Our project is in the closing stages ... Professors, students, administration staff etc have already started settling in ... the Campus area has been handed over to the proponent ... only some residential buildings are remaining ....
For those of you who dont know, "project" refers to King Abdullah University of Sciences and Technology (KAUST), a multi million dollar project near Jeddah .. at the shore of the Red Sea ...
Its a well known fact that Saudi Arabia is the only country, where strict Shariah Laws are applied ... the shops close during prayers, women have to wear hijab when in public, they are not allowed to drive (I dont know if its according to Shariah or not), the punishment for adultery or involvement in narcotics, in any way , is ultimately .. death.
But lets focus on the women and hijab part ... these rules do not apply inside the premises of KAUST ... and did I mention that it is the first co-ed institution in the Kingdom ... women can drive ... dress as they like ... it's a funny spectacle when a girl goes out for her morning jog in her shorts ... and the workers leave their work .. all gawking at her ...
Getting back to the subject .... this royal decree of "freedom" has created unrest in the clerical faction ... one of the clerics who openly opposed against co-ed has been relieved of his duties ...
I, like many others believe that soon a time will come when Saudia will be as open as (why go far) ... say UAE and this is just the beginning ...
Friday, 30 October 2009
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
An Interesting Conversation
There is this driver from Eritrea in our office, I had a chat with. He speaks good English, is well mannered, dresses smartly ... a clear contrast to the other drivers who cant speak a word of English ... heres a gist of the conversation ...
I dont recall how we started but along the way he told me where he was from and that he and his family had to flee due to some political problems ... and hadn't returned to his home country for 25 years .... My curiousity led me to ask him, how he was able to speak such good English ... it was a simple answer ... "from school" ... he had passed high school and then due to financial reasons he had to quit further studies ...
Somehow he got into the field of "Hydro-Meteorology" ... I was like "What??!!" ... "It means the study of ...." .... " I know what it means (but you) " ... Then he started explaining how the water conditions of the rivers have to be considered while constructing bridges ... so eloquently .... and I was thinking about our Egyptian Construction Manager who cant pronounce "Library" :S
But when he came to saudia ... the first thing in his mind was not to chase that career but to feed his family ... after several jobs which included being a cashier, salesman, waiter etc he came here as a driver ... and still searching ...
I was really moved
I dont recall how we started but along the way he told me where he was from and that he and his family had to flee due to some political problems ... and hadn't returned to his home country for 25 years .... My curiousity led me to ask him, how he was able to speak such good English ... it was a simple answer ... "from school" ... he had passed high school and then due to financial reasons he had to quit further studies ...
Somehow he got into the field of "Hydro-Meteorology" ... I was like "What??!!" ... "It means the study of ...." .... " I know what it means (but you) " ... Then he started explaining how the water conditions of the rivers have to be considered while constructing bridges ... so eloquently .... and I was thinking about our Egyptian Construction Manager who cant pronounce "Library" :S
But when he came to saudia ... the first thing in his mind was not to chase that career but to feed his family ... after several jobs which included being a cashier, salesman, waiter etc he came here as a driver ... and still searching ...
I was really moved
Saturday, 24 October 2009
5 Minutes
It seems this is my first post since June. May be this is because nothing worth posting had happened until now -
I hadn't been to Madinah for two years .. it was long over due. On the eve of our trip, I and dad went out for a vehicle safety check. The tires had to be changed. There were two types available at our trusted Shell puncture shop .. an unknown brand and the other one TOYO - Made in Japan ... We obviously went for the later .. 270 SR each
Dad had to transfer credit ... to save time and avoid traffic we parked our car across the street in front of a small hotel ... There were two Yemenites sitting beside the entrance ... as soon as we got out, one of them asked "will you be long?" ... " just 5 minutes!" , i replied
There, I met one of my colleagues who had transferred to another department and we had to do some catching on .... it went on for more than "5 Minutes" .. When we returned back ... there was a group of people beside our car .... one of those Yemenites had gone berserq ... had a pair of scissors in his hand and was trying to deflate the tires through the air nozzle ... "WTF are you doing?" I shouted and tried to drag him away from the car ... "You said 5 minutes .... no ... You said 5 minutes" ... I tried to calm him down by apologizing but that MF was persistent on deflating all 4 tires .... "No I'm sorry ... I want all 4 of them" trembling as he spoke ...
