Sunday November 8th, 2009
At work today, I had to conduct a workshop titled “How to Start Your Small Business: Step by Step” to a group of undergrad university students. These students are in Business School and are in their last year, so most of the things I covered are not new to them. But at the same time, I covered things they didn’t cover yet, such as Business Plans and Market Research. I really enjoyed it and I always try to make it fun and interesting and not boring as if it was a typical lecture.
I gave them evaluation forms at the end to fill out so that I can see what are my weaknesses and what are my strengths so that I can makes changes or adjustments, or simply do things the same way as I always have. But it’s always nice to improve and make changes in your teaching or presenting ways. After looking over the evaluations, I got mostly good feedback alhemdallah! It really made my day! Now my boss wants me to come up with different topics to different workshops and I’m very excited for that!!!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Saturday November 7th, 2009
Today I went to the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry for a lecture on “Employee Rights” and things related to one’s job contract. It was very informative, especially since most of the things they were talking about were related to Saudi laws and all of this is extremely new to me. Since I work here now and since I signed a contract with a Saudi establishment, these laws cover and also protect me. So it was very nice to learn and to be educated in. I defiantly took plenty of notes and grabbed any literature that as passed out for people to take home.
I also met a very important Saudi lawyer and legal advisor, who came to present at our Conference 2 weeks ago and I was in contact with her through phone and email, yet I never got the chance to meet her in real life. So tonight, she was actually one of the main speakers! It was very nice to actually meet her and she was just as excited to finally meet me as I was.
They gave us a Certificate of Attendance at the end of the lecture, which was very nicely printed and placed in a nice, velvet cover.
Bassam came to pick me up when it was over at 8 pm and then we went to get take out and we just made it home. I will eat, make some coffee, and read a bit before bed.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Friday November 6th, 2009
Talal, Kristi, Karoomi, and I went out for a picnic in the sand/desert area. It was in an area called Old Derayah, which is the original capital before it was Riyadh. You can see some old castles and buildings for 60+ years ago which they are trying to preserve.
We found a nice place which had huge rocks that made a U shaped cabana-like area to set up picnic or to have a bar-b-q. There was a lot of them, so they were man-made with real rocks. It is designed so that each group or each family can sit in their own cabana.
Kristi made very yummy chicken & grilled onion sandwiches and before we got there, we stopped by a mini convenient store and bought some pop and some chips. As soon as we set up, we decided to eat. Afterwards, Talal and Kristi decided to go for a long walk in the desert, and it was LONG! I stayed with Karoomi since he fell asleep and plus I didn’t have my sunglasses and the sun was very bright!
We stayed there for a few hours, but honestly, it was very calm and relaxing yet fun!
I took some pictures, so I will post them soon inshAllah.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
50 DAY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!! (I just can’t believe it’s been 50 days already!!! Amazing!!!)
Last week we went to IKEA and bought a few things, and they finally arrived today! They even installed everything. Even though my apartment is still missing a few things, I feel as if it’s beginning to look more like a home, and I’m really happy for this. Because what I hate more than anything is an apartment or house that is empty and doesn’t feel homey!
I was also invited to an Istaraha (it’s when people rent out a beach house or the equivalent of a summer house and just hang out and have dinner and just have fun). It was actually more fun than last time I went. It’s my 2nd time to this one. The people that go to it are all somehow related to one another (except my sister-in-law and I of course, but we are close friends, so it makes for something, right?) The Istaraha was just women, so everyone took off their abayas and head scarves.
We had lots and lots of coffee and sweets, which is something they do BEFORE dinner, and then came dinner at around 10:30 pm!! Yes, very late!
After dinner, they had music and all the girls danced. I had to show them some of my dance moves too! ;) At around 11:30 pm, we had my brother come get us.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Wednesday November 4th, 2009
Right after work, I had Bassam take me straight to Samia’s house. I haven’t been there in a while and I was really missing them. She told me that her brother and his wife were in town, and since I’ve heard so much about her sister-in-law, I was eager to meet her. She was very sweet and friendly and very social mashallah.
We had the usual coffee and dates then tea and sweets. Afterwards, Samia ordered some pizza from Little Caesar’s. The funny thing is, I’ve NEVER had Little Caesar’s in America and now I have it in Saudia! It wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t anywhere close to Talamo’s Pizza ;)
Bassam was out with one of his friends so he came and picked me up at around 11:30 pm. I was really getting sleepy by that time cause I was up early for work today.
It’s 12:15 am now and I’m just going to crash into bed and hopefully I will sleep in tomorrow!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Tuesday November 3rd, 2009
I taught my Essentials in Business Mentoring class today and I must say, it was a lot of fun! I actually enjoyed it today more than the first time. I got a lot of good feedback from the girls, so that only made the experience extra nice! I gave them a project in which they had to work in groups, interview a businessman/businesswoman about Mentoring in Business, and then present it in front of the class two weeks from now. They seemed really excited about the project and I think it’s going to be fun watching them present.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Monday November 2nd, 2009
I didn’t do much today (well, at work I went to the Meeting Room again and got a lot of work done once again!). Other than that, it was an easy day at home. I took a nap after work and didn’t wake up until Maghreb. After that, I just ate and was online searching for things work-related, but it wasn’t hard or tiring. Over all, it was a nice easy day!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Sunday November 1st, 2009
I went to the Meeting Room at work to get some work done. Every time I’m in the office with the other girls, I could never get anything done! It’s not them who slow me down, it’s the students and other guests that keep coming in and out of the office, asking a million and one questions!! So I decided to just work in the empty Meeting Room and get as much as I can do. To my astonishment, I got a huge chunk of my work done in less than 4 hours!! I was soooo proud of myself!
So from now on if I have a lot of work to finish and can’t handle the unnecessary interpretations, then I will go to the Meeting Room to get it all done.
After work, we went to Hyper Panda to get some groceries and things for the house.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Saturday October 31th, 2009
Today was Halloween in the States. This holiday happens to be my husband and I’s favorite holiday! Oh how I wish I was in America right now! Especially in California and on Santa Monica Blvd where they closed down the whole street for blocks and just have a huge Halloween Festival. Bassam and I went to it one year and it was just soo much fun!
Well, we didn’t do anything here for Halloween. Oh well, maybe next year inshAllah!
At work we had a really nice brunch and everyone involved in the conference was invited to celebrate the success of the conference. The rector of the university was present as well and she said a few nice words and congratulated us on a job well done. It was a very nice gesture and it was nice seeing everyone involved in the conference and kind of reflect on how we felt about the conference overall.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Friday October 30th, 2009
Since I’ve been busy with work and the conference, I’ve been neglecting my apartment! I mean, my husband really helps out with washing dishes and washing clothes, but nothing’s like a woman’s touch! So I decided to Clean House today, and do it inside-out.
I started with the kitchen and worked my way around the house. I cleaned the fridge, the oven, all the cabinets, and then washed and mopped the floors. I also washed clothes and cleaned the bathrooms. Then I attacked my bedroom, making sure everything was hung that was supposed to be hung and folded and put away that was supposed to be put away.
