First, I want to thank all of you who are following along. I have to say this blog is also for selfish purposes, so I can have a sort of "digital journal", and relive my time here, as well as comb over all my grammatical errors and typos. Yay! Hopefully you guys don't mind.
All the time I have been here, one question has been on my mind: Would I live in Dhahran again if given the opportunity? I mean, it is a place I have yearned for in the deepest sense.... and I've realized I'm not alone. There is something magical about being an expat and a 3rd culture kid. Dhahran haunts many people who leave.... I always thought something might be wrong with me to miss it so much. I mean, I only spent 8 years here... yes, they were the formative years of my life, but GET REAL! Who yearns for something this much?!
I've had a recurring dream for many years and it's always the same dream, only located in different areas around camp. The dream goes like this: I'm walking around Dhahran. I look around and say, "I dream about this all the time, but now I'm here. I'm really, really here!"
Part of me expects this all to be another dream. I'm very curious to see if those dreams will finally end.
Would I live here again? After much thought, I'd say no. I would not want to live here again for a variety of reasons. The sense of community is not as strong as when I was here before, there are not as many westerners living here, I don't have a family (would be pretty lonely), and I'm now too accustomed to the bounty and liberty of California. It just seems to be very quiet here.... much more so than when I lived here. The bustle of children playing is gone... people seem to be inside with doors closed.
I have come to the conclusion that I am madly in love with two main themes about Saudi Arabia:
1) The Middle Eastern desert. In all my travels, I've seen many deserts.... but none like the one here. Perhaps I'd do well as a Bedouin, but I'm utterly transfixed by the natural landscape here. Its vast emptiness and blinding light clears my head and soothes my soul. Every object that speckles it looks so lonely and like it's fighting its own battle to simply exist in such a harsh environment. I feel this way about everything here from the bone-dry shrubs, to the tires half buried in sand, to the dusty plastic bags clinging to a rusty fence on the side of the road. It's all just so lonely and still. Forgotten... mother nature just tempting them to disappear.
2) Perhaps it's not the place I missed so much, but rather the feeling I had of being a child here. That's been proven by coming back to Dhahran. It was not the "place" I yearned for as much as it was the chapter in my life. In that sense, I can never truly go "home". So, someone asked what it meant when I said being here means something different than I thought it would. I guess I thought I would find my closure in a sense of deep satisfaction... satisfaction that never quite arrived. Like the deep yearning in me would suddenly turn into euphoria upon entering Dhahran's gate.
No, in reality, being here simply means I don't have to wonder anymore.... That I can comfortably live in California and objectively think of Dhahran as it is now.... and be able to maturely separate a location on a map from a "ring" on my tree of physical, spiritual, and emotional growth.
Growing up in Saudi profoundly shaped who I am today..... I will always be grateful for having grown up here and for the experiences I've been blessed enough to have had. Truly, getting to come back to Saudi has been a gift from God. He works in mysterious ways.... some more obvious to me than others. This one is quite obvious.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
My Horse
So, not sure if I've blogged this yet, but my old horse, Shaggy (full name is Shagara) who I said goodbye to 18+ years ago is STILL ALIVE and lives out at the Hobby Farm. I was stunned and elated when I heard she was still there. She's an old lady now.... pushing 30 years old which is reeeeally old for a horse. I barely recognized her, although she still has the same sweet face and unruly cowlick on her mane. She came from Iraq and there they tattoo the inside of the lip of their horses. I had to check. Yup, it was her.
Looking at her in the sunset of her life made me so sad, but so, so glad to be able to see her again. It was hard to look at her and see the star show jumper she was when I had her. For such a small little horse, she out-jumped the huge Warmblood horses from Riyadh at the shows.
She is not ridden anymore, but has a wonderful owner who takes very good care of her. I'm going to see if I can find their email address so I can stay in touch and find out how and when the story of Shagara ends.
It was a tearful evening as I was at the hobby farm, the sun was setting, and the desert doves were cooing.... and I gave carrots to my horse from 18 years ago... for the last time. The Pakistani grooms (laborers who care for the horses) did not quite know what to do with me as I was in her stall sobbing. They were like, "WHO are you and why are you crying all over Mrs. Spalding's horse?" All they could think to do was to cut up some carrots and hand them to me. It was so nice of them and simply the best thing they could have ever done at that moment.
I have to say, leaving the stables tonight was the hardest part for me. I never thought I'd be back there and I never thought how hard it might be for me to leave it all over again. It truly is my heaven on earth.... always will be. When I saw a dad dropping his young daughter off at the stables, I just hoped she knew how lucky she was at that moment.
Looking at her in the sunset of her life made me so sad, but so, so glad to be able to see her again. It was hard to look at her and see the star show jumper she was when I had her. For such a small little horse, she out-jumped the huge Warmblood horses from Riyadh at the shows.
She is not ridden anymore, but has a wonderful owner who takes very good care of her. I'm going to see if I can find their email address so I can stay in touch and find out how and when the story of Shagara ends.
It was a tearful evening as I was at the hobby farm, the sun was setting, and the desert doves were cooing.... and I gave carrots to my horse from 18 years ago... for the last time. The Pakistani grooms (laborers who care for the horses) did not quite know what to do with me as I was in her stall sobbing. They were like, "WHO are you and why are you crying all over Mrs. Spalding's horse?" All they could think to do was to cut up some carrots and hand them to me. It was so nice of them and simply the best thing they could have ever done at that moment.