During this scene of chaos ... one of them told me to get in the car and start the engine .... Meanwhile ... the maniac was done with the front tire and moved to the rear ... dad tried to threaten him by calling the police ...but nothing was working .... I got in the car and was about to close the door when he jumped up and blocked the door ... dad on seeing this got in also ... it took 4 people to pull him away from the door ... as soon as he was out of the way ... I got out of there like I was escaping convict ... Phew!
I hadn't been to Madinah for two years .. it was long over due. On the eve of our trip, I and dad went out for a vehicle safety check. The tires had to be changed. There were two types available at our trusted Shell puncture shop .. an unknown brand and the other one TOYO - Made in Japan ... We obviously went for the later .. 270 SR each
Dad had to transfer credit ... to save time and avoid traffic we parked our car across the street in front of a small hotel ... There were two Yemenites sitting beside the entrance ... as soon as we got out, one of them asked "will you be long?" ... " just 5 minutes!" , i replied
There, I met one of my colleagues who had transferred to another department and we had to do some catching on .... it went on for more than "5 Minutes" .. When we returned back ... there was a group of people beside our car .... one of those Yemenites had gone berserq ... had a pair of scissors in his hand and was trying to deflate the tires through the air nozzle ... "WTF are you doing?" I shouted and tried to drag him away from the car ... "You said 5 minutes .... no ... You said 5 minutes" ... I tried to calm him down by apologizing but that MF was persistent on deflating all 4 tires .... "No I'm sorry ... I want all 4 of them" trembling as he spoke ...
During this scene of chaos ... one of them told me to get in the car and start the engine .... Meanwhile ... the maniac was done with the front tire and moved to the rear ... dad tried to threaten him by calling the police ...but nothing was working .... I got in the car and was about to close the door when he jumped up and blocked the door ... dad on seeing this got in also ... it took 4 people to pull him away from the door ... as soon as he was out of the way ... I got out of there like I was escaping convict ... Phew!
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Meet an Ex-Con
Yesterday morning, I was driving to work with my two of my friends (and co-workers). We were a little late so I was hard on the gas. The first traffic signal on our way is at the junction of two major roads of Jeddah thus the wait is very long. It was green and I had made up my mind that I will cross it ... well I tried ...
First of all, my car was not in a favorable speed ... secondly I was on the service road which was closest to the next signal ... The first three cars advanced a few feet but stopped on seeing my car ... alas the last one got me ... got me real good .... there was little damage to my car .... but the other pakistani Baray Mian's car bonnet was shattered ....
The Baray Mian explained the incident to the cop who came to the spot in no time ... and I just stood there nodding in confession .... The other car was winched and dragged to the police station, I followed. It was a clear violation but I didnt know that it was a serious one too .... I was thinking that I will have to pay the damages to the other person plus the traffic violation fine and that will be it ..... Those lovely gentlemen locked me up !!
At first I was like WHOA!! Am I really in jail with all these criminals .... It turned out all of them were in only for the traffic violations .... and the first thing I noticed in there was that we Pakistanis were in huge majority .... Five carpeted rooms with ACs, cushions and blankets and pillows .... and lots of friendly looking cockroaches .... and healthy bed bugs roaming around ....
I was welcomed in the Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi room .... there was one room with Arabs ... one with Phillipinos etc ... Of course the first thing they ask "What traffic rule did u break?" .... "O koi nae ... bas 24 ghantay ki baat hai .... ao Sutta lagao " Anyway ... I had some interesting conversations with all the ppl there ... one of them is worth mentioning ...
it was an indian guy ... who had entered saudia on Umrah Visa .... and then made a fake Bangladeshi Passport and was living here since 15 years .... of those 15 years he had spent 3 yrs in the biggest jail in the Western Province for "accidentally" running down a cop ... he said the cop bugged him a lot so " Socha us ko Ura Doon" .... he had a metal cutting business in which the saudi partner robbed him off 2 lakh SR ..... he filed a case on him ... and they are still doing business .... in fact that saudi called him for a 2 million SR deal ... and I was listening .... He had escaped from this prison twice in the last week but had to come back as his documents were with the police ....
