Wednesday, June 23, 2010 8
Newbie in Saudi? You're lucky, says the grump.
I'm sharing with you a part of my experience, young person! Count yourself lucky...
This is dedicated to all Pinoys who are just starting to be OFWs in Saudi (or anywhere else in the world)! To you, newbies in Saudi!
Let's cut to the chase. You are luckier than I. (Except perhaps in the aspect of salaries. With the rate of inflation during the past ten years, your starting salary should already be at least four or five times than when I started in Saudi. Why you are receiving the same rate that I received ten years ago is beyond me, really.).
No matter how you put it (and please stop watching too much soaps on tv because I think that's where you get your being dramatic), you are far, far luckier than I.
Listen: When I started in Saudi, these facilities were not around: e-mail, internet, cellphones, free-to-air channels, The Filipino Channel, PinoyTV, etc.
All I had were the following:
1/ Public payphones where we continuously insert huge one-Riyal coins so the lines won't get cut off;
2/ One English station on television (c/o Saudi Aramco) which starts every 3pm on a Friday and 6pm on weekdays, and would show reruns of old English shows;
3/ Voice tapes where you'd hear all sorts of things the full 60 minutes (I remember my mom singing a church song in between sobs);
4/ Snail mails every month where one envelope would contain letters from my mother and father and sister written separately in various types and sizes of papers;
5/ A radio station (Channel 91.4) where I would constantly hear country music (it's still on until today playing Top 40 hits);
6/ Pizza Hut and Tamimi Market in Corniche (today, Corniche is lined up with various high-end restaurants and Alkhobar has more than five huge malls to while away your time with);
7/ Yes, I can travel to Riyadh but I need to have a travel permit from my company before I can board a bus or a train or a plane (nowadays, all you need is your iqama to travel to anywhere within Saudi Arabia).
Today, you have cellphones and call cabins and Skype and YM to communicate with your loved ones in a flick of a finger. There are also various places to go to during weekends, and there are countless tv programs to watch. Music and latest movies can be readily accessed on the internet.
There's so much newbies can do to get rid of their boredom and loneliness and homesickness.
So before you become overly dramatic about your current state, think of me who survived Saudi in the early 90's.
