Because of our four-year stint at KAUST: We were able to further our careers and get very good jobs after we left. Jose is now working at ICFO, one of the best research centers in Spain (according to a Spanish professor I met) and I am working at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center in science dissemination. … Continue reading Is going to KAUST a good idea?
When you are leaving KAUST and Saudi Arabia for good, it is called a ‘final exit’. HR gives you a long list of things to do before you are given your final clearance. One of them was to close our bank accounts at least a week or two before the exit. I had a bit … Continue reading KAUST Final Exit
Before we even moved to KAUST Jose and I talked about the possibility of getting a dog when we moved to Saudi Arabia. He told me he had always wanted a Boxer and so we decided that we were going to adopt a Boxer if we had the chance. When we first arrived we joined … Continue reading Casper, 2013-2018
It’s been a while since I’ve written here because well, life. That and I didn’t have too many good things to say recently and I thought it would just be wiser to keep my mouth shut. Some people have told me that when they were researching about KAUST online, all they saw were perfect pictures … Continue reading We are leaving KAUST
I didn’t really shop online very much before coming to KAUST because I always preferred to touch, taste or try something on before buying. However, living over an hour away from the city and being unfamiliar with what products are available in local stores have helped me open up to online shopping. In general, websites … Continue reading Websites that deliver to KAUST
This past Saturday my friends and I got together for a girls day out on the town. We ordered a taxi to take us around eight hours. I was supposed to book a regular sedan but the taxi company, Hanco, suggested that we take an SUV instead. Why, you ask? First, the driver is a … Continue reading Girls day in Jeddah
Every year our division organizes a Staff Appreciation Day wherein all administrative staff are given the afternoon off to join a lunch and several activities that the division organizes. Last year we had it at the Harbor Sports Club restaurant and people went bowling afterwards. I had work to do so I just went back … Continue reading Asfan Desert Fun
You might have read about the dependent fees that people now have to pay the government of Saudi Arabia for every dependent that they have under their iqama (resident permit). Currently people have to pay 100 SAR for each of their dependents (including maids or drivers). This amount will increase to 200 by July 2018, … Continue reading Times are a-changin’
We did it! We finally hired a nanny/helper! It certainly feels like an accomplishment, after years of entertaining the idea, attempting to hire one, giving up on the idea, then starting to entertain the idea again. Jose’s contract was renewed for one more year so right then and there I decided that for the (presumably) … Continue reading We finally hired a nanny!
For one negative here at KAUST there are probably three positives to make up for it. Even though I sometimes hate living and working with the same people, bumping into frenemies at the supermarket more often than I care for or just the general feeling of living in a gilded cage, what I saw tonight … Continue reading KAUST Community Love
Edge of the Desert 