I couldn't attend the conference as we are just too busy to go, but I did attend vicariously and one of the keynotes(especially in conjunction with what I am currently doing) simply struck a chord. Listen to the following (start on about minute 50 as the opening stuff is just opening stuff and not the heart of the video). The questions basically is" Are bricks and mortar schools dead?"
I have to go with blended myself and that has been my thinking for a number of years. My concern is that too many folks don't see the benefit of the online and social networking world at all and we still have too many schools which are trying to keep these things out of school by policy without looking at the larger context. So check out this next video, which tells one teacher's story of "getting it."
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Egypt
We went to Sharm El Sheik for the weekend and had a brief respite from here. The weather, if possible, was even hotter than here without the benefit of a constant breeze. Water temperature was about 30 C and the air 41 C. There isn't a beach as we know it, basically a very coral, rocky bottom with knee deep water for 70 feet or so and then very deep and fast drop off. The current is very strong so swimming is not recommended. The picture is really from where you sit and the beach is that far away even though it is considered beach front.
Naama Bay is commercial, it has a Hard Rock Cafe, need I say more? We stayed about 5 kilometers away in a quieter and more remote location that we thoroughly enjoyed, my spa bill alone is enough to indicate how much. Actually, the exchange rate with the Egyptian pound is favorable. Just to give you an idea, 5 massages (no, I didn't have all of them, David scored three of them for himself), a pedicure, manicure and facial came to about $400 US, not too bad by US standards. The rooms only cost $100 or so dollars a night for a suite with a full kitchen, dining room and 2 balconies so it's a cheap enough getaway.
As you can see by David's picture, he starts to look more native as time passes. No one believed that he
wasn't Egyptian. They would rattle on in Arabic not realizing we were catching about every fifth word.
Date palms are everywhere but except for the interior of the hotel compound, it is truly a desolate landscape. The view of the mountains is fairly typical of the way it looks.
OK, just had to have this picture- horn is the second language in the middle east- this just cracked me up as it was a "no horns" sign in the commercial district. Blessed silence.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Work environment
I am at the office at the campus right now and someone just brought me my afternoon snack, an apple and a banana. It's very nice and you would be amazed at how used to this kind of treatment you get. In all fairness, I will have to go out on site and have a meeting in 105 degree heat in an unfinished building, translate that as no air conditioning, so there is the occasional downside.
I go out on site in jeans and a long sleeved shirt and workboots and for the most part, I don't get any strange looks anymore. I gave up the abeyah as just beiing plain deangerous on a construction site. Pretty much it's me and 40000 guys. Occasionally (and it is extrememly rare) I will see another woman but I think there are only a handful and most of them are secretaries so they aren't even on site. It was a little wierd at first but now I hardly notice it and neither do the crews and that's a good thing. Women here just don't do manual labor jobs like you'll see back in the states. There are simply no women doing that type of work. I think it's good for them to see a woman doing something they don't expect.
The site is amazingly busy. The standards here are quite a bit different. AN OSHA inspector would have a field day. I just can't look anymore when I see someone in a ditch with a pair of flip flops on and no safety glasses doing welding. The workers live on site and almost 100% of them are contract workers from outside of the country. Language barriers get interesting when you are trying to get something technical across but I've gotten really good at drawing things. I know enough Arabic to be dangerous but since most of these guys are not from Saudi, even that doesn't do me any good.
My buildings are just packed with people at this point and you are constantly stepping over and around someone or something. I am totally amzaed at the progress being made. We only received news of the building change 3 weeks ago and they are pouring it on to get the job done. Very impressive indeed.
The buildings in some cases are almost works of art. The Grand Mosque is simply breathhtaking. The campus buildings have wide thoroughfares underneath the buildings with fountains that connect them all. The detail work that goes into marble floors is painstaking. Some of the specialty buildings such as the nanolabs are unreal. The clean rooms have floors that are so seamless they are scary. I cannot even begin to figure out how they did it even though I watched them lay the floors and saw what they did; it just blows your mind when it is done and it is so perfect. I am highly impressed by Saudi Ojer as a construction company.
I go out on site in jeans and a long sleeved shirt and workboots and for the most part, I don't get any strange looks anymore. I gave up the abeyah as just beiing plain deangerous on a construction site. Pretty much it's me and 40000 guys. Occasionally (and it is extrememly rare) I will see another woman but I think there are only a handful and most of them are secretaries so they aren't even on site. It was a little wierd at first but now I hardly notice it and neither do the crews and that's a good thing. Women here just don't do manual labor jobs like you'll see back in the states. There are simply no women doing that type of work. I think it's good for them to see a woman doing something they don't expect.
The site is amazingly busy. The standards here are quite a bit different. AN OSHA inspector would have a field day. I just can't look anymore when I see someone in a ditch with a pair of flip flops on and no safety glasses doing welding. The workers live on site and almost 100% of them are contract workers from outside of the country. Language barriers get interesting when you are trying to get something technical across but I've gotten really good at drawing things. I know enough Arabic to be dangerous but since most of these guys are not from Saudi, even that doesn't do me any good.
My buildings are just packed with people at this point and you are constantly stepping over and around someone or something. I am totally amzaed at the progress being made. We only received news of the building change 3 weeks ago and they are pouring it on to get the job done. Very impressive indeed.
The buildings in some cases are almost works of art. The Grand Mosque is simply breathhtaking. The campus buildings have wide thoroughfares underneath the buildings with fountains that connect them all. The detail work that goes into marble floors is painstaking. Some of the specialty buildings such as the nanolabs are unreal. The clean rooms have floors that are so seamless they are scary. I cannot even begin to figure out how they did it even though I watched them lay the floors and saw what they did; it just blows your mind when it is done and it is so perfect. I am highly impressed by Saudi Ojer as a construction company.
