So the boss has decided to try a different tactic, instead of threatening us with salary deductions she has decided to start handing out bonuses. The reason for this is very clear. She needs us all to return in September after our holiday otherwise she is in trouble. So far this is what the girls who work as instructors plan to do. This is not set in stone as 1. We are up and down like yoyos, one day we are coming back and the next we are not and 2. Who knows what will happen when we get home in August!
May Ann, for sure will return. She is not going home in August and will remain in the country with her boyfriend. Ideally she would like to go home to the Philippines in December to spend Christmas with her mum (she has not been home for 9 years). Kedi, plans to come back and finish her contract as long as there are no further hiccups before she leaves for her holiday. Lore is giving her 30 days notice at the end of this month. Her contract finishes on the 6th September just before we are due to return on the 8th. Her plan is to find a job in Dammam close to Imad (the Syrian guy that she met) and hopefully be much happier. So that's one instructor less. Valentina says she is over Saudi Arabia. She previously worked in Dammam for 6 months before coming to Riyadh. She has also worked on cruise ships, Italy and a few other places so quite possibly she won't be coming back to finish her contract which is due to end next February. And me.....well I haven't got a clue from one day to the next. I did suggest to Steven that I would have liked him to tell me he wanted me to stay home with him but he said this was not going to happen after the bad few weeks so I think I just need to not worry about it, enjoy it while I am here and see what happens in August. So that is two definites, two not sures and one not coming back. If only two girls return it is going to be tough on them as they work five of us pretty damn hard so only two doesn't bear thinking about.
Anyway, the bonus. Is given to one member in each department that has a good attendance record, been punctual, shown good customer service and a few other things.....and the winner of the bonus for May 2013 is Lore!!! I am pleased for her of course and hats off to her for playing the system so well as she has just had a recent holiday and goes back to the apartment frequently to drink tea, eat toast, paint her nails etc. And get this the winner of the June 2013 bonus is Lore.....apparently Hannan told Val and Kedi that they had come close and because I had not been here 3 months yet I was not eligible. However, she did also state that my name has been put forward for the staff appraisal bonus next month......told you she was handing them out like sweets. The bonus is one weeks salary. Just a bit about salaries. We are not allowed to discuss with each other how much our salary is as we all get different even though we all work the same hours and do the same job and I know this for a fact. May Ann for sure will be on less than everyone else because she is Filipino and this breaks my heart because there is no on here that deserves it more than her. Things have happened where it has been highlighted that she is not treated as an equal. So my plan is if I do get a bonus I am going to give some to May. When May gets her salary she sends money home to her brother to help with his children and their schooling and also to her mother to help with the mortgage which she struggles to pay since May Ann's dad died a few years. I said earlier that May wants to go home this year to spend Christmas with her family so she asked Hanan for time off (without pay of course) and Hanan's reply was "If all the instructors come back then she can take the time off" We know this is not going to happen as Lore is not coming back and Val and me are on the borderline. This is so unfair (I told you she was treated differently being as Lore has just been able to take a week's holiday and is going again next week for a few days) and it is unlikely that she will receive a bonus and even though she says she is not worried about this and she is happy with what she already gets.....it must hurt.
I haven't felt too well this week. I have my second sore throat in 3 months and have been feeling very dizzy and nauseous. I am not sure whether is it the air conditioning, the dust, tiredness, a virus or what. So I am trying to take good care of myself....vitamins, lots of water, lots of sleep and also the chemist has given me some anti-biotics and anti histamines (thank goodness I can buy over the counter and not have to keep paying to go to the Dr) I have lost a few pounds since being here but that is definitely because of the amount of exercise I am doing and the loss of water through sweating!!! I have also still managed to maintain my once a week fast which I started around 7 months ago after reading a research paper, a book and watching a documentary on the benefits. To be honest, I find it easier than at home as it feels too hot to eat some days and sometimes I am too busy to remember I am hungry and I also don't fill the fridge with much so I am not tempted to eat.
I forgot to tell you I saw my first 3 car pile up the other day. I popped out at lunch to grab a coffee (it's 2 minute walk away) and I wasn't sure whether it was my abaya blowing open and showing my ankle or the way they drive like lunatics that caused it. Driving here is a bit like being in a peloton in the Tour De France.....one puts their foot on the brake and everyone behind is in trouble. The 3 cars involved, (all guys of course as women can't drive here) just get out their cars and casually stand in the flow of 4 lanes of speeding traffic and calmly exchange details. I am sure looking at the state of the cars that this happens frequently and I am also led to believe that there is no law that states you have to have insurance, again, I am not sure how this works when you have to get the car repaired as two of the cars were taxis and they earn peanuts!!!! Mind you, looking at the taxis here, there is no way they would pass a taxi test in England and inside they usually smell and have holes in the seat covers. You can see now why Saudis employ a driver.
