The weeks here always seem so eventful. Its only Sunday and already a lot has happened. I am saying it's only Sunday but remember the week here begins on a Saturday. It would be really nice to have a week where everything goes smoothly.
Saturday morning 11am I ask to see the boss. Valentina has asked to come with me as she also has questions she needs to ask. We are told to go to the office.....it feels like going to see the head teacher. Anyway, I begin about my Iqama and how I would prefer not to have one till I return in September, then I burst into tears????? I apologise and tell her I have had a bad week, physically it was draining and emotionally I felt like I needed to be home with Steven after what happened to poor Simba. The hardness in her eyes suddenly disappears, she grabs a tissue and tells me not to be upset. She wants us all to be happy and says we should always talk to her if we need anything. So it's decided that she is going to see if she can extend my visit visa and then get me another one to return in September. She explains that there has been a lot of changes in the laws recently and that the Iqama was our guarantee that we could return to the country. I told her I was prepared to take the risk so now we have to sit back and wait until she has checked out that it is possible. She also spoke about buying our return tickets for September. She wants this all in place by the end of the week so that 1. She secures a good price and 2. She knows who is coming back in September. So £634 will be deducted from my July Salary and returned to me In September when I come back. To me however, this is not a guarantee that you will come back as £634 is a small price to pay for freedom. But, today I plan to come back even more so after another upset again with Steven (on my part I hasten to add) he will be oblivious to what he has done......well, actually he won't as I sent him a lengthy email to tell him. When will we as women understand the concept of them thinking differently and only processing one thing at a time? Well, I have upset him by being insensitive and that's all I am going to say on the matter. There is no need for me to air all my dirty laundry in public as Steven is a private person and wouldn't like it and also he cannot tell his side of the story as it is my blog. I am guessing that this could be another case of the hormonal massacre so every scrat of being reasonable goes out the window!!!! I am thinking of naming my blog from "How a conversation can change your life" to "How hormones can ruin your life"
Also Today, the stereo breaks and we are already juggling the ones we do have that work around. May Ann and I decide to make it our mission to go and find an electrical store that can supply us with what we need. We arrive at the Mall where we have been advised to go only to be told the shops are closed until 4pm (this bloody country is a nightmare!) we decide to check out where the store is anyway so when we return we will know where we are going. On the way to said store, we find another electrical store that is open. We get prices etc for what we need and then call Dindo to come and collect us. We buy him coffee and doughnuts for his trouble and he drives us back to the spa. I always feel a sense of nostalgia when I am in his car as he plays all the tunes that remind me of my late teens. I close my eyes and think of home in the 80s as May Ann and I sing along to Hello by Lionel Ritchie.
7pm the same evening May Ann and I are on our way back to the electronics store. We have 45 minutes before prayer time (I have downloaded the prayer time app, this sends me a reminder when one is due) so we need to be quick or all the stores will have their shutters down for 30 minutes. This time our driver is Amed from the Yemen. I have not seen him before. He seems nice, that is until he opens his door at the traffic lights and spits!!!! I've noticed a few Saudi's doing this, not spitting but opening car doors and throwing out food, cigarettes etc. There obviously isn't a £60 fine for dropping litter in this city!!! Also another thing I have noticed is there are no stray dogs on the streets. Rookia told us that people who have dogs keep them at home (I suppose it's too hot to walk them) and she also said that there was a Korean company that picked up dogs that didn't appear to have an owner to eat them or sell them to be eaten!!! I am not sure if this is true. Anyway, side-tracked again. We get our price for the stereo system, head mic etc from the Indian shop keeper called Sebastian (I am sure that's not his real name!) and head back to work. It's been a long day. May Ann and I are tired. 9pm finish, qhalas, finish and then bed....Night Night x
No comments:
Post a Comment