I may not be updating as much as that Saudi Trousers guy, or have the gift of gob as that Sand Gets in My Ears chick. But I do care.
So if there is anything you wanted to know about the intricacies of Saudi culture but were too afraid/lazy to ask, now is your chance. This post loses its oracleness on Tuesday August 4th.
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Friday 24 July 2009
A Ghoul - Saudi Symantics
The dictionary defines a ghoul as "A spirit said to feed on corpses; A grave robber; a person with an undue interest in death and corpses"
But don't be surprised if you get called that a lot by Saudis.
You see 'aghoul' (pronounced A-Ghoul) is the Saudi verbal equivalent of 'Hey'; 'Hey Dude'; 'Hey you'...you get the picture, meaning that it will most likely be said in a loud audible voice from a blind spot to get your attention, your reaction based on hearing someone announce there is corpse eating spirit near by may be different.
This little tidbit was bought to you by my friend 'A Beer', actually abeer is an Arabic girls name meaning sweet aroma, so asking for ABeer in Saudi will get you lashed no matter what you mean.
A Beer being saved from A Ghoul by the Hey'ah
But don't be surprised if you get called that a lot by Saudis.
You see 'aghoul' (pronounced A-Ghoul) is the Saudi verbal equivalent of 'Hey'; 'Hey Dude'; 'Hey you'...you get the picture, meaning that it will most likely be said in a loud audible voice from a blind spot to get your attention, your reaction based on hearing someone announce there is corpse eating spirit near by may be different.
This little tidbit was bought to you by my friend 'A Beer', actually abeer is an Arabic girls name meaning sweet aroma, so asking for ABeer in Saudi will get you lashed no matter what you mean.
A Beer being saved from A Ghoul by the Hey'ahFriday 17 July 2009
Call 999 - It's a Saudi Emergency
Its nothing like this
http://www.break.com/index/chick-arrested-for-swearing-at-911.html?advanced=824421
But the public servants o KSA are an uncanny crowed. Since there is a lack of standards (or incentives for that matter) you get either an over the top or a drunk-like low life when dialing emergency numbers.
One thing is for certain,crystal ball in hand, you need to anticipate an emergency at least 12-24 hours before it happens. The reason is that calling with anything short of mentioning the "T" word puts your sorry ass in the VUP list (Very unimportant person), Where details of you and your emergency will be logged on, and supposedly help is on the way....but in reality, they know that most Saudis are panicky and love to exaggerate, so they will ignore the situation until you call again, and again, and again with the same details. Of course you can bypass all this grief with the magic "T" word, but it may land you in hot water depending on the non-standardized mood of the CO.
Another problem is that cities such as Jeddah and Riyadh are grape vines, unplanned expansion means that if you are lucky enough to know where you are, the police and ambulance may not. And by the time they get there (if they do) the time frame is well beyond the "pizza will get cold, and so will your corpse" period. There are numerous stories of ambulances asking for directions to the nearest hospital with gut wrenching shrieks in tow.
Nobody wants to be the boy who cries "T"...but if its life or death, you don't want to end up with two dead bodies, the person you are trying to save as well as yours dying of frustration (and a grand phone bill).
http://www.break.com/index/chick-arrested-for-swearing-at-911.html?advanced=824421
But the public servants o KSA are an uncanny crowed. Since there is a lack of standards (or incentives for that matter) you get either an over the top or a drunk-like low life when dialing emergency numbers.
One thing is for certain,crystal ball in hand, you need to anticipate an emergency at least 12-24 hours before it happens. The reason is that calling with anything short of mentioning the "T" word puts your sorry ass in the VUP list (Very unimportant person), Where details of you and your emergency will be logged on, and supposedly help is on the way....but in reality, they know that most Saudis are panicky and love to exaggerate, so they will ignore the situation until you call again, and again, and again with the same details. Of course you can bypass all this grief with the magic "T" word, but it may land you in hot water depending on the non-standardized mood of the CO.
Another problem is that cities such as Jeddah and Riyadh are grape vines, unplanned expansion means that if you are lucky enough to know where you are, the police and ambulance may not. And by the time they get there (if they do) the time frame is well beyond the "pizza will get cold, and so will your corpse" period. There are numerous stories of ambulances asking for directions to the nearest hospital with gut wrenching shrieks in tow.
Nobody wants to be the boy who cries "T"...but if its life or death, you don't want to end up with two dead bodies, the person you are trying to save as well as yours dying of frustration (and a grand phone bill).
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