Long time, no see!
Yes. First of all, let me apologize to the 10 people who read this about why we haven’t posted in a while. First of all, there is nothing like a cliff-hanger to keep people wanting more! Second, it has been a long and rough transition to get the whole family to Saudi and settled properly. I suppose this happens with expats,, but especially it seems in Saudi Arabia. I guess this post will describe that ordeal.
Saudi as a single
As stated in the last post, our family has recently decided to move to Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia to start our lives as international teachers. So for the first month, I lived as a single guy again while I waited for Lindsey and Simon to arrive. While Lindsey could have come with me, Simon is considered my dependent, and in order for him to be able to come over, I needed to establish residency here in Saudi Arabia. (Known as your Iqama)
The Iqama Process
Apparently, a few years ago the process used to be absolutely horrible. Some teachers didn’t end up starting school until October! Relatively speaking, our family did all right.
So the first thing that I did when I arrived in Saudi was to go for my medical. Even though we had comprehensive tests done in the US, apparently we could have contracted cholera in the two months since those tests. These were pretty routine. Blood, urine, stool, and chest x-ray.
One month later, Lindsey and Simon at their medical on the first day in Saudi
After those tests were processed I was issued with my Iqama. This took about 3-4 days in total. With that, we could start the process to get Simon’s visa and have the family reunited.
Unfortunately, Eid happened at the end of August, so we had to wait another week because all government offices were shut.
While we waited, Lindsey decided to take Simon to her father’s cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. As I waited for Simon and Lindsey, I continued to go through the barrage of bureaucracy that awaits any new resident to Saudi Arabia.
This card is basically your life
Steps to becoming a normal person in Saudi
The weird thing about Saudi is that it is extremely advanced and completely backwards at the same time. In order to do anything, you need a phone. Your Iqama, bank account, basically everything requires a phone number. Everything is connected and usually there is two-factor authentication for everything (when you log into online banking they send you a temporary pin as a text). In addition, things are connected so if I were to get a speeding ticket, it automatically shows up on my Iqama account online and I can automatically pay it online on my bank account. This system seems much more advanced than in the US.
At the same time, things break down because many people here don’t want to do any work. The term is Inshallah, which means God willing. You usually tag it onto the end of a sentence when you think it won’t happen anytime soon. For example, “We may be able to get you your driver’s license today, inshallah.” This translates to, “You will receive this in a week and a half”
Despite this attitude, within about one month/5 weeks, I was able to get the following done:
Medical exam
Iqama
SIM card for phone (which you need an Iqama)
Bank Account (you need a phone to open)
Driver’s License – The best part of this is that someone from the school took my eye test for me!
Buy a car (no-interest car loan from the school!)
Registration and Auto Insurance
Not too bad considering it’s Saudi Arabia. We were able to get everything done for Lindsey (minus the driver’s license) in a couple of weeks too.
Yes this looks exactly like my Iqama but it is my Driver’s License that gets confusing
Settling in to Life here
Things have been going pretty well in the first few months. We lead a mostly quiet life. I think we are homebodies by nature.
The most important thing was to make sure that we can have all of the creature comforts from home. That means setting up our Virtual Private Network so that we can get all of the TV from home. Not only does a VPN allow you to surf the internet privately, but you can also mask where you are located. Basically, I can trick people into thinking that I am on the internet in the US. After research, we decided to go with Express VPN (click on the link for a free month!) This means that we can watch Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, HBO, etc. This has normalized our life a bit, and Simon (and Mommy and Daddy!) can still watch his favorite shows. This currently is Channel Zero: No-End House on Syfy. (Although I suspect that I am more into it than Lindsey)
It was also very important for us to get a car. School does provide bus transport, but having a car means that we can go exploring a bit more and freedom. Since there is basically nothing to do in Saudi Arabia, that entails going to the supermarket or the mall. What we have learned in our excursions, is that no one seems to care about Simon screaming his head off or throwing a temper tantrum because every kid here seems to be doing that. The food court at dinner time is something to behold!
Our little Kia Sportage
The last thing that I will mention is that daily life has definitely been easier for us than in the states. We have housekeeping that comes twice a week to clean. Every Thursday, I have my car cleaned (inside and out) for $7. We have also already saved a ton of money!
Each one of these is worth $133
Future Plans
One of the reasons for going abroad is to travel. We have a couple of trips lined up. We are off to Bahrain this weekend to relax. For Christmas break we are off to Oman. Hopefully we will have more to post soon!
