An Old Friend Came to Dinner on Saturday Noght

We are finding that we eat out more here than ever in our lives. For us that means once a week. And I've gained some weight. Life here is funky and hard and sometimes depressing and nearly always stressful. There isn't much to do as far as entertainment and going out at all is cumbersome. We have to schedule a driver and be mindful of they shift changes and when we should be home so they can go home or else for hire out how to get dispatch to change the driver and have a new one pick us up. Going out to eat to a place that feels familiar helps take the edge off and we officially deemed it worth the expense of food to maintain our mental health. 

When we moved to Singapore one of our big adjustment mechanisms also revolved around food. Everything was crazy expensive and there was one particular food the kids were heart broken to have to give up. They loved a Pasta-roni boxed noodle meal called Shells and White Cheddar. I told them chances were soon to bone that we would get them so we packed four precious boxes into our luggage. Then we lived in a high rise furnished/serviced apartment that was connected to Great World Mall with a grocery store inside. They had shells and white cheddar! But I was used to paying $1.15/box USD and these were $8/box USD. That made my two dollar dinner a crazy expensive meal and it still had no actual nutritional value. After about 3 weeks of shopping and standing in my kitchen with barely any food to feed my poor children I made a mental commitment to myself. I would buy whatever I needed to fees my family. Whatever the cost. And in six months we would reassess the situation. My family had truely been hungry AFTER nearly every meal because I was trying to scrimp and save and keep expenses down. I didn't buy enough food. I didn't make enough food. That mental release was just what I needed and helped our transition.

Here I sit. Four or five weeks into the Saudi adjustment. And I declare, WE WILL GO OUT TO EAT!! Maybe even a lot for a while. It will help us all. 

There are many western food chains here and we love it after the lack of anything nearby in Singapore. The Woodlands was very isolated. So far in Saudi we have dined from Little Caesar's Pizza, Dairy Queen, Chili's and Applebee's. I have seen McDonald's, Subway, Dunkin Donuts and now I will keep my eyes out for more options because I know they are everywhere. And we will try new and local stuff too.

Last thought? God put shells and white cheddar boxes noodles there for us for a reason. My children genuinely needed them. They were only there for three months and I never saw them again in over three years. It's what I call a tender mercy.

Quote of the Day

Phone call:
"Hello Ma'am. This is So-And-So from Such-And-Such. I am calling regarding a note from Mr. Brian. I have tried to contact him and I think that he is too busy to pick up my call. This leaves me no choice but to talk to you. Is that okay?"

Seriously? I'm American. Yeah. You can talk to me about the size of the microwave in the house.

Side Note: We asked for a bigger one because it's so small a dinner plate fits but the splatter cover on top doesn't. We're feeding a family of 6. It's a bit undersized for this crowd. When the guy arrived he said, "Oh my God! That is ridiculous. And you have a big family. No, no, no. I brought the biggest one I can buy for you." We're all set with a nice microwave now.

Silent Expat Secret

It's just a part of the deal. You will be new and scared. You will be helped. You will learn the ropes and grow stronger and more confident. Eventually you become an all wise and experienced resident expert (usually within a year or less). Then you must pay it back. No one ever commits to the deal out loud it's just how it works. It can be fun to share the new tricks you have figured out with someone new who is grateful. All in all it's fulfilling to be helpful and focused on serving other families like you were blessed when you arrived. I believe we come preprogrammed to want to connect with people, lighten anothers burden and serve each other.

I was in a very happy, stable place in Singapore. I knew the ropes. I was a "helper" after more than three years there. As I contemplated the move to Saudi there were two things I thought of a lot. One was that panic feeling of "what if" and "where do I go if I need" stuff. The other was "they will help me" because I had a knowledge as firm as a mountain that the women in my new community would see me, grab me, love me and help me. They would reach out and make sure I had been to a grocery store. They would know where to go to get an abaya altered. They would tell me where to go to buy turtle food and who can cut a white girls hair. And even call me when cottage cheese was at the store for the first time in 6 weeks so I could call a driver and go over before it sold out.

I still wish I was the know it all. But I'm accepting my place as the newbie right now and feeling grateful for the women that stop when they see me on the sidewalk around the compound and remember my name. Next year I can join their ranks and help someone new to Saudi Arabia.

Heat

It is 7am and the temp is already 34 deg C or 94 deg F. Funny thing is even though it's hot I am dealing with it okay now. Forcast for the day is 106 F and we will be fine. I think it's because the humidity aeems to have dropped a lot from three weeks ago when the heat index was up to 144 F with actual temps in the low 120s. 

Mom Dieting?

When I came to dinner tonight someone had switched out the regular sized plate for a small bowl. Brian thinks someone is trying to put me on a diet.

Heeley Tennis Fun

While Ben had his actual lesson tonight the kids and Brian used the next court over to tossed balls to Jacob and Madison. 

They both wore Heeley shoes with wheels on the bottom like roller skates and Madison seems a bit distracted with kicking her racket. It was funny to watch but they had a blast.

 Ben is making progress in his lessons and seems fairly good with his swing. 

And Ashlyn happily shagged balls.

Pre-Electrons

Ben read from a Spanish book tonight and slaughtered the pronunciation. Jacob realizing it wasn't what he was used to asked, "Is that a Kindle?"

Brian said, "No. This is from before electrons were invented."

Huh?

Earlier when Jacob was in my room relaxing I asked if he was tired. "Yeah. I am sooo tired from today. I watched the guys unload ALL the boxes from the Wooters shipment and it was tiring."Just imagine how tired the guys who actually lifted all those boxes and a 500 pound piano must feel if Jacob was that tired from just watching.