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Archiving Saudi Season
No, my Saudi season is not over yet. Final exit might be days, months or even years away. But it feels right to archive all but the most popular articles on this blog and focus on my next project:...
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Three Years
Exactly three years ago, I landed in Dammam Airport, surfboard in hand, in the midst of a second mobilization to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. If you've followed my story up to now, you'll already know...
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The Final Post - Five Years in Saudi
Celebrating National Day 2019 in KSA. I used to love writing this Saudi blog. It kept me sane putting down all my thoughts about a country so complex and multi-layered that it would take a lifetime to...
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Resurrection after Six Years in KSA
Just over a year ago, I promised that "whatever happens" I had already written my final Saudi Season blog post and would never write another one. Perhaps promises are meant to be broken. Also, who...
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Miraculously Reunited in KSA for the Last Time
Despite the uncertainties of the world, I seem intent on making bold promises on what are probably my last few posts ever on saudi-season.blogspot.com. When I resurrected the blog in October, I made a...
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60 Days
At the beginning of February, the Saudi Health Ministry ordered the closure of cinemas, restaurants and coffeeshops due to a minor rise in confirmed coronavirus infections. Thankfully, unlike in...
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18 years of Marriage
18 years ago, on March 8th, 2003, on now famous Siargao Island, I married my darling Mirasol. I can remember so many details from that time. The island hadn't yet been discovered by mass tourism, so my...
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An Unexpected Contract Extension
At the beginning of March, I foolishly asked a rhetorical question on a soon to be published blog about whether anything could stop us returning to the Philippines in 60 days. You see, I had a flight...
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Saudi’s Surf Pioneers
Unbelievably, it’s been almost six years since I first arrived on the shores of Al Khafji, KSA. With suits and shirts in my case and a surfboard under my arm, I had a strong feeling surfing would be...
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Jubail Staycation
When I accepted a two-month bespoke contract extension a few weeks ago, I already knew it included a two-week religious holiday. While we could have hit the road on an expensive mission to check out...
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60 Days
At the beginning of February, the Saudi Health Ministry ordered the closure of cinemas, restaurants and coffeeshops due to a minor rise in confirmed coronavirus infections. Thankfully, unlike in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An Unexpected Contract Extension
At the beginning of March, I foolishly asked a rhetorical question on a soon to be published blog about whether anything could stop us returning to the Philippines in 60 days. You see, I had a flight...
View ArticleClik here to view.
14 Days
After such a lengthy second season in Saudi, it's very difficult to believe that I'm now just 14 days away from final exit. Of course, my family and I can't take anything for granted given the...
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EOSB
Yesterday, a few of my colleagues kindly gave me a leaving present and my manager spoke for a few minutes about how I would be missed and how much impact I had had on my trainees across the years. It...
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7 days
What should have been a period of peaceful contemplation has, in typical Saudi style, been super stressful. Naively, I thought I’d just be checking CNN Philippines for travel updates and waiting for...
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Flight Ban
Sometimes it seems like you’re up against the world itself. Two days ago, from out of nowhere, Saudi Arabia decided to ban all flights to UAE and three other nations. This unexpected flight ban,...
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18 years of Marriage
18 years ago, on March 8th, 2003, on now famous Siargao Island, I married my darling Mirasol. I can remember so many details from that time. The island hadn't yet been discovered by mass tourism, so my...
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A Day in the Life of an ESL Teacher in Saudi Arabia
As part of a YouTube series my family and I are doing on our YouTube channel, I filmed this short film "A Day in the Life of an ESL Teacher" about one of my last days teaching in Saudi Arabia. Right...
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Final Deliverance
It might seem like our final deliverance was easy and I'm somehow exaggerating the barriers which lied in our path in the days before exit. But I don't think I'm exaggerating them at all. In reality,...
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A Ramada Goodbye
After saying two goodbyes in Khafji (one to my polytechnic workplace and the other to the city), ejection came slightly early due Saudi’s unexpected and totally unjustified flight ban. My company...
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