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> King Abdullah University of Science and Technology near Jeddah (new world-class university with the best brains money can buy, except it's not) I don't often
by objclxt 6y ago
> King Abdullah University of Science and Technology near Jeddah (new world-class university with the best brains money can buy, except it's not)
I don't often get the chance to tell this, but I was - through a series of strange circumstances - briefly involved with the initial set-up of that university and I got so many war stories out of it.
This included:
* The contractors built the on-campus housing without drainage (...although money was allocated for drains, it somehow went "missing"). There was a rainstorm right before campus opening and most of the housing was destroyed.
* During the same rainstorm very expensive IBM supercomputer was partially destroyed. It transpired contractors had drilled through the damp-proof coursing above whilst fixing a light.
* A number graduate students were arrested in the first few months for fraternising outside of campus (inside the campus most morality laws didn't apply, but once you left you were on your own)
* One of the chemistry labs did a roaring trade in sid (the local arabic for hooch) amongst the faculty and staff
* Getting absolutely anything done relied on "wasta", which kind of translates as "clout", but encompasses a bunch of things including nepotism, who you know, and your skin color (Saudi, like much of the Middle East, suffers from significant racism. Faculty and staff who looked Indian or Pakistani had a very rough time of it).
- throwaway123x2 6y agoI'd love to hear more specifics if you have em! I have a fascination with that kind of incompetence and the reasons for it.
- istorical 6y agoall in all, was it worth it? I remember hearing about pay being incredibly high if one was wiling to adhere to the customs of the culture and live in the environment some may not want to.
- objclxt 6y agoI was quite young and inexperienced at the time, and it turned out I was actually underpaid for the role. I ended up leaving after about six months. That being said, there’s very little income tax in Saudi, so yes - you can be paid well. I don’t regret my time in Saudi - it was an eye opening experience and I learned a lot, and met many fascinating people (both local and expat) - but I don’t know if I’d recommend someone pursue a career t ere.
- rasz 6y ago>The contractors built the on-campus housing without drainage Reminds me of 2009 Dubai rivers of shit fiasco.
- tablespoon 6y ago> Reminds me of 2009 Dubai rivers of shit fiasco. Link, please.
- rasz 6y agohttps://www.greenprophet.com/2011/11/burj-khalifa-poop/ https://www.greenprophet.com/2011/11/burj-khalifa-poop/ https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/johann-hari/dark-side-dubai-1664368.html https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/johann-har... >"It started like this. We began to get complaints from people using the beach. The water looked and smelled odd, and they were starting to get sick after going into it. So I wrote to the ministers of health and tourism and expected to hear back immediately – but there was nothing. Silence. I hand-delivered the letters. Still nothing." The water quality got worse and worse. The guests started to spot raw sewage, condoms, and used sanitary towels floating in the sea. So the hotel ordered its own water analyses from a professional company. "They told us it was full of fecal matter and bacteria 'too numerous to count'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pQdjwliLMA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pQdjwliLMA I think there also might of been some BBC documentary shooting raw shit flowing down the street among glimmering sky scrapers, plus you cant ignore the aroma of the city overall.
- jareklupinski 6y agomaybe it was lost in translation, as in "drain this money" :P