Banking
I could write a book on the banking system. Many banks are affiliated with a country, like Saudi Hollandi, SABB (Saudi British Bank) and some are just local. ATMs are absolutely everywhere and there are no foreign ATM fees. You can pretty much do anything you want at any ATM, no fees.
Your ATM card can be used in many places as a charge card. It is NOT a Visa or MC, just an ATM card and they don't have your name on them. If you input the wrong pin number, the card is immediately confiscated so it's actually a little safer than back home as you MUST use the pin, no choice. And as an added bonus it's a 6 digit pin. They of course also issue Visa or MC as part of your account. Credit limits are very high, I could buy a car with my MC. I kept thinking I had misread it, but nope, it really was that much.
There are no checking accounts here as we know them. No one uses checks for anything, even businesses. Absolutely everything is done by wire transfer. When I have to pay bills at work to vendors, it's all wire transfers. It's actually kind of nice as everything is instant and exact. You do have savings accounts and interest tends to be quite a bit higher than in the states. As part of your benefits, the company matches what you put into savings up to a certain percentage, so that's a nice little bonus.
You have a banker who knows you personnally. There is no opening an account unless you can prove you have a job and sponsor. The banker actually comes to your office and the paperwork is done while at work. If you have an issue, you deal with one person and he resolves your issue. I was in another country and had a problem and he handled it immediately. Amazing service.
If you ever have to physically go to the bank, there's a men's branch and a lady's branch. I know, even the banks are segregated, kind of weird. I almost always go to the men's branch as that is where my banker is and you do draw some stares when you step through the lobby. When you enter the bank, you stop at a computer kiosk and you request either teller service or office service. You are then issued a number and then you sit and relax until your number appears. No lines, kind of nice, although it does sort of remind you of a bakery at times.
I do all banking online including all my wire transfers and I like it. When people collect their first check they usually don't have all the paperwork needed to open an account so cashing a check is a trip for them. I normally take their check, deposit it in my account, make the wire transer(s) they need and then withdraw the remaining cash for them. Convoluted but the only way to do it.
This is most definitely a cash society but oddly enough, no one ever has change. It is not uncommon to go into a store, pay cash, and then the clerk opens up his wallet and makes change. Even more bizarre is when they tell you to wait a minute and they go to another store and the clerk from that store makes the change. You never get exact change back from anything. They just round it off to the nearest SRA. So if it's 46.30 item (no tax, another bonus) and you give them a 100 note, you'll get 54 back. I guess no one feels compelled to balance the drawer at the end of the day. Also, nothing is a fixed price except the grocery store. You can argue price anywhere. I've gotten really good at it.
Your ATM card can be used in many places as a charge card. It is NOT a Visa or MC, just an ATM card and they don't have your name on them. If you input the wrong pin number, the card is immediately confiscated so it's actually a little safer than back home as you MUST use the pin, no choice. And as an added bonus it's a 6 digit pin. They of course also issue Visa or MC as part of your account. Credit limits are very high, I could buy a car with my MC. I kept thinking I had misread it, but nope, it really was that much.
There are no checking accounts here as we know them. No one uses checks for anything, even businesses. Absolutely everything is done by wire transfer. When I have to pay bills at work to vendors, it's all wire transfers. It's actually kind of nice as everything is instant and exact. You do have savings accounts and interest tends to be quite a bit higher than in the states. As part of your benefits, the company matches what you put into savings up to a certain percentage, so that's a nice little bonus.
You have a banker who knows you personnally. There is no opening an account unless you can prove you have a job and sponsor. The banker actually comes to your office and the paperwork is done while at work. If you have an issue, you deal with one person and he resolves your issue. I was in another country and had a problem and he handled it immediately. Amazing service.
If you ever have to physically go to the bank, there's a men's branch and a lady's branch. I know, even the banks are segregated, kind of weird. I almost always go to the men's branch as that is where my banker is and you do draw some stares when you step through the lobby. When you enter the bank, you stop at a computer kiosk and you request either teller service or office service. You are then issued a number and then you sit and relax until your number appears. No lines, kind of nice, although it does sort of remind you of a bakery at times.
I do all banking online including all my wire transfers and I like it. When people collect their first check they usually don't have all the paperwork needed to open an account so cashing a check is a trip for them. I normally take their check, deposit it in my account, make the wire transer(s) they need and then withdraw the remaining cash for them. Convoluted but the only way to do it.
This is most definitely a cash society but oddly enough, no one ever has change. It is not uncommon to go into a store, pay cash, and then the clerk opens up his wallet and makes change. Even more bizarre is when they tell you to wait a minute and they go to another store and the clerk from that store makes the change. You never get exact change back from anything. They just round it off to the nearest SRA. So if it's 46.30 item (no tax, another bonus) and you give them a 100 note, you'll get 54 back. I guess no one feels compelled to balance the drawer at the end of the day. Also, nothing is a fixed price except the grocery store. You can argue price anywhere. I've gotten really good at it.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Medical Things
It has occurred to me that I have not spoken about some of the really mundane aspects of life over here, so today I'll concentrate on one of those. First of all, one of the things you have to realize is there are 2 types of insurance. In one, you pay a flat fee of 17 SRA (about $5.00 US)no matter what and that's all you ever pay. That is for the "local" insurance which is not good outside of Saudi. If you choose International Insurance, it's good anywhere in the world, however it is all on the reimbursement plan, pay up front and then get it back. I imagine the horror going through your minds right now but in cases of catastrophic events, you don't have to pay up front, we're only talking routine kinds of visits here.
Let me start with an example. A few months back, I aggravated my knee by too much treadmill use. It was constantly hot to the touch and slightly swollen and it hurt so I decided to go get it looked at. Now here is the chain of events. I went to an orthopedist who had me do X-rays and an MRI. He also did bloodwork. After he got the reports back he prescribed PT (I'll get into that a little later). Now my first question to you would be just how much did all this cost? If you think in US terms you are already into 4 figures and going up, correct? Not so here. Medical care is reliable and inexpensive. My total charge for all of the above inlcuding all the PT and all of the diagnostic work was less than $500.00 US. That's not my share, that is truly the total cost. As you know, you would spent over $1000 just for the MRI back in the US, never mind everything else. All of the doctors I've come in contact with are western educated, see you on time and the medical records system is much more efficient. No carrying X-rays around, everything is digital and available on demand.