It took me longer than I had expected but at least now I have a fresh, clean house. I made bakhoor and took a nice long shower. Now we will have dinner and call it a night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Thursday October 29th, 2009
Today we spent pretty much the whole day at IKEA. We even had lunch there (I think they are so smart to have a cafeteria in their stores!) Even though I really love IKEA, I just feel that they need to get new things now. I’ve been going to them for years, and it seems like they still have the same things, added a few things here and there.
Well, besides that, I managed to get the following:
• 8 Shelves
• Desk
• Office chair
• Dining room table for 8
• Coffee table
• 2 corner tables
• Candles
• Dishes (plates, mugs, glasses, bowls, utensils)
• Apron
• Curtain Robs
We were told that delivery will be in one week!! That is way too long, but I guess it’s better than us carrying them and assembling them ourselves. Can’t wait till everything comes so I can actually have a completed apartment and actually have company over!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Wednesday October 28th, 2009
Way before the conference, I’ve wanted to go to the park for a picnic. My brother and is wife are big time park and nature lovers, so they’ve been wanting to go even more so than my husband and I. We stopped by the Shawaya House and got some food from there: rice, grilled chicken, salad, hummus, pop, and we headed to the park.
It was a “public” park, but you still had to pay 5 SR to get in, which is equivalent to $1.33, so it wasn’t a big deal. We got there around Maghreb Salat time, so Kristi and I put out the carpet and the coffee and sweets while Bassam and Talal went to go pray. When they came back, we decided to move and go set up picnic somewhere else. We found the perfect place right next to the lake! Yes, a LAKE in the middle of the park (ok, it was a man-made lake, but it was still a lake). We ate our food, took pictures, and then we decided to go for a walk.
Talal and Kristi, with the baby stroller and Karoomi in it, wanted to power-walked. So we said, “More power to you guys!” lol I was too tired to walk fast, so was Bassam. So we split with them. Afterwards, we learn that Talal got on the horse rides and rode a real horse! How fun is that! Before we left the park, I decided to get some ice-cream and we left at around 10 pm!
It’s almost midnight now and I’m going to bed.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Tuesday October 27th, 2009
Now that the conference is over, I feel like I can breathe again!
Usually, at work, I have about a thousand things to worry about and a thousand more things to do! And when I come home, I am still working till the late hours, often times, way passed midnight.
But today when I went to work, everything was calm, everything was slow, and everything was quiet! One of my co-workers brought a cake that said “Congratulations on a Successful Conference”. It was such a thoughtful gesture. I took pictures of it, which I will post soon inshAllah. We ate cake, had coffee, and just talked about the conference and everything involved with it.
Over all, it was a hectic and stressful conference, but at the end of the day, it was an AMAZING experience and it was worth everything!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Monday October 26th, 2009
Today was nothing like yesterday! It was 100X more hectic, 100X more fun, and 100X more interesting! Perhaps it was the fact that I didn’t have to go to the other campus today, so I was able to experience the whole event all day. I was on campus earlier today, than yesterday and I didn’t get out till 4:30 pm. So, it was defiantly a looong day!
I did the same workshop as yesterday, “How to Start Your Small Business: Step by Step”, and the participation was great as well, al7emdalla. We anticipated 25 students, and we ended up getting 32. I felt as if this workshop went a lot smoother than yesterday, then again maybe cause it was the 2nd day, so it became easier to conduct. Either way, I enjoyed doing them both days!
After I got home, I went to Talal and Kristi’s to see them and the baby and to talk about the conference. Talal had a big part as well and he presented both days, once in front of the male guests, and the 2nd time, which was today, he presented for the female guests, but they watched him via web on a big screen. He was really proud of himself, as we were proud of him as well. Even his boss, who is the president of this whole conference, was extremely impressed of Talal’s work and presentation.
After going through my first conference in which I was part of setting it up, I must say it was an amazing experience. It was defiantly a successful conference, al7emdalla!
Well, my feet and legs are killing me from wearing high heels for two days for hoursss at a time! So, my husband said he will give me a food massage. Better go get him before he changes his mind or goes to bed!
Good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Sunday October 25th, 2009
The conference has finally arrived!!!
The first day was hectic, long, fun, busy, nerve-wrecking, long, crazy, interesting, and very long! But at the end, it was ALL worth it!
I was there by 7:45 am with boxes of brochures and fliers that my brother brought me from the men’s campus last night. My husband helped me carry them to the gate, and then I had to actually carry them myself to the waiting area, since my husband wasn’t allowed inside the campus. One of the student volunteers came with the golf cart and helped me carry the boxes to the place of the event. We set up an area with booths that had different business setting up their fliers and brochures and whatever they wanted to pass out. We of course, were in charge of setting up the Entrepreneurship Center’s area. The volunteers did an excellent job setting up.
At around 11 am, a driver came and picked a professor and myself to take us to another campus, which is part of my university. We had to conduct our first workshops there, the first day, and then do them again tomorrow at the main campus. My workshop was titled “How to Start Your Small Business: Step by Step”.
The experience was amazing! About 38 students showed up, which is more than we expected, but nevertheless, it turned out just great, al7emdalla!
At 4 pm, it was over, and I passed out surveys to the students to see how I did. The driver came at around 4:20 and took the other professor home, than he took me home. As soon as I saw my bed, I crashed! I slept for about 3 hours without even realizing it! I guess it’s finally catching up to me.
Let’s hope tomorrow will be just as interesting as today!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Saturday October 24th, 2009
As the time for the conference is finally arriving (tomorrow!), we were working like crazy chickens with our heads cut off all day!! All the last minute things that were overlooked or postponed before, HAD to be addressed today. We had a lot of student volunteers who were eager to help and we were grateful that they did. All and all, it was a crazy day at work, but I honestly think we are ready for tomorrow inshAllah.
After work, I had to address another issue, and that’s the issue of skirt #2! I found a black one yesterday from MANGO, but I still another skirt for day 2. We decided to hit Riyadh Gallery, as it is big and has tons of shops. To my extreme disappointment, I could NOT find anything! I couldn’t believe the styles that were out and the fabrics that were equally unfit for a professional conference! I gave up on Riyadh Gallery and decided to go somewhere else. At this point we were even more frustrated as yesterday, as we had only a couple hours before the shops closed and I would be left with no skirt.
Finally, I remembered another branch of MANGO that is not located inside a ball, instead it’s all by itself near Kingdom Tower mall. Even though we were at MANGO yesterday, I had a little bit of hope in finding something that I didn’t see or this location might carry since it’s a really big store. Not even 1 minute after walking into the store, I found it! It was a long, dark turquoise, skirt, that came tight and then flair a little at the bottom. The best part was that I had a nice blazer/jacket that would match it perfectly!
