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 about my surfing, family, teaching and sand boarding exploits in Arabia. It all started in 2012 with a year in Sakakah with a dubious recruitment company. Then, after two years back in the Philippines, I began my current journey on the coastal road from Dammam Airport to the Kuwaiti border. Of course I’ll never forget the date of mobilisation: 9/11/2015. How can anyone moving to the Middle East forget that fateful day in New York? It’s shaped the region so much, especially America’s war on terror in Iraq and beyond.

While this Saudi-Season blog is no longer updated as regularly as previously, I’ve decided to do quarterly updates just in case anyone is still reading. Of course my main blogging focus these days is www.rafsworld.com, a new project designed to encourage families to get out of their comfort zones and hit the world trail. And Instagram keeps me busy too, both publishing beautiful pictures on the main feed and dispatches from Saudi Arabia in our Instagram stories. Follow my family and I @rafsworldtravel to see real time updates and our day to day adventures in the Kingdom.

So what’s happened in the last three months? Work is the same, but an iPad programme might transform our presentation and practice methods in the winter. August pay increases didn’t match last year’s generosity, and significant complaints erupted when the outgoing senior teacher bestowed “outstanding” teacher honours on questionable candidates. I received an “excellent” rating and 2% pay increase; a bit disappointing compared to last year’s “outstanding” and inflation-busting 9.2%  payrise. Although the dates in the school yard eventually ripened, the quality and quantity of available dates were disappointing too. In stark contrast, our family trip through the Balkans was a roaring success, solidifying the benefits of this second Saudi season with plenty of money to get us back into the travelling in style mindset. In addition, saving is going really well with our premium bond account now well above £50K.

What about the future? Autumn teaching schedule is out tomorrow, which will carry me up to November examination week. And it’s in the middle of that week, in seventy days from today, that an Emirates flight is booked to take me back to the Philippines. I’m flying via Dubai where my wife and son will meet me and fly on together to Cebu. Longer term I believe the Philippines will be a large part of our future too, but that’s a story for another time.