Today we have a new arrival, Mysti Cobb from Chicago in the USA. My goodness that girl is tall (6ft) I think I'm going to have to change the spinning bike seat height after she has been on it. Already she is showing concerns about coming to the spa and it's only day one. I think she has been hearing the horror stories like I did on the first day. I hope she does the same as me and takes it for what it is and makes her own mind up about the place. She just looked shell shocked and informed us that she had already contacted our agent to say she thought she had made a mistake. "Just give yourself time to settle, this is a complete change of life"
Anyway, Mysti now completed our fitness team. There are 5 instructors from different corners of the world. May Ann from the Philippines, Valentina from Romania, Lore from Chile, Kedi from South Africa and myself. There is a mixture of personalities I can tell you from the party animal, to the one who thanks god everyday for what she has. It would be unfair for me to describe the girls personalities as how I describe them may be totally different to how they portray themselves, so they are who they are and they do what they do and they are all lovely people in their own right.
Feeding the 5000
Today there was unrest in the camp. The government were having a clamp down on people living in Riyadh who didn't have the correct information on their Iqama (pronounced ecarma). This is a card that proves you are sponsored and can have residency in the Country whilst ever you have that sponsor or are working for them. http://www.arabnews.com/news/446806 . Around 49 arrests were made including one of our drivers from the Philippines. He spent the night in Jail but was released the following day. The manager of the spa didn't want anything to do with it, (told you I didn't like the sound of her right in the beginning) that gives you more of a feel of what sort of person we are working for.
Two of the instructors have just received their Iqama after being here for 7 months and their occupations on their cards is laughable. One is a nanny and the other a teacher (well I guess the teacher is a little closer to what we do, mind you we could say we were looking after the ladies here so may get away with the nanny bit too). I suppose they have to lie because they are occupations which they need foreigners in the country to do, where as fitness instructors they don't (the few Saudi women that work could do this). We do have a Saudi girl that comes in twice a week to teach a few classes but I am sure this is to make it look like they employ a Saudi and no one else is working here. It is a joke really when they have so many religious rules but they are breaking so many others. Lots of illegal things go on here, the same as any other country. Obviously the Koran did not say "Thou shall not lie about your occupation on your Iqama" Anyway, the girls had to pay 3000 riyals ( just over £500) for this which the company said they will pay them back when they finish their contract (this is so they don't try to run away, and if they do, they are £500 down and the company is no worse off). Me on the other hand I don't have an Iqama, I have a 3 month visit visa which states clearly "NOT PERMITTED TO WORK" (again, another lie) which they renew after 3 months and then after 6 months they apply for my Iqama. I think I'm going to tell them not to bother getting me one as I am only staying for one year and I am not particularly bothered about a bank account, I'll keeping hiding my riyals under the mattress.
So Robert (the driver who was arrested) is fine but a few of the cleaners have gone into hiding for a while till the Iqama business blows over but on the whole things are back on track.
Ok so 2pm lunchtime my usual routine is to go to the apartment, make lunch, eat lunch, play candy crush (damn you level 65), check emails, text Steven and the girls and sleep for a while if I can but today we had a lovely surprise, one of the clients ordered us all food so we could taste what Saudi Arabian cuisine. OMG!!!! there was enough food for all of us for the week. She must have ordered everything off the menu twice over but what a beautiful and generous thought. The ladies that come to the spa are very generous in many ways to us. They bring us cakes, food, books to read. I had one client ask if I wanted to go to the Annual Saudi Festival with her and her family but unfortunately I didn't finish work early enough to go. So we all ate and that included the Reception Staff and all the Cleaners and then there was still enough left for everyone to take some home.
Anyway, Mysti now completed our fitness team. There are 5 instructors from different corners of the world. May Ann from the Philippines, Valentina from Romania, Lore from Chile, Kedi from South Africa and myself. There is a mixture of personalities I can tell you from the party animal, to the one who thanks god everyday for what she has. It would be unfair for me to describe the girls personalities as how I describe them may be totally different to how they portray themselves, so they are who they are and they do what they do and they are all lovely people in their own right.
Feeding the 5000
Today there was unrest in the camp. The government were having a clamp down on people living in Riyadh who didn't have the correct information on their Iqama (pronounced ecarma). This is a card that proves you are sponsored and can have residency in the Country whilst ever you have that sponsor or are working for them. http://www.arabnews.com/news/446806 . Around 49 arrests were made including one of our drivers from the Philippines. He spent the night in Jail but was released the following day. The manager of the spa didn't want anything to do with it, (told you I didn't like the sound of her right in the beginning) that gives you more of a feel of what sort of person we are working for.
Two of the instructors have just received their Iqama after being here for 7 months and their occupations on their cards is laughable. One is a nanny and the other a teacher (well I guess the teacher is a little closer to what we do, mind you we could say we were looking after the ladies here so may get away with the nanny bit too). I suppose they have to lie because they are occupations which they need foreigners in the country to do, where as fitness instructors they don't (the few Saudi women that work could do this). We do have a Saudi girl that comes in twice a week to teach a few classes but I am sure this is to make it look like they employ a Saudi and no one else is working here. It is a joke really when they have so many religious rules but they are breaking so many others. Lots of illegal things go on here, the same as any other country. Obviously the Koran did not say "Thou shall not lie about your occupation on your Iqama" Anyway, the girls had to pay 3000 riyals ( just over £500) for this which the company said they will pay them back when they finish their contract (this is so they don't try to run away, and if they do, they are £500 down and the company is no worse off). Me on the other hand I don't have an Iqama, I have a 3 month visit visa which states clearly "NOT PERMITTED TO WORK" (again, another lie) which they renew after 3 months and then after 6 months they apply for my Iqama. I think I'm going to tell them not to bother getting me one as I am only staying for one year and I am not particularly bothered about a bank account, I'll keeping hiding my riyals under the mattress.
So Robert (the driver who was arrested) is fine but a few of the cleaners have gone into hiding for a while till the Iqama business blows over but on the whole things are back on track.
Ok so 2pm lunchtime my usual routine is to go to the apartment, make lunch, eat lunch, play candy crush (damn you level 65), check emails, text Steven and the girls and sleep for a while if I can but today we had a lovely surprise, one of the clients ordered us all food so we could taste what Saudi Arabian cuisine. OMG!!!! there was enough food for all of us for the week. She must have ordered everything off the menu twice over but what a beautiful and generous thought. The ladies that come to the spa are very generous in many ways to us. They bring us cakes, food, books to read. I had one client ask if I wanted to go to the Annual Saudi Festival with her and her family but unfortunately I didn't finish work early enough to go. So we all ate and that included the Reception Staff and all the Cleaners and then there was still enough left for everyone to take some home.
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