Move to and Life in Saudi Arabia
Charlotte got her own car for shopping.
The palm trees in the community get trimmed by guys who climb barefoot up to the top.
We turned the guest bedroom into an indoor patio room for Summer get togethers.
Searched everywhere for a large dog bed for Lily. Turns out, the medium size would have been plenty big enough.
Nothing too exciting going on with COVID-19 still around. Curfew has ended. Businesses and restaurants are open. Still restrictions on social distancing and requirement to wear masks at all times. I was told at a security checkpoint to put my mask on inside my car. I had my mask pulled down because I was eating McDonald’s French fries.
There are signs everywhere reminding you what to do.
Restaurants no longer have menus. You use the QR code to get the menu on your cell phone.
Today was my first day back in the office. Only about 10% of people are going in. Masks have to be worn at all times. Temperature is checked at all entrances. You are not allowed to touch doors. The dining hall has all the tables spread far apart with only 1 chair at each table. Everybody stands far apart when they talk, but generally avoid each other. I don’t know what the point is of being in the office.
It is routinely over 110 degrees. I have verified that your face doesn’t melt in temperatures as high as 114, but generally it is best to avoid the heat.
After 6pm temperatures drop below 100 making a perfect opportunity for walking. The dog walks are at night on lighted walkways. Charlotte also walks the dog at 6am before it gets too hot.
I also verified that you cannot go outside barefoot during the day. I thought the sand in the courtyard that was in the shade could be walked on. The shaded sand, the sand in the sun and the sidewalk quickly burn your feet.
Lily is considered a desert dog. Coloring and size is common in local dogs. Lily loves the hot sand. she seems well adapted to the heat.
Temperature routinely hits 105 degrees. Charlotte has an arbitrary rule that she can’t go out if it’s over 100. Charlotte claims there are two temperatures, F…ing hot and really F…ing hot. Lily doesn’t mind the hot temperature as much.
Ramadan ends today and is followed by Eid which is a 5 day holiday. During the holiday it is again 24 hour curfew. Nobody is allowed to leave house without government permission even to go to the grocery store. There is a website where you apply for permission to travel. I have a week off of work, but am unable to go anywhere or do anything.
Charlotte has several activities lined up for the week. Have me install garage door opener (complete). The puzzle has been started. The badminton net is set-up ready to play. Charlotte is doing arts and crafts for the sand garden. Also watching lots of TV including Ultimate Tag, The Big Flower Fight and Nailed It (US, Mexico and France versions).
I have been riding my Peloton. Lily took a break from trying to bite my shoes and pedals.
Thursday new guidelines will be issued by the government for the curfew and quarantine. I expect to be working from home for at least a few more weeks.
Free movement from 9am to 5pm extended until May 22nd. Now all gatherings are prohibited in Aramco communities. Gatherings of 5 people used to be allowed. May 22nd to May 27th is the Eid holiday and I’ll be off work. During the holiday, it will be 24 hour curfew with no freedom of movement.
For the past 8 weeks, Charlotte and I have had 3 activities. (1)Wait around until 9am to take dog on a walk. (2) At 4pm, my work ends so we immediately go outside to walk dog until 5pm, lingering outside until a few minutes before 5pm. At 4Pm, sidewalks are filled with people walking, jogging, biking. Kids are riding bikes all over the place. At 5pm it is a ghost town, quiet, not at person to be seen.
Charlotte and I bring the chicken and the lamb. We bring the dog for entertainment. Gustav and the other guys at the BBQ have been here 6 months alone without their families. There is still no timetable for when their families will be able to move to Saudi Arabia.
(3) The third activity was BBQ South African style. We have a group of 5 who would gather to BBQ chicken and lamb. This is a 4 to 5 hour event. Our friend Gustav is from South Africa and loves grilling out. He always refers to it as BBQ. He is very particular about the process. He only uses lump charcoal, never Propane or charcoal briquettes. The meat is always marinated before hand and during cooking. The marinade is homemade. Grilled cheese is made on the grill as a side for the meal.
We have been doing a BBQ nearly every weekend. Now all group gatherings are banned along with BBQ.
37 Celsius is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit which is normal body temperature. The temperature camera at the commissary automatically reads your temperature and declares “temperature normal” as you enter.
37 Celsius is also the high temperature of the day with days occasionally hitting 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We still sit outside and go on walks everyday, but it is pushing the limits of what is comfortable.
My Saudi co-workers keep reminding me, it’s not hot yet. 50 Celsius is considered hot. 122 degrees Fahrenheit. I am already preparing Charlotte for the photo opportunity she will be in to show people what it feels like in 50 Celsius heat.
Temperature checked at entrance to store. Then we were given hand sanitizer, gloves and masks to wear in the store.
Gatherings of no more than 5 people are allowed during the hours of 9 to 5 am. The last 3 weekends we have met at someone’s house for late lunch. At 4:30pm, everyone starts to pack up to leave so there is plenty of time to get home before 5pm. The threat of a $2500 fine for being out past 5pm is real.
The 24 hour quarantine was lifted a few days ago. There is free movement allowed from 9am to 5pm. My bike arrived on Thursday after a 5 month trip on a container ship. At 9am on Friday I went for my first ride. Weekends in Saudi Arabia are Friday and Saturday so this was the first weekend in about 6 weeks were people were allowed outside of their homes.
At 9am it was 90 plus degrees outside. Nobody seemed to care. People were outside in droves. I must have encountered 10 or more groups of bikers. I followed a few groups. Many groups passed me. All waved as they passed.
I ended up riding 15 kilometers until my water ran out. I am way out of shape. I am going to be doing recovery rides for the rest of the year. I did my second ride on Saturday.
The roads in camp are smooth and in good shape. There is very little traffic. Cars are very courteous to bikers. I joined the bike club, but the group rides have been suspended due to Covid-19. There is a maximum of 3 bikes allowed to be riding together per the social distancing guidelines. Every group I saw was 3 bikes or less. The bike club has been pushing the members to follow the guidelines to avoid having bike riding banned.
Our sea shipment arrived after 5 months. There was a one month delay to to Covid-19.
Everything arrived intact including my bike and Peloton.
Workers moved, unpacked all of the stuff and assembled furniture, beds and shelves.
Christian Religious items are not allowed to be shipped to Saudi Arabia. We double checked everything to make sure no banned items were packed. Then we find this box labeled “Xmas tree” by the shipping company. It’s not even a Christmas tree, but it made it through customs.
Now we have a king size sleep number bed to replace the small double bed with the uncomfortable mattress. The house feels a little bit more like home and the dog loves the new rug.
The only activity still allowed now that we are on 24 hour lock down is bird watching in the back yard. My favorite bird is the Eurasian Hoopoe that loves our yard. The Hoopoe uses its long beak to probe the grass looking for worms and grubs.
This bird has been trying to build a nest in the garage. I am waiting to install a garage door opener once my tools arrive from the USA. Garage door openers are not standard on the houses so most people leave the garage doors open all the time. There is zero threat of theft in the community.
Matthew of Arabia