Le Food.

Assalamu Alaikum,

On Wednesday night, we decided to go out for Italian food. I searched online and found one that seemed nice and had pretty good reviews. It ended up being ultra fancy and the quality and taste of the food was just a cut above mediocre. J had a seafood risotto with scallops, shrimp, and lobster cooked in a crab consommé. I had a spinach and gorgonzola gnocci. I also had minestrone which was bland and absolutely not worth the $20+ it probably cost. What made the whole dinner interesting was the fact that we were practically falling asleep at the table because of jet lag.

Yesterday, I went to Suntec City, and was not prepared for the sheer size of the place. It was a mall, conference center, and business towers all in one. Well, there are 5 towers altogether. I found a gelato place there and finally had some gelato after 3 whole months. Unfortunately, none of the other shops really appealed to me so I caught a taxi and headed to another mall I had been to previously. I bought a belt for J since his had an ugly crack in it, and some cufflinks that one of the sales women convinced me to buy. They really train their people to persuade the shoppers into making purchases because I had seen the same cufflinks at Dillard's in Houston for almost half the price, but for some reason I still bought them.

At night, J had to work so we ended up leaving for dinner very late. All the places I had on my list were closed so we asked for a recommendation at the hotel desk. They informed us that some restaurants at the Riverwalk were still open so we headed there. We found one called Jumbo Seafood so we went there. It turned out to be a pretty traditional place with Mandarin/Chinese cuisine. I guess I was expecting more of a fried shrimp type of thing. J got a chilli crab and I got Malay-style seafood noodles. Which happened to have pork in them. When I asked if it was pork, they began to act fishy and said it was a dry chili. I ended up eating some flat, taste-less chocolate chip cookies from the minibar for dinner.

Today, I did not feel like going to another mall, and obviously not a garden, so I stayed in the room for a bit and read a couple of things online. J suggested I go out for a fancy lunch. As if I don't do enough of that in Saudi. I'm honestly sick of going out to eat fancy lunches by myself. In the end, I took his advice and went to one of the restaurants downstairs in the hotel. I ordered the Indonesian Nasi Goreng which was delicious and tasted almost exactly like the one we ate every morning in Bali, Indonesia. It came with chicken satay, which tasted like peanut butter when I first bit it and then spicy. On the side was something crispy and salty, so I inquired as to what it was and found it was dried fish. I'm not sure if it was fish or squid, but it was surprisingly good. It also had a piece of spring chicken and something extremely bitter on the side. Pictures coming soon :D

Hopefully, tonight we can try out one of the halal restaurants I found online since we have not had any red meat for a while. And, start partaking in a few interesting tours that I do not want to do alone.

Peace.

My Crazy Adventurous Day

Assalamu Alaikum,

So today, I decided I would head to the National Orchid Garden of Singapore. I had lunch at "The Deli" which is owned by the hotel and very yummy. Then I had the concierge hail me a taxi, and with my camera, mini tripod, and some cash, I took off. The taxi driver dropped me off at what seemed like a rainforest with a few small paths. "Are you sure this is it????" I asked him, not believing it would look like that.

I started walking down one of the paths, while simultaneously thinking this was a big mistake and I should not have come alone. Honestly, it was a pretty scary and widespread place to explore by myself. I found a map with rules and regulations and the first thing that caught my eye were all the notices about keeping dogs leashed and muzzling certain breeds that were dangerous. Of course that terrified me. I began to walk around and enjoy the amazing flowers and plants and take a few pictures. After about 15 minutes of walking, I came to the entrance of the Orchid Garden. Just to get an idea of the area, the Orchid Garden alone is about six acres. I purchased a ticket and headed inside.

