Step 1: Call 959. This is basically the number to call if you need ANYTHING on campus- a taxi, a lightbulb changed, your house cleaned, to know what movie is playing... it is just an all purpose number. A recording requests that you enter your badge number and then when the real person answers the phone she or he will again ask for your badge number. I am not sure if they just don't record it when you enter it or if they feel they need to confirm it. And they always ask for your address and phone number too-- like you've never called before and this information is not in a directory of any sort. But this is what we do. And within seconds you receive an e-mail with a task number.
Step 2: Call 959 again when no one shows up or calls you back. For me this was later in the evening after I got home and saw that the wet ceiling was now growing black mold. And the water was dripping inside my cabinents with my dishes. Apparently that same day there was an emergency in the King Abdullah Mosque with a leaky ceiling so ALL of the workers were there. They would come to my house in the morning first thing- 8:30.
Step 3/Day 2: Call 959 at 9:00 when the workers have not arrived. They do arrive within 30 minutes more. The crew of four inspects and begins to saw a hole in my ceiling. This is obviously a big project. Apparently it was not a leak from the bathroom above but the air conditioning condensation build up. Water was obviously leaking from the pipes now exposed so the solution was to caulk. And caulk they did for hours. I finally got to work around noon with the promise that the ceiling repair crew would come back in the morning to patch the ceiling after the caulking dried.
Step 4/Day 3: Ceiling repair crew arrive but notice that water is still dripping through all the caulking. Air Condtioning repair crew called back for further investigation. This is a different crew who proclaim that the previous crew's solution was faulty. It is not just the air conditioning leaking but the vent from the clothes dryer vents within the ceiling (not outside-- hahahaha!) so the moisture builds up. They strip the caulking off and replace the pipes. I am told to leave all the ceiling fans on forever and ever. Ceiling crew to come back later that night. Late for work again.
Step 5/Still Day 3: I am waiting for ceiling repair crew while babysitting Salma who is 4 months old while trying to figure out how I am going to make hummus and babaganoush for the Iftar I have been invited to the next night while they are working in my kitchen. The ceiling crew arrives at 8:30 work for 30 minutes then tell me it is quiting time and they will be back in the morning to complete ceiling repair. This at least allows me to work in the kitchen without working around ceiling repair men.
Step 6/Day 4: Call 959 when ceiling repair do not show up by 9. They finally arrive and finally my ceiling is repaired and doesn't even look to have ever had mold or dripping water. Oh, and on day 4 I receive an email from the efficient people at 959 letting me know that they have been trying to reach me to repair my ceiling but I have been unresponsive so they are going to close the ticket if they do not hear back from me!!
Iftar is the evening meal during Ramadan when Muslims break their fast. It is at sunset and typically families gather to break their fast together. I think I have written a bit about Ramadan before. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting so those who participate fast from sunrise to sunset. As compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards about eleven days each year depending on the moon. Muslims believe Ramadan to be an auspicious month for the revelations of God to humankind, being the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Here in Saudi Arabia and some of the other Gulf countries, there is no public eating or drinking during the day. So restaurants are closed. In fact, even malls and shops open later and typically stay open until early morning. On Wednesday evening a group of us went to Jeddah for dinner and had trouble finding a restaurant that was open. Most are open for Iftar (around 6:30-8 but then close and re-open at midnight until 4:00 am. After finally finding an open restaurant in which we were the only patrons we went to the mall around 11:00 and stayed until after 2:00 am. It is really just a reversal of awake time.
Lots of food! Iftar hosted by Aida and Ibrahim
Iyad is 2.
Men helping clean up after dinner.
Moody, Hannah, and me
Aida, Ibrahim and Khaled
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the fasting period of Ramadan and the first day of the following month, after another new moon has been sighted. The Eid falls after 29 or 30 days of fasting, per the lunar sighting. Eid ul-Fitr means the Festival of Breaking the Fast; a special celebration is made. Food is donated to the poor (Zakat al-fitr); everyone puts on their best, usually new, clothes; and communal prayers are held in the early morning, followed by feasting and visiting relatives and friends. So Eid was on Friday and this week is a holiday week- the University is closed and most people traveled. I have done some work but also caught up on sleep, watched a lot of tv, read, went to the pool, cooked and spent time with friends who are on campus.
One of the Eid activities this week was a boat cruise. I went on the dinner cruise tonight and here are some pictures! I am always impressed with how the campus looks from a distance. Unfortunately it was cloudy so the sunset was not as nice as I have seen. The food was fabulous though and there was music!! It was like a party boat without the seabreezes.
Our boat
Yacht Club
Mural along the wall near the Yact Club
Beacon!
Empty docks! Does anyone have a boat they need to store for the winter?
The marble building in the center is the library which is in the center of the academic buildings.
Great food!
Me and Candice
Dalila, Manel, and me
Fish markets in Thuwal
Thuwal Mosque
Arriving back at campus
And if you are still reading... my niece Lilly turned one on the 9th! Here is a picture of her and me from earlier this summer.
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