If it wasnt for my dad who toiled from 8 till 5 with the Baray Mian I would have certainly have to spent the night there ... I stayed there for 9 hours .... In the end I say Alhamdulillah for saving everybody from anykind of physical injury and our lives ...
First of all, my car was not in a favorable speed ... secondly I was on the service road which was closest to the next signal ... The first three cars advanced a few feet but stopped on seeing my car ... alas the last one got me ... got me real good .... there was little damage to my car .... but the other pakistani Baray Mian's car bonnet was shattered ....
The Baray Mian explained the incident to the cop who came to the spot in no time ... and I just stood there nodding in confession .... The other car was winched and dragged to the police station, I followed. It was a clear violation but I didnt know that it was a serious one too .... I was thinking that I will have to pay the damages to the other person plus the traffic violation fine and that will be it ..... Those lovely gentlemen locked me up !!
At first I was like WHOA!! Am I really in jail with all these criminals .... It turned out all of them were in only for the traffic violations .... and the first thing I noticed in there was that we Pakistanis were in huge majority .... Five carpeted rooms with ACs, cushions and blankets and pillows .... and lots of friendly looking cockroaches .... and healthy bed bugs roaming around ....
I was welcomed in the Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi room .... there was one room with Arabs ... one with Phillipinos etc ... Of course the first thing they ask "What traffic rule did u break?" .... "O koi nae ... bas 24 ghantay ki baat hai .... ao Sutta lagao " Anyway ... I had some interesting conversations with all the ppl there ... one of them is worth mentioning ...
it was an indian guy ... who had entered saudia on Umrah Visa .... and then made a fake Bangladeshi Passport and was living here since 15 years .... of those 15 years he had spent 3 yrs in the biggest jail in the Western Province for "accidentally" running down a cop ... he said the cop bugged him a lot so " Socha us ko Ura Doon" .... he had a metal cutting business in which the saudi partner robbed him off 2 lakh SR ..... he filed a case on him ... and they are still doing business .... in fact that saudi called him for a 2 million SR deal ... and I was listening .... He had escaped from this prison twice in the last week but had to come back as his documents were with the police ....
If it wasnt for my dad who toiled from 8 till 5 with the Baray Mian I would have certainly have to spent the night there ... I stayed there for 9 hours .... In the end I say Alhamdulillah for saving everybody from anykind of physical injury and our lives ...
Friday, 24 April 2009
Choose Your Words Carefully
Here are some of the words which mean differently in Arabic ....
1.) BANDAR ..... its a popular name in Saudi Arabia meaning "Beautiful" .... We even have a Prince Bandar Bin Talal ... lol
2.) GADA ..... it means "A Respectful Person" ... See how things could get messed up ...
3.) GANDOOR ....... its also a name ... a last name .... u can go "Hey Gandoo" and no one will frown or kill u :)
4.) KHASM ..... it means "To Discount or To Reduce" ... with us it means Spouse right!!
5.) NEK ..... First lets look at its Urdu meaning "A Virtuous Person" ... in arabic it means "To F***"
Yup .... so choose ur words carefully here ... I will add more of these ...
1.) BANDAR ..... its a popular name in Saudi Arabia meaning "Beautiful" .... We even have a Prince Bandar Bin Talal ... lol
2.) GADA ..... it means "A Respectful Person" ... See how things could get messed up ...
3.) GANDOOR ....... its also a name ... a last name .... u can go "Hey Gandoo" and no one will frown or kill u :)
4.) KHASM ..... it means "To Discount or To Reduce" ... with us it means Spouse right!!
5.) NEK ..... First lets look at its Urdu meaning "A Virtuous Person" ... in arabic it means "To F***"
Yup .... so choose ur words carefully here ... I will add more of these ...
My Company Contact
I have a problem with my cell number ... my company contact ... if u will ..
