Trip to Bahrain

My colleague and new best friend Peter T and I went on an adventure to Bahrain today.  I was getting a little stir crazy here on camp so it was time to see something new.  We rented a taxi to take us across the causeway and it was a series of tollbooths and very crazy lines that move along very slowly.  Once across we headed to the north end of the island to see the Grand mosque and National Museum.  Unfortunately my initial entrance into the mosque wasn't very smooth because I went in to the general worship area dressed inappropriately (short pants) and I created a little bit of a stir for a small group of Muslims who were practicing the call to prayer at the feet of the ranking caller.  They ushered me out of the room and asked that I wear a Thaub (thoobe), it was cool.  We learned about how prayers are delivered, how to enter and position yourself and other worship formalities.  It was a beautiful building that incorporated building materials from all over the world (Marble from Italy, teak wood from India, glass globes from France, stained windows from Iran.  The current value of the mosque is estimated at 100 million.  It also contains the 2nd largest dome found in mosques around the world.  I left with a greater understanding and respect of their house of worship.

From there we went to the national museum.  It was filled with some very interesting exhibits and a very cool tile floor that served as a huge map of the island.  We had to hurry through this though because our taxi driver's friend was having problems and our guy needed to meet him.  So he dropped us off at the nearest mall and sped way.  Peter and I kicked around the mall for a minute and then decided it was time to introduce ourselves to a burger and fries.

All in all a great day filled with amazing experiences.  I look forward to going back there when the rest of the family arrives.

Happy Father's Day. I love you. Love Alex & fam

A lot to learn from the length of the hem

I was taught a pretty important aspect of Saudi dress and it's statement about a person's religious approach.  For instance, the distance from the floor to the hem of their pant legs or Thobe (the white robe the men wear) will determine how conservative they are.  If the distance is great, similar to what we would consider "Floods" then this individual is saying that he is devout.  The idea is that this prevents them from tracking in any unclean thing to their place of prayer.  I was also told that a longer beard sends out the same message.  Pretty important to know this as I try not to come across as the insensitive American.

Bowling night

Every Sunday we have mutual with the Youngwoman (that's right there's only one) and Youngmens (the AP out number the YW by 2x1).  Tonight we went bowling for the activity.  It really put a strain on our budget, the shoes were .75 per person (they were new) and each game cost .35.  So the whole event set us back $6.50 - we each bowled 2 games.  I felt pretty good about my game due to learning how to roll/spin the ball and proceeded to have a few spares and a couple of strikes.  President Chandler put on quite a show, I think he rolled the game of his life.

 

Haircut

I just got my first haircut in KSA.  My new stylist (a nice Pakistani) slapped on the #4 attachment, took a few swipes, shaved my neck with an articulating blade and within 5 mins I walked out looking like a new recruit.  All for $4.  I need to have a word with Jayone.

Lunar Eclipse

June 15th. 
Last night was a very important event for the local community due to the Lunar eclipse.  I was told that Islam interprets an eclipse as a manifestation of their God's power to control parts of the universe and they go to special lengths to recognize it and align their worship activities around it.  For example, the normal evening calls to prayer were altered to hold special gatherings.  It was a bit eerie to hear the mosques call the faithful, and not see the usual collection of cars in the parking lot last night because of this special celestial occurrence. 

To celebrate it our own way, David and I had a boy's night out due to both of our better halves being state side.  We went grocery shopping and then to eat and finally back to camp to watch the eclipse.  We found a nice spot on the camp's golf course (#4 tee), which by the way is all sand - no grass.

 In the middle of all of this, a very surreal tone settled in.  Here I was in the middle East, just had pan fried noodles and watching the moon being swallowed up by God's natural order of things - Boy could I use a Dr. Pepper right now!

Day out of the community

 

In the pharmacy, Boys=blue room Girls=pink room

If you go to town with a woman or your family, you have to sit in the family section of the restaurant, but you are a single man, or in a group with no females, you sit in the single section.

Even the women on the advertising on the products in the stores need to wear abayas, so the Saudis do some coloring. Mom is roasting in the inflatable swimming pool. Where is my spf 90?