Prescription drugs as we know them do not exist. You can walk into any drug store and get anything you want short of narcotics by simply asking. To get a course of antibiotics you just ask and it costs about $5.00, again, that is the total cost, not a co-pay. All of the meds available at home are not available here and in contrast they have things here they we have never seen back there. The exact same med that I take here costs one-third of what it used to cost me in the states. You really start to wonder. Again, there is no insurance involved in this, things simply cost less, a lot less.
The doctors I have seen have been uniformly wonderful. You are seen at your appointment time, by the actual doctor, not a PA or nurse. They know their stuff. They answer all your questions and encourage you to ask questions. They talk to their patients and develop realtionships with them. Another sidebar, when you go to a doctor you only pay for the intial visit, all follow up visits are free. Most doctors charge about $50.00 US for a visit on an average.
As far as the hospitals, gorgeous. Beautiful buildings, there's even a doorman at the entrance, kind of like a hotel, to let you out of your car. Seriously, he wears the hat and coat just like at the Ritz. The rooms themselves are quite lovely. They are all private rooms, they have attached sitting rooms and full baths. If it's meal time, they feed all of your guests as well as you. Except for the hospital bed and medical equipment, the rest of it has more of a hotel feel to it. We know folks who've had heart procedures done, infectious diseases, you name it, and the care has been uniformly excellent all the way around.
The nursing staff tends to be Filipino almost exclusively. Doctors come from all over the place. Reception staff tends to be Saudi. I have no idea why it's that way, it just is. They work much longer hours. Doctors have appointments at almost any time of the day. If you can come at 9 PM, you have an appointment at 9PM. Every doctor sees patients at night as well as days. There are no "visiting hours." You can come any time you want and stay for as long as you want. The typical thing to bring when visiting is food becuase even in a hospital bed, the lcoals want to be able to offer their guests snacks. There are refrigerators in the rooms and tea and coffee service as well as juice, milk and water, are always available in the room.
Anyway, thought you would like that quick snapshot. I'd love to take pictures, but it's frowned upon to take pictures of public buildings.
Let me start with an example. A few months back, I aggravated my knee by too much treadmill use. It was constantly hot to the touch and slightly swollen and it hurt so I decided to go get it looked at. Now here is the chain of events. I went to an orthopedist who had me do X-rays and an MRI. He also did bloodwork. After he got the reports back he prescribed PT (I'll get into that a little later). Now my first question to you would be just how much did all this cost? If you think in US terms you are already into 4 figures and going up, correct? Not so here. Medical care is reliable and inexpensive. My total charge for all of the above inlcuding all the PT and all of the diagnostic work was less than $500.00 US. That's not my share, that is truly the total cost. As you know, you would spent over $1000 just for the MRI back in the US, never mind everything else. All of the doctors I've come in contact with are western educated, see you on time and the medical records system is much more efficient. No carrying X-rays around, everything is digital and available on demand.
Prescription drugs as we know them do not exist. You can walk into any drug store and get anything you want short of narcotics by simply asking. To get a course of antibiotics you just ask and it costs about $5.00, again, that is the total cost, not a co-pay. All of the meds available at home are not available here and in contrast they have things here they we have never seen back there. The exact same med that I take here costs one-third of what it used to cost me in the states. You really start to wonder. Again, there is no insurance involved in this, things simply cost less, a lot less.
The doctors I have seen have been uniformly wonderful. You are seen at your appointment time, by the actual doctor, not a PA or nurse. They know their stuff. They answer all your questions and encourage you to ask questions. They talk to their patients and develop realtionships with them. Another sidebar, when you go to a doctor you only pay for the intial visit, all follow up visits are free. Most doctors charge about $50.00 US for a visit on an average.
As far as the hospitals, gorgeous. Beautiful buildings, there's even a doorman at the entrance, kind of like a hotel, to let you out of your car. Seriously, he wears the hat and coat just like at the Ritz. The rooms themselves are quite lovely. They are all private rooms, they have attached sitting rooms and full baths. If it's meal time, they feed all of your guests as well as you. Except for the hospital bed and medical equipment, the rest of it has more of a hotel feel to it. We know folks who've had heart procedures done, infectious diseases, you name it, and the care has been uniformly excellent all the way around.
The nursing staff tends to be Filipino almost exclusively. Doctors come from all over the place. Reception staff tends to be Saudi. I have no idea why it's that way, it just is. They work much longer hours. Doctors have appointments at almost any time of the day. If you can come at 9 PM, you have an appointment at 9PM. Every doctor sees patients at night as well as days. There are no "visiting hours." You can come any time you want and stay for as long as you want. The typical thing to bring when visiting is food becuase even in a hospital bed, the lcoals want to be able to offer their guests snacks. There are refrigerators in the rooms and tea and coffee service as well as juice, milk and water, are always available in the room.
Anyway, thought you would like that quick snapshot. I'd love to take pictures, but it's frowned upon to take pictures of public buildings.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Pets
As you know, we brought both of the cats and one of the dogs with us here. Mac was too old to make the trip and Boxers are on the forbidden list, so we just have the Spaniel with us. Dogs are rare here and most locals are scared to death of them. Oliver is a huge hit with all of the kids in the compound, for many of them it's the first time they have ever seen a dog up close. The cats have staked out their territory and wander freely throughout the compound. There are tons of feral cats here and they are simply everywhere, but no longer anywhere near this house. Our cats have let all of the local cats know, this is out of bounds.
