Doctor Doctor I am sick...

Due to the change in weather, my children and I woke up coughing and sniffling on Friday morning. I noticed that morning how the air was a bite chilly already. After lunch, out of concern, my husband decided to take us all to the doctor. It is a good thing that we don't have to pay for doctor consults and medicine as everything is provided for free via my husband's company. As I mentioned earlier, SAAD Specialist hospital is one of the biggest here so we are pretty much covered. It felt good knowing that the company my husband works for has this kind of privilege and covers all dependents as well. From the hospital we went straight to the city of Al Khobar to buy our daughter another abaya. She requested for an abaya that has buttons in front so that when she reaches school she would be able to take it off and just wear it again when she goes home. We also had our first taste of Shawarma and later ate dinner at the Al Ramaniyah mall and shared 2 orders of Broasted chicken with khubus. The Shawarma here tastes different my children loved it! And aside from the  chicken meat and veggies, was a handful of french fries! :) it only costs 5 riyals.

The price of Broasted chicken on the other hand, is around 10 to 13 riyals per order, which would include 3 big pieces of chicken, 3 pcs of khubus, fries with garlic sauce and chili sauce. Don't they just love fries??? My husband says that Al Ramaniyah is the mall in Khobar that most Pinoys frequently go to and indeed it is. Everywhere my head turned there was a Pinoy walking around. And you'd notice that our "kababayans" are the only ones sporting happy faces.

We went to Everything for 20, 30, 50 and 100 where they sell stuff for not more that 100 riyals. It was there where we were able to buy a 40 riyal abaya for our daughter. There were so many people that my husband offered to take the children with him outside while I pay for our stuff. When I got to the end of the line, I noticed that everyone was trying to catch the attention of the cashier that they call "Sadiq." I don't know if it's his name or what but when I felt everyone pushing I called him Sadiq too! I wanted to pay and leave immediately as my face was just about an inch away from the wet armpits of a local shouting "Sadiq, my friend! here's my money no more change!" And just about a few seconds from collapsing I started waving  exactly 42 riyals right in front of the cashier's face and shouted "this is exact change! this is exact change!"  As soon as "Sadiq" put my stuff inside the plastic bag, I hurriedly grabbed it and ran outside to get a breath of fresh air before I could faint. :)

Hello Saudi Arabia!

For 5 months I plied the roads of Quezon City, Cavite, and Manila in the urgent desire to process our documents for visa and passport purposes. I was drained emotionally, my energy was zapped, and my pocket was left with a big dent. But all that is now water under the bridge...I can now say "khalas" (it is finished/ended)...a common word I continue to hear since my children and I arrived here 4 days ago.

I must say that my children and I are still in awe.  It was my children’s first plane ride and they still get excited whenever they get to talk about it. The flight was uneventful but laughable because of my kids. I blame myself for not being able to set their expectation whilst inside the plane. I remember only being able to introduce the country to them prior to our journey and telling them what can and what can’t be done whilst inside the airport. But I forgot about the plane ride ha-ha. One of those funny episodes was when my youngest son tried to call the attention of one of the flight stewardess, asking her for water. He started waving his glass and shouted “tubig please, tubig please!” (water please!) It was a good thing that most of the passengers around us were Filipinos too. They had fun watching movies and playing video games during the plane ride. Our first stop was at Abu Dhabi where we awaited our connecting flight that will take us to Dammam.  Etihad airways carried us all throughout and I am glad that my children had a tremendous experience, the flight stewardess were very friendly especially with my kids.

When we arrived at the Abu Dhabi International airport, my children were once again taken into a wave of awe as they rode the walkalator. It was a welcome sight as we had 2 hand-carry bags that were quite heavy. The first time I saw a walkalator was when I was sent by my boss to Malaysia about 14 years ago J.  The first thing my children wanted to do was to look at the goodies in the duty free shop inside the airport and beg me to buy them a box of chocolates which I did. After about 45 minutes we were asked to board the plane that will finally take us to Dammam where my husband will be waiting.

Dammam airport or better known as the King Fahd International airport was a  bit old in terms of structure as compared to the airport in Abu Dhabi, but what was actually important was the fact that we have landed safely. I was anxious once again because I heard from my husband that normally immigration is very stringent when it comes to checking of baggages. Being in another country with 3 children in tow is difficult should there be any problems with immigration. Surprisingly we went through without any trouble and was met by my handsome husband just outside.

The ride from the airport took about 45 minutes but my children and I however, tired just could not help but admire the beautiful and fully lighted buildings. When we arrived at the flat, I was so touched with how my husband took care of everything. There was warm food; there were fresh sheets on the bed. I can see how my husband was just as excited as we were. We had our first taste of Broasted chicken and Basmati rice. Everything was perfect.

I believe that Saudi Arabia will be our second home and where our hopes and dream will slowly be realised...Inshau' Allahh...