When we got back into the car, my husband said, “Next time you need a long, dressy skirt for work, please come to MANGO first, so we could avoid all that searching we did at the malls!” He is soooo right.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Friday October 23rd, 2009
Today I was on a mission to find two nice long skirts for the two days of conference. I knew I wanted one to be a black one, but the other one could be any color as long as it look nice and professional. We went to Sahara Mall first, and after two shops, I found a really nice black one from MANGO. It was the exact style, cut, color, and fabric that I was looking for! So, I didn’t even think twice about buying it!
Then, it was time for skirt #2… and unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as skirt #1! I went to EVERY shop in that mall that sold skirts, and I couldn’t find anything that looked professional and fit for a conference! I was extremely frustrated and tired. After what seemed like hoursss inside the mall, we decided to go home defeated.
InshAllah I will try another mall tomorrow and inshAllah I will find something!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Thursday October 22nd, 2009
Today I picked up my business cards that I order about a week ago. I needed them to be done before the conference next week and thank Allah they managed to get them done on time. They were perfect and just the way I wanted them! I honestly was worried cause I thought they were not do them they way I want. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they were done the right way. I will take a picture of them and post them soon inshAllah.
We also had to go to the car rental office to pay for the next month. After that, we headed back home and I made dinner.
I’ve been working on conference related stuff pretty much all day. I’m trying to take advantage of the weekend to get most of it done. But now it’s passed 12 am and I’m getting really sleepy. InshAllah I will finish it all by tomorrow (or at least that is the plan!)
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Wednesday October 21st, 2009
For those who don’t know, the weekend in Saudi Arabia is Thursday and Friday. So Wednesday is the equivalent to Friday in America.
My husband bought some movies the other day, so we decided to stay home and just watch a movie. We watched “Fast and Furious”, the last installment of the series. It was pretty good, since I’m a big fan of all of the Fast and Furious movies (I was hooked from the first one!)
I have a lot of work to do this weekend for the conference, but I’m glad I took it easy today and just relaxed a bit before I dive back into work!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Tuesday October 20th, 2009
Today I started actually teaching for the FIRST time in an Arabic country! I mean, doing workshops isn’t the same as teaching a full-blown course, so this is an experience in its own. I wasn’t nervous, but I was a little worried as to how the students will take my style of teaching. Since my English is much stronger than my Arabic, and I had to teach in Arabic, I was worried about that. But after I started talking, all my Arabic started to come back to me. The other reason why I was worried was because they are all post-undergrad, but not in grad school yet. So they are older and more mature.
I had a Power Point presentation ready for them and an exercise to do today. All in all, I think it went pretty good, even though I finish early and the girls ended up leaving 30 minutes before time.
We are still busy-busy with conference preparation! I’m really excited for it to come and at the same time, can’t wait until it’s over!
Good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
After work, Bassam and I needed to go grocery shopping. We usually go to HyperPanda, but we decided to try something different today. So we went to HyperDaunbe. This place rocks! I actually have fun when I grocery shop there! We actually take our time when shopping there and go through ever single isle and shelf lol They carry a lot of things other grocery stores don’t. So it’s nice to always come here.
When we got home, I made cow liver for Bassam and I made some pasta for myself.
PS: I’m reallyyyyyy excited about tomorrow! I get to teach my first class in Saudi Arabia! I still have a few things to do on the computer to prepare for the material for tomorrow. I typed my syllabus in English and now I have to translate it using Google Translator. That’s the thing, everything I do, I have to translate it… it’s like doing the work twice! (ok, that was a long PS,,, sorry! lol)
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Sunday October 18th, 2009
I work at the Entrepreneurship Center and next week we have a HUGE conference, it’s the First Annual Entrepreneurship Conference which we are planning, preparing, hosting, and everything else involving this conference! We will have guest speakers from all over the world as well as workshops during the conference. Today we had a big meeting to kind of see where everyone is at this point. I’m in the Educational/Scientific Committee and I will also be conducting a workshop titled “How to Start Your Small Business: Step by Step”. I already presented this workshop a few months back, so I already have it prepared, but it just needs to be translated in Arabic. I also have to prepare another workshop title “Skills of a Business Mentor” for one of my co-workers, and translate that in Arabic as well.
I’m really getting excited for this conference, and even though it’s a lot of work, I think it will all be worth it at the end.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Saturday October 17th, 2009
Since we arrived to Saudia in the afternoon, I didn’t want to count it as part of the month. So, technically, today marks our ONE MONTH anniversary of being in Saudi Arabia! Wow, time fliessss! It seems like we were just at my parent’s house in Ohio only a few days ago!
Inshallah time will fly as this year goes by and I get to see my family and friends in America again
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Friday October 16th, 2009
I spent all day at home just working and trying to get things done before tomorrow. I managed to sleep until 9 am which felt great! I didn’t go to bed last night until 1 am. I made breakfast, made some coffee, and start working.
Bassam brought some take-out food, chicken and rice. After 4 pm, I started getting tired and sleepy so I took an hour nap.
It’s 11:30 pm now and I think I will call it a night. Whatever I didn’t finish, I will try to finish tomorrow inshAllah.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Thursday October 15th, 2009
Today was a crazy, hectic day! I still don’t have internet at home and I have TONS of work to finish for work. So I decided to go to my friends house to get some work done. I called her and she said to come any time. By 11 am, I was at their door ready to start working. After having some coffee and chit-chatting a bit, it was time to get serious! I went to her bedroom to get some privacy and some quiet time so I can finish my work. I turned on my computer and tried to get online, and to my astonishment, I COULDN’T GET ONLINE!!!! The crazy thing is, they were all online on their phones and their computers, so I thought, maybe it was my computer? But I didn’t do anything different to my laptop and just yesterday it was working just fine at work.
So I decided that there was something wrong with their internet. At that point, I called my husband and told him that he has to find internet for me at the house. After he picked me up, we went to Mobily, one of the biggest cell phone/internet companies in Saudi Arabia. So, I knew they would have something for us. I was so happy when they told us they have the new wireless broadband internet, and even though it is way over-priced, and I wouldn’t get any other day, we ended up getting it.
So we go home and I try installing it, which took about an hour of my time, and to my horror, my laptop still does not have internet! So, I concluded that something was wrong with my laptop! (seriously, when one thing does wrong, everything decides to go wrong!). So I managed to hook up Bassam’s laptop to the wireless internet and used it to finish my work.
Of course, by the time all of this happened, it was already passed 7pm and I still have tons and tons of work to do! It’s 8:30 pm now and I decided to write my entry for today now before it gets too late and I forget. I can tell this is going to be a loooooooong night!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Wednesday October 14th, 2009
Today Kristi and I went to a dinner party at Samya’s house. It was a bit more formal than usual. She invited people I’ve never met yet, so it was nice to get to know new people. It turns out some of the girls that came, go to college at the university where I work, so I started talking to them about our upcoming conference, they seemed really interested and they said they will stop by next week.
I wore a short dress that had a low, v-neck, neckline. It was too short, so I decided to wear black leggings that I bought from Express when I was in the US paired with some tall, black heels.