Oliver has to be walked as there is no yard here and the cats have decided that joining us for every walk is a good thing. It's like having a little parade behind you wherever you go. Alex walks with you but Winnie tends to be the rear scout, she stays behind about 30 feet and then catches up from out of nowhere. David said it started after I left for the states. Apparently the paranoia of the animals was such that they must have decided we are no longer allowed out on our own; as long as we stay in sight, we can't disappear on them. They were very happy to have me home again, I feel as if I have furry appendages wherever I go.
Pet stores here do not have all of the things we are used to, especially for dogs. I bought rawhide bones and new collars back in the states because they are nigh onto impossible to find here; there are no dog toys at all. The price of dog food is outrageously expensive. I don't remember exactly how much it was for the 40 pounds of dog food but it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $60; good thing Oliver is a light eater. Cat food is the same brand selection as we have in the states but when you open the can, all resemblance stops. There are actual fish pieces (like the heads) in the can...ick!
Finding vet care is another challenge. Oliver needed to be groomed and they wanted to anesthetize him. I wouldn't let them. Somehow I think it ought to be a prerequisite that if you groom dogs for a living, perhaps you shouldn't be scared to death of them. Just a thought. Our vet is Dutch and she's pretty good.
Fish and aquariums are very popular. People here use unconditioned tap water with their fish. I meant to buy a water testing kit and water conditioner when I was home. I went to the pet store and it was closed and I never got back there again. Darn. Oh well, there's always the holidays.
Oliver has to be walked as there is no yard here and the cats have decided that joining us for every walk is a good thing. It's like having a little parade behind you wherever you go. Alex walks with you but Winnie tends to be the rear scout, she stays behind about 30 feet and then catches up from out of nowhere. David said it started after I left for the states. Apparently the paranoia of the animals was such that they must have decided we are no longer allowed out on our own; as long as we stay in sight, we can't disappear on them. They were very happy to have me home again, I feel as if I have furry appendages wherever I go.
Pet stores here do not have all of the things we are used to, especially for dogs. I bought rawhide bones and new collars back in the states because they are nigh onto impossible to find here; there are no dog toys at all. The price of dog food is outrageously expensive. I don't remember exactly how much it was for the 40 pounds of dog food but it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $60; good thing Oliver is a light eater. Cat food is the same brand selection as we have in the states but when you open the can, all resemblance stops. There are actual fish pieces (like the heads) in the can...ick!
Finding vet care is another challenge. Oliver needed to be groomed and they wanted to anesthetize him. I wouldn't let them. Somehow I think it ought to be a prerequisite that if you groom dogs for a living, perhaps you shouldn't be scared to death of them. Just a thought. Our vet is Dutch and she's pretty good.
Fish and aquariums are very popular. People here use unconditioned tap water with their fish. I meant to buy a water testing kit and water conditioner when I was home. I went to the pet store and it was closed and I never got back there again. Darn. Oh well, there's always the holidays.
Reflections on trip home
I recently went back to my home country to take care of some damage to our home caused by recent weather events in the area. I managed to travel and see many of the important people in our lives, but not all, as time simply did not permit me to get to everyone. However, I reached some interesting conclusions while I was there, as I now have some basis to compare my life there and my current life. These are in no particular order, but just some random thoughts that have had some time to percolate.
I now realize, that the question, "Where are you from?" has way too many possible answers to give a response without clarifying questions. Where was I born, or where do I live now, or where is my permanent home are three that spring to mind and since they are all thousands of miles apart, it makes a difference. I once read that you can always tell an ex-pat because they cannot answer the "where are you from" inquiry with ease. I now now know how true it is.
Among other random thoughts that passed through my mind are that food portions are cultural. Large portions and "all you can eat" are definitively American. It just had not occurred to me that I was used to eating much less food at a sitting until I returned. Another related food fact is that vegetables are the smallest food group in the US at a meal rather than the largest. I never actually processed this before I went back. Who knew I would miss veggies so much?
Americans are jam up great drivers, all things considered. The average person is a courteous driver, not in a hurry (mind you I'm talking most not all) and law abiding for the most part. Wow, so not used to that. When I got back here, I found myself flinching while on the road again. After two days I've adjusted but the differences in road courtesy boggle the mind. I wonder if the fact that there are NO woman drivers here contributes to the general nuttiness on the roads. I think perhaps it might but it's no a provable hypothesis until they actually allow female drivers here.
Popular culture is everywhere in the US. Television, radio, and billboards assault your senses wherever you go. I found myself looking at US news (a lot) and found the reporting to be thoroughly lacking in both breadth and objectivity. The conclusions I had reached before about the media seemed to be well founded. There is simply NO news about the rest of the world except for sound bites. I did go to see a movie and it was nice to sit and munch popcorn in the dark however, just the opposite of what I thought would happen, happened. My expectations about what a movie ought to be have increased. I thought I would be able to watch about anything and be happy but in truth, if I was going to give up 2 hours of my life, I found I wanted bang for my buck; after all, I can never get those 2 hours back again. Being able to station surf on the radio was kind of cool...at one point I was in the car for several hours (actually several times) and I actually left the radio on scan for about 30 minutes; all those stations and nothing to listen to, but just the sheer fact that I had all those choices, wow.
One of my most profound moments came in church. I really wanted to stand up and tell everyone there that they just take a simple thing, like going to church, totally for granted. I live in a place where there are no competing theologies and just the ability to go to church was one of the highlights of my trip home. I was seriously almost moved to tears just because I was there.
Did I love spending time with friends and family? Absolutely and it was like I had never been away; I just slipped right back into the groove. My life back in the US was somehow frozen in time, like a book that you put down for a few weeks and when you start to read again, the story simply continues and yet, at the same time, unlike a book, so many things changed. I truly miss everyone back in the states and it was wonderful to see them all and sometimes a little weird to know that life just continued on without us. I'm probably explaining it rather badly. I guess I have a new found realization about how the threads that become the fabric of our lives interweave with each other and how the pattern you were sure was permanent is really ever changing. OK, way too much philosophy.