In the beginning, for almost a month I used my personal mobile for work purposes .... I had put a request for a laptop and a company mobile ... I didn't get the laptop :(
A guy quit from our department and his cell was handed to me ... I was relieved cuz it was actually costing me quite a bit to make those official calls ... I turned on the cell and a shower of sms came pouring in ... most of them were ads of malls, mobile companies etc. but then i started receiving calls from banks Saudi British Bank, Saudi Fransi Bank, Saudi American Bank .... and those stupid Saudis .... they cant speak English ... so every single time the conversation goes like this:
Him: asalamualaium
Me: walaikum assalam
Him: ustaz muhammad (Sir Muhammad)
Me: muhammad min? (Muhammad Who?)
Him: muhammad talha kan (its Khan actually)
Me: indak rakam ghalat (You have the wrong number)
Him: ana asif (I Am Sorry)
Now you would be thinking why dont I explain the complete thing to them ... well I have ... I have tried myself and my Arab friends have also tried .... but I dont know they have like a 15 minutes conversation and the next day that same stupid voice ... I dont pick up most of the time ... I have even talked to the guy "Talha" and asked him to please spare me of this misery ...
But then one day I received a call from England and a lady with the sweetest voice was asking for Muhammad Talha Khan ... at first i thought i should say "Yes Speaking" but I enquired what was it about ... it was work so I deemed better not meddle with it. I explained everything and offered if she wanted his new number ... " That would be very nice of you, Sir" ... ufff ...
Then one day i received a call from Dubai ... it was a Hilton Hotel rep ... so I took full advantage ... You know how these reps work ... Chamme Style .. She was like a robot ... You can have this membership .. you can have that suite ... you can have a special honeymoon package ... and I was just playing along ... "Yeah my wife is quite a moody person and we already have had our honeymoon" " Where?" "Switzerland" .... I even got her cell number ... and promised to call her right away when I and my wife come to Dubai next time ... huh!!
Another day I was coming back from work and was in a bad mood ... and this unknown number was bugging me ... maybe its someone i know ... so i answered .... and he went
Him:"Kaisa hai bay!!"
Me:"Kaun?"
Him:"Acha ab hamain bhi bhool gaya"
Me:"Kis say baat karni hai aap ko?"
Him:"Talha ?"
Me:"Main Talha nahe hoon"
Him: "Yar Talha mazak mat kar"
Me: "Meray tone say aap ko lag raha hai keh main mazak kar raha hoon?"
Now I am so relieved that my company number is blocked because of my over-the-limit usage.
In the beginning, for almost a month I used my personal mobile for work purposes .... I had put a request for a laptop and a company mobile ... I didn't get the laptop :(
A guy quit from our department and his cell was handed to me ... I was relieved cuz it was actually costing me quite a bit to make those official calls ... I turned on the cell and a shower of sms came pouring in ... most of them were ads of malls, mobile companies etc. but then i started receiving calls from banks Saudi British Bank, Saudi Fransi Bank, Saudi American Bank .... and those stupid Saudis .... they cant speak English ... so every single time the conversation goes like this:
Him: asalamualaium
Me: walaikum assalam
Him: ustaz muhammad (Sir Muhammad)
Me: muhammad min? (Muhammad Who?)
Him: muhammad talha kan (its Khan actually)
Me: indak rakam ghalat (You have the wrong number)
Him: ana asif (I Am Sorry)
Now you would be thinking why dont I explain the complete thing to them ... well I have ... I have tried myself and my Arab friends have also tried .... but I dont know they have like a 15 minutes conversation and the next day that same stupid voice ... I dont pick up most of the time ... I have even talked to the guy "Talha" and asked him to please spare me of this misery ...
But then one day I received a call from England and a lady with the sweetest voice was asking for Muhammad Talha Khan ... at first i thought i should say "Yes Speaking" but I enquired what was it about ... it was work so I deemed better not meddle with it. I explained everything and offered if she wanted his new number ... " That would be very nice of you, Sir" ... ufff ...
