Friday, May 27, 2011

Brunch at the Four Seasons

So as my time in Saudi Arabia is wrapping up, I'm trying to fit in all the things that I have been meaning to do, but have never quite gotten around to doing. Near the top of this list was the infamous brunch at the Four Seasons, and let me tell you it is amazing. I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in food. Yummm!!

Its not cheap- we spent about 330 SAR a person- that's roughly $85 US. Its held on friday's from 12:30 till 4. We made a reservation, and showed up at 12:30, and the place was completely empty. It started to fill up after 1pm and when we left at 2:30 it was packed. There are several stations including an Italian, Asian, Indian, and my personal favourite Sushi!! Sushi is my most favourite meal, and they had deliciously fresh sashimi. They also had an enormous assortment of seafood, and it was all delicious.
 Now, on to the desserts. Two words....chocolate fountain. Several different types of Creme Brule, an ice cream station, crepe station, and a waffle station. There was an entire dessert section that we almost missed, and by the time we found it we were far to full to indulge.

 The crowd was a lovely mix of Westerners, and Saudis. Kids had their own section, although many families chose to do as Saudis do and let their kids run wild through the place. I had to restrain myself from wanting to discipline a few of the more energetic ones. All in all, a lovely culinary experience. The one bonus is that women must wear an abaya, which left us free to wear stretch pants underneath, so we could eat till our tummy's content!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Countdown is on...........

So, I have 6 1/2 weeks left, and the time is flying by!! I have tons of things to do, but not really feeling super motivated at the moment. Mumkin (maybe) its the heat, since its now getting above 40C here. I officially will be starting back at my old job July 25th. Am feeling like a need to do a major nursing refresher, as my nursing skills have fallen to the way side here. Pretty sure my VIP ass kissing skills aren't going to come in handy when I return home!! Its been quite some time (possibly the entire time I've been gone) since I had an acutely ill patient. I make a mean servant here, but maybe not the best real-life nurse. Inshallah, it will all come back to me- like riding a bike again!!

As it gets closer to leaving, the list of things I miss gets longer. Sadly, the many varieties of proper alcohol often repeat on my list. I miss my peeps, my gay boyfriend, and anything resembling getting dressed up in costume and pub crawling. Am so looking forward to being a short trip accross the border from my family. That's really all thats new. Will be booking my flght home later this week. Need to look into shipping my stuff. My roomie is leaving this week, and my closest Kiwi mate in a month. It's Masalama Time!!!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Mis-Communication

While charting at a computer the other afternoon, a doctor who I have never seen before sat down next to me. He leaned over, and in a very think accent said what sounded to me like "Do you have painful urination?" I looked at him said "excuse me?" He again repeated the same thing. At first I was thinking this is the strangest pick-up line of all time. I relied with an irritated "What?" He then pulled his pen out and dangled it in my face and said much clearer "Do you have a pen for donation." Wowzers- I started laughing, while passing him my pen and told him what I thought he had said. He looked super mortified, and coudn't get away from me fast enough. No doctor, I do not have painful urination, thank you for asking!!!

Bin Who Dat??

So the other day I walked into work, and the place was abuzz with gossip, and not the normal run of the mill news. My friends back home were messaging me asking "are you ok?" and "be safe." So I knew something was up. One of my co-workers quickly filled me in that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. My first thoughts were "that guy is still missing?" Cause lets be honest, I see someone who could be his twin on a nearly weekly basis being here. It's all I can do to not speed-dial the CIA hotline with reports of his supposed location. But seriously, this just adds another reason to the ongoing tally of reasons why I should probably get the eff out of the Middle East.

Not that this isn't amazing news for Americans, or for other Western countries, but it does make those of us here a little more leary about our safety, and gives my friends and family another reason to worry. Unfortunately, being a blond Westerner, you sortof stand out in these parts! So, what has the last week been like? No different than the one before. There was talk that embassy events would be canceled, but this didn't happen. The security to get into our comound is as lax as ever- the last 5 times I've come back my car hasn't been stopped or searched. The VIP entrance to the hospital remians unmaned most hours of the day. Anywho- that's all the news from these parts. I did get to inform 2 co-workers of mine, a Saudi and a Jordanian about the news, and they immedicately switched into talking Arabic in front of me, and told me they were saying a prayer for Bin Laden.