I now realize, that the question, "Where are you from?" has way too many possible answers to give a response without clarifying questions. Where was I born, or where do I live now, or where is my permanent home are three that spring to mind and since they are all thousands of miles apart, it makes a difference. I once read that you can always tell an ex-pat because they cannot answer the "where are you from" inquiry with ease. I now now know how true it is.
Among other random thoughts that passed through my mind are that food portions are cultural. Large portions and "all you can eat" are definitively American. It just had not occurred to me that I was used to eating much less food at a sitting until I returned. Another related food fact is that vegetables are the smallest food group in the US at a meal rather than the largest. I never actually processed this before I went back. Who knew I would miss veggies so much?
Americans are jam up great drivers, all things considered. The average person is a courteous driver, not in a hurry (mind you I'm talking most not all) and law abiding for the most part. Wow, so not used to that. When I got back here, I found myself flinching while on the road again. After two days I've adjusted but the differences in road courtesy boggle the mind. I wonder if the fact that there are NO woman drivers here contributes to the general nuttiness on the roads. I think perhaps it might but it's no a provable hypothesis until they actually allow female drivers here.
Popular culture is everywhere in the US. Television, radio, and billboards assault your senses wherever you go. I found myself looking at US news (a lot) and found the reporting to be thoroughly lacking in both breadth and objectivity. The conclusions I had reached before about the media seemed to be well founded. There is simply NO news about the rest of the world except for sound bites. I did go to see a movie and it was nice to sit and munch popcorn in the dark however, just the opposite of what I thought would happen, happened. My expectations about what a movie ought to be have increased. I thought I would be able to watch about anything and be happy but in truth, if I was going to give up 2 hours of my life, I found I wanted bang for my buck; after all, I can never get those 2 hours back again. Being able to station surf on the radio was kind of cool...at one point I was in the car for several hours (actually several times) and I actually left the radio on scan for about 30 minutes; all those stations and nothing to listen to, but just the sheer fact that I had all those choices, wow.
One of my most profound moments came in church. I really wanted to stand up and tell everyone there that they just take a simple thing, like going to church, totally for granted. I live in a place where there are no competing theologies and just the ability to go to church was one of the highlights of my trip home. I was seriously almost moved to tears just because I was there.
Did I love spending time with friends and family? Absolutely and it was like I had never been away; I just slipped right back into the groove. My life back in the US was somehow frozen in time, like a book that you put down for a few weeks and when you start to read again, the story simply continues and yet, at the same time, unlike a book, so many things changed. I truly miss everyone back in the states and it was wonderful to see them all and sometimes a little weird to know that life just continued on without us. I'm probably explaining it rather badly. I guess I have a new found realization about how the threads that become the fabric of our lives interweave with each other and how the pattern you were sure was permanent is really ever changing. OK, way too much philosophy.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Economic City
We took a trip to the Economic city which is about 15 minutes north of the campus. WOW..talk about an ambitious project. It is slated to be the third largest city in the kingdom with a potential population of a million and a half people. The city will be 1/8 the size of the country of Lebanon and boasts. a financial district, a port city, an industrial center in addition to resort amenities and residences. The timeline for the build-out is 20 years. The following link will take you to a website that gives you an overview. http://www.kingabdullahcity.com/en/InsideTheCity/CityOverview.html
As it was explained to us, one of the goals is to change the way real estate is held in the Kingdom. Right now if you buy a house it is handed down for generations. Unlike our society where you buy a starter home and then buy larger as your family grows and then downsize as you become empty nesters, that is simply not the way it is here. They would like to encourage real estate turnover as an economic stimulus and the residences in this city have all kinds of sizes and locations. It is also open to folks outside the Kingdom to purchase, another first. Jimmy Carter is supposed to visit in May along with other international types so we'll see what happens.
Anyway- thought you would be interested...fascinating project.
As it was explained to us, one of the goals is to change the way real estate is held in the Kingdom. Right now if you buy a house it is handed down for generations. Unlike our society where you buy a starter home and then buy larger as your family grows and then downsize as you become empty nesters, that is simply not the way it is here. They would like to encourage real estate turnover as an economic stimulus and the residences in this city have all kinds of sizes and locations. It is also open to folks outside the Kingdom to purchase, another first. Jimmy Carter is supposed to visit in May along with other international types so we'll see what happens.
Anyway- thought you would be interested...fascinating project.
Diving
We completed our PADI diving course a week ago. The course is fairly thorough but still I think it's like flying; you really have to get your hours in before you can get good at it. I learned how to use a compass underwater to find my way back to where I started. That was kind of eerie, it's just a bunch of water with no landmarks, made me really think about diving out in the middle of the water far away from anything.
The water here is very clear; we had pristine visibility from 55 feet down all the way to the surface. It is very easy to get deep fast without realizing it if you don't pay attention. I was stunned to see I was down to 55 feet.
One of the more hilarious moments happened when I couldn't sink on the first open water dive. I let all of the air out of my BCD and I'm still bouncing around on top of the water. My instructor had to yank my feet to get me under and then he started stuffing all kinds of extra weight in my vest. In the pool I only need 6 pounds to allow me to sink. Apparently between the wet suit and the salt water I'm just a buoyant individual. I ended up with 16 pounds. David was only using 18 pounds, go figure. We definitely want to buy our own equipment, just seems like a lot less guesswork.
The reef here runs up almost the entire coastline. You walk about 100 meters out from shore in a couple of feet of water and then boom, it drops off to 30 feet in one step. No gradually getting deeper, just there all of a sudden. The fish are plentiful and gorgeous. Lots of color and they will swarm all around you, almost like swimming through a rainbow at times. Where we were diving is quite popular. You need to be in the water by 7 AM, because by 11 AM you need a traffic cop down there to keep up with all the underwater traffic. I'll try to get the pictures posted next week.
