digs

so that is the place I am staying in right now, i havent been too good about taking picture of the outside world but I will go walking tomorrow and be sure to get a few pics.

express yourself

I was walking around this afternoon and I passed an area that sells plants, this area has maybe 4 average sized store sitting one next to the other. I walked through because I love plants and watched an interaction that gave me pause. There was a woman trying to buy some soil from the storekeeper, He was of course dressed in pants and long sleeve shirt while she wore the mandated niqab (just eyes showing) and they were having a fairly long conversation. Here is what puzzled me: we communicate through a variety of ways both verbal and nonverbal. In fact 90% of communication is done through nonverbal means. Now this man speaking to this woman is shut off from those clues. How can anyone tell what is going on. It is truly amazing and something that I want to know. I will have to make friends with some saudi man to find out. I cant imagine how you can tell if she is joking, or being sarcastic, or anything without seeing their expressions. In the end she bought some soil so I guess it worked out. I on the other hand bought nothing from the plant stores, though I plan to go back and get something soon.

vacation

All this work is killing me....
not really it is so easy and boring it is killing me. I have reached the end of my first full week at KSU and I am happy to report that I not only got assigned a class but I also get to go on vacation. So no work for me for the next 12 days then I have three days work then the weekend again. Then it is payday. It is like christmas every day over here. Except there is never a christmas here. So I am considering a quick three or four day excursion to the coast and spending the rest of the time getting to know the city. I wish I had a bit more time to plan it all then I could have gotten to know the country a bit better alas... Next vacation when I am a bit more settled.

walk

I am looking forward to the next few days as my work week will be ending. I et to go out into town and walk around and see what there is to see. I have heard that there is a huge market that is full of indians and pakistanis and other guests of this country that is just utter chaos. It should be fun to get in there and mix it up a bit with the other foreigners. Other than that it has been a pretty slow week I go to work at 7 am and either tech or not(more often not) from 8-1140. Get lunch then wait for 330 to roll around so I can clock out. I tend to go out for a walk in the evening around the hotel where I stay and so far I have seen almost everything that there is around here. I get dinner at 7-8 and come home and read or study. Its a simple life but I am enjoying it for now. There is enough to keep me occupied but not enough to make me stressed. Though the University is of course poorly run and I receive 6-10 emails every day from different departments and that is a hassle but most of them are simple things like tests will be ready at 730 or training has been changed to 215. Simple stuff. Thinking about it now I am glad they keep me informed instead of just leaving me to the wolves.

sleep

This is the first time that I can remember that I have been affected by jet lag. Usually I just power through the first tired time and then I am fine. This time I have not been able to sleep. I try to go to bed early and I just lay there waiting. I doze off for an hour or two and then I lay awake for the rest of the night. I am not tired during the day so perhaps jet lag is the wrong term. I just seem to be able to go on a few hours for right now. I would like to sleep for an entire night, not because it would make me feel better but because I love to sleep. I guess if it isnt hurting me then I cant complain.

finally

though i have been going to work for three days now I finally got to step in front of the classroom again today. It has been a really long time since I got to be in front of a class and I must confess that I still really enjoy it. I was a substitute teacher today for a teacher that was gone yesterday as well and thus the students have fallen behind. I got them caught up some and managed to have a lot of fun in the process. It is kind of odd being in front of a class of 25 boys that are all 18-19 years old. I actually had one of them ask why my father didnt buy me a car. Why did i need a taxi. So bizarre the ideas and entitlement that people have. I think the job itself will be fine the students seem excited, eager and energetic. It wont be a problem getting the to talk as it sometimes was in China. other than that life is fairly routine with the glaring exception being that I have to work on sunday. I get two days off in a row they just fall on thursday and friday. So my weekend is full of no football, no highlights just call to prayer. I will live but it would be nice to go to a bar and have a cold one and check out the big screen.