Evening at the branch

Over here mutual is held every other Sunday at our little meeting house.  Literally it is a 3 bedroom 2 bath that has been nicely modified to accommodate our needs.  Last night we had an AP sponsored activity whereby we watched last April's conference.   For most of those in attendance, this was their first time viewing it.  The night before last we down loaded the session on the computer, and with the aid of my projector we viewed it in uptown theatre style.

You know how it is a standard line by the brethren when they say that these sessions are broadcasted around the world and viewed by members in all corners of the vineyard in very unique settings.  Well it hasn't been since I was in Peru that I've thought much about that statement, but boy did it hit home last night. 

Here I am in the middle of Saudi Arabia, among a faithful few listening to inspired messages.  It really has brought a whole new meaning to the phrase "Where there are 2 or more gathered... "

Things are starting to come together slowly, I now have DSL and with it our vonage phone too.  Calling our home number will now automatically send you directly to KSA.  Please remember that SA is currently 9 hours ahead of MT - I hope that we won't have too many 2am calls here.

Time is getting closer for when the family should arrive - I'm really looking forward to seeing them.  With a little luck Alex will be here sooner, and with a little more luck Makena will be able to travel with the family- This depends on me receiving my igama (residence card) - maybe this week.

Capitalism Saudi Style

David and I went for a quick trip into Rahima to run some errands.  My main goal was to buy some more Dahl and loaves of the indescribably delicious bread.  Unfortunately, both stores decided to close for the day.  Normally in Rahima, the city will open up early and go till afternoon prayer.  Then close until 4pm and then stay open late - but these guys must have felt like they needed a longer break.  So, I then went around the corner to a shoe store to pick up some cheap sandals.  I found a pair I liked, they let me try on the left one, but after pulling out half their inventory stored under the shelves they couldn't find the right one.  I finally settled on a different pair and felt very lucky that they had both shoes!

The big victory is that our family has been skyping, this has been a big help to both hear their voices and see faces. 

The weekend redefined

One of the many new things to get used to is that the weekend is on Thursday and Friday.  It's strange, but I've actually have fallen into this routine quite easily.  I think my brain has basically said that everything else is so strange and different, why not just accept this too without a fight.  This past Thursday was a day for me to hunker down in the new house and put some things into order.  This has helped at some level to begin feeling a small sense of normalcy. 

After an early morning meal I called a taxi and ventured off on my first solo trip outside of the camp.  I went to Rahima to buy some cleaning supplies and basic food stuff.  Also, there is a great sidewalk store that sells brick oven bread (imagine a pizza style oven).  The chef will roll out a circular piece of dough, smash in on a spherical shaped pillow and then open the oven door, while holding on to the pillow, quickly toss it so that the dough comes off the pillow and sticks to the wall of the oven.  Give it a about 7 minutes and you have the best bread product I have ever eaten.  To complete the experience, I went nest door and ordered a hot soup called Dahl.  Think of green split pea soup but only orange with a really good flavor.  It now has become my meal of choice here.

After the trip I came home and completely wore myself out watching both me gardner (Ikbar) and our house boy (Reddi) whip the place into shape.  I was so exhausted that I needed to take a nap after they were done.  Actually, it did provide me time to prepare my "welcome to the branch" talk on Friday.

As I write this, it is 5p Friday and the meeting went well.  There are some amazing people who attend and I am very impressed with their individual stories and commitment.  It is a very unique opportunity to associate with them and be a part of this branch in the nether part of the vineyard.

Well, I've decided to give myself a treat and have a poptart and a glass of my new favorite punch I found here Kiwi Lime. 

All my best to you,
Mike

It is June 9th 2011 @ 11:07a Saudi Time as I write this.  I arrived here on May 29th and it's been crazy wonderful every minute since.  In addition to what Alex has written in our opening statement to the world (btw I love what you've done to this blog SnoOper), I'd like to add some random thoughts about the past 9 days.  I've been lucky to not have experienced any jet lag - I think it's because the flights over here were great and synced up as much as possible to acclimate to the new time zone. 

