tal bukra

I was warned by a Pakistani colleague, several months into my sojourn in Saudi Arabia, that I'd frequently hear the phrase 'tal bukra.' It means, come tomorrow. I remember two lines from a verse I had read decades ago, "Put up in a place where it's easy to see, the cryptic admonishment TTT." TTT, the next couple of lines explained, stands for 'things take time.' The admonishment is more relevant here than in most other places. I have already related my experience regarding opening a bank account. More recently I had a similar experience with an even simpler task--buying a mobile phone SIM.

I went to a small STC (Saudi Telecom) outlet to buy a SIM. The shop was manned by only two persons, who didn't seem to have much work at hand, since apart from myself, there were no other customers. I expressed my intention to buy a SIM, and one of the guys told me to bring a photocopy of my residence permit. I was not prepared for this; on the two occasions that I had bought SIMs from a different company, the shop attendants themselves made copies of my residence permit. I pointed to the scanner/copier in the shop, but was told that it was out of order. So I went out to find a copy shop, but when I spotted one, the call for prayer rang out from the mosque loudspeaker. I decided to come back the next day.

The following day, a Thursday, I went back to the same shop only to be told to come back on Saturday. No explanation was given, but I guess since government offices are closed on Thursdays, STC outlets, like the banks, may offer only limited services on that day. I came back on Saturday, but they had run out of SIMS. "Tal bukra," they said. The next evening found me back at the same shop, and yes, this time they could issue me a SIM. "But you cannot use it today," I was told, "you have to activate it tomorrow." Well, at least I won't have to make the trip to the shop again!

The slow pace of things can get on your nerves. But getting agitated won't help you move any faster. And one has to admit, the laid back attitude and easy-going pace is a definite attraction of living in Saudi Arabia.