! Chuck went to the pharmacist and got me a z-pack and Abby's Dr told us what to pick up for her. No prescription needed! That certainly takes some getting used to!
Well, now that we've been paroled and are on the mend, we've been quite busy with alot of new and exciting changes. First, I am now President of the WACC (Women's Activities Coordination Committee) here in Yanbu. It's a group of about 89 women who organize a monthly coffee morning (get together) and other activities in Camp 4 (our community) to help keep us busy. I was treasurer, but with the new election, here I am! The program is sponsored by Parsons, the company my husband works for, and since he's in HR and recruiting, I plan on using it to my full benefit to help get some more activities and benefits in place for the women.
I am also now officially taking Arabic classes at the women's college. It's 3 days a week and I really enjoy it. With that I have also started working again! Yay!!! I'm teaching 1 Conversational English class at the women's college as well! It's only 4 hours a week, 2x per week, but it's so nice to get out of the house and interact with new people. The class is alot of fun. There are around 10 girls in my class and they are younger and just learning English. The college is linked to the men's university, but you can follow the link to get some information and understanding of the academics here for women. Yanbu University College - for Women.
I wrote about a visit to the women's college earlier, but here's just a quick run down. The college is for girls, ages 17-22. They offer 3 main degrees. For many of the girls this is a whole new world for them, since education is optional for girls past a certain age here. The classes are all taught in English and it still just keeps me in awe every time I walk through the doors.
The best part of all this is Abby is in daycare while I'm in class and teaching, so for about 6 hours per week. It's a nice daycare at the college, similar to the ones in the US, broken up by age group. Ratio is about 5:1 in the classrooms. The drawback or advantage is that she is the only English speaking child in the classroom. The first day was a little rough. She said the kids were a bit mean.
One thing I should mention is that Saudi kids, especially boys, can be a bit rough. They usually have large families and they learn to defend themselves by hitting, pushing and kicking, just like siblings in the US. So Abby, not having siblings and not really used to it was a bit overwhelmed. But then I asked her, "What did you do when they pushed you?" Her answer? "I pushed them back Mommy." So, I think she caught on quick.
By the second day, she was telling me all about the girl in the white dress that she played baby dolls with, and by the end of the week she was all smiles when I picked her up, oh and speaking some Arabic!
All in all, it's been a busy, crazy couple weeks, but I think we're getting a good routine now, and I'm very excited about this new phase in our adventure. Abby has some new kids to play with, and since my classes are only part time, we still have plenty of time for our play dates. Also, I'm very excited about the WACC and getting some new things rolling for the women. I think the group we have on the board this year is amazing and we're going to get a lot accomplished to help make life a little more "normal" for some of the women here.
After 6 months, we're more settled and adjusted and I guess you could say we're starting the next phase in our adventure!