It was magnificent. I began to photograph the fascinating flowers and that's when I noticed the sky seemed just a bit overcast. I looked around and the few other people that had entered the garden didn't seem to be bothered, so I kept walking along one of the paths. Ten minutes later, while in the depths of the gigantic orchid gardens, I heard thunder. Then, I saw the lightning. I wondered whether I should go back towards the entrance or try to make it to the exit where there was a gift shop. I decided to search for the gift shop and wait it out in there. Well, I did not make it there. The rain came down in sheets. I ran for the nearest shelter which was a building (Burkhill Hall, built in 1866) under construction that had a slight overhang. A few other people and one large group had also gathered outside of the building. We waited there for quite some time, hoping the rain would eventually lose its intensity. Instead, it got worse and I began to have thoughts of monsoons and possibly being stuck there for hours upon end. I did not have a cellphone with me so I had no way of letting J know the situation. After awhile, one of the members from the group went and bought umbrellas for the rest of them from the gift shop and they all managed to leave. I was left with a couple; the woman was reading a book and the man roamed about. Finally, after what felt like 4 hours, the rain began to clear and I saw sunlight. When the rain drops became more sparse, I headed for the nearest map, and figured out the way towards the exit. I made it there in about 20 minutes, and found that all it had was a gift shop and a refreshments stand. The taxi stand was on the other side. I ended up purchasing some gifts from the shop, then headed back out towards the taxi stand. I caught a taxi back to the hotel, and the whole way back the driver told me about interesting places to see. He also mentioned that the National Orchid Garden was the oldest orchid garden and that I should visit some of the newer, larger ones.

So, from now, I've decided to visit gardens and other outdoor type places with J and not alone. Also, I should take a book or magazine with me at all times. This is not the first time I have told myself that, but I always forget to pack one. At least I got some great shots since it was an overcast day and that is the perfect time for some great, shadow-free photography.

Check out the video I took while trapped and waiting for the rain to subside. I had to bring the quality of it way down in iMovie to be able to load onto Blogger. But you can still somewhat see (and HEAR) the intensity of the rain.

Hello from Singapore :D

Assalamu Alaikum,

So J had a work project in Singapore and of course, as usual, I tagged along. After a pretty long and tiresome flight we arrived yesterday. It just so happened to be their 45th National Day, therefore a holiday, so J didn't have to work. Unfortunately, after eating a pretty early dinner, I felt too sleepy to explore. We fell asleep around 8 PM.

Today was my first day to look around and explore. I started by looking at online maps to see things from my list that were also nearby. I decided to head to the National Museum of Singapore. In the hotel lobby, I grabbed a few maps asked the concierge for directions and headed out. According to him, the museum was very close; only about seven minutes walking. I was to take a right from the hotel spa (which is in the courtyard and extremely nice), and walk a few minutes, and would see the museum on my right. Well, I didn't see it. I walked for what seemed like an eternity. I finally found an art gallery/hotel/shops. There was an old Sikh security guard roaming about so I asked him. Surprisingly, in perfect American English, he told me to take a right and then another right and it would be in front of me. Off I went again with new optimism. Of course, it was nowhere to be found. I did, however come upon the Raffles Shopping Arcade and Halls. They had shops such as Louis Vuitton, Moulton Brown, Armani Casa, and Cartier. They also had a creamery right in the middle of the courtyard. I stopped there and had some scrumptious ice cream and a (free, unlike Saudi) cup of ice cold water. There was an elderly Australian couple at the next table over and they kept smiling at me. I think they wanted to talk but weren't sure if they should.

After that, I looked through a few of the shops, and referred to my map for directions back to the hotel. It seemed easy enough so I began to walk. After a while, I came across the Raffles City Mall. It was huge and had more affordable stores. I walked around and looked at purses and jewelry and other things. Then I went to Robinson's; the big department store inside. They had an awesome selection of handbags and makeup and fragrances. More than Debenham's and Dillard's combined. I saw a few purses I liked, but didn't buy. I bought a mini hairbrush; my travel one seems to be lost, some new foundation, and the new Armani cologne for J.

Afterwards, I decided that taking a taxi would be the best idea, even if it did cost a few dollars. I waited in the taxi queue and ended up talking to a girl from New Zealand. She lives in Dubai and works for Emirates, and is here for 24 hours. She was telling me about life as an air hostess, and it does not seem as appealing as I had initially thought. They only spend 24 hours in every place they stop at, so their sleep cycle is really screwed up. Also, they never work with the same person twice; you only meet your colleagues for the flight 3 hours before takeoff. She was saying that she basically knows nobody. Seems like quite a rough life. In the end, my taxi came up, and somehow it took him 5 or 6 minutes to get me to the front of the hotel although we were only 2 streets away. I think he was pretending not to know where it was so he could let the meter run a little more, because we passed the side of the hotel within the first 3 minutes and made a huge square around. Pretty funny.

