Lucky Enough forTWO New Years!!!

The Muslims already celebrated their New Year on our December 18th which was their first of Muhharum.  The Hijri (sometimes spelled Hijra) calendar is a lunar calendar.  Every month has 28 days which makes their years 11 days shorter than our (Gregorian) years.  If someone signs up for a one year contract here and never takes any time off they can finish the contract in a little over 8.5 months.  I'm here as an explorer so I will be taking all the time off I can get!!!

I have had to work this weekend so I am not going out for New Year.  Diane and I had a little non-alcoholic drink, wished each other HAPPY New Year and then I went to bed to recover from today and prepare for tomorrow.  When I got home this evening there was a Warden's Alert from the American Embassy telling all Americans here to be on high alert.  The Saudi certainly are.  They have doubled the security at the compound and there have been lots of soldiers at the hospital.  Saudi Arabia is at war with Yemen (which is waaaay south of where I am).  Al Qaida took credit for the guy with the bomb in his boxers so now we have to be extra careful when going out.  I am not worried.  I feel very safe and life is going on as usual at KFSH&RC.

I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!  May it truly be a happy, peaceful and blessed 2010!!

Christine xx

We Had Christmas!!!!!!

We had TWO Christmas trees!  We decorated our apartment even our front door!  I baked cookies ALL day yesterday!  I listened to Christmas music on the internet radio!  I even saw a CHRISTMAS MOVIE on our Arab TV! (Ok..it was "Fred Claus" but that was pretty close to a Christmas movie)  We had a Christmas luncheon at work and exchanged little gifts.  I brought the cookies in to work that morning and the staff descended upon then like a hoard of hungry locusts!  In 2 hours all but 5 cookies of NINE dozen were eaten!  Mohammed (The Muslim) ran around the unit telling everyone "Christine brought cookies!  Christine brought cookies!!"  Truth be told I think he ate most of them ;) but I am glad they were enjoyed which was the whole point!  I had also brought a cake for the luncheon.  We feasted on East Indian food (chicken Marsala and rice), Kentucky Fried Chicken (yes we have one here) , Arab bread with sauces.  My favorite was the Thai noodles!!    We all had a great time!  As I walked home from work this evening I stopped at my Irish friend, Stella's apartment and had a turkey dinner with roast vegetables and the best shortbread I have ever eaten!!  It was great to share the day with all kinds of people who have become my friends in such a very short time.  Even the Muslims wished us a Merry Christmas and the Mutawa left us alone.  It didn't feel so Christmasy but it was a beautiful day!! There was sunshine, 75 degrees, flowers blooming everywhere, exotic birds.  Different cultures came together to celebrate this great day...even those who don't believe.  I BELIEVE that these kinds of experiences will bring the world together.  I see we are more alike than different. My Christmas was great!!

Hope all of you had as amazing a Christmas Day!!

Love,

Christine xx

Merry Christmas One and All!!

We cannot openly celebrate Christmas here.  No other religions or religious holidays are allowed to be observed by law.  However what we do in our own apartments is our own business and we are quietly celebrating together.  I have a Christmas tree thanks to my room mate.  Apparently the man at the Al Quisse store keeps some Christmas items hidden so you have to ask for them.  Our little tree smelled pretty strongly of moth balls so we aired it out a while then sprayed it with air freshener.  Diane also found some little drum shaped multicolored lights and we covered a kitchen canister with red paper and used zebra striped tape to make it look like a drum.  I think it looks very cool!!! and the little Christmas tree fits right in it!  I've had to put a little more thought into how to celebrate Christmas with family and friends.  There are no Christmas cards (in fact hardly any kind of cards at all...I guess people don't send many cards around these parts).  Trying to shop on line has been a trip.  Either I am blocked on the US side because the transmission is coming from the Middle East or I am blocked on this side because they don't know what it is (There is a very strict internet policy here.  A friend tried to send me pictures of his trip to Peru but it was blocked because he posted them on Webshots.)  I thought FTD.com wouldn't let me down but they did big time.  The only one that I have been 100% successful with is good old Walmart!

Anyway...I am off Christmas Eve and we are having a little dinner.  Yesterday at work many of us working on Christmas Day are planning a pot luck and a Mad Santa like game.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Mostly though I believe Christmas is best celebrated in our hearts.  Yes the traditions and celebrations are wonderful!  However what we are really celebrating is the birth of Jesus Christ...something we should be celebrating 365 days a year.

Love to you all!

Merry Christmas and the Best New Year ever!!

Christine xx

Where the Heck Are We?!?!?!

