So I realised my last entry was a bit negative, and there are plenty of positive and just generally interesting things going on here. So here's a bit of light entertainment between big posts.

I kept going with lazy Ramadan for about 2 weeks, but when I started getting dizzy and having head rushes, I extended it from water only to liquids only, so I could have juice and milk and tea and the like. But not soup. That would be too foody. A few days ago when things got so stressful, those of us following lazy Ramadan (there were a few others too) packed it in, but found our appetites had shrunk so much we were barely eating anything anyway. I'm still only eating the equivalent of one normal meal spread out over the whole day, and not feeling any hungrier than usual. Admittedly I'm not doing a huge amount at the moment.

Do you remember I mentioned 3 kittens and a puppy called Max? Well. I did. You ought to remember them, they're pretty memorable creatures. Max is female. And the kittens' mother is called Henry, not that I've met her. The kittens decided I wasn't so terrifying after all, and even Scaredy Cat comes up to say hi now, although he/she still jumps back if I make any sudden movements. Max for a few days was incorrigible, chased around after me like a wild thing whenever I was within sight, and managed to rip 3 skirts, which got progressively shorter to try and keep the hem out of her reach, to no avail. Fortunately they're not badly ripped. Since the people who have been looking after them all along left the other day, it has fallen to me to keep them fed and watered. I've been over a couple of times each day, and the kittens have been very friendly (and hungry) but Max was nowhere to be seen for nearly 2 days. I tried not to worry. When I went over today, Max appeared, but not her usual cheery self at all. She was wet and dirty, limping badly with one of her back legs never touching the ground, and sad. Much more affectionate than playful, which is out of character. I gave her some food and water, tried to clean her up a bit, and spent some time trying to cheer her up. I'll go again this evening. I'm doing my best to accept that she probably won't last long. There are people from the next company coming sometime in the next few weeks, but nobody knows when. I doubt it'll be soon enough for Max. The kittens, on the other hand, will probably be fine.

I'm finally getting out of here tomorrow morning, bound for Riyadh, where I will be for a couple of weeks, staying with my friend Christina. I'm pretty much packed, just a couple more bits and pieces to do, and as Zarina has now left, I'm planning to keep myself entertained with books and DVDs this evening. Last night Zarina and I went to the spa in town, which is apparently owned by a princess. I'd never been to a spa before, I'd never had a pedicure before, and I'd never had a real massage before. So it was quite a treat for me. Safe to say, my feet have never looked so pretty, I can see myself getting into a habit. The massage was good, but I'm not entirely convinced it was worth what I paid for it. It was also quite entertaining. After we paid, we were each taken to a little private room, and then I was just abandoned with no explanation or anything. I wondered if this was the point at which I was meant to get changed into a dressing gown, as seen in films and on TV, but there was no sign of one anywhere in the room. Fortunately someone reappeared after a couple of minutes and took me back down the corridor to a changing room, and gave me a gown. The end of the massage was just as confusing. I'd been lying there with my eyes closed, doing my best to stay awake, I had no idea how long I'd been there, then she stopped, covered me up in towels, and left the room without saying a word. I looked at my watch and realised the time was up, so put the gown back on and went back to the changing room, but couldn't help feeling like I was running away. Also, for all she knew I actually had fallen asleep and would have just lain there indefinitely. It was, after all, after midnight and I was tired. All that said, the spa was a lovely comfortable place, and the staff were all very friendly, despite most of them speaking only very limited English. Interestingly, the women doing our pedicures were from the Philippines, which I expected, but all the massage staff were Saudi, which I wasn't expecting.

One final thing, which I find entertaining, interesting, and kind of sad, all at the same time. The other day I discovered from some of the Muslim teachers that according to Islam, the angels go away when you're naked. But only once you reach puberty - children have angels all the time. Fortunately the same happens to men as well as women, but I still find it strange. What's so wrong with being naked? Surely you need more protection when you're naked, not less? I never realised angels were capable of having inappropriate thoughts. And if I'm having a shower, surely that's a good thing to be doing, not a bad thing? Likewise having a baby. In the same conversation I discovered that (this may well not be agreed with by all Muslims, I'm just reporting what I was told by my friends here) you're not supposed to see yourself naked in the mirror. WHY THE HELL NOT?