Caught me by surprise ...

After work we went home fast to get a grab to eat. At 18.00pm we were expected at the divingshop for our first lesson in the water.
First there was a little test about the things we were thaught yesterday. Everybody had to get 80% to succeed, which we all did.
Then off we went to the pool. The floor around it was all broken up for restoration so it was kind of a mess to walk around. Anyway, after a few minutes we were al geared-up and ready to jump in ... so far so good.
Then we had to submerge and there I suddenly got a flashback to when I was about 8 or 9 : my breath stopped and I panicked.
Strange ... as I didn't expect that at all. I remember I almost drowned when some-one jumped of a board and landed on my back. I couldn't get to the surface as I was momentarily paralised and I didn't have any air in me anymore. Luckily a man dragged me out of the pool in time. It's been so long ago, but it struck me like it happened yesterday.
I tried submurgeing again but I just couldn't calm down. It took me about 8 to 10 times before I finally got it and started to relax ... up to the emergency-exercises that is ... because #BAM !# and there I was being 8 years old again.
We were in the water for about 3 hours and I must say : I was getting used to breathing under water only in the last hour. Maybe the swimming part relaxed me and put my mind to other things. Anything better then just sitting on the bottom waiting for your turn to remove the goggles and putting them on again, right ?
Again tomorrow, I'm not giving up that easy. I wanna see fish in their habitat, and nothing's gonna stop me. We'll see what happens.

Diving course

A bunch of us guys gathered and decided to go on a diving course this week. All 6 of us have been wanting to do this for a long time, but actually never got to it due to lack of time, other hobbies, etc...
So Jens, one of the german collagues, made an appointment with a diving instructor, Rashid Moqbel, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Jubail. After signing the neccessary documents for insurance we are ready to go. After some exams we will receive a PADI license for open water certified by the UK bureau.

Normally the hotel charges 2000 SAR per person, but groups of minimum 6 get a discount. A short inquiry led up to 6 very fast : 2 germans, 2 french and 2 belgians. The course now costs 1500 SAR per person, which is a nice discount we can use to buy goggles, fins and other scuba-gear.
Yesterday was the first lesson, 6.00pm untill 8.30pm, explaining some physical and biological terms, the dangers that can occur while diving, the signs to make yourself understood, how the breathing apparatus works, what kinds there are, etc.
2.5 hours is a short time, but it was a brief summary of what we will learn during the next couple of days. Tonight we'll get the first lesson in the swimming pool and all of us are looking forward to it.

First Aid training ...

This morning at 08.30am we went to the First Aid training at TFO (Training Facility Offices).
Keeping the previous courses in mind and having been a Red Cross member for over 12 years back home, I wasn't expecting too much of it.
And my thoughts weren't realy that far off. There was a pretty quick overview of CPR (cardio pulmonary resusitation) with hardly any practical exercises and an even more concised summary of typical injuries and what to do to stabilise the victim.
But all of this was done in the morning, so I was looking forward to the practical stuff in the afternoon. It was a course from 08.30am till 03.30pm, so enough time left, right ?

... No ...

There was one Resusci Anne (Annie), as we call the doll, to perfrom CPR and one baby Anne (Annie). The trainer asked groups of 4 to come forward and do the exercise. Some guys only managed to blow air into the lunges once and the trainer found that sufficient enough and sent them back to their chairs.

To be honest, I hope I don't need to be rescued when they are on their shift...
At the end we got a "multiple answer"- test with 24 questions which by most of the group was solved in consultation with one-another.
We did get a nice book though, so hopefully some of them will read it.

Resusci Anne was developed by Norwegian toy maker Asmund Laerdal, based on the research of Peter Safar and James Elam, and was first introduced in 1960. The distinctive face of Resusci Anne was based on l'Inconnu de la Seine (the unknown of the Seine), the death mask of an unidentified young woman reputedly drowned in the Seine River around the late 1880s.

Got the Mitsu !

Today I finally got the car. Date to date it has taken 3 months exactly.
Me and Mark went to Al Khobar after I received an email stating the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport was waiting for me to be picked up.
I like the "color", I like the interior and it smells brand new, so what more can a guy ask for ! Thanks to my employer for the (temporary) gift.

I'm back !

Hey y'all, I'm back. 2 weeks ago I finally got my multiple re-entree visa and took the first plane home to see my wife and daughter after 2,5 months. So that's the reason it went quiet on here for some time.
The vacation in Belgium was good, but exhausting : as of the first day family and friends were dropping by or asked to come over. But it was fun. It felt so good to finally hold my wife and daughter again and seeing everyone. It hit me by surprise how much I missed them ...
The weather could have been a little nicer though. Coming back from a sunny 37 C into 5 C and raining wasn't that nice, was it ?
I had to take care of some belgian administration, and it made my stomach turn. I realy hate the way those people act ... lazy, unrespectful, careless, ....
Those days flew and before I knew it I was at the trainstation again, trading in my e-booking for a ticket on the Thallys from Antwerp to Amsterdam airport.
And guess what  ... the reservation I had was for a train that didn't exist and a seat that wasn't there as well. What a great way to start the journey. The guy at the counter said I had to call the KLM-desk because he couldn't help me, even when I showed him I had payed for it. No-one picked up the phone as was expected. But at the end I got another ticket on another train and made it to the airport just in time.
At the airport, customs did not accept my tax-refund ticket because I couldn't show them the item I had bought. It was in my luggage which had to be checked-in before you could enter the tax-free zone where the customs are !?! So how could I show it then !?! Man, ... I couldn't wait to get on the plane and get out of here.
When I arrived in Bahrayn after 17 hours, the taxi driver to bring me to KSA hadn't shown up. And I culdn't call them because the SIM-card we have from work doesn't work in Bahrayn. So far for their security policy of being reachable at all times huh. After 20 minutes some-one showed up and old me they had made a mistake : they went to the wrong airport. Strange, because I had confirmed the day before. Anyway, I finally dropped in bed around 02.30am. At 06.00am the first working day started, so I had to regain my strength a little, hence the late post.

As kinda promised the day before ...

So, here we are again. First an appology is due as I promised to write about the women's dress on Saterday, but didn't. I probably did to many things and was too tired to put up a post. Never-the-less, here it is ...

Women's dress

- All Saudi women wear the "abaya". A long, black robe which is opened like a coat. This robe can be embroidered and/or embellished with shiny areas or silver or gold threads. In the early days only black was allowed, but even the Saudi women are attracted to fashion, eventhough for us westerners it's still seems extremely little.

- Under the "abaya", Saudi women can wear all kinds of clothes : from pyjamas to the most extravagant garments. And these clothes are way more fashionable then we'd think. Just take a walk in the many shopping-malls and you'll be surprised.

- Allthough predominantly black, the Islamic veil comes in a variety of types and is even considered by some Saudi women as a fashion accessory. The Islamic veil is called a "niqab" when it only shows the eyes and a "hiyab" when the entire face is visible.

- The "batoola" is a rigid mask made from fabric (and not metal as one might think). It is becoming rare, but the elderly ladies can still be seen wearing them.

- Saudi women love accessories : sun-glasses (even for those who wear the "niqab"), gold, silver, diamonds, handbags, either brand names or fakes (often multi-colored), etc ...
- just like men, the quality of fabrics as well as the value of the accessories are the most visible signs of the socio-economic situation of a Saudi woman.