So how do we get home, Christine? my companions ask.  I say...take the southbound bypass and get on Thakasoukki Street.  Christine, they say, how do you know your way around Riyadh so well?  Well...I say...a few years ago I worked with a girl named Patti who was ex-army.  She said to always scan your sector.  I took that to heart.  Whenever we go anywhere I am talking with my friends but I am also looking out the window, learning street names, learning directions, finding landmarks and seeing which stores are available,   Christine, where is the UPS store.  Me: It's on King Khaled road on the way to the Kingdom Center.  I studied a map of Riyadh and found the routes to places I generally go as well as learned the street names.  I believe people have an easier time getting around if they orient themselves...and are less likely to get into trouble.  Yes sir!  Scan your sector!  Thanks Patti!!!

Christine xx

Still haven't found the post office

but I have a couple of good leads I will check out tomorrow!

It looks more like Christmas than I expected it to.  The Eid decorations are still up with the lights and streamers.  The colors for Eid are very much like Christmas colors.  The streets have brightly colored lights on them.  My room mate found a Christmas tree and some lights at the little hospital store.  She also found some little multicolored lights to put on it.  It is sitting on the living room table and looks quite festive.  ( The proprietor of the store cannot openly display Christmas stuff but he has some stashed away for the asking!)

My friend, Moni, has decided to stay. They moved her to one of the brand new apartments on campus which is quite nice!!  It is nice for her.  She is encouraging me to put my name on the list for that complex but to be honest I love my little apartment and the walk is nice as well as when I leave it is like I am really leaving.  I cannot see the hospital from my apartment so I feel I have really gone home!  F complex apartments are efficiencies.  they have new two burner hotplates and a convection oven.  I need a real stove with oven...so I think I will stay put!

I have learned some very important cultural and religious aspects of the Arabian/Muslim people.  Some I have shared with my colleagues but others I will keep to myself.  you see...I understand when things are sacred to a person and you have to be careful who you share with because they may make light of something so important.  I am glad my patients and their families shared these things with me.  It shows they know they can trust me.

I have such fun with the people I am working with!  Deepak, Mahmoud, Mohammed and Ahmeen are four of a kind!  They are so funny and make me laugh every day!  Of course I also make them laugh.  We are using new Hospira Smart pumps (Plums) and I really like them very much.  Anyway Mohammed was going around collecting the old pumps and asked if I had any "non-smart" pumps in my room.  "You mean the stupid pumps?" I asked.  He looked at me and then just roared with laughter.  He used that line for all of the rest of the rooms. "Got any stupid pumps?"  Nice to know I my sense of humor translates well ;)

Merry Christmas one and all!

Christine xx

HO! HO! HO!!!

Well...I am not sending Christmas cards this year.  In Saudi Arabia they do not celebrate Christmas so there are no Christmas cards in all of the Kingdom.  On the other hand....they do have Eid cards which do look suspiciously like Christmas cards with camels and gifts on the pictures.  So I purchased some Eid cards intending to send them with real stamps from Saudi Arabia.  Well...I went to the mail room to inquire about stamps.  "We stamp here" said the mailroom clerk.  "no sir, I want real stamps to put on mail I am sending to friends and family" I responded.  The clerk tells me "we have only stamp stamp with machine...no stamps".  me:" well sir where could I go to buy some stamps"   clerk: "tell the driver to go to the central post office on Olaya street"  me:  "What time do they open?" clerk "I think after four o'clock" the other clerk said "no..I think before three"  So I tell the driver to take me to the post office on Olaya street and HE says "I don't think we have a post office"...so then I tried to call the post office to find the location.........but no one answered.  Soooooo...........my dearest family....you will get Eid cards sometime in January with a stamped Saudi Arabia postage on it till I can work out this post office mushkala.......... :)

Happy Holidays!  Merry Christmas!!!!

Christine xx

Some have left....

My mother asked if any of the nurses who came with me have left already.  Yes there have been  a few.  When I came here I expected that I was the one going to have to make some changes.  An entire country does not have to change to suit me or make me more comfortable!  Some think I have made it sound very easy.  It is NOT easy at all.  If you learn what the differences are and adapt yourself to the new situations you can get through it.  If you expect that there will be some delay, that you may have some trouble making yourself understood but things will eventually happen and everything will turn out all right you will be OK.  I haven't outwardly felt a lot of stress but I know that I am when something that normally would just roll off my back becomes uncomfortable to me.  An example is getting my internet set up.  I wanted that to happen very quickly because that was how I would communicate with family and friends.  It took four trips to Al Quisse to make it happen....but it did happen!  I have learned a lot of patience so far and to laugh at some of the situations.....find the humor in it.  I also have much more understanding for people who come to my country and struggle with the language and the customs.  The point is that the nurses who have left are the ones who thought they could come here and not have to make any adaptations.  They became frustrated beyond what they could handle so they left.  What a missed opportunity!!

