Some catching up

Sorry for the time off, but days seem to go pretty fast especially as we settle into our nondescript routines.  I guess the highlight over the last week was our trip to Dharan to visit the King Azid Cultural exhibit.  To get there we needed to catch a bus from camp and then coordinate a taxi drive to the exhibit.  One thing that has been a pleasant surprise is the friendliness of the employees throughout Aramco.  For instance, as we were trying to figure out how to hail a cab, a friendly passer by stopped and offered us a ride in his cruiser van.  The ex-pats truly do lookout for one another and it has made the transition much easier.

Once we arrived, we made our way to the food tent where Alex was waiting for us.  It was a true pot purri of food choices, from traditional Saudi treats (dates and figs) to subway 5 dollar foot longs.  After tanking up on some food, we then went to the National Geographic display and viewed some truly amazing photos. 

After that we entered a large tent that showcased artisansand their wares from the 13 Saudi provinces.  We saw amazing handiwork, live falcons, terra cotta pottery and a host of other authentic products.  However, the most memorable event was when Faleh invited us in to a corner room and explained to us the provincial custom of neighborliness.  He shared with great pride the tradition that his home town has of inviting family and friends to a special room and all the activities that played out in it.  He showed us a local board game, shared stories of his home land and then for his big finish called over his special friend to sing a song of friendship to us.  For me it was truly a magical moment that made the whole trip there worth it.  (see pics)

We have just entered the month of Ramadan and are just now starting to understand the significance and adjustments that comes with this holy month.  We will be sharing more stories, learnings and experiences as the month goes on, but for a high level over view this month means that basically the country shuts down for half a day, the Muslims fast from sun up to sun down to increase spirituality and gain a greater connection and appreciation for what Allah has given them.

Well enough for now.  We are safe and enjoying this adventure and send you our best.

 

Happy birthday to me

I've had a few birthdays in my time, but none have been sweeter nor more special than his one.  It's partially the reason for my recent absence from the blog.  The celebration started the night that the family arrived at the Dammam airport.  I along with David and Reddi (our house boy) orchestrated a welcoming committee at the international pick up point (see pics) and made a paparazzi type scene.  It truly was a great time and boy were they a sight for sore (lonely) eyes.

Our cargo truck (arranged by Reddi) was a bit small and trying to fit their 23 bags of luggage in the back of a Toyota compact truck was like trying to fit 50lbs of potatoes in a 25 lb bag.  But Reddi and the driver wove some Indian magic with the ball of twine they brought and we made it home without much incident aside from some tired bodies.

I now know what it must have felt like for the early century coast lined towns when a cargo ship docked at their commissary.  I kid you not, I once again felt the magic of Christmas as we unpacked the plethora of gifts and items brought from half way around the world.  And what made it sweeter was the fact that it was my famil/y who had made the special delivery.

Since then it has been a whirl wind of adventure for all.  We ventured to our Neighboring town of Rahima and then got really brave and visited Dhahran.  Friday's have been spent with the branch to renew our connection with the almighty and develop meaningful relationships with others.

Alex just came back from her first full day of interning with SAco and she was really excited about her role.  She participated in some high level meetings and offered her input at strategic times.

We are closing in on the month of Ramadan and look forward to experiencing this sacred month first hand.  It means even more change on top of what we are already trying to adjust to, but I thinks it's just another amazing experience for us to see.

Well it's now time for some cake and a couple of quick calls then off to counting camels to drift off to sleep

Staying distracted

As the days and hours shorten until the arrival of my family, I've found I need to keep myself occupied to prevent self-imposed hysteria.  So my strategies lately have included a new wrinkle to my exercise routine - swimming.  I've never been known to stand out as a swimmer, in fact a calendar instead of a stop watch would be more useful when timing me, however I find that I really love it.  It gives me a needed respite from the unearthly heat and humidity as well as some great alone time. More by circumstances than choice an impromptu men's association has been formed.  Membership requires that you are currently a bachelor and/or without family.  There are quite a few of us now from church and work that fit into this category. A typical gathering includes dinner at the golf club (killer chicken burritos), bowling, a run to Rhahima for needed groceries, and finally a major jam session without instruments. Well knowing that my time is short with the boys club, I decided to make hay at the alley.  So my team (posmo = Peter and me) took on team Neg-stag (David and Randy).  After finding my favorite ball "goldie" and lacing up my brand new bowling shoes I proceeded to enter the zone / flow.  All the stars aligned and the spirits of past bowling greats shined down on me as I proceeded to roll a 176 followed up with a 154.  The ironic thing is that my new found bowling prowess was all the doing of my competitor David - he taught me the now famous left handed spin shot. After words, we went to get some bread and dahl at our favorite place, and you can see that I actually got to retrieve the bread from the jaws of the oven with special Afgani skewers (see pic).  It was a pretty fun night that helped all of us forget how lonesome we are. As I write this the time remaining for their touchdown is 82 hours and 26 mins - but hey, who's counting???

Round two in the barber's chair

It's been three weeks since I sat in the barber's chair and my hair was growing out a little bit funky.  The sides of my head were taking on the look of a cheap clown wig so I figured it was time to take action. 

8:30 am sharp I walked in to the barber shop and the friendly Pakistani with the hair trigger finger went to work on me.  As he was sculpting another follicle master piece I glanced at his menu of services and came across something called "Threading". 

Unfortunately I made the cardinal sin of asking him what threading is - because around here what you say and what they hear are two different things.  Before I knew it, Rufi had strung him self up with 3 lengths of bright read 30 weight stren and proceeded to inflict the most painful assault on my ears since Barry Manilow's copa cabana fiasco in the early 80's. 

The idea is that through gyrations and manipulations of the strings (which are placed on the fleshy regions of the ear) all those harmless, docile and fussy strands of hair are RIPPED away unmercifully.
All I could think about was what happened to the current laws prohibiting advanced interrogation techniques???

As the tears rolled down my cheeks, I was reminded of my early years as my dad bulldogged me into Brad's barber shop kicking and screaming the whole way.  At least back then I got a sucker, all I got today was an $8 fee and two ears that felt like they been slapped by the neighborhood bully.

They rest of my Thursday went fine. I bought/built a work station for the front room, went shopping and bought some more Dahl, round bread, Lebanese takeout, grapes from the produce shop and imported spaghetti for dinner tonight.

Only 10 more days before the gang shows up - they can't get here soon enough.  Looks like Makena and Alex will be on the same plane too.

Church is sparse, now mainly just MP showing up due to many wives and kids leaving for summer vacation. 

All is well here, thanks for checking in and I wish you the best!

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.