Our Arrival and First Days

Bism Allah wa as salaamu alaykum.

The long haul flight from Dulles Airport to Jeddah was wonderful – comfortable, enjoyable, and relaxing. The confusion of Jeddah airport was the first taste of the disorganized chaos of “the system” here. Once through it all, we sat waiting for our flight to Madinah, knowing it was all nearly over. Of course, good things are always laced with those extra tests. Despite all the calls to the employer's staff, nobody was there to pick us up. A few more calls and a 20-30 minute wait and the man arrived, speaking no English, to take us to the temporary accommodation. He was driving a RAV4, which was quite interesting when considering we are a family of 6 with 16 pieces of luggage. I sat in the back with the four children, with luggage looming over our headrests. Needless to say, my arm was up straining to keep it from falling on the children's heads.

Several phone calls later, DH understood he should go out and catch a taxi to work in the morning. In the meantime, we made up makeshift beds with bare mattresses, pillows, and one blanket each. DH went out to get something to eat, 2 chickens, 2 big bags of tasty rice, arugula, onion, and chopped salad, for about US$ 9. Masha'Allah, that was dinner for two days.

The first day at work for DH was wonderful, and every day since has been a pleasure wa al hamdu l'Illah. Wonderful brothers, helpful support, and the unfolding of The Perfect Plan have all ensued. Our arrival in late October meant we enjoyed much milder temperatures and lovely, balmy evenings. Our timing meant we were given an offer of an apartment fully equipped in the most ideal location imaginable for just SR22,000 per year. A huge saving for us, and a beautiful home, for far less than if we'd found something within the housing budget and had to equip it ourselves. The funds we took with us were exactly enough to cover the upfront money needed before the payments were issued from the employer.

The next issue, the schools for the children, also was placed in front of us. A few minutes of online activity and a message from the Hijrah to Madinah Yahoo Group said that Al-Fusha Girls' School needed native English speakers to teach English curriculum ESL books. The school was what we wanted, teaching and speaking only fus-ha Arabic. I called and ended up with a deal that all the girls could attend the school and our son attend the boys school for the school allowance provided by the employer and I could work there teaching. That meant I would be there to see how the girls got on the first year and would see first hand how the teaching was. Subhaan Allah! How many thanks can we give to our Perfect Provider?