SaudiArabia: 9 months on.. Pros/Cons Part 1

Wow! It's been 9 months of my 1 year contract in Saudi! I have to say i applaud life for showing me my survival base and how far i can stretch, I did not give up, even though i felt like it so many times. 

This journey has changed my view of life! It has given me an opportunity to be thankful and to not just take things for granted! I have seen and learnt that the world is extremely unfair depending on how you view things and where you come from. The things i deem unfair and crazy are someone else's gratitude, having lived here for that time has given me a lesson that i would never get from any other place in the world.So if you ask me if its an ideal place for you, read through and make your decision. These are my personal views, i will try and give it all due fairness...

1. Money/Holidays/Shopping

98% of expats in SaudiArabia are here for the money. For a country so strict and closed, they have to give that extra boost to attract employees. Second, they are too rich to go to school, and unfortunately you cannot buy brains so the success behind anything is from bought minds, which is us, the expats! Demn that makes me feel good! They give good salaries, and a total of 54 days annual leave. It is then easy to travel a lot. That is one thing that has kept me going especially because I love travelling. I have been on Holidays abroad 5 times in a span of 9 months, that would not have happened on my Finnish salary! Not after the tax man takes his share. I have also grown beyond the money, being here alone, without a social life has confirmed that money cannot buy happiness, it does though buy things that bring happiness haha. 

Shopping: if someone lies to you that it's cheap to shop in Saudi, get a quote, I came here thinking it will be lovely tax free shopping, brace yourselves! Shops outside the kingdom and maybe outside Middle-east  are way cheaper. Again, people don't realize it cos you don't have to count pennies, you are rent free and on tax free salary, and the malls are amazing! I have learnt a better way though, to just shop when out on holidays, otherwise that's the reason most can't save, because you end up paying way more for shopping, except when you are buying gold! That's well affordable, if you need your rings, give me a call. Did you think am buying them for you? Haha, you're funny 😇, I mean if

you send the money, I don't mind bringing it for you👍🏾

2. Arabic food/ cheap eating

When I first came in, I was crazily eating!  Arabic food, bread, Biriayanis with mutton, meats, veggies, food is really good!, and the portions are really large. The best part is that it's not even embarrassing to ask restaurants to pack your remainders. More to it, it's so cheap, you are in awe! unless you go do 5 star brunches, dinners and lunches! those are expensive but still easily affordable. There's nothing as good as knowing that when you go for dinner out, you will carry half portion for tomorrow's dinner with you, talk about budgeting, that's when you embrace the Africanism, we don't waste there, we take our bones from the restaurants to our dogs, I mean we paid for them, right?

The hardest part is when you have to shed all the weight, luckily, you got all the time to gym so if you do add on some few kilos, hit the gym, otherwise you got no one to blame when you just eat and sleep, we shall just watch you balloon up. 

The worst thing is the amount of burgers and chips eaten here, in a country where's there's lots of fresh veggies and fruits, still Macdonalds, steakhouse, and all the fast foods are always busy! The number of Yokozuna kids around keeps going up, it's really sad to watch a huge kid struggle to walk into macdee! Sad scenes!

4. Embassy parties

How else do you start taking yourself seriously as an expat. Being invited for Embassy parties is my ultimate thing, I love this kind of organized parties, where you dress up, leave your Abaya by the gate, leave your phone by the gate or home lest you take proof! Photography is strictly prohibited, makes it sound like you are going to a swing party, but it's all in the name of holy water, yea..the one with a certain percentage, if you see me paying around 60€ to get into a party, be sure to find me in my body fitting nice dress, a 13 inch heel, some red lipstick and a glass of red holy water hanging from my well balanced arm. Sad, you might think, that just that description is treasured by me, never TaKe things for granted.That is one small chance to make me feel like am free, like am normal, even if am behind a fence, it brings back the memories of home, and I envy all of you who can just dress up and balance their drink, because here my friend, that's a real privillage🍷

Do not take it for granted that you can just walk into a supermarket or an alcohol shop and buy yourself a bottle of wine, that, my friend is luxury, and I will never take it for granted again.. I swear. Every time I get an opportunity to walk through an alko shop and make my decision on what to buy feels like am collecting an Oscar, I really can't wait to get back to civilization, in a world where both men and women wear the trousers😄

5. Weather

The weather of course is a plus, except during summer when it's too hot! And when it rains for half an hour and the whole town is flooded, I am pretty sure I would enjoy this weather more if I was outside the Kingdom, it's not easy when you are already boiling and you have to dress up and then wear an abaya on top. Black absorbs heat so imagine first, you are black, and then you have to wear a black abaya!! 😎. I am not complaining but it would be much more fun if we had fun parks where you can let your skin feel the warmth, where you can flaunt your bikini and lie under Palm trees sipping some content, that's the idea I have of enjoying sunny times, that's not the idea though in Saudi, luckily, we have pools in every compound and you can go flaunt your skinny or big self there, behind high walls😇

Rain in the desert is like....like....words fail me! It smells so good I imagine myself eating soil outside, like a pregnant woman! It is spoilt though by flooding because yes, there is no drainage in this country. A little rain and we are swimming to work, temporary bridges have to be put up on pavements, cars are being swept of by floods, schools close and Saudis cannot make it to work! 

6.Transportation

When you get a job, your employer pays for your return flight expenses, if you sign a contract for more than 1 year, then you get a paid ticket for your holiday once an year, saves a lot of people from organizing fundraisings or spending up on flight. The funny thing about traveling out of the country is that you have to apply for exit and re-entry visa, and it's not free of charge! You have to hand in your passport...it's not hard, it's just boring and unnecessary! That reminds me I need to go drop my application for my Christmas holiday visa!

For a man, transport around the kingdom  is easy, you can own a car, you can drive, you can jog from place to place! Though a Saudi man better die than run, they should know what a privilege they have, I wish I could run to the shop! As a woman, you can't  walk around aimlessly, you can't drive and you can only rely on your dad, brother, taxis for transportation!  If you take a taxi, you cannot sit in the front because the driver is strange, back seat is the place for a woman! In all ways!   

That means a little more spending on taxis and a whole lot of uncomfortability especially when the taxi driver checks you out via the front mirror! Dangerous😈

Check out part 2 for the not so positive vibes:)