Food was great… I try to avoid eating carbs too late in the night, and we ate dinner at around 12 am, so I just had some salad and some chicken.
It’s almost 2 am now and I hope I will be able to sleep in tomorrow… I hate how my body is used to waking up so early everyday! Cant it tell the difference between weekdays and weekends!?
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Tuesday October 13th, 2009
Starting next week, I will be teaching a course called Principles of Mentoring which is part of a one year program in which students will receive a diploma upon completion. So today, we wanted to meet with the girls before we start officially next week. We had our student orientation, in which each professor talked about her subject and the material she will be teaching. It was nice and very friendly and I’m very excited and looking forward to starting this new experience in teaching in Arabic! Wish me luck everyone!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Monday October 12th, 2009
We’ve been living in our current apartment since the beginning of May of this year (even though we were in America, from the end of May until the end of September). It’s a cute place, and even though I didn’t really like the color of the walls, I got used to them and I actually like them now. But nevertheless, my husband and I are thinking about moving to another apartment. It won’t be far from this one, actually it’s the apartment building right next door, if we even move. I really love this neighborhood, and plus I really love how I’m very close to Talal, Kristi, and the baby. So, I defiantly don’t want to go too far.
Even though I really don’t want to move, I feel like the other apartments might meet our needs much better. So, in the end, we will see. We still have about a month in this apartment based on the 6-Month contract we paid for. I will keep you guys updated ;)
Time to eat my food now. I made macaroni with red marinara sauce and ground beef. Bassam wanted beef liver (yuck!), so that’s what I made for him.
Much love, HKA in KSA
Sunday October 11th, 2009
I’ve been looking to buy Photo Impact 12, a photo designing software similar to Photo Shop, but I always hesitate because I feel I can get it for free by downloading it, even though it usually isn’t the complete version. So my husband and I went to this area which has a lot of shops, one right next to another, all selling computers and computer related stuff (games, hardware, software, movies, etc). I was looking for Photo Impact 12. After asking around for about 2 minutes, someone tells us where we can get it for 10 Saudi Riyal (SR), which is the same as $2.50. My husband approaches him and asks him if he has the software we are looking for, and to my astonishment, he had it! I was soooo excited!! That is my all-time favorite software for pictures and designing.
I just installed it and it’s the FULL VERSION! How cool is that!? Now, I will defiantly be glued to my laptop ;)
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Saturday October 10th, 2009
After a long day at work, I decided to cook myself a nice meal instead of the usual fast sandwiches or quick meals. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to cook, but I knew I wanted some potatoes with it, especially since I haven’t had any in a very long time. I peeled the potatoes, and just as I started to cut them into small pieces, I ran the knife right on my thumb! I screamed for my husband really loud as I held my thumb to slow down the blood flow. I tried not to look at my thumb or at the blood cause I knew that I would get dizzy and even faint if I saw the blood. My husband came running from the other room as soon as he heard me screaming for help. He quickly took me towards the sink to rinse it out, but just as I was telling him, “Honey, I feel dizzy”, everything was spinning around and I passed out, smack to the ground!
I was gone for a few seconds, and opened my eyes to see my husband’s very concerned face. He started spraying water on my face and telling me that I was ok. I was kind of getting annoyed cause he sprayed too much water on me and I could feel my whole shirt getting wet. I didn’t tell him that, cause I knew he had good intentions ;) He then washed my thumb, cleansed it with alcohol, and put a couple band-aids. My honey came to my rescue!
He helped me up and took me to the bed, where I laid down, and since I was tired from work, I decided to just go ahead and take a nap, after changing my wet shirt of course!
I guess I slept for about an hour. I woke up and wasn’t feeling hungry anymore. Instead, I felt like making Saudi coffee with some chocolate. I had Bassam go get me some Twix and some Kinder Chocolates and I made my version of Saudi coffee, which I still have to perfect. I spent the rest of the night working on work-related things on the laptop while drinking coffee and eating chocolate.
All that chocolate made me full, so I’m going to skip dinner and just call it a night.
Oh, I almost forgot, I also opened my bank account today!!! Now, that’s an accomplishment I’m proud of since it took forever in terms of the paperwork to finally get to this step of opening a bank account. Ironically, the actual process of opening the bank account took all together a total of 15 minutes!
Good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Friday October 9th, 2009
I had a lot of work to do today at home that I brought with me from work. But, I still wanted to relax and enjoy my weekend as much as I can. After Friday Prayer, my husband wanted to go and get a few things from the grocery store. He remembered a store that my friend mentioned to me and he wanted to go to it. It’s called Hyper Danube, which I find kind of funny how they name the bigger version of a certain store “Hyper”, the way we name our stores “Super”, as in Super Wal-Mart or Super Target. It’s kind of cute too.
Well, this store was AMAZING! It was huge, clean, and very well organized. And the best thing, it had tons and tons of products that I haven’t seen or haven’t found anywhere else! It’s defiantly my new place to grocery shop. Again, since it’s a “Hyper” store, it’s not just groceries. It had things for the house and kitchen ware and things for your garden, and so on.
We came home around 3 pm and I’ve been working and work-related things until now, when I stopped to write this entry since it’s getting late and it’s almost time for bed. I did make my first Saudi style coffee (which I had to borrow the actually coffee and the thermes from Kristi, glad she’s my neighbor!), but it wasn’t that great! I think I over-cooked it. Either way, inshAllah I will go and get all the right ingredients to make real good coffee.
Good night lovelys.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Thursday October 8th, 2009
We decided to sleep in today so we didn’t really get up until after 10 am (yes that is sleeping in!) We had our breakfast and after Dhuher prayer, we went to Hyper Panada to get some groceries. Afterwards, I went over to Talal and Kristi’s to hang out with her and baby Karoomi and to wash some clothes. Bassam ended up coming over there too. Talal had to work overtime today in preparation for the BIG conference we are doing. He came home, and just before he could eat, his boss called and told him to come back to work! So he went back and we went home.
I called the States and I talked to my dad and he told me that my mom is finally home from the hospital! Al7emdalla! I didn’t talk to her cause she was sleeping, so I told him that I would call tomorrow inshAllah. I really hope she recovers from her surgery fast and comes to visit us here!
After Maghreb prayer, Bassam and I decided to go out for a little bit. We went to the old, traditional shops (it looks like a big bazaar). It’s kind of old looking, but it’s neat at the same time, as it has a lot of things you wouldn’t find in malls and modern shops. We scrolled up and down the shops, didn’t find anything I particularly needed. However, we did stop by the spice shop, but I didn’t buy anything since I don’t know much about spices. Kristi and Hana promised to go with me next time so they can help me with the spices as they are experts in that field.
We then went to a furniture store looking to see if we can find a nice, dining room table for six. The thing is, I want a white table with white chairs, and I’m having a hard time finding one that I like. We are also looking for a nice chair for our computer table, so we went to a office furniture store and to Saco World (which is like a big Home Depot/Sam’s Club) and in both places we didn’t find anything we like. So we are still on these two missions of trying to find a dining room table and an office chair for our computer table.