Hopefully tonight, I get to explore some landmarks and get in some sightseeing. I will try my best to update everyday or at least every 2 days.

Peace.

Time Really Does Fly

Assalamu Alaikum,

It has been more than a year since I moved across the world to the Eastern Hemisphere, into one of the world's hottest cities. Today is a relatively cool, breezy day at 103ºF. Yes, I am serious! Last week, the temperatures went upwards of 120ºF and even 127ºF one day. July is usually much worse. (Below is a picture of my compound.)

I really wish I had written down all my thoughts right when they came to me about life here. Although I did regularly speak to family on the phone, and most likely mentioned them there, that is not going to be sufficient in remembering time spent here.

Anyways, I will try to write out what I am thinking. When (and before) I first arrived here, I was filled with the excitement of living in a new place; thoughts of exploring, making new friends, etc. Upon arriving, things went well for the first week or two, and then it really hit me like a sack of bricks. I was thousands of miles away from everyone and everything I knew (except J, of course). I really do have delayed reaction.

Most expatriates I spoke to assured me that they too had hated it for the first six months, some even a year, but that now they could not imagine living anywhere else. "Not me," I, being a true skeptic, thought to myself, "only Houston can be home."

Well, fast forward a year, and four vacations to Houston while living here. This has become my home. I love Saudi Arabia! And, though I miss my family and friends dearly, I like living here. A lot.

Things are quite different, in good ways and bad ways. Let me start with the good things about living here. Firstly, I feel safe. Very, very safe. I know that I will not be mugged, raped, kidnapped, or murdered if I happen to be alone at night (which is highly unlikely anyways). In the States, even in fancy, upscale neighborhoods like the one I grew up in, crimes like this will happen. Here, because of the strict penalties for certain crimes, they are much less likely to occur.

I gotta run for now...will hopefully continue this someday :D

Peace.

Something Interesting

Assalamu Alaikum,

So, after living in Saudi Arabia for almost a full year, I have began to call this place home. Honestly, I never thought I would like this place as much as I do. Of course there are disadvantages to living here, but those can pop up anywhere in the world. Even Houston.

Anyways, before I forget I wanted to write about an experience I had that pretty much puts into perspective what I had been struggling to explain for so long. Every time I go home to Houston I am bombarded with a plethora of questions about life in this part of the world. Recently, we were in Stavanger again (Norway), and a few of J's Houstonian co-workers were also there at the same time. They asked all the same questions that my friends and family back in Houston always ask. The main one always seems to be about the treatment of women in Saudi, and everyone always seems to be entranced by my answer. I am not going to lie; I myself had a lot of misconceptions, before I moved, about the way of life here.

So, on our way back from Norway, we happened to fly directly into Saudi. Usually, we fly in through Bahrain and then make the 45 minute drive home across the border. Our flight arrived around midnight, and needless to say, we were extremely tired, mostly because of the connections and stopovers that are the norm with flights in and out of small European cities. As we headed to customs, I saw the line and my heart fell. Well, lines..with an S.

Most of the other travelers were Brits and a few other Americans returning from vacation.

There was no way we would get through that in less than 2 hours. I set my laptop bag down and began to surf the web on my phone.

Right then, a Saudi government official came up to me and asked me if I was traveling alone. I told him I was with my husband and pointed at J. "Come," he said. We followed, and that's when I realized he had also asked the 2 only other females in all of the lines to come also. He opened up a desk, checked our visas, and off we went. We sped through the lines that would have taken us 2-3 hours within 3 minutes. J was overjoyed and kept saying how awesome it was.

So, no the women in Saudi cannot drive. But, that doesn't mean things are tough for them and they are locked up at home. Oftentimes, I feel the men are the ones having to suffer more than the women. When the husbands get home from work, they usually have to take the wives to the grocery stores. Most of the time, when we are at the mall, we see men waiting patiently while the wife (and daughters) shops to her heart's content. Which, by the way, is the national pastime. People shop so much here, it should be a crime. I do it, too. Not that much, but a lot more than I would if there was an alternative. It doesn't hurt, of course, that the malls have all of the American stores I'm used to, but even better, they have all the European stores, too!!