We would like to dive in Egypt and are hoping to get there for a weekend in the near future and then perhaps dive near Cypress, both areas are supposed to be quite lovely. Unfortunately we can only do weekend jaunts from now until opening in September because there is no leave allowed. We have already booked our September vacation and will be going to South Africa to stay at one of the big game preserves and we are counting down the days.
The water here is very clear; we had pristine visibility from 55 feet down all the way to the surface. It is very easy to get deep fast without realizing it if you don't pay attention. I was stunned to see I was down to 55 feet.
One of the more hilarious moments happened when I couldn't sink on the first open water dive. I let all of the air out of my BCD and I'm still bouncing around on top of the water. My instructor had to yank my feet to get me under and then he started stuffing all kinds of extra weight in my vest. In the pool I only need 6 pounds to allow me to sink. Apparently between the wet suit and the salt water I'm just a buoyant individual. I ended up with 16 pounds. David was only using 18 pounds, go figure. We definitely want to buy our own equipment, just seems like a lot less guesswork.
The reef here runs up almost the entire coastline. You walk about 100 meters out from shore in a couple of feet of water and then boom, it drops off to 30 feet in one step. No gradually getting deeper, just there all of a sudden. The fish are plentiful and gorgeous. Lots of color and they will swarm all around you, almost like swimming through a rainbow at times. Where we were diving is quite popular. You need to be in the water by 7 AM, because by 11 AM you need a traffic cop down there to keep up with all the underwater traffic. I'll try to get the pictures posted next week.
We would like to dive in Egypt and are hoping to get there for a weekend in the near future and then perhaps dive near Cypress, both areas are supposed to be quite lovely. Unfortunately we can only do weekend jaunts from now until opening in September because there is no leave allowed. We have already booked our September vacation and will be going to South Africa to stay at one of the big game preserves and we are counting down the days.
Reflections on news
Sorry- time just got away from me and it's been a while. I was exchanging some email with a friend of mine back in the states and I was talking to her about how different news is here. It's interesting to hear about the US from different perspectives. There is only one "local" newspaper here which is printed in English, and it is a general newspaper about the gulf region, not about this country specifically. There is also no local news as we know it. Back in the US there is generally local news and that's followed by national news. There is also cable news like CNN. There is no such thing here. The closest we get to a local TV news show comes from Dubai, and there is NEVER any news about the Kingdom on it. It's kind of like the whole country doesn't exist. Most of the news we get that's truly local is completely word of mouth.
There is also the issue of distance in this country. The eastern province is a 2-3 hour flight from here and driving is 1) incredibly long, 13 hours or so and 2) not exactly great conditions. The roads here are nothing like they are where you are. There are regular reports of truly horrific accidents with people going off the road because conditions can be quite bad. Even doing the 1 hour commute we have to the site is sometimes at very low visibility because of the sand. Our current vehicle has 2 gas tanks because it can be a great distance between gas stations. I say all this to tell you that internal travel, which is a way that news travels, is also difficult here. You don't get internal travelers the way you do in other places. If you are traveling internally it is usually because you have to for business.
So back to the topic of news. Generally we watch the international version of CNN, which is quite different than what we see in the US. The news is truly from around the world and there's not a preponderance of airtime devoted to US news. I used to watch BBC America back in the states and here we watch BBC straight. Again, much more news about world events especially news from Africa and Asia, which quite frankly, we don't see a lot of back in the states. I've been exposed to stories that simply don't make the newscast back home.
The other really big difference is trying to see US news events through a totally different filter. We only see US news as reported by foreign nationals, whether from London, Hong Kong or wherever. It is so difficlt to tell if the news is just the news or if it's editorialized at some level. I read US newspapers online and quite often a story that I read in the US papers is almost unrecognizable as the same event we have heard on a newscast. The perspective is just different. You are hearing about the event from the slant of how does it effect the home country of the news cast which is a very different way to look at the story. Truth be told, I have no idea what things are really like back home. I only know what I think they are like.
A good example of this is the "Tea Party" event on April 15th. If you look at online news it was this grass roots protest that took place in 700 cities across the country and involved tens of thousands of people. The Atlanta and New York coverage of the event was fairly detailed in the NY and ATL papers. It didn't even get a single word on international news here. If I hadn't read about in in an online newspaper, I would never have known it happened.
So my question is, if the news I get about the US is filtered or missing because I am out of the country, how much of the world news that I used to get at home suffered the same fate? Was it accurate? Was it the whole story? What stories were missing completely? Anyway, food for thought...watch this clip as it makes my point pretty well.
There is also the issue of distance in this country. The eastern province is a 2-3 hour flight from here and driving is 1) incredibly long, 13 hours or so and 2) not exactly great conditions. The roads here are nothing like they are where you are. There are regular reports of truly horrific accidents with people going off the road because conditions can be quite bad. Even doing the 1 hour commute we have to the site is sometimes at very low visibility because of the sand. Our current vehicle has 2 gas tanks because it can be a great distance between gas stations. I say all this to tell you that internal travel, which is a way that news travels, is also difficult here. You don't get internal travelers the way you do in other places. If you are traveling internally it is usually because you have to for business.
So back to the topic of news. Generally we watch the international version of CNN, which is quite different than what we see in the US. The news is truly from around the world and there's not a preponderance of airtime devoted to US news. I used to watch BBC America back in the states and here we watch BBC straight. Again, much more news about world events especially news from Africa and Asia, which quite frankly, we don't see a lot of back in the states. I've been exposed to stories that simply don't make the newscast back home.
The other really big difference is trying to see US news events through a totally different filter. We only see US news as reported by foreign nationals, whether from London, Hong Kong or wherever. It is so difficlt to tell if the news is just the news or if it's editorialized at some level. I read US newspapers online and quite often a story that I read in the US papers is almost unrecognizable as the same event we have heard on a newscast. The perspective is just different. You are hearing about the event from the slant of how does it effect the home country of the news cast which is a very different way to look at the story. Truth be told, I have no idea what things are really like back home. I only know what I think they are like.
