Thread by @awatiibadan

A W A Y F R O M H O M E

(2/7)

"The worst period of work was during Ramadan. If you work within a house, just take it that you will not sleep for the whole period of the Ramadan.

The thing about the Arabs is that they love to see all sorts of meals on their table even if

no one would eat it - so we’d set a grand table that has all sorts of meals.

On the day the fast starts, I’d begin to prepare sahur from around 11pm the previous day and I will cook all through the midnight till about 3am.

Now when sahur is over, I’d begin to

wash all the plates, bowls, cutlery and pots used to serve and eat. All of that washing and cleaning up will start from when sahur is over till about 9am.

Then I’d resume cleaning the compound, washing cars etc., that could last for another 2-3hours.

All the sleep I get is the nap I can steal before the cleaning for sahur begins.

By 12, mid-day, I’d have to start cooking whatever meals we’d be serving for the breaking of the fast at sundown.

As I am making real foods, I am also making snacks and preparing all

sorts of delicacies. I’d be in the kitchen working till about 7pm when I’d serve the food. When they are done eating, I’ll commence washing all over again for hours; this could last till 10pm.

All the time I have to sleep is about 30mins-1hour because I have to

resume cooking for sahur by 11am! So what time do I have to sleep?! And remember, I still had to be checking on the aged woman, changing her diapers and cleaning her up.

Remember that I told you that one of my boss’ son had a daughter-in-law that was pregnant

at the time I was working there. When she delivered her baby, that was another hellish period for me. We kept receiving visitors daily for 40 whole days!

Considering how the Arabs entertain visitors, as a batch of visitors was leaving, another batch would be coming in.

So if a batch of visitors came and we have laid out food for them; when a new batch of visitors came around I'd have to start cooking all over again.

Visitors would start coming from morning and we may not stop receiving visitors until 2am, and as every visitor came,

I'd be cooking for them.

When visitors arrive, we'd first of all serve them water. Then about 15mins after, we’d serve them coffee along with dates.

After a couple of minutes, I’d serve them chocolates all round. After like 15mins, I'd prepare Lipton tea and serve them that.

As I am serving the tea, I'd be packing the coffee I’d brought in earlier. A few minutes will pass and then I’d serve them pizza – mind you, we don’t order pizza, I’d have to make the pizza myself.

While I am serving all these, the main food is on the fire – I am serving,

clearing and cooking all at the same time.

When the main food is ready, we will scoop the food into a very large tray; the guests will gather round the that huge bowl and everyone will deep their hands and eat from the bowl.

Bear in mind that this is Saudi Arabia,

Bear in mind that this is Saudi Arabia, men and women don’t mingle or do things together; so male guests will stay together while female guests will stay together.

That means that just as I have dished all sorts of foods for the male guest, I have to rush over to the room

where the female guests are and do the same.

I’d be running flights of stairs from one room to the other trying to be at hand for both the men and the women.

As I am serving the men in one room, I am rushing over to serve the women in another room; as I am packing the dishes

and cleaning up the room holding the men, I have to rush to do the same for the women.

In that house, they don’t allow that food cooked for a batch of visitors be served to another batch.

Even if the guests did not touch the food I had dished out, the new batch of guests must

not be served the same food – I have to go on and cook a new batch of foods for them. Whatever foods was untouched would be packed and put in public refrigerators for anyone interested to eat.

Every street has fridges located on the corner and so everyone puts cooked food and

drinks inside the fridges so that anyone passing by who is hungry or who might want to taste the food would just open and take as much as they want to take.

Even the rich stop by the fridges so it is not unusual to see a man driving an expensive car park by the street fridges

and pick whatever is available in it. This eliminates the concept of beggars littering the streets.

So whenever we cook and we don’t eat it, I will go put the food in the fridge on our street. If you feel like eating a meal and you don’t have it at home,

you can go to the fridge on your street and see if it is stored in it."
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(3/7 runs tomorrow