It’s almost 11 pm now; I guess we will call it a night and go to bed. Good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Wednesday October 7th, 2009
Here in Saudi Arabia, the weekend starts on Wednesday after work. So basically, Wednesday is like Friday in America. So, Thursday and Friday are like Saturday and Sunday. I’ve always known that about Saudi Arabia, but now that I’m actually living here, it’s taking some time to adjust to it.
So, after work, I came home, cooked food for my husband and I, took a 20 minute nap, and put together our computer desk that we bought and never had the time to put it together till today. It’s made out of grey and silver metal pieces with a glass top. I will take some pictures and post them inshAllah.
After a’aisha prayer, we went to a new mall that opened a few weekends ago, but we never went to. It’s called Marina Mall. It had many cute shops and the 2nd floor was almost all shops for fancy evening gowns! If I ever had a wedding or a big celebration to go to, I would be lost and confused as to what I would buy! They all were soooo gorgeous!
Right across that mall, was another mall (yeah, isn’t that weird!?) called Riyadh Gallery, but it’s much, much bigger and much, much nicer than Marina Mall. So we went there too, walked around, and then got Starbucks. I got the Carmel Frappicino. Bassam didn’t get anything, as he usually doesn’t, he can’t have anything from Starbucks cause of his food allergies.
Now we are home and I’m feeling down and really sad. I talked to my mom today and she is still in the hospital. I miss her soooo much and just wish I was there with her and with my family now. Times like these make me wonder if we had made the right choice by coming all the way to Saudi Arabia. Again, I’m really getting accustomed to being here, but no matter what, I can’t stop missing my family and America in general! Please make dua’a (a prayer) for my mom. My family and I would be completely grateful.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Tuesday October 6th, 2009
Last night I couldn’t sleep. All night I was tossing and turning and didn’t fall asleep until after 4:30 am. I was thinking about my poor mommy who went into surgery yesterday in America for her carpel tunnel. She has to do the surgery on both wrists, but they will do one wrist, wait about a month, and then do the other wrist. I soooo wished I was with her right now to be by her side and to help her. I was in America all summer at my parent’s house and I just wish she had her surgery then, so I can be near her.
I just called her and she is still in the hospital. She’s been there for one night, and they told her she will have to stay another night.
InshAllah she makes it just fine and has a fast and smooth recovery. I really miss her and miss being around her. I would do anything to be with her right now!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Monday October 5th, 2009
After a long day at work (I will try to minimize my entries about work, unless something really worth mentioning happens there), I went home to an apartment that had no electricity! I got a call from Kristi while we were driving home and she was telling me how the lights just went out. The first thing that came to my mind was the electricity bill. To be honest with you, I still don’t know exactly how that works or even how and when we’re supposed to pay for the electricity. I wanted to see if it was just her apartment or the whole building. But as soon as we are arrived to the building, it was clear that it wasn’t just Talal and Kristi’s place, it was the whole building.
After attempting to reach the landlord many, many times, he finally answered and said he will bring out an electrician with him. After about 2 hours, the electrican did indeed come, only to find out there is a glitch with the main fuse box outside. At the point, we left to our way to Hana’s, where Bassam dropped me off.
Shortly after my arrival, Kristi showed up with baby Karoomi. We had fun, talking and eating. Hana actually cooked rice and meat, but I only had a salad with some of the lamb meat. She also made both her famous coffee and her famous latte/cappuccino drink that she always makes. It was deeelicous!
We got home around 10:30, so I hope I will be able to go to bed early tonight.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Sunday October 4th, 2009
The title says it all! I was extremely busy at work with the Mentoring Diploma course content. The thing is, I already worked on it and researched it and gathered tons of information on it, but it’s all in English. Now, they want me to translate it to Arabic, which is taking longer than expected. Hopefully I can get it done tomorrow, inshAllah.
We also met with the potential students who will join this program. Out of the 35, only 17 girls showed up! Granted it was during the day, and most of them have jobs, but I hope the majority of them actually show up to class when it starts next week (I will be teaching a course called Principles of Mentoring) and it will be taught at night, so that it doesn’t conflict with anyone’s jobs or schedules.
I’ve been really wanting some Pringles lately, yet I keep forgetting to buy some whenever we are out. So, my husband surprised me with some today and that’s basically what I had for dinner, with some drink called Cade, made out of red grape and sparkling water. It tastes really good, especially when it’s cold.
Bassam went to hang out with one of his friends. I was debating whether to go to Kristi’s or not, but I eventually didn’t go since I’m really tired. Then I got a call from Hana inviting me to her house tomorrow night. So I told I would love to come over!
So that was all. Time for bed. Good night. Sweet dreams.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Saturday October 3rd, 2009
Many of you might already know what women in Saudi Arabia have to wear when they go out in public. However, for those who don’t, I will try to explain it now.
Basically, women here have to wear something called “abaya”, it’s a long, black, robe-like garment that goes from shoulders to toes and in some cases, women wear the kind that goes from head to toes. Any women, whether she is Saudi, non-Saudi, Muslim, or non-Muslim, MUST wear it when she is in public. That is a fact and no one argues that fact. The other thing that is worn is the head scarf and the “negab” or the face veil. Now, here’s the tricky part. There is no set rule on these two pieces. You can wear them, or not. You can wear one and not the other; meaning, you can cover your hair, but not your face (but not vice versa, I’m yet to see a woman covering her face and not her hair! Now that would look odd!)
Even more so, the negab can be worn in different ways and styles. There is the kind that covers all your face, but your eyes. There is the kind that covers everything, including your eyes, so you are basically trying to see through a light, black fabric (I tried that and got dizzy after 10 seconds). There is the kind where you just bring the end of your head scarf and cover the bottom half of your face with it (the way you would cover your mouth and nose with a scarf in the winter from the cold). This style is called “lethma”. For me, that’s the best way, because it’s easy to do and very convenient. Plus, you don’t have to have it on all the time, just in certain situations where you have to cover for a little bit.
Keep in mind, that not all abayas are the same. Actually, if you go shopping for one, you will be amazed with all the different cuts, styles, and designs they have to offer! It’s actually a hard decision to make. I have two right now, but I defiantly need more. So I went to the abaya tailor and order one a few days ago. I did a basic design, from shoulder to feet, and then I had him put little, black crystals on the sleeves. Well, I went to go pick it up today and it looked great! The good thing is you can have them make any design you want, even things you came up with. So even though every woman is wearing a black abaya, you can still be unique and design something strictly for you.
Also keep in mind, when women are gathering together, as in a party, wedding, work, school, the first thing they do is take off their abayas, so they do wear something underneath them! Since I work at an all-girl university, everyone takes off their abayas at the door. So again, the abayas are worn when women are in public.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Friday October 2nd, 2009
I decided that I needed to sleep in today, so I didnt wake up until almost 12 pm. My husband went to Friday prayer. I had bought some ground beed a few days ago and havent cooked it, so I thought to make some pasta today. It turned out pretty good, and even though I made half of the small bag, it still was more than I could eat (as is the usual with pasta), so Bassam decided to give it to our doorman.