A good example of this is the "Tea Party" event on April 15th. If you look at online news it was this grass roots protest that took place in 700 cities across the country and involved tens of thousands of people. The Atlanta and New York coverage of the event was fairly detailed in the NY and ATL papers. It didn't even get a single word on international news here. If I hadn't read about in in an online newspaper, I would never have known it happened.
So my question is, if the news I get about the US is filtered or missing because I am out of the country, how much of the world news that I used to get at home suffered the same fate? Was it accurate? Was it the whole story? What stories were missing completely? Anyway, food for thought...watch this clip as it makes my point pretty well.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Entertainment Redux
We went to a party at the British Consulate last night which was their State of the Nation address for their community. It was a black tie affair which was kind of fun to get dressed up and be almost like it is at home even for a brief 4 hours. The party was held outside and it was 85 degrees, so it was a bit warmer than I normally like to see it for nighttime The grounds are kind of uneven so they lay Persian rugs on top of the ground to sort of even out the terrain. When you are in 4 inch heels, I'll tell you, all the rugs in the world don't help. They did lay down an actual dance floor so that part of the evening was not a safety hazard, unless you call dancing at very close quarters with people who have had one too many a hazard.
We learned more than we ever wanted to know about Great Britain however. Apparently there is a big schism between those who have a Celtic background and those with a Saxon background. We happened to be seated at a table with a Scots couple and they did not toast to the Queen nor listen to the ambassador when he spoke. We thought it was a tad bizarre so of course, we asked why. We then proceeded to get a lengthy talk about the difference between the Celts and the English and how we should never confuse the two even though they are all Brits. So apparently the Irish, the Welsh and the Scots are the Celtic people. Toward the end of the night there seemed to be a division around the music with Celtic and non- Celtic . Wow, of all the things to worry about when you are in an armed compound with people with machine guns on the roof and armored vehicles around the perimeter at an unadvertised party for security reasons, that point completely escaped me. It's funny, you just don't see the security anymore when you live here. It's just part of the background. I literally don't even process it on a conscious level. And yet, I feel totally safe here. I feel safer on a street here than I did back in the states. Anyway, some pictures of the event are at the top.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Entertainment
Again, a little different topic. There are lots of things to do but they are difficult to get to and access. One of the big issues is driving. Obviously, I cannot drive, now mind you it's not that it is against the law, it's not. Any woman may drive as long as her husband gives his permission. Therein lies the stumbling block. I do not want to drive here. There are virtually no rules to the road. Traffic laws are mere suggestions, generally ignored. There are very few traffic lights , seriously, I live in a city of 3 million people and I don't think I've seen half a dozen lights in this place. Traffic police are routinely ignored. The level of testosterone evident on the public thoroughfares would just blow you away. People drive on sidewalks, routinely cut through parking lots (seriously, I have seen people cut through an ATM machine lane to beat traffic), and create an "extra" lane to get someplace a second or two faster. WOW!
Now even if you are a guy, as an expat, you have to be gainfully employed and have a work iqama. You then get a letter that enables you to get a license which if you are from the US or UK is kind of a pass. Get a lot of stuff stamped, pay your money, take an eye exam and you're done. No license, no insurance and you have to have Saudi insurance. So now you get to drive.
Now the next hurdle is what to drive. There is no used car market like we know it. You have to go way out of town up to the mountains and it's more like an auction; remember buying and selling here is always negotiation no matter what the item or where you are buying it. People sort of auction cars on the side of the road. Don't think auto auction like where you are. People use car loans to get cash flow. You get a loan to buy a car then sell the car immediately so you have cash. You still owe the loan, but you now have cash money. It's quite different. Most of the car dealers we have here are the same ones as you have there but the models are all different. They look the same in some cases and in others, the car is one you would not recognize. All the big US dealers are here: Chevys are everywhere and clearly dominate the US brands here. Car prices are cheaper than the US, but not by a lot. You cannot buy a car here and ship it back because they don't meet any of our environmental standards. And since gas mileage is not an issue here, people routinely buy big SUVs. Now there are many types of cars here we don't see where you are, mostly from India and China. So for an expat, you have to pay cash for a new car or simply lease one. Once you have a car, you can do things.
Don't get me wrong, taxis are cheap and plentiful and ubiquitous. But there is nothing like your own vehicle. Once you can travel then you can explore and find things. I hear there are golf courses here, I have yet to see one. There are tons of water parks and amusement parks. Obviously there are beaches, but all of them are private and the cost is about $25 US to get on. That is per person, every time you go. Bowling seems to be kind of big. Live theatre and music is available. Parties at the embassies happen with a fair amount of frequency. We're going to a big black tie affair this week as a matter of fact. It's just a nice break from the routine and sort of like being transported to the west for just a little while. I've heard that the expat population where we live is more than half the population, so it is kind of amazing that more western entertainment is not available. There is not a movie theatre in sight, no miniature golf, nothing like that. You have to learn to make your own fun. You have to be social, you have to make the effort to meet lots of people and you have to go the extra mile to maintain relationships. We are working quite hard to cultivate friendships outside of work so we have some diversity in our lives. What's the point of living overseas if you only hang out with people like you??
Now even if you are a guy, as an expat, you have to be gainfully employed and have a work iqama. You then get a letter that enables you to get a license which if you are from the US or UK is kind of a pass. Get a lot of stuff stamped, pay your money, take an eye exam and you're done. No license, no insurance and you have to have Saudi insurance. So now you get to drive.
