Yet Another Break

by

I know I’m just back from a break, but I’m afraid I have to take yet another break, because my finals have been rescheduled earlier than I expected. Anyways, I’ll be back after 2-3 weeks. Wish me luck.

41 thoughts on “Yet Another Break”

  5. hi,

    I saw your blog being mentioned in today’s Saudi Gazette. Very favorable review of you and your blog. Well done. I am sure there are more people reading your blog than you think! Keep it up!

    Mansur

  8. im new to the blog world an ive got so many stories to tell about saudi….not all bad of course… the recent one is here!!
    having done 110 on a road that had a speed limit of 120, i was stopped bu the police…( he reason im so sure that i wasnt doing 120 cos my car starts squeaking if it goes above that limit and i hate the constant TUN TUNG TUNG so i never… never activate it) i once decided to suppress myself and be co-operative….and u will see in a mi nute where this civility landed me… any way….while he took my iqama..i saw many other cars who must have been going well above 120 but the police mana decide to ignore them… he told me to follow him which i did and on his way he colloected 4 other expats witht him.. iwas in a glad that i wasnt the only one… and that others are beig fines too…although they all happen to be non-saudi…. when the poiceman stopped at a place i never thougt existed because it was so far out of jeddah…ive measured every street and road in the last 7 years but never knew this place existed… and it was huge… around 10000 cars parked there covered with 10in on dust… i was tols to park my car aong them .. i hesitated for which i was given a mouthful…. didnt understand a word…. though i did managed to catch ‘Kalb’ (dog)… and i assumed that he wasnt being nice.. so parked my car and hoped to get a ticket soon…but was disappointed…10m later i was being dragged into a dingy little pickup with tiny little holes at the back instead of the wimdows.. yes it the kind of truch used to carry criminals… i had promised my self to be calm and quiet..and was keeping this promise…after 30 minutes drive we stopped at ‘ police station, ….this was the first time i ever stepped inside a police station…there is police station just round the corner from i live in the uk but never felt the temptation to look inside and here i was being dragged into one……..it was a ver busy place..everyone turned aroung to look at us coming out of the truck probably wondering we must have deserved this.. Any was..once in ..another set of forms were filled in and i was asked to empty my pockets.. .. as i put my hand into my pocket i saw where they were taking the other guys that came me.. i quickly phoned a friend …told hie where i was..and handed the phone over…. for the first time in my life.. i was being put behind bars.. yes i was locked up for good 3 hours…before someone came and announced that if we dont wast to spend the night in the lock then we have to give 900SR to leave now.. i was too happy to empty my pocket.. so here it is … my experince of being behind bars for a traffic offence i didnt commit

  9. im new to the blog world an ive got so many stories to tell about saudi….not all bad of course… the recent one is here!!
    having done 110 on a road that had a speed limit of 120, i was stopped by the police…( the reason im so sure that i wasnt doing 120 cos my car starts squeaking if it goes above that limit and i hate the constant TUN TUNG TUNG so i never… never activate it) i once decided to suppress myself and be co-operative….and u will see in a minute where this civility landed me… any way….while he took my iqama..i saw many other cars that must have been going well above 120 but the police man decided to ignore them… he told me to follow him which i did …. and on his way he colloected 4 other expats …. iwas glad in a way cos it meant that i wasnt the only one… and that others are beig fined too…although they all happen to be non-saudi….and we all now that saudis are not the best of drivers to say the least…but lets not get into that for now… when the poiceman stopped..my mouth fell wide open …ive measured every street and road of jeddah in the last 7 years but never knew this place existed… and it was huge… around 10000 cars parked there all covered with 10in of dust… i was told to park my car among them .. i hesitated for which i was given a mouthful…. didnt understand a word…. though i did managed to catch ‘Kalb’ (dog)… and i assumed that he wasnt being nice.. so parked my car and hoped to get a ticket soon…but was disappointed…10m later i was being dragged into a dingy little pickup with tiny little holes at the back instead of the wimdows.. yes it the kind of truck used to carry criminals… i had promised my self to be calm and quiet..and was keeping this promise so far…after 30 minutes we stopped at ‘ police station, ….this was the first time i ever stepped inside a police station…there is a police station just round the corner from i live in the uk but never felt the temptation to look inside and here i was being dragged into one……..it was a ver busy place..everyone turned aroung to look at us coming out of the truck probably wondering we must have deserved this.. Any way..once in ..another set of forms were filled in and i was asked to empty my pockets.. .. as i put my hand into my pocket i saw where they were taking the other guys that came with me.. i quickly phoned a friend …told him where i was..and handed the phone over…. for the first time in my life.. i was being put behind bars.. yes i was locked up for good 3 hours…..after what seemd like eternity police officer came came and announced that we could be released if we hand over 900SR …..i was prepared to give 9000 to get out …. so here it is … my experince of being behind bars for a traffic offence i didnt commit

