Obviously by the length between entries life here has been getting busier, that doesn’t mean organized, it just means busy.
Take for example the excitement last of week of THE CAR arriving. Sounds cool, is cool. On the other hand it took about a week to complete the paperwork and move it from the port to the compound and get it to the house. An “agent” had to be employed, sorry, OMG I thought it was raining outside, I almost woke Jay to run out and look at it! Legal permission has to be given to act on our behalf, cash has to be withdrawn from the bank in large quantities to pay the agent, the registration, the tax etc. Finally, it is delivered to Camp Sand after 3 days. The “agent” cannot drive onto the camp, so Rex drives the rental car, out the Number One Gate, telling the driver that I will be driving it back in. The “agent” arrives, Jay and Mummy leave Daddy, and excitedly drive home to wait for the car.
Then Rex has to return the rental car. He has a private driver from here drive him to the Hertz Rental place, Rex following in the rental (which we are more than happy to be rid of - it was broken into at the local supermarket and important stuff was taken, another tale.). The driver goes to the wrong Hertz, Rex is nervous in the traffic which is “wild”, after about 2 -3 hours Rex returns to Camp Sand, deed done, lighter pockets.
Now we have a car which needs to be registered, insured, plates installed, and to join AAA. Fortunately this can be done within the confines of Camp Sand. Rex, who is not coping particularly well with the mountains of paperwork which have to be filled out, all the more so because it could all be done electronically and more efficiently, is simmering. So, Jay and Mummy and Daddy all venture out at 6.45am last Wednesday (not a school morning for Jay he has the morning off) and start the paperwork epic. Registration can be done electronically in the office. So Rex is directed to one of two computers. Jay is occupied on his iPad and I’m irritated that all the reading materials are in Arabic and not a single publication in English. We are after all 20% of the population here and the most educated by far. Arrgh, grumpy Bunny plays scrabble on her new iPhone - remember the car rental, new phones ensued etc, etc. Glancing at The Rex I can see very negative body language, in fact I am nervous that the computer is going to be launched out the window. Being the good wife I venture to support him. Of course, it is all in Arabic and there is no English option and he cannot read the date in Arabic, our knowledge of the Arab calendar is as good as our knowledge of Korean - a total void. I ask the nice man at the counter for help. Ten minutes later “help” decides to get up from the counter and leisurely stroll to the computer. Shortly thereafter, Rex is sitting with us and the “help” is taking care of the paperwork. I have the distinct feeling that this could have, should have happened in the first place. Nonetheless by 8.20am we are walking out the door. We have sticker on the car window and very strict instructions to take the car to AAA and get the plates installed before we can drive anywhere beyond the security gates - any gates, so we have to do it now.
Daddy drives us, of course to the other side of Camp Sand. We find the AAA, it has the appearance of an abandoned air craft hanger. Much to our amazement and relief it is “staffed” and Daddy eventually finds a very helpful individual who speaks English, a huge plus, and can do the job with the right tools. There is a scramble on to find more cash, to pay for AAA membership. After about 30mins the job is done. Jay and I sit in the car with it running and the AC on. Friends like Houston, it is now about 105F and I can see Rex’s clothes sticking to him. We do have bottles of iced water with us, so he is grateful to swig that down. Jay is drinking chocolate milk and iced water. We trade drivers and I proceed to drive Daddy to work. Daddy’s work is a solid 10 minute drive and when we get there, he then has me drive around a car park to find “the guy” who washed the car the day before. He’s working in another car park, so we drive to another car park. All the while, it is dawning on me that all the car washers “look the same” and Rex may never “see” the guy again to pay him. After 5 minutes of driving around we finally find the guy and pay him. At 9.30am we deposit Dad in front of his building and bid him farewell. A little boy voice sounding fragile, informs me with a tremor, “Mummy I feel car sick.”, as the sentence trails off, the air in the car turns putrid and I turn to see Jay and the entire back seat awash and he is sheet white. There is nothing I can do to help him, but crank up the AC, give him another bottle of chilled water and drive him home slowly. An hour later, the entire back seat of the car, car seat, cuddly toys, clothes and Jay have all been washed, bathed, disinfected and the day starts again, afresh. Thank goodness it was a Temeaka day and I had an extra pair of hands, to help with the car.
Oh, I forgot to mention the nail in the tire. Our next project is to track down two car tires for the BMW and get them paid for in cash of course and delivered to Camp Sand and then installed on the car. Something we will arrange and have Abu our trusty driver pick up and deliver to the house. It is highly unlikely this early in the game that Daddy is going to drive our car out of the compound beyond a two mile radius - Ikea and the Mall, so that errand will be outsourced. For now we have a car, our car and we are happy Campers!