Settling in!

Well... We are here. Truthfully we've been here for 3 weeks? I am a questioning myself because there are many things I need to get my head around and the idea of what constitutes a week is one of them!

You see in Saudi the week starts on Saturday. Meaning the first day of the normal working week is Saturday, Australia's Monday. So my husband goes to work from Saturday to Wednesday. The weekend is Thursday and Friday. Just to make it even more confusing, Saudi is the only country in the region that has that weekend. Bahrain, only an hours drive away, has Friday and Saturday as their weekend. Just be assured that it is tricky! It's amusing how difficult it is to change your mindset of what you think is normal. There is a lot of.. 'so we'll meet Monday. Real Monday or Monday Monday?'

I am enjoying the challenge of changing what is normal to me. Normal to me is driving myself to the shops during the day! Obviously I can't drive. I am oddly very pleased about it too. I would not like to drive here. For starters I can't even work out which side I have to get in the car. 

 I've proud of my husband and the way he has adapted to the way the men drive. You see, it is not uncommon for every car at a four lane intersection to turn left. I admit I hold on for dear life when I'm in the car. No one indicates and the speed limit seems to be a choice. 

 Our daughter is one of the rare children to be in a car seat, let alone buckled in. It is not unusual for children to be standing on the console between the driver and passenger. These are just some of the differences I have noticed. 

That said, I'm really enjoying observing and experiencing the differing cultures here. There are people from all over the world living in the compound. My daughter has played with Romanian, English, Lebanese, Pakistani, Columbian and Egyptian children. It is wonderful and an opportunity she may not have had if we hadn't come here. Everyone is very welcoming. I guess they understand the feeling of not knowing many people in a foreign place. 

I have loved venturing out into the malls and souks. People are very friendly and the women often come up to speak to us and our daughter. Family is very important to Saudis and children are very welcome out in the community.  I have found that reassuring as our daughter has been teething and jet lagged and not at her finest when we've headed our shopping.  

Anyway I have so much to record but need to use my daughter's sleep time wisely! 

'til next post!