  10. I just found your blog and must commend you for your voice of reason and guts to post what you do. I’m an American and lived in Jeddah for 5 and a half years, working for Lockheed Martin. Your story of the traffic stop sounded much like my own, except I don’t speak Arabic and the cops didn’t speak much English. They drove me around for 45 minutes, away from town, and everytime I asked a question (Are you going to take me into the desert and shoot me?) The answer was “No problem”. Not a good feeling. That and I ended up missing an important test. After the events of 9/11 and the Saudis I worked with cheering the deaths of all those people and the destruction of all that property, I decided to leave Saudi Arabia.
    The only good thing I got out of my stay there was I met my wife there. Only place in the world where I, an American, would have met my wife, an Indian.
    Good luck and more power to you!

  12. I am a new blogger in the blogging world and i find your posts very interesting. I guess I have to thank you!! Got Loads of questions about how one can live a normal life in such a restrictive environment like Saudi. Good luck in your exams and keep us posted!

  15. Nice blog. I just discovered it and it is fantastic. As a 25 year old ski bum in Aspen CO USA reading your blog just reaffirms my long held belief that young adults, and all people for that matter, are basically the same and want the same things out of life. Unfortunately your country and many in the region get bad press here but rest assured, those of us in the US who have half a brain know that it is only a few bad apples spoiling the whole bunch and that most of you are perfectly normal, reasonable people, just like most of us, despite the bad press we may get over there. Good luck on your exams. One of the best days of my life thus far was when I graduated college and new that any exams I took for the rest of my life would be ones I chose to take. Keep up the blogging and maybe we can all affect some positive change.

  17. This is my first time visiting your blog but I love it already! Good luck on your exams… I am sure you will do well!

  18. hey! it was great reading your blog and pretty nostalgic too since i lived in KSA myself for a few years. the ‘shurtas’ are still very much themselves i see:). All the best with your exams

  19. I lived in Al-Khobar several years ago and I plan to teach at Prince Sultan University – Women’s College. How is the reputation of that school in Riyadh? I am also a Computer Science teacher here in the Philippines. I like your blog!

  31. I enjoyed Reading your Blog. This one was one of the Best I read today. Thank you
    I just added your blog to my book marks and will be checking back often.

    Bangalore

  32. Hello. Brand new to your blog (read it in its entirety today). It’s quite informative and fun, and reaffirms my belief that people are similar all over the world. I’m an American and a Jew — how far apart could we be? But reading your work makes me think — well, not that far! Good luck with everything! — Colin

  33. Good luck on your exams. I’ve just discovered you blog and think it’s fantastic. I’ve put a link to it on my new blog,if you don’t mind.

  34. ‘Awesomeness’!

    Your rant and raves sure knows how to get people hooked up reading and reading and reading..and reading. lol ;)

    Belated–Eid Mubarak..!

  36. Great blog! It is really great to get some insight, and you are a talented writer. I live in Germany, so I know how important football can be.

    Best of luck on your finals. Look forward to new posts in the future.

  37. Hello Ahmed,

    First of all , Eid Mubarak

    Second, Mabrouk for being one of the Blogs of note on blogger.com

    Third, wish you a very good luck on your exams.

    Regards

  39. I am a Gulf War US Marine vet who spent a total of 10 months in your country and 4 months in Kuwait. Saudi Arabia is in a league of own. People here in the US don’t understand how fucked up the society is, and of course when I a Marine tells them, they all think that I am nuts and things can’t be that bad. Well they are! It’s a shame I met some wonderful people over there. But fo the most part I found that most Saudi’s party harder than Americans (HASH). And the homosexual population is through the roof because the women have no say. Very hypocritical society!

  40. Interesting blog. Thanks to the internet, maybe it’s the young interaction that may finally bring peace to the world. Nothing else seems to have worked.

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