Also this week I went to get my Iqama photos taken. Robert (Spa driver from the Philippines) took me to a place just outside the centre of Riyadh. It looked very poor, the shops didn't look anything like the glamorous ones in the centre. We pull up outside a small shop that says "Studio" above the door and a sign saying "Iqama/Passport Photos". The gentleman sat on the step ushers me into a little dark back room. Thankfully Robert has come into the shop with me for my safety (I think) as it looks a bit uninviting. Thank goodness I didn't come alone. So one press of the button, a click of the shutter and my picture is loaded onto the computer. The photographer starts to airbrush my laughter lines / crows feet / wrinkles......whatever you want to call them. This is so cool, for 20 riyals he gives me 8 photos with me looking 10 years younger. He made my day :)
May Ann, for sure will return. She is not going home in August and will remain in the country with her boyfriend. Ideally she would like to go home to the Philippines in December to spend Christmas with her mum (she has not been home for 9 years). Kedi, plans to come back and finish her contract as long as there are no further hiccups before she leaves for her holiday. Lore is giving her 30 days notice at the end of this month. Her contract finishes on the 6th September just before we are due to return on the 8th. Her plan is to find a job in Dammam close to Imad (the Syrian guy that she met) and hopefully be much happier. So that's one instructor less. Valentina says she is over Saudi Arabia. She previously worked in Dammam for 6 months before coming to Riyadh. She has also worked on cruise ships, Italy and a few other places so quite possibly she won't be coming back to finish her contract which is due to end next February. And me.....well I haven't got a clue from one day to the next. I did suggest to Steven that I would have liked him to tell me he wanted me to stay home with him but he said this was not going to happen after the bad few weeks so I think I just need to not worry about it, enjoy it while I am here and see what happens in August. So that is two definites, two not sures and one not coming back. If only two girls return it is going to be tough on them as they work five of us pretty damn hard so only two doesn't bear thinking about.
Anyway, the bonus. Is given to one member in each department that has a good attendance record, been punctual, shown good customer service and a few other things.....and the winner of the bonus for May 2013 is Lore!!! I am pleased for her of course and hats off to her for playing the system so well as she has just had a recent holiday and goes back to the apartment frequently to drink tea, eat toast, paint her nails etc. And get this the winner of the June 2013 bonus is Lore.....apparently Hannan told Val and Kedi that they had come close and because I had not been here 3 months yet I was not eligible. However, she did also state that my name has been put forward for the staff appraisal bonus next month......told you she was handing them out like sweets. The bonus is one weeks salary. Just a bit about salaries. We are not allowed to discuss with each other how much our salary is as we all get different even though we all work the same hours and do the same job and I know this for a fact. May Ann for sure will be on less than everyone else because she is Filipino and this breaks my heart because there is no on here that deserves it more than her. Things have happened where it has been highlighted that she is not treated as an equal. So my plan is if I do get a bonus I am going to give some to May. When May gets her salary she sends money home to her brother to help with his children and their schooling and also to her mother to help with the mortgage which she struggles to pay since May Ann's dad died a few years. I said earlier that May wants to go home this year to spend Christmas with her family so she asked Hanan for time off (without pay of course) and Hanan's reply was "If all the instructors come back then she can take the time off" We know this is not going to happen as Lore is not coming back and Val and me are on the borderline. This is so unfair (I told you she was treated differently being as Lore has just been able to take a week's holiday and is going again next week for a few days) and it is unlikely that she will receive a bonus and even though she says she is not worried about this and she is happy with what she already gets.....it must hurt.
I haven't felt too well this week. I have my second sore throat in 3 months and have been feeling very dizzy and nauseous. I am not sure whether is it the air conditioning, the dust, tiredness, a virus or what. So I am trying to take good care of myself....vitamins, lots of water, lots of sleep and also the chemist has given me some anti-biotics and anti histamines (thank goodness I can buy over the counter and not have to keep paying to go to the Dr) I have lost a few pounds since being here but that is definitely because of the amount of exercise I am doing and the loss of water through sweating!!! I have also still managed to maintain my once a week fast which I started around 7 months ago after reading a research paper, a book and watching a documentary on the benefits. To be honest, I find it easier than at home as it feels too hot to eat some days and sometimes I am too busy to remember I am hungry and I also don't fill the fridge with much so I am not tempted to eat.
I forgot to tell you I saw my first 3 car pile up the other day. I popped out at lunch to grab a coffee (it's 2 minute walk away) and I wasn't sure whether it was my abaya blowing open and showing my ankle or the way they drive like lunatics that caused it. Driving here is a bit like being in a peloton in the Tour De France.....one puts their foot on the brake and everyone behind is in trouble. The 3 cars involved, (all guys of course as women can't drive here) just get out their cars and casually stand in the flow of 4 lanes of speeding traffic and calmly exchange details. I am sure looking at the state of the cars that this happens frequently and I am also led to believe that there is no law that states you have to have insurance, again, I am not sure how this works when you have to get the car repaired as two of the cars were taxis and they earn peanuts!!!! Mind you, looking at the taxis here, there is no way they would pass a taxi test in England and inside they usually smell and have holes in the seat covers. You can see now why Saudis employ a driver.
Also this week I went to get my Iqama photos taken. Robert (Spa driver from the Philippines) took me to a place just outside the centre of Riyadh. It looked very poor, the shops didn't look anything like the glamorous ones in the centre. We pull up outside a small shop that says "Studio" above the door and a sign saying "Iqama/Passport Photos". The gentleman sat on the step ushers me into a little dark back room. Thankfully Robert has come into the shop with me for my safety (I think) as it looks a bit uninviting. Thank goodness I didn't come alone. So one press of the button, a click of the shutter and my picture is loaded onto the computer. The photographer starts to airbrush my laughter lines / crows feet / wrinkles......whatever you want to call them. This is so cool, for 20 riyals he gives me 8 photos with me looking 10 years younger. He made my day :)
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