Jeddah: Taking the French Proficiency Test

Are you planning to take the TEF or Test d'Evaluation du Français? Have you searched far and wide for a tutor or the TEF practice book? You are not alone. Many candidates have faced similar problems when they were either looking for a tutor or the TEF practice book.

From the French Consulate, Jeddah.

There are a few tutors around town who charge up to 200 SAR per hour. You wouldn't pay that unless you don't understand anything in the French language and you really need to sit for the test. 
Another difficulty that some future candidates face is to buy the TEF practice book. Those who wish to practice on their own find that they cannot purchase the book at the big bookstores of Jeddah as they do not sell them, and most of the merchants who sell them on websites such as Amazon do not ship to Saudi Arabia. 
Fortunately for these candidates, the book is sold at a small bookstore called Bakshwain located at Sitteen Street (between Galnatha and Tahlia Street), contact number 026732417. 
Candidates can also contact the French Consulate in Jeddah for more information on where to take lessons or register for the test.

Djeddah : Test d'Evaluation de Français

Envisagez-vous de passer le TEF ou le Test d'Evaluation de Français? Avez-vous cherché le livre du TEF ou un professeur particulier? Vous n'êtes pas seul. Beaucoup de candidats ont été confrontés à des problèmes similaires quand ils recherchaient un professeur particulier ou le livre du TEF.

Affiche du consulat français à Djeddah.

Il y a quelques professeurs qui demandent jusqu'à 200 riyals saoudiens l'heure. Vous ne voudriez pas payer ce montant à moins que vous ne comprenez rien à la langue de Molière et vous avez vraiment besoin de prendre le TEF. Une autre difficulté que rencontrent certains futurs candidats c'est d'acheter le livre du TEF. Ceux qui souhaitent étudier eux-mêmes constatent qu'ils ne peuvent pas acheter le livre dans les grands librairies de Djeddah parce que celles-ci ne les vendent pas, et la plupart des marchands qui les vendent sur ​​les sites tels que Amazon n'expédient pas en Arabie Saoudite. Heureusement pour ces candidats, le livre est vendu dans une petite librairie appelée Bakshwain située à Shariah Sitteen (entre Shariah Galnatha et Shariah Tahlia), numéro de contact 026732417. Les candidats peuvent également contacter le consulat français à Djeddah pour plus d'informations concernant les cours ou l'inscription.

Saudi Arabia: Only for My People!

I have the habit of visiting free classified ad websites in Saudi Arabia, and to be honest, I am shocked by the degree of discrimination shown by some people on these websites. Not by the website owners themselves. Oh no! By the people who post the ads.

Normally, one would expect an employer to post a job offer and request for particular nationals because they can only obtain or have work visas for workers from this country. But what has nationality got to do with buying a car, renting a house, buying a piece of furniture or jewellery?

This is my story:

It was 1 a.m, but I couldn't sleep. Everyone else was asleep. I was so bored and nothing on TV was captivating. I turned on the PC and decided to browse. I saw a nice looking kitchen cabinet and decided I would contact the seller the next day to ask about the price. Then, I saw a nice jewellery set, and I also wrote down the number. The next day, I called the seller of the Kitchen cabinet. Ring, ring, ring...

"Allo." A deep male voice said.
"Good morning," I said.
"Min?" He asked.
"I'm sorry, Sir. I am calling regarding the ad you placed yesterday. I wish to purchase your cabinet," I responded.
"Inti Pakistani?" came the deep voice.
"La. Tatkalam engilizee yaa ustaaz?" I was getting impatient now because he asked me whether I was Pakistani.
"Maleesh. Ena abgha Pakistani baas." Then the line went dead. The guy had dropped the call after telling me he wanted only a Pakistani buyer. "Mean you!" I screamed, but stopped when I realised I was in my office.

