Another Year in Saudi

The hiring season for international teachers is much different than for teachers in domestic schools.  In the United States, many teachers get hired from April-August.  For international schools, many teachers have to give notice in October or November.  This means that, most often, teachers have to give notice before securing another job for the following year.  Talk about stressful!

With all of that being said, we have decided to sign another one year contract for our school in Saudi Arabia for the 2019-20 school year.  Before taking this decision, we took a look at a variety of factors.  A big part is the hassle of moving.  Breaking down and setting up a new home is a big transition for a toddler (and us too).  We felt it easier to stay another year, plus Simon seems to be happy here.  Also, an extra year gives us more stability on our résumés.   Since I’ve moved around quite a bit in my career, staying longer will be more attractive to schools down the road.

Financially, it is an excellent decision.  As part of our benefits, we received an interest-free car loan.  Next year, we will no longer have that loan and will have an extra $800/month of savings! (plus a fully paid-off car to sell later on)

Female Driving

Another big event is that Lindsey got her driver’s license this month! This summer, Saudi Arabia finally lifted the ban on female drivers in the country.  Being Saudi Arabia, not everything is equal.  When I got my license, I just needed to show my translated American license to receive a Saudi license.  Lindsey also had to take a driving test.  I will now let her take over to tell you about that experience:

After months of allowing other women to blaze the trail of bureaucracy of driving in Saudi, I have finally jumped through the final hoop and am now a proud holder of a Saudi driver’s license.  The process was cumbersome, but the steps are surprisingly easy to put into writing.  I am a sponsored hire so the process was easier for me

than for a woman who is a dependent on her husband’s iqama (national ID).

 

1- Translate United States (Florida) driver’s license into Arabic.  There are companies to do this as it needs to be an official translation.

 

2- Fill out an application of medical form and have medical done; specifically, eyesight and blood type are tested.  The medical facility uploads the report.

 

3- Pay (spoiler alert, this can actually be done after the whole process is complete, but more on that soon*)

 

4- Schedule driver’s test.  This was a frustrating pain in the butt! After determining the appropriate browser to use to be able to do this, I had to wait for the stars to align for the website to be functioning.  As near as I could tell, this would occur for about 5 minutes every 3rd hour of the day.

 

5- Driver’s test: Drive 30 feet, U-turn, parallel park, roundabout, return to point of origin.

 

6- My husband had to add me as a legal driver on “his” car.  I’m not sure what happens if this step is not taken but I am sure that I never want to find out.

So that’s that. I can drive in Saudi Arabia

 

*I had issues paying because this has to be done through your bank account and seemed to be operational with the same frequency and duration as the scheduling system, but I’m pretty sure that system and the bank system take turns and do not operate at the same time.

As a side note, anecdotally, the men seem to be really on board with female driving (for the most part).  It is pretty cool to see husbands/fathers/brothers cheering on their wives/daughters/sisters through the driving test.

Net Worth update

Our net worth went up $2,191 this month.  We recovered a bit from the horribleness that was October.  Our investments increased a bit more, but we had to pay some money out for our Airbnb in Scotland for Winter Break.  We use Personal Capital to keep track of our net worth.

Click Here to Get started with Personal Capital.  It’s Free!

On our bookshelf

We went on a bit of a splurge at our local bookshop this month and bought some books.   Our compound also has some shared books in the quasi-library that we borrow.  As an aside, we do miss having access to the public library! Talk about the ultimate frugal activity!

Kevin

I read two books in the month of November.  The first book I bought and the second book I got from the library at the compound.

Having grown up in the 1980s, I really enjoyed Ready Player One.  I have not seen the movie, but the previews look like a very different story from the book.  It is of the dystopian future variety in which people escape the problems of the world by entering this multi-player game network called OASIS.  Before the original inventor died, he created this scavenger hunt with the winner becoming the heir to the fortune of the game.  With all of the 80s references, it was quite a quick and enjoyable read.

I used to watch the movie, Von Ryan’s Express starring Frank Sinatra as a kid with my dad.  It is about a group of Allied officers in a POW camp in Italy.  On the eve of the Allied advance in Italy, they are moved to Germany by train where they attempt a daring escape by taking the train over and driving it to Switzerland.  I thought the book was good as well, and I liked how the ending between the book and movie are completely different.  Both are enjoyable. 

Lindsey

Lindsey read The Host by Stephanie Meyer (of the Twilight series fame). From Lindsey:

I’m comfortable enough in my adulthood to admit that I enjoyed the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer.  I allow myself that.  I will also admit to enjoying the books more than the movies and so I went forward and bought another Stephanie Meyer science fiction book, The Host, when I saw it in the bookstore in Saudi.

 

The main character is from a parasitic race that has taken over the bodies of almost all humans on Earth.  They are not malicious but need host bodies to survive and enjoy experiencing other planets.  The humans do not take too kindly to having their bodies repurposed in this way and there exist pockets of resistance and some human consciousnesses are able to survive in the minds of the host bodies they have overtaken.  The main character takes up residence in such a body and the book follows her struggle with the resident consciousness.

 

It is an interesting and light read for sci-fi enthusiasts.  In my opinion, it is slightly too long but I had the same opinion of the Twilight series as well.  I recommend this book.

Simon

Simon got this book for his birthday this summer.  It is still one of his favorites.  It is like Inception for children!  It is a book within a book!  Very fun read!

How did your November turn out? Leave a comment below!