Forget snow days, King days are better!

Remember when you were a kid and you woke up one winter morning and tried to stumble to the bathroom for your shower, only to be stopped by your mom with the news that school was out for snow?

...if you're one of our readers in Saudi Arabia, the answer to that question is probably "no," but let me tell you, it's awesome!

This morning was much like that scenario, only we're experiencing mid-June temperatures. My alarm went off this morning and I sat up to rub the sleep from my eyes.

"mmphfm to sleep," the Mister mumbled. He often talks in his sleep, so I thought I had just disrupted his slumber and thought nothing of it.

"No school mmphhfm."

"What?" I said, much more interested now.

"The King said we don't have to go to school," was Mister's response, slightly more lucid now.

"Are you just sleep talking?" I said, a high level of skepticism in my voice.

"No, I got an email last night. There's no school today. The King said so."

LONG LIVE THE KING!

Of course, by that point I was wide awake and had to tool around on the internet and read a book until the high wore off, but boy was it great!

I'm still not entirely sure why Baba Abdullah called off the day for us, but I'm certainly not complaining. Last night he addressed the country via state television, but I didn't watch because I still haven't been able to find the elusive English state tv channel I keep hearing so much about. From what I've gleaned in the news, King Abdullah announced that he will be pumping $66 BILLION more dollars into benefits for Saudi citizens.

I guess he's hoping that if he throws more money at it, his problem with protesters that keep popping up here and there will go away. Not really sure how all these benefits and placating words are being taken by the unhappy citizen of the country. All I know is foreign workers like me got a free day off!

Long live the King, indeed!

Vicariously yours,