Now the next hurdle is what to drive. There is no used car market like we know it. You have to go way out of town up to the mountains and it's more like an auction; remember buying and selling here is always negotiation no matter what the item or where you are buying it. People sort of auction cars on the side of the road. Don't think auto auction like where you are. People use car loans to get cash flow. You get a loan to buy a car then sell the car immediately so you have cash. You still owe the loan, but you now have cash money. It's quite different. Most of the car dealers we have here are the same ones as you have there but the models are all different. They look the same in some cases and in others, the car is one you would not recognize. All the big US dealers are here: Chevys are everywhere and clearly dominate the US brands here. Car prices are cheaper than the US, but not by a lot. You cannot buy a car here and ship it back because they don't meet any of our environmental standards. And since gas mileage is not an issue here, people routinely buy big SUVs. Now there are many types of cars here we don't see where you are, mostly from India and China. So for an expat, you have to pay cash for a new car or simply lease one. Once you have a car, you can do things.
Don't get me wrong, taxis are cheap and plentiful and ubiquitous. But there is nothing like your own vehicle. Once you can travel then you can explore and find things. I hear there are golf courses here, I have yet to see one. There are tons of water parks and amusement parks. Obviously there are beaches, but all of them are private and the cost is about $25 US to get on. That is per person, every time you go. Bowling seems to be kind of big. Live theatre and music is available. Parties at the embassies happen with a fair amount of frequency. We're going to a big black tie affair this week as a matter of fact. It's just a nice break from the routine and sort of like being transported to the west for just a little while. I've heard that the expat population where we live is more than half the population, so it is kind of amazing that more western entertainment is not available. There is not a movie theatre in sight, no miniature golf, nothing like that. You have to learn to make your own fun. You have to be social, you have to make the effort to meet lots of people and you have to go the extra mile to maintain relationships. We are working quite hard to cultivate friendships outside of work so we have some diversity in our lives. What's the point of living overseas if you only hang out with people like you??
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Schools
school lobby gym exterior university in distance
general construction from caf. to basketball courts theatre in distance
The schools are about 60-75% finished. The large school is designed to house 1200 students and all of the picture you see are of that specific building. It is hard to imagine at this juncture what the actual finished product will look like but the plans are quite lovely.
Update on the jobsite
looking up a street 2nd floor terrace Viv andI in dining room
kitchen master bath office
master bedroom guest room formal dr and living room
exterior family room staricase from top (24 steps)
We went up to the job site to check it out the other day and I thought I would share some of the photos with you. This is a typical 3 bedroom house. The furnishings come in 3 flavors: Oriental, Mediterranean and Italian. Since we all live in virtually identical housing, it's going to be like the Stepford house or something. The housing is all fully furnished pretty much the way you see it and houses come in 2-5 bedrooms, depending on your need. All houses come with maid's quarters on the first floor as domestic help, especially for those with young children, will have to be live in because of the remote location. The houses are very unlike those in the US as there is a tremendous amount of "extra" space with hallways and atriums and the like. Building efficiency is a non-issue apparently. All of the construction is cement, no wood at all and all floors are tile, usually 18 inch squares with area rugs if there are rugs at all. The back courtyard off the first floor is surrounded by a 4-5 foot wall and has the usual selection of outdoor furniture. There is no backyard "lawn" at all. There is grass in the front of the house as a landscaping feature. Houses are quite close together as you can see from the pictures, with no lawns and grass it would be pretty tough to space them apart, the sand would be everywhere. The AC units are enormous and there are 2, even though you only need 1 to cool the home; they are built for redundancy. The square footage is huge. I estimate that the 4 bedroom homes probably run in the 4500+ sq ft realm. There are no basements and no attics. All ceilings are quite high. They use no ceiling fans at all. All homes have a balcony or terrace off the second floor as well, either off the family room or the master or sometimes both. Family rooms are considered family or personal space and are placed on the second floor or behind closed doors in alcoves on the first floor. Move in date is sometime after May, but no deadlines are set in stone yet. There are 3000 residential units to finish and a log way to go.
Language
K- on to something a bit different. I'm truly trying to learn the language and the spoken language is not really all that hard but the written language is very hard. I can make myself understood at about the level of a 3-year old, sort of the "want, 3, that" variety of speech, but I am getting better. I can pick out words if people talk REALLY slowly.
Arabic belongs to the Semetic languages and the history is thousands of years old. It is one of the oldest of all human language groups. It took root and flourished in the middle east. It used to be thought that the Arabian Peninsula was the home but more recent thoughts are that it started in what is now Somalia or Ethiopia. BOth areas are dominated by the 2 youngest members of this language family: Arabic and Amharic both of which date to the 4th century CE.
The spread of the language illustrates a common trait, it tends to assimilate the parent language and obliterate it for all intents and purposes so it is no longer used in common life.
Sentence structure is different with a verbal sentence being: Verb then Subject then Object. The girl wrote the story is literally wrote --the girl--the story.
Nouns and adjectives are just as different. There are three ways to designate a number, not just singular and plural , but also plural that means two and exactly two. This one makes me crazy. Every body part just about uses this form, likes eyes, ears and so on. In English we add (e)s tomake the plural and just a few nouns are irregular like children and feet. The opposite is true in Arabic, they are almost all irregular. Way too much fun for the beginner!
The word "drink" is made of three consonants in Arabic, sh-r b. The verb sharaba means he drank. You alter the verb to get other nuances. Doubling the second consonant would mean you made someone drink. Sharraba, or he soaked it, or watered it. Lengthening the vowel shaaraba means doing the action with someone, like having a drink with somebody. Add a t to the front, tasharraba, he got soaked.
Other patterns kind of like this are used for nouns and adjectives. Add ma to the root and delete any vowels in the first consonant and you get mashrab and then it becomes the place where you drink, like a watering hole or a restaurant or a trough. Are we having a good time yet?
If you lengthen the first vowel of the root and insert an I between the second and third root letters you get sharib which is the person or thing who does the action, like drinker.
All of this explanation can be found at www.indiana.edu/~arabic/arabic_history.htm
Below is my name...now you know why I cannot read. Yikes!
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