It's weird to think that I'm sometimes a day ahead of people in the US.  The night I arrived David (my coworker ALex mentioned) took me to what he said was my house, it was in the middle of renovation with no electricity and half the appliances missing.  I kinda felt like he was trying to "punk" me on my first night here, so I played along.  I told him that his payback is coming soon (stay tuned it's in the works).  The house we've been assigned is very nice, it's a 60 sec walk to the beach and has plenty of room.  The company stocked it with some essentials to get me through the first few days-that was greatly appreciated. 

Speaking of appreciation, the Chandlers have been absolutely amazing and incredible in helping our family transition as well as looking out for me since I arrived.  Together we've seen Al Kobar to do some shopping/sight seeing and it was great.  I've learned that everything revolves around prayer time, so we have to be cognizant of what time it is so that we are not stranded in the heat. 

The awareness that impacts me the most is that this is the REAL DEAL.  There is no pretense or facades, this country is governed a certain way, there are no tourist traps that present a made up version of things.  It's quite an impact when you see certain things and realize why they are there in this society and the reason behind it.  I always stop and listen to the call to prayer that resonates from speakers atop the mosques.  It is just one of many things that drive the point home that we are in a foreign place with unfamiliar traditions. I remain inquisitive and respectful of those things around me and will strive to know more about them.

 As I mentioned, the beach is real close and I've already been in the Arabian Gulf twice and loved it.  In the morning I have a 7 min bike ride to work along the beach (it sure beats a 45 min crowded freeway in Snowy weather) which puts me in a pretty good mood when I get to the office.  It is hot here, but I wake up at 4:30 get my morning routine done and then start peddling at 6:50a to be at staff meeting by 7a. 

My work load so far has been to deal with the daunting stack of paper work, hoops and logistics that come with moving and working here.  It is taking every bit of patience, know how and resourcefulness I posses to plow through it.  The rule of thumb is that it takes 4 times to get something done and plan on it taking 4 times as long.  Once I adapt to this reality it will be better I'm sure. 

There have been many people who have done a heroic job in helping me navigate through this process.  I seriously don't know what I would have done without them.  I feel like I'm shoveling a 100 yard driveway of 3 foot high snow, I know there's an end in sight but it's slow going.  Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of great things about being here and the momentary labor pains I'm currently experiencing will certainly be worth it.

WE are fortunate to have a small group of folks who share our same beliefs and we are blessed to be able to meet together and reinforce each other and our testimony.  It is a great piece of mind to know that they are here too.

I look forward to the rest of the family arriving in July, we are praying that Makena's Visa will make it on time too.  With any luck Alex will show up soon to begin her internship.  We are currently processing her visa to hopefully come right away.

I will commit to frequent (and much shorter)entries that hopefully will keep you up to date with goings-on in KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).  Until then, I wish you the best and hope to see you soon

A Big Decision

When I tell people my family is moving to Saudi Arabia, I get one of two reactions: They think it is such a great opportunity, or they think we are absolutely crazy. I can't blame people for thinking we are crazy for moving to the Middle East, especially with everything that is going on there right now, but it was the right decision for us. My dad's friend/old coworker has been there for over a year, and kept asking my dad to consider moving there to take this job. My dad would just thank him and brush it off, until about a half a year ago, when he actually started to maybe consider the move. He thought about it a long time before he even mentioned it to our family. When he asked us what we thought about it, we were all in shock. I kept saying, "Have you seen what is going on in Egypt!?" We knew that this was a definite possibility though because when my dad mentions big things to us like that, it usually happens. We prayed about it. ALOT. We prayed individually, as a family, and some more individually. We fasted. We studied the culture, the geography, the traditions, and anything else we could think of that would be useful in making this huge decision. After an emotional few weeks of trying to figure out what to do, we all felt right about the move. My dad applied for the job, had a background check, did all the paper work required, and before we knew it, he accepted the job and had a departure date. So here we are packing, planning and plotting, doing everything we need to do to move across the world. I hope that this blog not only gives comfort and peace to those who are skeptical, as well as gives a taste of what it is like for an American family with different traditions and religon, in the Middle East.
-Alex