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Friday, June 12, 2015

Ups and Downs continue in this rollercoaster of rural existence

First of all, let me thank each and every one of you, dear readers, who keep visiting my blog and follow my rather dreary existence on the sands of Arabia. Even so, I keep getting positive feedback from many of you: some find my blog entertaining; some inspiring; and some, well, simply good on literary merits. Thanks again for reading my blog for whichever reason applies to you. A few Indian doctors have found the contents interesting enough when they have themselves taken baby steps to migrate to Saudi Arabia in their own lives. They have then contacted me on other media such as FB, Whatsapp, etc. to speak or chat with me and get some idea of what living in KSA is like. I certainly don't envy them! 

On the other hand, I was contacted by a gentleman who sells car from a showroom in Australia. He was being offered a job in Riyadh where he would be the manager of a car sales showroom for some of the most expensive cars in the world. When he told me his contract details, I was stunned to realise that he would earn twice as much as I am earning now as a senior doctor. So, the lesson I learned was that car salesmen were more valuable to the system here than doctors are, although they need doctors much more than car salesmen from the Australian soil here.

After some hinting/coaxing/cajoling/nudging, all direct and indirect, some of the Zalm staff have sent me food cooked by their own hand. These items have included a spicy chicken from a Hyderabadi technician, an Adobo Chicken from a Filipina nursing group and authentic Mallu Avial from - who else - a Kerala-origin nurse. She even recounted the recipe of the item upon my asking her. I feel that I will try it. The surprise in the method of making it was not really a surprise, but even so, I must share it with you. When the item is nearly done, you simply pour fresh, unheated coconut oil atop the vegetables and cook for a further 5-10 minutes before your avial is done. Isn't it interesting?

I am currently taking a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) on Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration in Health Care from my favourite online learning site (THIS ONE). This is the last week and I have enjoyed the experience thoroughly. In a half hour from now, I would be joining some other amazing Courserians (yea, that is what we call ourselves) on a Google Hangout ... 

I watch one or two movies every day. Today, I watched the average entertainer "Dil Dhadakne Do" on my laptop. It proved to be quite commonplace except that it did send a self-improvement message to all those arrogant CEO's of rich companies. 

I have the feeling that I have less than a week remaining here in Zalm and I will be asked to return to my home village (Al Muwayh) before the end of the next week. By the time I return to Al Muwayh, my partner and co-Pediatrician Afzal Khan will have already left for his vacation to India. I will be managing the Pediatric work all by myself for the next over two months, as I see this happening from where I am just now. 

Do leave your comments below and let me know how you found today's entry.


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