I mostly was working on a few things on the pc for work. I didnt want to waste the day just working, so I cleaned up the house a little bit and told my house we should go out.
We went to this shopping area where there was shops and shops of rugs and carpet. I've been wanting a pure white area rug for my living room and I just can't find the right one. I found a white one at IKEA, but it's not the material that I've been looking for. After losing hope of ever finding one, we left.
We went to HyperPanda, a big grocery store, and got a few things. We saw the religious police outside giving advice to these girls for not wearing the abaya the right way. Afterwards, we went to a furniture store called Demos to try to find a office chair. Couldn't find anything we really like. It's either there isn't good products out there or we are just so damn picky!
I picked up my skirt from the tailor, and it fit pretty good! I'm very impressed. I will definatly have him make more of my skirts for work since we have to wear long skirts, no pants or short skirts allowed. Which is fine, I got used to it.
I will make a salad with some pineapples. Sounds yummy!
Good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Thursday October 1st, 2009
Wow. It’s October already! Can’t believe it! I always love this month for Halloween. Too bad we’re going to miss it this year since we’re here. I told my husband we will have a small Halloween party at our house (let’s see if that really goes through! LoL)
Today was all about cleaning and organizing my clothes and my shoes and everything else I have in the big cabinet that we had built in our bedroom. It’s pretty big and I fit almost everything! We also had them build a shelf with 9 shelves for our shoes. Surprisingly, it fit all of our shoes! I didn’t realize we brought that many shoes with us!
The good news is I managed to empty all of our boxes of clothes and our suitcases and put them in the cabinet. So no more living from our boxes!
We went out to get some clear plastic to put underneath the shoes to not get the shelves dirty since they are white. We also needed some more hangers so we had to get those.
I admit, the house still has a lot of work, but I’m very tired now and it’s almost midnight. So, hopefully I will the rest of it done tomorrow.
Good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Wednesday September 30th, 2009
It was nothing but meetings at work today! I get there at 8 am and as soon as I arrive we begin a meeting which lasted until 10 am. After a 15 minute break, and moving to another room, we had another meeting, with different people and different topics, that lasted till 1 pm! By the time I get back to the office, I had just enough time to check my emails, reply to some related to work, talk to a co-worker about something for next week, and before I knew it, it was 2 pm and time to go home!
I mean, the meetings were important, but on the days where it’s just meetings, I could hardly get any work done. So I might have to take it with me this weekend.
One of the most important topics discussed at the meetings is the new Business Mentoring Diploma that I will be a part of. It’s pretty exciting, but a lot of work. It will require from me to go to work at night, from 5pm-9pm two days out of the week. We were told we will get paid a separate paycheck than the one we are already receiving, but I haven’t received the details of that just yet. So, those 2 days are going to be very lonnnng days!
My husband and I went around running some errands… getting groceries, looking for dining room tables, buying some things for the house.
I made some chicken patty sandwiches today. They were the frozen kind you buy at the grocery store and then just fry. They were ok, but I don’t think I will get them again. They just seemed too fatty for my taste.
Anyway, its bedtime. Sweet dreams.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Tuesday September 29th, 2009
Today I didn’t go to work, but instead I went to the HR Department to finish my paperwork for employment. I had to submit a list of documents they needed in order to write up my contract. While I was in Ohio over the summer, I made sure I had everything I needed. Some things I had to send to the Saudi Embassy in Washington DC for them to authenticate.
After about 4 hours at the HR Department, the sweet girl that was working on my case, came up to me and said “Congratulations, your contact is ready for you to sign!” I was very excited, and I was even more excited when I actually signed it. Yaaay. So now I have a full ONE year contract with King Saud University! It will automatically renew every year, unless they don’t want me anymore or I don’t want them anymore!
I also met two professors while I was there who came from the Philippines to work at KSU. One is an English professor and the other will be teaching a computer class. I had to help them a bit with translation since they didn’t know any Arabic, of course, I didn’t mind, I also love translating for people.
Afterwards, I went to Samia’s house. We hung out at her house until Bassam picked me up at around 11 pm. We had fun, just talking, and eating, and drinking coffee. Hanoofa was there too, but she fell asleep since she hasn’t been sleeping for the past 3 days because her son was sick. But al7emdallah, he was feeling much better today.
While I was there, I get a call from my husband telling me that the closet cabinet guys are on their way to our house to install it in our bedroom. I got really excited cause I’ve been living off of my boxes and suitcases and I’ve been waiting for it so I could start putting my clothes and things away. Well, when I came home and saw it, I was extremely impressed! It looked lovely. I mean, it was a basic design, and we picked white wood, but nevertheless, it was very well built. So, inshAllah, this weekend I will organize my clothes in it and stop living from my boxes!
I’m debating if I want to go make me a sandwich or just call it a night. Either way, good night and sweet dreams.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Monday September 28th, 2009
I got to work around 10 am today. As soon as I walked in, we started a meeting. It was basically an office meeting between my boss and my co-workers. We are planning a very big conference, which will be the first conference held at our center. It will be called the First Annual Entrepreneurship Conference. Basically, we have A LOT of work ahead of us! Very important people will be coming and attending, and therefore it has to be very well planned.
Afterwards, we had a bigger meeting with all the other committees involved in preparing for this conference. It was long, but very informative. I know it’s going to be a lot of work, but at the same time I’m very much looking forward to it.
I came home and went to visit Kristi and Karoomi for a little bit. I usually can’t wait to come home just to go see him! Maybe I didn’t mention this before, but my brother, his wife, and their little baby boy live in the same apartment building us, so we are practically neighbors. So, almost every day after work, I would stop by before going home to see the baby! I just love him so, so, so, so much!
We went to Hyper Panda, which is like a huge grocery store/clothes/house ware… kind of like a Super Wal-Mart. Afterwards, we went to this very nice furniture store called IDdesign that sells dishes as well and I got some plates and some bowls there were on sale.
Time for bed. Good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Sunday September 27th, 2009
As soon as I arrived to work today, I received a phone call from an important businesswoman in Saudi Arabia. She is well-known for arranging and conducting huge conferences for women dealing with anything related to business. I met her back in April when she had invited our center to participate in the conference. I was supposed to do a workshop called “How to Start Your Small Business-Step by Step”. Last minute, things were changed and we ended up participating as guests with a booth to enlighten people about our center at the university.
She wants to do another conference in November and she wants me to be a guest speaker. How cool is that!? I was very excited when she was asking me and absolutely honored. But I told her that I would have to get the ok from my boss. When I asked my boss, she told me to tell her that we would need an official letter inviting me and the center to the conference.
So, now I’m waiting for this letter and hopefully my boss will ok it because I am really excited to go and be part of it!
Afterwards, I called another businesswoman from Kuwait, who I admire a lot, and she invited me to come to Kuwait to meet her and see her company and see what we can do together. Now, that is just as exciting! Al7emdalla.
