Seven More Shopping Days to ....

Thursday 17th December 2009
Yes indeed! There really ARE only seven shopping days to go ….. but I don't mean to Christmas because there IS no Christmas here of course.

What I mean is something FAR BETTER for me. And that is that there are only about seven weekends to go until my Final Exit from this country.

Well, OK OK so maybe a few more and possible even a few less. But hey – I was trying to think up yet another cool headline for this blog entry and THAT was what I came up with!

Anyway, YES indeed! I HAVE now put in my request for so-called Terminal Leave. This means that I will put as many possible of my remaining holiday days on the end of my contract which will enable me to depart ahead of my scheduled Contract End Date. That, as you might recall, was originally to be 13th March. However, our semester ends on 10th February and the semester after THAT begins on 27th February. I did not want to be left with a fiddly little two weeks of work in March when all I would be thinking of is the small number of days left. Wouldn't have made ANY sense to even GO back for the start of the new semester. End of semester means end of ME here in Saudi Arabia!

Having counted back from my 13th March contract end date, I saw that it was possible to set my leaving date on 18th February at the earliest. Well, THAT is, I think, a Thursday. Although that is the start of the weekend here, it is, of course, NOT that back in Europe and the UK. Would make little sense to arrive back in mid-week because this would make difficulties for anyone who would be picking me up from the airport on arrival. MUCH better, I thought, to be on the plane on the Saturday the 20th which would mean arrival on the Sunday.

However, I was talking with our Head of Department and one of my colleagues about the actual procedure of finishing here and leaving the country and finally flying out. I had assumed that I would be able to make my final farewell from Bahrain Airport which is a FAR nicer way to go than the rubbishy airport closer to here in Dammam. My memories of THAT place are, of course, that first long night when I was abandoned and had to wait until the early hours to be picked up and brought here to where I am now. Did NOT want to ever see it AGAIN!

But nothing here is ever so simple or straightforward. Oh, the weeks to come are going to be testing times, and even up to the VERY LAST MINUTE I will not be able to rest easy it seems.

Why is that? Well, as you may know, Saudi Arabia is a great lover of bureaucracy and there are forms to fill in whenever there is some kind of need. I don't mind THAT as I have been through such paper-runs before in Poland many times. But what I DO object to is what I was told about what happens with my passport.

I have NO CHOICE which airport I can fly out from. It MUST be from Dammam airport. And when will I receive my passport? A few days before as when I went on holiday? NOT A BIT OF IT! I will, so I am told, receive my passport in my hand AT THE AIRPORT by someone from here. I will have met this person who is to “deliver” me my passport a few days beforehand here in the compound.

Now, in some ways I don't care HOW I get out of here just so long as it happens. But my pessimistic side is rearing its ugly head up now EVEN AS WE SPEAK! Since they were unable to MEET me that very first time, HOW are they going to be together enough and organised enough to be at the airport at the time they should be? And HOW do I know that they will not be delayed and that I will miss my flight? And HOW do I know that they will have done the Exit Visa correctly? You may remember what I said about them screwing that up for one of my other colleagues before the summer.

Amazingly, and this must be the first positive thing the HoD has ever said about these people, our HoD said, “Oh, they WILL be there!”. HOW is he so sure about this? Every other thing here they do he has only bad comment on. But THIS he is CONFIDENT of??

Well, if he IS optimistic they will be there, then that MUST be a good sign. But I'll believe it when I see it.

And here's another thing (and THIS is a good thing I think). He says that THEY take you TO the airport! Not bad! No need for taxis (though I'd much prefer to be taking one over the Causeway to Bahrain). But THAT is ANOTHER thing I doubt them to do. We will see.

Ah, but hold on. I am talking about Departure Day as if it is tomorrow. Ohh, there is MUCH to do before then.

Everyone who leaves here has certain procedures they must go through. Things must be signed off, handed back, checked out, gone through etc. etc. and there is a TIMETABLE of WHAT you must do and WHEN you must do it. Roughly it goes 7 weeks from departure, 3 weeks from departure, 2 weeks, 1 week, a few days, one day. Against each of these there is a bullet-point list of what you must do, who you must see and where you must go. Oh, and what you must give to who and where they are. Oh, and not forgetting another thing. You have to get all these people to SIGN to say that you are that ONE MORE STEP towards completing your Exit Plan.

Makes you wonder. Why go through all this when it is easier to stay here and just go on holiday when you can?

Whooaahhh!! Hold that thought! NO WAY!! Nah, you didn't think I was serious, did you? About STAYING? You got to be JOKING! I am looking forward to being out of here like the man out of solitary confinement. Like the butterfly emerging from its cocoon. Like the chick from its eggshell. Like the sun from out behind a big raincloud. Like the end of a very long constipation. Like .... like …. like ….

The only slight concern I have is the possible gap between finishing work here and starting my next job wherever that may be (though I have ideas already and am getting the CV off even as we speak!). But actually I don't think I will have much down time from work – at the most I think only a few months. The way I see it is this: finish here end February and back to the UK, a brief time there then a WELL-DESERVED holiday for a month, back end of April for Easter holiday time in England, May will probably be free, summer holiday work in any or all of June/July/August. I will spend some of my free time in London, but my preference is to spend that time back in Poland as that is where I feel best and it is now where all my things are. And the house and garden are there. And the peace and quiet too. Yes, there ARE family 'connections' still in the UK but there are troubles too and I don't want any more than is necessary of THOSE. This may not please some people, but I don't aim to be ONCE AGAIN tied to London whatever might suit THEM. No need for more details here.

It will be the first time in very many years I am to see my garden in the spring and summer periods. And time to do something in it!

The count, as I speak, is eight weeks of teaching left PLUS the ten days of February between the 10th and 20th which will be long and tedious but I will not care one bit!

I'm gonna be RIDIN' THAT FREEDOM TRAIN!