Now lets try the second vendor. Maybe this one might be nice, and by the way, who wouldn't want to sell off her 18 karat gold-plated jewellery set as soon as possible? Ring, ring...
"Allo," said a nice gentle voice on the other end of the receiver.
"Allo. Good morning Ma'am. I am calling because I saw your ad yesterday. I would like to buy your jewellery set please,"  I said.
"Oh, that's good. I live at Aziziyah District. Are you far from here?" she asked.
"No, my home is about 10 minutes drive from Aziziyah," I replied, quite confident that I was getting somewhere.
Then came the chilling moment when she said, "Are you from Kerala?"
"No, I am not. I just wish to buy your jewellery set," I responded.
"You are not from Kerala?" she said.
"No," I repeated.
"मैं केरल से ही बेचते हैं," she said. I didn't understand a word of whatever she said.
"What? Could you say that in English please?" I calmly said, trying not to sound irritated.
"I'm sorry Ma'am, I don't speak English. Sorry. Bye" That was it. She had dropped the call. "Bad you!" I screamed. What was that? I was angry. Yeah, I was really mad. I had never ever heard of anyone wanting to sell only to a particular group of people--not even in my own country where we have over 200 tribes.

I have come across typical ads that said something like, "Two-bedroom house for immediate rent. Reason: We are going out on final exit. Please only people from Hyderabad should contact."

Kidding me? Why not just transport the apartment from Saudi Arabia to their country or village where only people of their tribe would live in it? Is it just me, or do you think that there is really something wrong with expats in this country? Does this happen in Western countries as well?

NB: I am just relating what happened to me and expressing my views in this post. My aim is not to target a particular group of people, and I believe that we all learn to tolerate each other in this multicultural world.

The Entertainer Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ever heard of the Entertainer KSA? No? Neither did I, until I met it on a sunny Thursday earlier this month. It came well wrapped in a package, and I couldn't wait to unwrap it. As I was unveiling the still-to-discover Entertainer KSA, I was wondering what was waiting for me inside. The first thing that greeted me was the orange smiley face on the front cover. My next thought was "Oh boy! You are surely going to be interesting!" 


Now what is the Entertainer about? For those of you who are hearing about it for the first time, the Entertainer is a book that offers 2 for 1 incentives at many fine dining restaurants, casual dining restaurants, informal dining, cafes, attractions, spas, beauty salons and fitness centres. There are over 500 buy one get one free vouchers in the book, just the perfect bargain for a family to enjoy and save money at the same time. 


As I went though the book, I discovered much more than I thought. I was delighted to see that my favourite eateries were listed. More so, there were well-known restaurants (including those at first class hotels and resorts), cafes, take-aways and fitness clubs where you could use the vouchers to gain discount. My next questions were, "So how does this work? How do I benefit from the discounts?" That was when I noticed that in my excitement, I had forgotten to read the Intro and the Rules of Use pages. Aha! First, I had to register the book on the Entertainer website. That was done. I had become an Essential Member, and I was entitled to exclusive member benefits and offers. Now getting ready for the journey with my new 21x15 cm companion. Ready to go down that road with us? Good. See you in a future post.

Arabie Saoudite : La Radiographie du Thorax

En 2002, si vous aviez demandé un étudiant de troisième année des études médicales quelles étaient les meilleures conditions pour effectuer une radiographie du thorax, il vous aurait dit que l'une des conditions était de l'exécuter avec le patient torse nu. Dans mon pays, les techniciens demandent toujours aux patients d'enlever leurs vêtements avant de procéder avec l'examen parce qu'ils avaient été formés que les vêtements pouvaient interférer avec les rayons X.


Je me souviens que j'avais 19 ans quand j'ai eu à faire mon premier examen radiologique (ayant atteint une certaine âge mûr). Quand j'étais une gamine, ca m'importais peu parce que je n'avais rien à cacher à cette âge. Le-dit jour quand je suis arrivée à la clinique, je n'étais pas très à l'aise que le technicien était un homme et quand il m'a demandé d'enlever mon haut je n'étais pas du tout contente. Deux choses m'avaient traversé l'esprit. Premièrement, j'avais intérêt à faire cet examen parce que j'avais peur que j'avais une infection pulmonaire grave (tuberculose). Deuxièmement, je n'avais pas à trop m'inquiéter car le technicien ne me connaissait pas et d'autant plus je ne le reverais jamais.


J'ai fait mon deuxième examen radiologique (étant adulte) en Arabie Saoudite. Je venais d'arriver et le phénomène de ségrégation sexuelle n'était pas encore inscrit dans mon cerveau. Lorsque je suis entrée dans la salle d'examen, je pensais que je devais enlever mon foulard et mon abaya. J'étais si impatiente d'en finir avec cet examen que je me suis mis a l'oeuvre. Le pauvre technicien a paniqué et il m'a mis dans le même état aussi. J'étais là, debout, perplexe et je me demandais ce que j'avais fait pour effrayer le pauvre homme de cette façon. Tout ce qu'il pouvait dire c'était "Astaghful Allah! Astagful Allah! Non, madame, pas enlever, pas retirer." Vous pouvez pariez comme j'étais soulagée quand j'ai compris la cause de sa panique. Bien sûr, j'étais aussi soulagée que je n'avais pas besoin de faire cet examen torse nu.