So all in all, today I had great news which made me happy.
I’m very thankful to Allah for where I am today. I thank Him for everything!
Sweets dreams and good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Saturday September 26th, 2009
Today I woke up at 6:30 am ready to start my day and go to work! I was pretty excited to go and was eager to see everyone. My husband dropped me off at the gate and I walked to the Entrepreneurship Center. I was surprised to not find anyone there but the janitors cleaning and mopping. I waited for about 5 minutes then I sent a message to one of my co-workers. She called me telling me that they moved us to another place. Well, I didn’t get the memo! (That’s for you Toota!). I went to the new place and met my other co-workers. My boss wasn’t there, as she still on vacation and won’t be back until Monday.
I sat at my desk and turned on my pc, and I realized that it was really slow. I thought it might have a virus but I wasn’t sure. So I called one of the IT girls and she came to check it out only to confirm it did have a virus. The poor girl spent the whole rest of the day working on it! So I pretty much used my other co-workers computers to check emails and what not. We then had a small meeting and before I knew it, it was time to go home.
I got home and decided to cook some chicken in the oven. That would be my first time doing so in Saudia. I was a bit nervous turning on the oven for some reason, so I had Bassam do it. I made squid and some meat & rice for Bassam and I put my chicken in the oven and decided to take a nap. All of a sudden, in the middle of my nap, I woke to the smell of something burning! Bassam was at the mosque for Aser prayer, so he wasn’t here to smell anything. I ran to the kitchen thinking it was Bassam’s food that was burning, but it was my chicken! I took it out and was relieved to find that only a little bit from the bottom was burnt, but still edible!
Anyway... I'm getting really tired. Good night and sweet dreams.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Friday September 25th, 2009
My brother’s friend invited us to his wedding tonight. My brother knew him from the States. Since it was a wedding, and tomorrow is the first day of work, I decided to go get my eyebrows done. Usually, I like them done with thread. I like how my eyebrows look nice and clean with thread. So I went to the place a friend of mine recommended, and they were closed.
So I tried another place, and they said that they do eyebrows with thread. So I told my husband to wait in the car for about a half hour (that’s what the lady at the front said). The half hour turns to an hour and I’m still waiting. Finally, my turn came and she sat me on the chair where you would wash your hair! I thought, ok, maybe they don’t have a place specifically for eyebrows. Before I could even think, she starts plucking away with an eyebrow plucker! I was shocked! I said, “Wait, I thought you said you do thread?” She told me that she didn’t, but only knows how to pluck. So I thought, ok, I’m desperate here, maybe it won’t be too bad! And boy was I wrong! I stopped her and told her that I wanted my money back and that I was leaving! So, she gave me my money and I left. I went to the salon that I went to first, and it was still closed. I don’t know, maybe they stay closed on Fridays.
So I come home and ate some cereal and started to get ready for the wedding. It straightens my hair with the flat iron and gave it some curls. I decided to wear a short pencil skirt that was leopard print with a white dress shirt that was short sleeves, and a wide, black belt. I couldn’t decide between brown or black high heels, so I asked my husband… he said brown, so I wore the brown.
We left the house around 9:15 pm and followed Talal and Kristi to the hall where the wedding was held. We got there around 9:30 pm and I felt like we were early because the hall wasn’t completely full. We checked in our abayas and my cell phone since it had a camera in it and that wasn’t allowed in weddings. We managed to find an empty table not too close to the entrance. Karoomi started to cry a little bit as the music was loud! But then we put tissue in his ears and he fell asleep… actually, he was asleep throughout the wedding, mashallah, he was a good baby.
The hall was beautifully decorated and very brightly lit. The center pieces had star gazers in them and a bowl of purple liquid with a floated candle in it. The chairs were covered with a nice creamy satin and had a purple sheer bow on the back. They had tea, coffee, and mint on each table with sweets and finger foods as well. We ate and drank and talked (whenever the music wasn’t on!).
At around 10:30 pm, the bride came in. She is actually pretty early because usually brides don’t come before 12 am. She walked down the aisle and up to the stage looking marvelous mashallah. Afterwards, all her relatives got on the stage with her to congratulate her and to dance on the stage. Shortly after that, I decided to go call my husband, so I had to go get my phone from the lady that checked it. He said that they already had dinner and that the men’s side was already over and everyone left. So I came back to tell Kristi that it’s time to go. We missed the dinner, oh well, maybe next time.
It’s 12:30 am now and I’m getting really sleepy, which is a good thing since I haven’t been sleeping well at night since we’ve been here. I think I’m still jet lagging! Anyway, tomorrow I start work and I’m really excited!
Good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Thursday September 24th, 2009
Today we went to a place called IDdesign to pick up a desk that we had bought previously. After that we went looking for a washer for our clothes. We saw a few that we liked and plenty we didn’t like, but didn’t decide on one yet. We will look at a few other places and then decide. We stopped by IKEA once again to look at the coffee tables. I found one that I liked, but we thought to see if we can get a better deal if we custom made it. After we left IKEA, we stopped by the carpenter who is building our clothes closet and we realized that it would be a better deal going with IKEA. Strange, the big things are better custom made and the small things are better store bought. So we learned that lesson today.
I had to wash some clothes today at Talal and Kristi’s, so I got to see little Karoomi for a little bit!
Well, we just got home and Bassam is making a salad for himself. I think I will have some cereal, then it’s off to bed.
Love, HKA in KSA
Wednesday September 23rd, 2009
Today is Saudi National Day. They are celebrating their 79th year!
We were told some stores will still be closed, so Bassam and I took our chances and hit the town. True, many were closed, but the ones we wanted weren’t, so that was a plus for us ;)
We first went look at a few carpenters to see if we can get a clothes closet for our bedroom custom made. They don’t have built-in closets like we do in the US, so you have to basically buy or make your own. After looking at a few places, we finally found a place that we do what we want at a really good price. We finally decided on a clothes closet and a shoe shelf. It’s hard to explain what I’m talking about, but once they are done (hopefully by next Thursday), I will post pictures of them.
Then I met with my friend Samia to go shopping. I bought a new abayya, but it won’t be ready till Wednesday of next week. I also bought some bakhoor and some long, house dresses. Later we brought her off at her house and went driving around the streets looking at crazy people celebrate National Day! There was faces painted in green and white, flags were waving from car windows and car sunroofs, and of course, there were those dancing and singing in the streets! They really know how to celebrate! It really was fun to watch. Before we knew it, it was almost 1 am, so we headed home.
I’m about to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and have it with some cold milk. Yummy!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Tuesday September 22nd, 2009
Yaaaay! I’m sooo excited! We finally found the perfect couches! They are all pure white. I can’t wait for them to come. They said they will deliver them by next Wednesday. So I was thinking, “Now I have to go find a white coffee table, white side tables, white T.V. table, and a white area rug”. First thing that came to mind was IKEA! So we went to check it out. They had the coffee table, the side tables, and even the rug. But when I was there, I was thinking… “Maybe I will look at other places and see what they have”. If all fails, I will come back to get them from IKEA.
