Life in Jubail, Saudi Arabia





November 2006, It was about to get cold in Jubail, one of the city of the kingdom of saudi arabia and is the largest industrial complex of its kind in the world and consists of petrochemical plants, fertilizer plants, steel works, industrial port and a huge number support industries, i arrived at Dammam international airport.

It was 2:00 in the morning and airport's personnel was no where to be found. We finished all the checkings at 3:30 in the morning. We were picked by AYTB's driver and directly sent to company's accomodition, Camp 3. The company's place is located in the desert place so you cannot see big trees, rivers or even green mountains. I was so eager to know the country and the work so i never miss my home. I got in the company with my father's request so i really don't know whats my job. But after how many months i was able to learn all the jobs. Jubail City is like the City of Cebu where i came from. Eating broasted chicken was my favorate thing to do when i was in the city. You can buy anything you want from laptops, computers, latest cellphones, gold, silver, pants, shirts, etc. but ofcourse it costs a money.

People tend to think of Saudi Arabia as an expanse of scorchingly hot desert punctuated with oil wells, and for most of the time in most of the country, they would be absolutely right. From May to September, the country (basically everything except the southwestern mountains) bakes in temperatures that average 42°C and regularly exceed 50°C in the shade. In July and August, in particular, all who can flee the country and work slows down to a crawl. The coasts are only slightly moderated by the sea, which usually keeps temperatures below 38°C — but at the price of extreme humidity (85-100%), which many find even more uncomfortable than the dry heat of the interior, especially at night. Only the elevated mountainous regions stay cool(er), with the summer resort city of Taif rarely topping 35°C and the mountainous Asir region cooler yet. Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia. Although no law specifically requires Saudi citizens or passport holders to be Muslim, public observance and proselytism of religions other than Islam are forbidden.

Everything in Saudi is regulated by the five daily prayers. All shops and offices close during each prayer for a period of at least 20-30 minutes, and the religious police patrol the streets and pack loiterers off to the mosque. However, shopping malls, hospitals and airports do stay open (but with all shops inside the shopping malls closed) and taxis and other public transport continue to run normally.

The first prayer is fajr, early in the morning before the first glint of light at dawn, and the call to prayer for fajr will be your wake-up call in the Kingdom. After fajr, some people eat breakfast and head to work, with shops opening up.

The second prayer is dhuhr, held after true noon in the middle of the day. The Friday noon prayer (jummah) is the most important one of the week, when even less observant Muslims usually make the effort to go to the mosque. After dhuhr, people head for lunch, while many shops choose to stay closed and snooze away the heat of the day.

Asr prayers are in the late afternoon (1:30-2 hours before sunset), with many shops opening again afterward. Maghrib prayers are held at sunset and mark the end of the work day in much of the private sector. The last prayer is isha'a, held around 45 minutes to 1 hour after sunset, after which locals head for dinner. Expats refer to the time between maghrib and isha'a as the "prayer window", during which you can hit the supermarket and buy your groceries if you time it right.

For me Life here in Saudi Arabia is somehow different from the life i experience in my place, Cebu City. Good place for those engineers and managers but a sad place for those skilled workers. We wake up early in the morning so we will not miss our bus otherwise you will be absent from your work. Restday of the saudi people will be every friday so people in any race will go to the city to enjoy shopping or hanging out with friends. The routine of the people working here is from work to room and room to work. Most of the time people are spending there time chatting with their families back at home or calling through the cellphones.

I came here to work for my family's future. People back at home are thinking that life here is very good and full of fun but the real situation here is very difficult and for some they are sufferings from the traffickings of their employeers. But most of the people will rather stay here because their family needs finance for their basic needs and educations and also for the future.

In my 4 years of working here in saudi arabia i have seen people cry, laugh, live and die here. It is not easy to work here. But whatever life will bring us, just pray and do what is good for GOD will always guide us and will always be there for us.

 GOD BLESS TO ALL OF US WORKING ABROAD.