Part 7

When I wake up it’s afternoon and the Imam is holding the Asr-sermon. It’s the fourth sermon of the day. There are six prayers over the day, but five prayer times. The sunrise prayer doesn’t count as prayer time and people don’t need to go to the mosque.

Thoughts race through my head. Images and sounds mingle and I feel very tired. “Ma’aden?” I hear the driver ask and shudder. Why I could not give him an answer? Well, Ma’aden is the company behind the project. The company owns several mines in the area and it is our job to educate and train their future employees. My place of work is called Saudi Mining Polytechnic. I and my fellow colleagues on the other hand, are employed by the Canadian company Canadian Petroleum Services, which provides the English language teachers for the first year students. The second year students are taken over by the people of the University of Missouri. Confused? So am I.

Then come images from Riyadh. Anes is not a tourist guide per se, he holds a higher ranked position in the Canadian company and also works in one of the universities in Riyadh. However, he receives the language teachers when they arrive in Riyadh and takes care of them for a few days and guides them around.  

“Why am I here and not being flown directly to ‘Ar’ar?” I asked him.
“So that you won’t get a shock and think the whole country is like ‘Ar’ar” he said.
But retrospectively I have to say, that I didn’t like Riyadh. Too big, too chaotic, too modern, too many building sites, faceless, characterless, etc. I had visions and images of 1001 nights in my head and didn’t see anything like it. It’s a super-modern city like many western cities. I could stay at home if I wanted to see skyscrapers and modern buildings.
‘Ar’ar seems to be different, at least from the little I saw in the morning.
When I get up I notice that my shoes have changed position. The cleaner must have been here and I didn’t even notice it. In this part of the world you have personnel, whether you like it or not. The cleaner comes six times a week to clean the flat, there are security people who are in charge of the security and well-being of the ‘Expats’ (modern, high-qualified Gastarbeiter – western workers, or well-paid mules who do the work the locals won’t do or are not able to do, as my project manager Murray says). If you don’t get a company car, they will provide you with a driver who will pick you up and drive you to work and back. And there are thousand of other people who are in charge and take care of your well-being. The best you can do is to become friends will all of them. Also very important is to be friendly to all the staff and give a tip, especially to the cleaner. This way, you’ll have everything you need and be treated like a king.
My colleagues have returned from work and Murray is knocking at my door. He offers me tea and something to eat and because I need to wash my clothes, my colleagues organise washing powder and extra clothes I can wear while my things are being washed and dried. In the course of the afternoon, I get to know all my colleagues. Two Brits, three Bengalis and three Pakistanis, one of them holds a Canadian passport. I’ve met the Egyptian already. That’s the team.
I feel right at home. Everyone is so helpful and friendly and they know a lot about me through Murray. Because I cannot memorise all the names immediately, I play ‘memory’ in my head.
When all go to bed, I stay awake for a long time. I am excited about my first day at work and try to imagine how it would be.

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