After IKEA, I had Bassam take me to Samia’s house since I haven’t gone there for Eid. I had bought Hamoody and Badoory and Samia some Eid gifts and I wanted to give it to them. I also took with me a basket of candies. Hamoody was soo excited to get his gift. It was a Batman remote control truck. Badoory wasn’t there so he wasn’t able to open his gift. Samia also loved her watch, it was an Ann Klein (AK) watch that I had bought for her from America from Macy’s (oh, how I miss that place!).
Afterwards, Samia ordered some pizza from Little Caesar’s. I never had Little Caesar’s in America, so I couldn’t really compare it, but it tasted alright. It was nice eating pepperoni and knowing 100% that it was halal and not pork!
At around 1 am, Bassam came to pick me up. He had just went to the barber and got a haircut, that I personally, did NOT like! But he says that it will grow fast. We went to pick up some rice for Bassam and then went home.
It’s almost 3 am now and I’m not that sleepy. But I have to force myself to sleep so I can fix my sleeping pattern. I go back to work this coming Saturday and I don’t want to be sleepy at work.
Good Night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Monday September 21st, 2009
Today was the 2nd day of Eid, so almost everything is still closed, but the big grocery stores, like HyperPanda, were open. So we went there to just get out of the house.
I wanted to go see Samia at her house, but they were all visiting thier relatives, so we couldn't go there. We did go see Talal and Kristi and of course, baby Karoomi.
We did find a resturant that was open so we grabbed some food and took it home.
So, basically today was a lazy day. We did sleep in, so our sleep is still messed up. Hopefully I will be able to fix it before work starts.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Sunday September 20th, 2009
EID MUBARAAAK!!! كل عام و انتم بخير
We said goodbye to Ramadan, as it quickly came and went, and today we celebrated Eid! It's my first Eid in an Arabic country in more than 18 years! So, I was really looking forward to it.
First, Talal, Bassam, and I went to the masjid for Eid Prayer. Kristi didnt want to take the baby out since it would be a crowded place. The masjid was very close to our apartment and we made it just in time. The prayer was pretty amazing mashallah! It made me miss my family back in the US so very much!
After the prayer, people were passing out money (3eedeya) and candy to the little kids. Some were passing out sweets to the women to, so I got some chocolate :) There were some going around pouring coffee for everyone.
Afterwards, we went back home and took naps, since we haven't slept since yesterday. We were up all night since our sleep is still messed up!
At around 4:00 pm we met up with Talal and Kristi and we went to some Eid festivities they had outdoors. It was like a carnival or circus, with rides and shows and stunts and a shopping bazaar. So it was kind of neat, but it was mostly for kids.
We left to drive around and then we find a good parking place to watch the fireworks. They had 7 different locations for the fireworks going on, starting today, and continuing for 4 days, everynight! From where we were parked, since we were on a high hill, we managed to see 3 of the 7 at the same time. It was pretty neat.
After the fireworks, we felt it was still too early to go home, so we went to the Diplamotic Quarters, it's the heavly guarded area where all the world's embassys are. There was a big outdoor area where they had a traditional tent with men dancing traditional Saudi dances and singing songs. One guy was also reciting traditional poetry.
All of a sudden, a crowd walked in and sat infront of the tent, and we find out it's the Prince from the Royal family, Prince Sattaam. There was a lot of people around him, so we couldn't really get a good look. He stayed for a few minutes, and after he left, the dancing and singing went on.
There was a lot of people, and since it was in the Diplomatic Quarters, there was plenty of foreingers.
After we ate, we walked around a bit, took pictures, which I will post inshAllah, we decided to go home since it was almost midnight (even though I was not getting sleepy yet).
It's past 1 am now and I'm still not sleepy. I will go eat some cereal.
Good night.
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Saturday September 19th, 2009
I love how everywhere we go, you can feel the Eid!
There are signs wishing everyone Eid Mubarak, and lights in the streets, and signs selling sweets and candy for Eid!
You can also feel the rush of Eid as people are doing last minute shopping! (and I am one of them!
I went to the toy store to get gifts for Badoori, Hamoodi, and Karoomi. I also got gifts for Talal and Kristi. I got my husband his favotire cologne by Ferregamo while we were in the states, and I actually gave it to him while we were still there during Ramadan. I also got him a nice belt and a bunch of clothes.
I also got a bunch of candy to pass out when I go to Samia's and if we go to some of Bassam's friend's houses since they have kids too.
I have some pictures I took of a few things, so inshAllah I will post them as soon as I get a chance!
Much Love, HKA in KSA
Friday September 18th, 2009
I’ve been sleeping what feels like days and days. But in reality, I’ve been sleeping since we arrived yesterday. I went to bed at around 4 pm yesterday and I woke up around 5 pm today. So yes, more than 24 hours of sleep! Talk about jet lagging! The funny thing is I didn’t realize how tired I was.
The only reason I woke up, or my husband made me get up, was because we were invited for fatoor (breaking our fast dinner) at a friend’s Alkhayal’s house and we needed to get ready and be there before 6 pm. So I managed to take a shower and get ready in about a half hour and we left.
We got there just in time for fatoor. It was soooo very nice seeing our friends! I love them soo very much J. After our greetings, our hugs, and our kisses, we broke our fast with some dates, samboosa, and some soup. Oh, and of course, some Vimto ;)
I stayed at their house while my husband went for prayer and taraweeh (special prayer performed during Ramadan). He came around 12 am and we went home and just couldn’t sleep as we were still jet lagging!
Love, HKA in KSA
Thursday September 17th, 2009
My husband and I finally made it safe and sound to Saudi Arabia. It was still Ramadan, but we didn’t fast. We started our journey from Ohio to Washington D.C. by car. We rented a car and packed our boxes and headed to D.C. at 8:30 am. After a nice 6 hour drive, which didn’t feel that long, we arrived to Washington Dulles Airport.
We arrived at around 1:10 pm to Saudia. The weather was warm, not too hot though, yet very dry. For some reason the plane didn’t go to a gate, so we had to exit the plane and get on a shuttle that took us to the airport. There we had to go through Customs. Since there weren’t many people, the wait was very short. They just asked to see our passports and visas. Afterwards, they took pictures of us and we did fingerprints.
The airport was practically empty, aside from those few people that were in our plane and a few more boarding other planes going to Lebanon or London. We went to find our baggage in the baggage claim area, and it was pretty easy as there was only one belt turned on with suitcases and boxes from our flight. An airport worker helped us load our baggage into a cart and take it outside where my husband’s friend was waiting for us. After their “salams”, my husband and his friend loaded the SUV with our belongings and we headed to our apartment.
My brother and his wife and their adorable little son came to say hi and welcome us. They live in the same apartment building so we are neighbors (something I’m very grateful for!).
Home sweet home (for at least a year).
Love, HKA in KSA