Dans les rares hôpitaux que j'ai visitée, j'ai remarquée que le plus souvent les femmes gardent leurs vêtements pendant l'examen. Apparement, cela ne semblait pas gener qu'elles soient trop habillées. J'ai vu un seul cas où le technicien avait demandé la patiente de se déshabiller et de porter une blouse de malade avant l'examen. La garde malade était restée derrière les rideaux pour aider son patient à porter la blouse. Je n'ai jamais cessé de me demander si la radiographie pulmonaire fait dans les cas où les patients étaient habillés étaient de très bonne qualité. Si ce n'était pas le cas est-ce que l'on fera quelque chose à ce sujet ?

Saudi Arabia: Chest X-ray

In 2002, if you asked any third year medical student what were the best conditions to perform a chest X-ray he would tell you that one of them was to perform it with the patient bare-chested. In my country, technologists always asked patients to take off their clothes before proceeding with the examination because they had been trained that clothing might interfere with X-ray images.


I remember I was 19 when I had my first chest X-ray as a grown up. When I was a kid, it didn't matter because I had nothing to hide at that time. On that day when I arrived at the clinic, I wasn't very comfortable that the technologist was male, and when he asked me to take off my top, I wasn't very happy about it. I had two things in my mind. First, I had to get that exam done because I was scared to hell that I had picked up a serious chest infection (tuberculosis). Second, I convinced myself that I didn't have to worry because he didn't know me and more so he would never see me again. 


I had my second X-ray (as an adult) in Saudi Arabia. I had just arrived and the sexual segregation thing had not yet registered in my mind. When I got into the examination room, I thought I had to take off my scarf and abaya. I was so anxious to get over with the examination that I immediately started to do just that. The poor technologist panicked and he got me in the same state too. There I was, standing perplexed and wondering what I had done to scare the poor man this way. All he could say was "Astaghful Allah! Astagful Allah! No madam, no remove, no remove." You bet how relieved I was when I understood the cause of his panic. Of course, I was also relieved that I didn't have to do that exam bare-chested.


At the few hospitals that I have been to, I noticed that most often women were asked to keep their clothes on when performing a chest X-ray. It didn't matter whether they had too many clothes on or not. I have seen only one case where the patient was asked to take off her clothes and wear a hospital gown before the exam. However, her relative stayed behind the curtains to help her get into a hospital gown. I have never stopped asking myself whether chest X-rays done in cases where the patients were overdressed were of really good quality. Would something be done about this if it really was the case? 

Jeddah: Reading Club for Kids

Have you ever had a little argument with your kid over the pronunciation of a word? Imagine telling your kid that "fantasy" is pronounced /fæn.tə.si/ and he/she says, "Noooooooo, my teacher says it is /fa:nta.zi/." And so goes on the argument until you give up because kids hardly get tired. Maybe this is just my opinion, but I noticed that kids believe so much that their teachers know better.


What happens when your child attends an international school that has teachers from every corner of the globe? You got Americans, Canadians, Britons, Indians, Filipinos, Egyptians, Nigerians, Ghanians, Cameroonians, etc. It is not surprising when some non-native English speaking parents worry when their kid(s) speak(s) English like another non-native whose country of origin is different from theirs. Not that being a non-native English speaker is bad (I'm one, by the way), but the general tendency is for parents to want their kids to express themselves like native English speakers. In Jeddah, for example, I have seen little clubs spring up with the main objective of teaching kids to speak like native English speakers (particularly with an American accent). The latest one is the American International Reading Club for Kids that accepts boys and girls aged 8-11 years for a monthly fee of 150 SAR, books not included.


The reading club administrator, Taqwah Summers, opened this club (which will effectively begin its activities on February 2, 2012) after the multiple requests of some parents. The club is located in Rawdah District 6 and opening times for girls are Thursdays from 10.00 am -11:30 am, and for boys Thursdays from 2.00 pm-3.30 pm. For more information, parents can contact the club administrator on 0501027905 or via e-mail: Taqwahsummers@gmail.com