We went to the antique souks today.  Lots of interesting old stuff and copies of old stuff (like they didn't think I knew the difference;) ).  We also saw the Old Clock Tower where they do the beheadings and amputations on Friday afternoons (if it is necessary).  The procedure is to sedate the victim and try to get it in one swipe.  Sometimes it doesn't happen.  It is considered to be a great honor to carry out the sentence and the tradition is generally handed down father to son.

We ate at a very nice restaurant today.  A word about portions..I have heard many times how American portions are so large compared with the elf food you get in Europe.  I'm telling you no one beats Saudi Arabian portions!!  I could not get through my lunch it was enough for four people!!  and then the waiter asked if I wanted dessert!!!  Where was I going to put it?!?!?!  The Saudi Arabians take great pride and honor in being good hosts.  It is embarassing to them if their guest is unhappy or uncomfortable.

It's been a nice weekend off so far.  Going bowling tonight with a friend who is having adjustment problems.  Maybe if she doesn't feel alone she will stay......

Christine xx

Where is that little Ameriki nurse? She come....help me!

I have now been working on my own in MICU-C!  It is a LOT less stressful than the ICU at CCMH!  It can get very busy though. 

Ameriki is the Arab word for American.  King Faisal Hospital is a teaching hospital and the goal is to train Arab nurses and doctors so that soon they will be able to run it themselves.  The doctors I work with and many of the residents have trained in America.  I am so proud of my country when they tell me that in America where they trained they were treated so kindly and that everyone was willing to help them get the education they were there for!  They are fascinated that I am American.   They have missed the US nurses coming to work at King Faisal because after 9/11 they stopped coming.  Dr. Al Tarifi and Dr. Al Kheralla are two of my favorite doctors to work with.  They are both intensivists who work in the unit and they are also responsible for the training of the residents when they do their critical care rotation.  Dr. Al Tarifi is the one who started the phrase "Where is that little Ameriki nurse?  She come....help me."  He knows I do things to help the residents prepare for their rounds so they do not wast his time. ( I also do it because they are messy and make a wreck of my work space ;) )  I work with a lot of good people here and though I miss my co-workers back home I have made many good friends here as well.

I am keeping busy.  One of the things we were warned about was isolating ourselves if we become overwhelmed by all the life changes we made in coming here.  I pretty much do as I did back home.  When I want to be out and with people I go out.  If I need a quiet, be alone, gather myself, take care of Christine day I do it.  There are tons of new things to try here!  Gaelic football is a blast though very rough!!  Gabriella had her hands around Stella's neck and swears she was just trying to hold her up (Stella had another idea...).  There are no belly dance classes that I could find but there is a hip hop dance class that I enjoy on Saturday nights.  It is a two hour workout and boy do we sweat!  I have organized a reading group (for a quieter more cerebral activity) and we enjoy getting together and visiting.  I do not think the Embassy activities are going to be my thing...stuffy formal affars.  I did join the Riyadh Caledonian Society because they have lots of nice cultural activities and do a lot of charitable work.  Looking forward to the Robert Burns night in January.

I LOVE going out to eat!  Have been to some great Lebanese and Turkish restaurants!  The joke about Saudi Arabian food is:  kebsa=Saudi food.  Saturday, Monday and Wednesday it is chicken and rice.  Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday it is beef and rice.  Friday it is leftovers....and rice.  I do enjoy eating Saudi style which is with your hands (no utensils) and sitting on cushions.  For all of the eating I have lost another 10 pounds since I have been here...all the exercise I guess from having to walk everywhere I go!  It is almost a mile walk to work and a mile back so that is two miles just getting to and from work...and I enjoy it!!  That walk home in the evening is a nice decompression time from a busy day.

I have one more class and then  "halas" I am finished.  I looked at my next schedule and it looks very nice.  The trip to Egypt for Michelle's and my birthday is setting up nicely and I have the time off.  One of the doctors is Egyptian and has been telling me about all of the great places to go.  I work with a lot of Lebanese so I am looking forward to a trip to Beruit, Lebanon , with my Lebanese friends!  So many things to see and do!  So many places to go!!  Can I do it all?  Probably not but I will as much as I can!!

Christine xx