Until next time, peace!!

Saudi Arabia: Land of Sand

Assalamu Alaikum,

So, I finally moved to Saudi Arabia and am reunited with J. A lot of things here are much different from what I expected. I have been here for almost three weeks now and have pretty much fully settled in.

To start, it is HOT. Today, being not one of the extremely hot days, is around 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Thankfully, we have central air conditioning with six units just for our house! My day usually begins with me waking up and realizing J has overslept and is late for work. I hurriedly wake him up and also get ready myself. Then I head outside just a few feet from our door where our compound bus waits. This bus takes all of the women from the compounds out daily. There is a set schedule, and each day is a different place. For example, Saturday's are Dhahran Mall. It runs five days a week, and seeing as how we live in such a small compound, everyone knows each other, and so we usually go shopping together.

I will write more later.......... :D

Peace,

Amna

Stavanger

Assalamu Alaikum,

About three days have passed since we arrived in Stavanger. I remember why I fell in love with this town the first time I came here. Everything is just so beautiful and charming. Even when all is covered with snow.

So, on Monday, J and I ventured out in search of food. I had heard of a place called Saken er Biff, a steakhouse near the harbor and wanted to try it. The name, I believe, is a pun or play on words. It means "the subject is steak", or it can also mean "everything is alright." Pretty interesting, right? Anyways, we went down to the harbor in search of this place, but then ended up going into Restaurant Mexico. This place is always extremely crowded and they have live music playing which you can hear all across the harbor. Fortunately, on Monday, it was quiet and not too full of people. We ordered an appetizer to share and then I got the mixed fajitas and chose chicken and steak. J got the Mexicana Hamburguesa. All in all, the food was pretty good, and the service was, as usual in Norway, mediocre. One of our servers was nice, while the other was rude and ditsy and had no clue what she was doing. The first two pictures are of my fajitas, condiments, and sides; the third is of J's dinner.
On Tuesday, after dinner, we walked around near the lake and the pond. It is so interesting to see how different things look because of cold or warm weather. The lake is almost fully frozen over. It seems to be about one fourth of its actual size, and the rest is ice; this forces all the ducks and swans to gather in the middle, making it seem overpopulated. That reminds me of something impressive about this place. Last time we were here, we decided we would take some bread at breakfast time and go down to the lake and feed the ducks, and if we got lucky, the swans. When we got there, we realized it would not be necessary, as there was a HUGE mountain of bread in the corner of the lake. Everyday, the bakeries and stores give their leftover bread to the ducks. Which also explains why they all seem so fat.

Another interesting tidbit about Norway; drivers will ALWAYS stop for pedestrians. I always wondered why they were unusually nice and began braking yards ahead of any pedestrians crossing. Apparently, if you hit a pedestrian here, you get taken straight to prison, no questions asked. I think it is a good thing, especially compared to places such as Saudi Arabia, where I was nearly run over by a police van.

Inverurie--> Stavanger

Assalamu Alaikum,

So, today we woke up exceptionally early for a weekend. I finished doing laundry and packed our suitcases and woke up J. He had been up most of the night watching the All -Star Game. That is one thing he misses dearly; basketball.

We headed to the Aberdeen airport and made it with enough time to grab a huge breakfast at The Food Hub. It was a pretty nice area and they had a variety of foods, and it was not very expensive. After that, we headed to our gate, and made it just in time as they called up the passengers. We saw the plane and cracked up. Not only was it ancient, it was also tiny. A little bit bigger than the one we took initially from London, but still pretty small. And, the funniest part; the stairs to board the plane were held down with a rope tied straight to the propeller and wing. We wanted to take a picture of it, but thought better of it, especially since we were the first two people to board the plane.

After a short flight that ended in clapping from a pack of rowdy, young Americans, we reached Stavanger. I was glad to get away from them, as they seemed to be noisy everywhere they went. They totally fit the stereotype that most of the world has of us. Yuck.
We took a taxi to our hotel, and on the way we started looking around at all the familiar places. Unfortunately, things look extremely different when snow is involved, so we could hardly distinguish anything on the outskirts of the town. But, after we got into town, things started to look the same, and there was hardly any snow still intact. The lake from last time is right across our hotel this time. The hotel is a lot bigger, and the staff seems a lot more friendly and helpful.

