I spend a lot of my time on the blog complaining about life and work here in Saudi Arabia but recently I actually had a lovely time out. A colleague and I recently attended a Quiz Night organized monthly by a group of expats here in Jeddah. It was held on a compound next to the pool, there was a decent little sound system, and everyone brought some snacks a drinks. As we were on a compound free from the prying eyes of the Kingdom's religious police some homemade, adult beverages were passed around.
My friend and I were paired with an older couple who have somehow managed to live here in Saudi for 19 years. He has good job working for a white goods company and she was able to be a stay-at-home mom. They were a bit of an odd couple but I think it's normal for most expats to be slightly off. My first impression of him was that he was perhaps in the closet and the wife had all the markings of a bonafide boozer. They were however good fun and were very active in the expat community organizing two separate drama groups and generally having something going on every weekend.
The quiz itself was fun enough we came away as champions and I would like to think I was no small part in the victory (Q: Which country has the longest coastline in the world A: Canada!) and we won the top prize of a box of chocolates each.
Afterwards we got to meet some of the others, mostly Brits but also a couple of South Africans and we generally had a good time, the homemade rum was particularly good. While we were sitting there chatting, eating, and drinking next to a pool while some lovely music played in the background I thought what a little slice of paradise I had found. Nice weather, good people, a person could build a life around that. However, as the witching hour approached and we made our exit our literal and figurative oasis was replaced with the literal and figurative desert that is the Kingdom. Oh well, there is always next month's get together.
My friend and I were paired with an older couple who have somehow managed to live here in Saudi for 19 years. He has good job working for a white goods company and she was able to be a stay-at-home mom. They were a bit of an odd couple but I think it's normal for most expats to be slightly off. My first impression of him was that he was perhaps in the closet and the wife had all the markings of a bonafide boozer. They were however good fun and were very active in the expat community organizing two separate drama groups and generally having something going on every weekend.
The quiz itself was fun enough we came away as champions and I would like to think I was no small part in the victory (Q: Which country has the longest coastline in the world A: Canada!) and we won the top prize of a box of chocolates each.
Afterwards we got to meet some of the others, mostly Brits but also a couple of South Africans and we generally had a good time, the homemade rum was particularly good. While we were sitting there chatting, eating, and drinking next to a pool while some lovely music played in the background I thought what a little slice of paradise I had found. Nice weather, good people, a person could build a life around that. However, as the witching hour approached and we made our exit our literal and figurative oasis was replaced with the literal and figurative desert that is the Kingdom. Oh well, there is always next month's get together.
