Ladies and Gentlemen, Salam Alaikum and Welcome to King Abdulaziz International Airport!

I don't really know if that's what the hosties say to the passengers when they land here at Jeddah, but we did have our first flights today. 3 'turnarounds' as they're called, all operating in Garuda Indonesia colours. The Indonesian passengers coming in were all so nice and smiling, and truly thankful for everything, as most likely some of them have have never stepped on a plane in their lives. It's so good to see people that are just truly happy and carry a genuine smile, instead of those fake smiles and chit chats common in some places.

I'm now starting to see how much work I'm going to be doing in the next 2 and half months. Today we arrived at the airport at 8:30, now it's nearly 19:30, we're still here and could be here 'till midnight, depending on the arrival of the last flight of the day. And this is nothing! As the Hajj season hasn't even properly started yet! So, loads of work ahead, but that's what I came here for, to work.

As everybody knows it's New Year's Eve tomorrow, and seriously, it doesn't feel like it at all. In fact, I'm not even that enthusiastic about it. There is a party organised by Atlanta, and I'll probably go, but I seriously doubt on staying long, since honestly I'd rather be asleep in my bed once it ticks into the new year. But i have plenty of New Year's Eves ahead of me (inshallah) and plenty of time to mess about.

So, ya'll have a Happy New Year 2004 and hope to see you all again in the new year.

And now it´s over... Christmas, that is. The company organised a Christmas party for all of us on Xmas eve, by the pool at the compound next to the one I live at. Lots of food (catered by a Jeddah Hotel) and some people ended up staying quite late actually. So that was a different xmas, definitely, although not bad at all.

Now, we had our first day 'working' yesterday (saturday 27th), at the airport where we got our security passes and then went out on the apron checking out some of our planes. It really is quite different entering an empty plane from the tiny opening behind the nose wheel, nothing like walking in through the jetty being met by an FA who says 'Hello'. Oh, and since some of the planes were empty, they were of course turned off, which means no air conditioning. So in the desert climate which we have here, believe you me, it was baking hot in there!
And now I'm at our maintenance office killing some time, waiting for a plane coming in an hour carrying about 100 crew being ferried over here.

So, enough about planes, life otherwise is quite good down here, there's no such thing as a season here, it's either Hot, Very Hot or So Hot... although I haven't checked, I'm pretty sure the arabic newschannels don't do weather, it is so not necessary!!!
I'm pretty sure life will now be something like work-eat-sleep, work-eat-sleep, but that's ok, since I didn't really come down here to party and shop, although the shopping is good down here, and actually the food too!

So, that's all for now... oh, (a late) Happy Christmas to ya'll, hope you had a wonderful time.

Wow, it's already the 23rd and nobody told me... shame, but honestly it really doesn't feel like the 23rd here at all, well, maybe since every day seems to be the same, that is, hot and sunny. Well, hey! That's Saudi Arabia for you!

Yep, welcome to my blog thing (it seriously took me like half an hour to figure out how to start this thing, I never really thought of myself as technologically challenged until now, but I guess there's a first for everything!). I'm not a brilliant writer at all, so don't expect much from me on this, but I thought it would be nice to start something like this since I know people all over the globe, and I ain't exactly that good at writing emails alot. So, if you can (and want), Enjoy! Oh, and for the Icelanders reading this you'll just have to read it in English, since there's no way I'm going to publish this in 2 or 3 languages!

Been here in Jeddah for a week now, and basicly like it, although I shouldn't be too quick to presume things like that since we really haven't started working yet, so it's been lazy days recently, lounging by the pool and watching TV a lot.
Apparently we'll be getting our Ramp/Airside securtiy passes for Jeddah King Abdulaziz Int'l Airport (I love that name!) tomorrow (24th Dec), so I guess it won't be lazy days much more after Xmas day.

Jeddah is actually kinda nice, although it seems alot of people have mixed emotions about it, especially the Icelanders working here, but that's just Icelanders for you, not exactly always optimistic and bright! Like I said, it's nice, and somewhat not what I expected, but then again I've no idea what I expected in the first place!
Downtown is a very busy place with lots of little (and big) shops, souks, smells and people. The thing about everything shutting down for prayers is great (the shops have 3 kinds of signs: OPEN / Closed and CLOSED FOR PRAYERS!), some find it annoying, but i find it nice, and when the Immam (or Imman or however you spell it) comes on the loudpeakers in the big shiny new shopping centre and calls everybody to prayers is really something different!
Of course my opinion of this place is bound to change in the next three months, but I've promised myself to keep a positive outlook (something I've learned some time ago) and SMILE alot, amazing how that helps anywhere you are!





And, for those of you wondering what the hell I'm doing in Saudi Arabia of all places, read on:

You see, I was offered a job with Air Atlanta Icelandic, as an "Operations Officer", working at the airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the coming Hajj season. Of course, being me, I took it, and here I am now, in Jeddah, living in a compound called "Rose Village" with other Air Atlanta people from all over the world. Interesting... Oh yes it is.