J is snoring like a motorboat and I am getting pretty tired from lack of sleep last night. I will post again soon.

Peace.
Amna

Inverurie

Assalamu Alaikum,

I have decided to blog more often. Especially since I have been traveling so much and always forget to document all my interesting experiences.

First of all, I cannot believe our stay in Inverurie is almost over! It is unbelievable. Upon our arrival, the days seemed to drag on; we could hardly wait for the next day, let alone a few months. But, then as life went on and we got used to living here time just flew right by us. Last night, J and I were talking about how we will really miss Inverurie and our bungalow here. It seems the two city slickers have fallen in love with this itty bitty town. Here is a picture of the town centre that I took the first month.

This week went by pretty quick. Wednesday we had dinner out with the plant manager and a few other co-workers of J's. I hada really good time and met a few nice people. The best part was when the PM and his wife gave me a huge orchid plant. I was extremely surprised and happy. Its a purple orchid and is a bit larger than my first orchid plant. I am currently emailing the US Department of Agriculture to figure out how to bring it home with me.

Tomorrow, we are going to Stavanger, Norway. I went there in September, so I think I will remember almost everything... we shall see.
I must run and pack now, so I will post more later. I think I should begin posting shorter, more frequent entries.

Cheers!! <--Scottish for bye.
Peace.
-Amna

Small Town Life

Assalamu Alaikum

It is now the end of January. Time has gone by pretty fast the last few weeks. We are still living in Inverurie and have gotten used to the slow paced life here. Of course, we will never get UN-used to the fast life in Houston.

Everything changed for the better 2 weeks ago when J got a car. Firstly, it is a brand new 2009 Peugeot and smells new. After that, we became a little more mobile, going into Aberdeen two to three times a week. And, it helped with our grocery trips because now we can go as much as we want, whenever we want, without the inconvenience of a running meter on a taxi.

Saturday night was the Burn's Night celebration and J's work had a party. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. The majority of the men wore kilts. Before this, neither J nor I had any idea how intricate the whole kilt deal is. One of the guys at our table, not an SLB employee, but a spouse of one, explained the whole deal to us. And then I researched it a bit, too. So here is what I learned; you have the kilt, which is the skirt part. It can be made of any number of wool qualities which in turn, affects the price. Then, it can be pleated or not. And, the pleating can be in different ways. After that, you have the special shoes and hose, these are like knee high and almost always white. On the side of one of the hose is a small dagger in a silver and black case. That was quite a surprise when he pulled it out to show us. On top is the shirt, which is very similar to a white shirt you would wear with a tuxedo, and over that is a coat which closely resembles a tuxedo if it is a formal kilt. The most interesting part for me was the little pouch or purse that hangs inside of the coat and over the top of the kilt. It is similar to a clasp purse and is made of fur, with three extra balls of fur decorating the front. These are made from a variety of animals; usually rabbit and mink.

They served Haggis at the party, but thankfully we were late by quite some time, and missed the first course. Haggis is a Scottish delicacy; here is a basic description from the always convenient Wikipedia. "There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours." And, yes, it is served in the stomach.

Afterwards, they had the dance part, and there was a singer with his musician. They were alright, and as one of the songs started, I instantly recognized Lonestar's "Amazed." But, unfortunately, it was followed by a horrible rendition of the song. The guy could sing well enough, but his extremely thick Scottish accent just totally killed it.

On to other topics.... I have noticed pretty rotten service here in the UK. The wait staff do not seem to care how long they make the customer wait. Sometimes, it can take up to 30 minutes to get your bill. The other night, we went to Frankie's & Benny's in Aberdeen. I am not going to lie; the food was delicious (apart from my steak which was too hard to cut or chew). But, throughout most of the meal, our cups were empty and we had no water for almost an hour. Also, our waitress would walk by many many times, right past us and into the bar, without checking on us. But, after living here for a month or two, in J's case, we are somewhat used to it. Still angers us though. We met a man, who was extremely nice, and even he was saying that nothing beats the service we have in America, especially in the South. He had apparently been to FL and CA.

Well, I guess it is time to get a start on the day; its 9:20 AM.

Peace.