Let Me Tell You How This Works.......

Whenever we have gone to the nicer malls in Riyadh I have noticed the fancy expensive stores and the lingerie stores and wondered "Why do they have these here?  Who are they getting dressed up for?"  My friend at work, Hessa, who is Saudi and Muslim explained it to me.

Yes marriages are arranged here but the process is this:  The women get together, mothers and sisters with potential women to espouse with the son/brothers.  The women get all dressed up for each other!  Then the mothers/sisters bring names to the father to consider for possible marriage.  The father contacts the father of the potential bride to arrange the meeting with the object a potential marriage if all the requirements and details are met.  It's a lot more complicated then boy meets girl I'm telling you!

There is also a huge genetic counseling department .  Because of the desire to keep property within the family first cousins are allowed to marry.  This has produced many genetic problems among the children. Women have many many miscarriages . Many children do not live beyond a tender age.  Many live with horrible deformity and chronic illness.  Heart breaking was the girl I took care of that had a bilateral lung transplant when she was 17 and died at 21.  In addition the wealthier families wish to breed tall offspring and will have their children treated with growth hormone to ensure this.  There are some very tall, lanky people here among the wealthy that almost look like they have Marfans.

Anyway...it is very interesting working here.......

Christine xx

All God's Children....

My brother, Mark, had told me before I left that the Filipino were the slave class in Saudi Arabia.  I didn't take that very seriously until I have seen it for myself here.

First, just after I arrived here, my friend, Moni, and I had gone to the IKEA store to pick up a few "creature comforts" to feather our new nests.  While we sat out front waiting for our driver we saw a Saudi man being helped by a Filipino store worker.  Now this Saudi had purchased a lot of things and they were big things like bookcases and such.  After the worker had spent quite a lot of time lifting all of those heavy boxes into the back of the fancy SUV, arranging and re-arranging, the Saudi man just drove off.  He never acknowledged the worker,looked at him,  offered a tip or even thanked him.  The working man just stood there looking so .....I don't know...dejected.  It was very sad.  If Moni and I could have figured out a way to give him a tip we would have.  I don't remember ever seeing that before.

At the hospital there are many Filipino sitters with the patients.  The families hire them to be company and care for the "loved" one.  I was caring for a patient the past two days who had such a sitter, named Esther.  I asked Esther how often she went home and what kinds of things she did her on her days off.  She shared with me that she doesn't get days off even if she is ill and hasn't been home in four years.  She told me she was a widow and had four children back home she was trying to support.  She had not seen them for four years.  She started to cry at that point.  She is exhausted.  She stays with this woman who has been in the hospital more than a year.  Other than for food and hygiene purposes Esther never leaves her.  She is terrified of being fired.

At work you hear the Saudi female physicians talk about their nanny and maid problems.  One doctor admitted to locking her nanny in the house and demanding she carry a cell phone that she must answer by the second ring.  The nanny escaped through a window and hasn't been seen since.  I hope they never catch her because the punishment will be terrible! There are stories about physical and sexual abuse toward these woman.

OK I realize America has had it's share of these kinds of crimes but I didn't grow up during that era and had never witnessed it.  I can say I have never seen a more dejected, hopeless, whipped people in my life and it is heart wrenching.

Christine xx

Queen of Za Dezert!

I know it has been a whie since I blogged.  I think the 7th of January was the last time but nothing new or interesting has been going on.  I have found my routine and have settled in it.

The exciting new news is: I AM GOING TO EGYPT FOR 16 DAYS IN MARCH!  When I was in the 8th grade I wrote a paper on Egyptology and have always had an interest in ancient cultures and mythology.Who knew I would lay my own eyes on the Pyramids, Sphynx, the library in Alexandria, St. Catherine's Monastery and climb Moses mountain (the one where he got the 10 Commandments.  We do it in the middle of the night and watch the sun come up). WOW!  We are celebrating my (and Shelly's, a friend from Australia) birthday in Sharm El-Sheik.  I have the leave, I have the travel package and finished booking my flight from Riyadh to Cairo and back so it's definitely going to happen now! WOOHOO!  Cruise down the Nile, felucca boat excursions, a camel ride in the desert, light show at the Luxor Temple, Valley of the Kings (and Queens)...

Work is good.  I have applied for my Saudi nursing license pending receiving my employment verification from CCMH. I have to have it to work more than one year here.  My boss seems to like me OK and I get along well with the doctors and residents.  My co-workers have become like family and we look forward to working together.  Everyone tells me the hospital is based on the American system but I can tell you it is the American system 20-25 years ago.  We are just now moving in to computerized charting and will institute the bar code method of giving medications in the next year or so.  I am on the safety committee for Critical Care. Some people still struggle but when I talk to them the struggle is about the culture in which we work.  I don't struggle.  I quickly learned to accept things the way they are and gently nudge and hint at another, possibly better way.  One of the things I pointed out to my head nurse is that while the hospital is run on a Western system of some kind we run into problems when we forget to accommodate the population and culture that we serve.  I completely believe in the body, mind, spirit connection to promote healing.  When we tell people that their customs have no use in the hospital we are taking away from them an important part of the healing process.  I think I see another committee membership in my future.

Anyway things are going well and I am still enjoying it here. Looking forward to a little belly dancing in Cairo and Sharm El-Sheik!

Christine xx

Warm? Cool? Cold?

When you have so many people coming in from different parts of the world you get to see many different perspectives on the weather.  It is in the 70's here.  I feel just right coolish, no need for a jacket or sweater...very comfortable.  The northern Europeans are out in their bikini's, shorts and tank tops.  The South Afrikans and Saudi's are in heavy weight jackets, knit caps and heavy sweaters.  It is quite the conglomeration of fashion statements I'm telling you!

Not much to report this week.  We did go to the top of the Kingdom Tower at night.  As soon as I can find out what the computer did with my pictures I will show you Riyadh at night!

Having some friends over for dinner tonight.   I found an Arabic Monopoly game! :)

Christine xx

Happy New Year!!

I've been really busy mostly with working.  Sometimes I have to admit I struggle a bit with some of the cultural aspects of living here.  There are differences in medical practice (and nursing) that are sometimes very frustrating for me.  STAT at home means STAT!  Here it means we will get to it sometime today which is a real pain if you have a very sick patient.  No amount of pleading will get it to you any sooner.  I can advocate for my patient all I want but when I talk to the doctor and he is unwilling to advocate with me then it will not be done anytime sooner.  I have learned that if they end the conversation with inshalla (which means god willing) there isn't any hope for it to be done in a timely fashion.  An unusual thing that I have been counseled about is not taking breaks!!  I have never had so many breaks ever!!  We are supposed to take half hour in the morning, an hour for lunch, and another half hour in the afternoon.  If I have a sick patient I am not leaving him!  This has caused some to remark that if I don't take MY breaks then THEY will LOSE getting breaks .  IMHO I feel the nurse taking care of a critical patient should stay at the bedside and communicate with the doctor.  Who knows better than the one who has cared for the patient since the beginning?  Also I don't want to be lost on what happened while I was gone!  Now mind you...there are not that many real ICU patients in that unit but I get one and I want to stay with him!  I will just have to remember why I came here and do the best I can.

The weather here is beautiful!!  I love snow and I am sorry I am missing the blizzard in Oklahoma.  In the summer here everything burns up like at home so in the fall they plant all kinds of flowers and shrubs.  It is funny to me to see petunias and cannas blooming this time of year!  I think I am going to have a quiet day today and read a book and watch TV.

Take care!

Christine xx

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