San Migs
- 2012-05-31
I would avoid going there if I was you.
You won't be able to get a cold beer, nor a pizza with pork, or any sausages.
The UAE is far more liberal by comparison.
Marie W
- 2012-05-31
Hi, I am off to Saudi to teach in a Women's university and will live in a compound, but it is shared. This is a huge concern for me - i want to know if I can arrange to live alone somehow in the compound? Who do you negotiate this with? Your school? The guy who owns the compound? I am not a kid and never liked that arrangement even when I was. Please advise anyone living in shared accommodation. I am very surprised in Saudi you have to share. Thanks. RSVP asap.
D-Dan
- 2012-05-01
Ok, I stand by my original comment regarding the British teachers. I don't know what it is, but they just have this odd sense of self importance about them! They are so cliquey and distant! As with all things this is not a general rule, I have met some English ESL Teachers who have been a laugh riot and really grounded and fun to be with. The majority however are just soooo distant and introverted! Why is this???
San Migs
- 2012-04-27
I don't know what it is, but Saudi Arabia seems to attract some of the oddest ESL teachers you will ever meet!! I have also noticed that the main bulk of loons seem to come from the British Isles! No surprises there then!
Even though I am a brit, I can agree. Tell me though is the story of the teacher who stripped off in front of his students and it got put on youtube real?! If so, what a loon!!
Howard
- 2012-04-27
I have also noticed that the main bulk of loons seem to come from the British Isles! No surprises there then! In the end I met some nice guys and gals and we often sat around laughing at all the past nutters we had met when first arriving.
Reading what you have posted, as per the above, makes me think of all the British loons I've run into here in mainland China over the years, a motley crew indeed!
Actually, we could do with more Australians over here. They know how to party and run after the local females. I think having a good time abroad is of paramount importance, and the Aussie blokes I've come across certainly do that!
D-Dan
- 2012-04-27
Hahahaha, you have hit the nail on the head!!! I have been laughing for the past 5 minutes at your comment regarding expat teachers in Saudi. The teachers there are without a doubt a mixed bag of absolute nuts! I met some of the strangest, most whacked out loons I have ever met in my life in Saudi! I have even started writing a book on my time in the KSA and in particular the other teachers that I worked with! I found that they fitted into 3 groups, total social recluses, boarder line psychopaths and the 'Oh my God, I actually think he is autistic' group. As my time passed in Saudi I did notice that the fruit cakes started to leave or were forceable removed from the country by the Saudi officials! I don't know what it is, but Saudi Arabia seems to attract some of the oddest ESL teachers you will ever meet!! I have also noticed that the main bulk of loons seem to come from the British Isles! No surprises there then! In the end I met some nice guys and gals and we often sat around laughing at all the past nutters we had met when first arriving.
San Migs
- 2012-04-26
Do not let isolated incidents form your opinion of a country you have never been to.
I do not have to go there, to know that I, and others included, would NOT like it. Even silverboy has stated it would be no fun.
Most of the ex-saudi teaching crowd I met in the Sultanate, fell into 1 of 2 camps, either insane, or edging on it, or borderline alcoholic, or even more sadly, both mixed together.
I knew 3 teachers all of whom I considered friends, and let's just say they couldn't get to sleep at night unless they had been down to the local hotel bar or been drinking at home. That is pretty sad if you ask me, no matter how much money the KSA may offer.
And I also am not interested in a country where they cut peoples heads off, if they don't get a clean cut, what then? The baying, chanting crowd is medieval and primitive and I just cannot and do not want to be a part of that for any amount of money.
Kind Regards and Good Luck,
San Migs
D-Dan
- 2012-04-26
San Mig your view of KSA is so wrong! Saudi people are really good people. Do not let isolated incidents form your opinion of a country you have never been to.
San Migs
- 2012-04-25
http://eltworld.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4252&sid=c08d0368436b89dfdccd8b689c8805c8
I still think I would avoid it.
Any country where people stand round and laugh at a nurse being killed, and locking girls inside a burning building for the crime of being improperly dressed, is not one high on my wishlist of places to travel. Lest we forget, you get caught distilling booze or drunk....and then what awaits?
I'd rather be somewhere drinking is legal and not worrying about don't ask, don't tell.
Ms. J
- 2012-04-24
Compounds really are much better living conditions. Saudi is a great place to save. If you can be alone for periods of time it is great. There is plenty of partying going on behind the compound walls. Don't let look deceive you. Saudi operates on a 'don't ask, don't tell' system...
D-Dan
- 2012-04-23
I am currently living and teaching in the KSA. I am not on a compound either and I can tell you that living in an apartment block does get very boring indeed!
There is nothing, and I mean nothing to do! At least on a compound there are facilities such as swimming pools, gyms, BBQ pits and social meeting areas and activities.
In the block I am in most of the other teachers lock themselves into their apartments and don't surface again until the next working day. There are a few people who hang out and chat, but the majority are socially void. There really is nothing to do in KSA, no bars, no cinemas , no beach, no clubs, nothing. I have recently joined a US society that meets every couple of weeks, so I will see how that works out. I agree with the Golden Snitch, the companies in Saudi really do need to put their teachers on compounds, otherwise more and more teachers will pack up and make a break for it in the middle of the night.
San Migs
- 2012-04-22
You will most likely be placed in a rented housing block with other teachers. It is boring, it is isolating and it is just plain depressing!!! The apartments are sparsely furnished and are not secure in the least. If you are of an uneasy disposition, I really think that this is not the ideal country for you. ESL schools and colleges in KSA really do not have the faintest idea about western social living and human contact. If you are not offered compound accommodation then refuse to teach here!
Nothing new there, the situation in the sultanate is EXACTLY the same.
Now from what I have heard, and what Turnoi has said, a compound is no better, just a place where you can let off steam in the desert sun, isolated from everything. And what if you don't get along with or like your fellow FT's? You could be in for a year of hot hell, with no cold beer, literally.
Personally, I would never even visit that country.
A word to the wise. If you are thinking about teaching in Saudi Arabia please keep in mind that it is very, very unlikely you will be given compound accommodation.
You will most likely be placed in a rented housing block with other teachers. It is boring, it is isolating and it is just plain depressing!!! The apartments are sparsely furnished and are not secure in the least. If you are of an uneasy disposition, I really think that this is not the ideal country for you. ESL schools and colleges in KSA really do not have the faintest idea about western social living and human contact. If you are not offered compound accommodation then refuse to teach here! The schools can more than afford compound living for their staff, but they would rather pinch the pennies and see teachers hop a plane in the middle of the night due to shear boredom.