Thursday, February 16th, 2012
What? That's what my ticket said.
A big part of life here in The Kingdom is getting invites to the parties. There are a ton of them going on every weekend. You just need to make sure you make friends with people who can get you the invites. I've said it before, there are a ton of expatriates here from a lot of different countries and the restrictive lifestyle (and lack of alcohol) gets to us all. The party circuit is a chance for us to let our hair down, ditch our Abayas, have a few drinks and have a good time. It's also a great chance to network.
The process for getting tickets for the Marine House Party started with emailing our names and passports to the Marines and they put you on a list. That was Catharine's job. The next step is going down to the US Embassy on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday (I think) between 1000 and 1330 to pay for and pick up your tickets. That was my job. Then you just have to wait for the date and arrive at the party before 2100 (they close the doors at that time). If for some reason you don't like Marines, not to worry, they may host the party but there will only be a couple there. They can be easily recognized by the haircuts so you can avoid them and talk to the engineers and IT specialists (etc.) instead.
Thursday night arrived (Thursday here is like Saturday everywhere else since our weekend is Thursday/Friday) and Catharine and I headed off to the Embassy for the night. It was my first visit since I arrived and we had a great time.
Things to know before heading to an Embassy party here:
1) You can assume every other women you meet is either a nurse or a teacher, because most expatriate women here are either nurses or teachers. On a side note, we get blamed for the high amount of infidelity amongst expatriate men in the area. Like being a nurse is the reason why guys lie to us and cheat on their wives. I prefer to blame it on the obvious fact that they're assholes. Of course people will argue that it's not that simple but I prefer to discuss behavioural expectations and etiquette another time.
2) Don't attempt to cryptically find out if a guy is married......there is a good chance he is so just ask. Many however do consider themselves separated.......by the Atlantic Ocean so be specific with your questioning.
3) If you think your outfit may show a little too much cleavage, just wait for the Brit or Australian girls (sorry, a little stereotyping there) to show-up. You'll think you're wearing an Abaya.
4) The guy who looks just like Gene Simmons will check you out. Just hold out hope that he won't hit on you.
5) If you don't like getting checked out and hit on by lots of random guys.....stay at home.
6) Your alcohol tolerance is WAY down so start slow. You don't want to be the girl who is so drunk she falls into a garbage can or pukes on some one's shoes.
7) The US Embassy will check your phone for you (so you can bring it along and pick it up after the party......no phones allowed in the Embassy). The same cannot be said for other Embassies so know before you go or you might be praying it is still in the bush when you come out in a few hours.
8) There is always an Abaya stash pile somewhere because lots of women hate carrying big purses on the dance floor......just make sure you go home with the right one (I originally picked up the wrong one but lucky for me I was still sober enough to notice and switch back with the girl who had mine).
9) The Embassy may kick you out a midnight, but that doesn't mean you have to go home. Of course it is fine if you skip the after party and go home to some food and your bed. No one will judge you.
10) Always make friends with someone who knows where the after parties are, because that means they have the hook-ups for future Embassy parties.
Lucky for me I knew the rules before I arrived so there were very few surprises.
Until next time.
Julie
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