Then one day i received a call from Dubai ... it was a Hilton Hotel rep ... so I took full advantage ... You know how these reps work ... Chamme Style .. She was like a robot ... You can have this membership .. you can have that suite ... you can have a special honeymoon package ... and I was just playing along ... "Yeah my wife is quite a moody person and we already have had our honeymoon" " Where?" "Switzerland" .... I even got her cell number ... and promised to call her right away when I and my wife come to Dubai next time ... huh!!
Another day I was coming back from work and was in a bad mood ... and this unknown number was bugging me ... maybe its someone i know ... so i answered .... and he went
Him:"Kaisa hai bay!!"
Me:"Kaun?"
Him:"Acha ab hamain bhi bhool gaya"
Me:"Kis say baat karni hai aap ko?"
Him:"Talha ?"
Me:"Main Talha nahe hoon"
Him: "Yar Talha mazak mat kar"
Me: "Meray tone say aap ko lag raha hai keh main mazak kar raha hoon?"
Now I am so relieved that my company number is blocked because of my over-the-limit usage.
Friday, 3 April 2009
The 1st Week Alone!
My parents have left for Pakistan and I am all alone in the house. For most part of the day, I dont feel any change as I am at work and everything is routine. But when I get home, the first thing which pops up is "What am I going to eat?" My mom has left some curries in the freezer ... but nooo... I have to go out or order something... all this week has passed this way...
Before leaving they advised me of many things .... dont leave the window open , check the stove, turn off any electrical appliance before leaving the house , take care of the keys etc ... and I was like .... mom dad this is not the first time I am living alone .. I am not a baby .... I can handle it ....
So, the second day ... I was leaving for work ... got my wallet .. got my cell ... flash drive (so very very important) ... lets go ...the moment i stepped out ... i realized i had left the keys inside ... both the apartment and the car ... and my mom's words came back to me "I will give the spare keys to Bushra Auntie just in case or keep a spare key in your wallet or anywhere else" and I said there is no need for any of it ... I can take care of everything!!
I knew she hadn't given the keys to anyone but to make sure I texted my dad " Have you or mom given any spare key to any of our neighbours?" He called right away " Tumhara Dimagh to Nahe Kharab ho gaya? ..... ....... ....... ....." I could not deal with it that time so I called a friend to pick me up ... When I got back I had two ideas ..... bring a ladder long enough to reach upto the kitchen window but I wasnt sure it is open so I had to go to the locksmith .... he broke the old one and fixed a new one ....
This is just one example ... one night I went out to bring dinner ... it was grilled chicken with rice its called "Ruz Bukhari" .... when I came back ... there was no chicken in the bag .... I ate that rice with hot dogs .... the apartment is a mess ... i sleep in all the rooms .. the TV is on all night .... glasses with pepsi in it ... i have to do something about this situation!
Before leaving they advised me of many things .... dont leave the window open , check the stove, turn off any electrical appliance before leaving the house , take care of the keys etc ... and I was like .... mom dad this is not the first time I am living alone .. I am not a baby .... I can handle it ....
So, the second day ... I was leaving for work ... got my wallet .. got my cell ... flash drive (so very very important) ... lets go ...the moment i stepped out ... i realized i had left the keys inside ... both the apartment and the car ... and my mom's words came back to me "I will give the spare keys to Bushra Auntie just in case or keep a spare key in your wallet or anywhere else" and I said there is no need for any of it ... I can take care of everything!!
I knew she hadn't given the keys to anyone but to make sure I texted my dad " Have you or mom given any spare key to any of our neighbours?" He called right away " Tumhara Dimagh to Nahe Kharab ho gaya? ..... ....... ....... ....." I could not deal with it that time so I called a friend to pick me up ... When I got back I had two ideas ..... bring a ladder long enough to reach upto the kitchen window but I wasnt sure it is open so I had to go to the locksmith .... he broke the old one and fixed a new one ....
This is just one example ... one night I went out to bring dinner ... it was grilled chicken with rice its called "Ruz Bukhari" .... when I came back ... there was no chicken in the bag .... I ate that rice with hot dogs .... the apartment is a mess ... i sleep in all the rooms .. the TV is on all night .... glasses with pepsi in it ... i have to do something about this situation!
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