I have to say, leaving the stables tonight was the hardest part for me. I never thought I'd be back there and I never thought how hard it might be for me to leave it all over again. It truly is my heaven on earth.... always will be. When I saw a dad dropping his young daughter off at the stables, I just hoped she knew how lucky she was at that moment.
Dammam
Today was my last full day in Saudi, so I was hesitant to go on the shopper's route to Dammam since it takes a while to get out there and I wanted to maximize my time. I decided to go ahead and hop on the bus since I still had some shopping to do.
Dammam is a lot more user-friendly than Khobar in a lot of respects. We were in the "old" area and it seemed to have more walkways, and outdoor shopping "plazas" than Khobar. It was a nice change from having to walk over broken sidewalks and dodge cars in Khobar. I bought a gorgeous abaya with gold and ruby colored stitching all over and a matching hijab. I am going to miss wearing my abaya! It's been wonderful and so, so easy. Besides, it's big billowing shape hides a multitude of sins. :-)
I also bought some scarfs and tunic dresses in the Indian section as well as, yes, another gold ring. Heeeeey, I fell in love with a pair of earings, but was able to walk away from that hefty purchase. Besides, if I MUST have more gold, there is always Dubai. :-) We'll be there the day after tomorrow.
There are just so many things I would love to take home, but my suitcases are bulging already. It's always a rush to shop here. Prayer at about noon leaves just a small window in the morning for shopping and then, hallas. No more until evening. My mom is in Khobar now, but I opted to pack, blog, and organize photos instead. I've had enough shopping and dirty streets.
I did tell her to bring me a shwarma though. Lol! :-)
Btw, I was dying for a Diet Coke while in Dammam (nothing new), but had to ask one of the men on the trip to go into a store to buy one for me. No women allowed. Still amazing to me.
Dammam is a lot more user-friendly than Khobar in a lot of respects. We were in the "old" area and it seemed to have more walkways, and outdoor shopping "plazas" than Khobar. It was a nice change from having to walk over broken sidewalks and dodge cars in Khobar. I bought a gorgeous abaya with gold and ruby colored stitching all over and a matching hijab. I am going to miss wearing my abaya! It's been wonderful and so, so easy. Besides, it's big billowing shape hides a multitude of sins. :-)
I also bought some scarfs and tunic dresses in the Indian section as well as, yes, another gold ring. Heeeeey, I fell in love with a pair of earings, but was able to walk away from that hefty purchase. Besides, if I MUST have more gold, there is always Dubai. :-) We'll be there the day after tomorrow.
There are just so many things I would love to take home, but my suitcases are bulging already. It's always a rush to shop here. Prayer at about noon leaves just a small window in the morning for shopping and then, hallas. No more until evening. My mom is in Khobar now, but I opted to pack, blog, and organize photos instead. I've had enough shopping and dirty streets.
I did tell her to bring me a shwarma though. Lol! :-)
Btw, I was dying for a Diet Coke while in Dammam (nothing new), but had to ask one of the men on the trip to go into a store to buy one for me. No women allowed. Still amazing to me.
The Farewell Dinner
Last night was our (very sad) Farewell Dinner. Seems like yesterday when we had our Welcome Dinner on Sunset Beach. A lot of people have already flown back to the States by now. We're leaving tomorrow.
Most of the women wore their abayas since it was held at an ENORMOUS banquet hall in Dammam and there were lots of Saudi business men in attendance. In the buffet line, the lamb skull was ontop of the bed of rice (again), and the look on my face must have been horrified enough for the man next to me to tell me I needed to work on my poker-face. We had a good laugh and I was a vegetarian for the night.
I met the man who processed all of visas and some other important people.... felt honored. Ali Baluchi, the man responsible for making this reunion a reality, was there and people were in tears around him... we're all just so grateful that he helped us come home when most of us never thought we could/would. The emotions were tender and with sincere thanks. How does one repay for something like this? I, like most people, are at a total loss.
What a great, great man.
Most of the women wore their abayas since it was held at an ENORMOUS banquet hall in Dammam and there were lots of Saudi business men in attendance. In the buffet line, the lamb skull was ontop of the bed of rice (again), and the look on my face must have been horrified enough for the man next to me to tell me I needed to work on my poker-face. We had a good laugh and I was a vegetarian for the night.
I met the man who processed all of visas and some other important people.... felt honored. Ali Baluchi, the man responsible for making this reunion a reality, was there and people were in tears around him... we're all just so grateful that he helped us come home when most of us never thought we could/would. The emotions were tender and with sincere thanks. How does one repay for something like this? I, like most people, are at a total loss.
What a great, great man.
Shaybah
Wow! It's no wonder people at this reunion say over and over that Shaybah was the highlight of their experience in Saudi! Shaybah was unbelievable for so many reasons.
Background on the area is that oil (and LOTS of it) was discovered in Shaybah in the 1960s but it's located in the middle of the Rub al Khali desert with nothing around it, so it remained pretty untapped until recently. This Aramco "town" they built is a true miracle of modern man's power.
Basically, they cleared millions and millions of tons of sand out of the way and built an airstrip out there and then built an oil and gas processing plant in the middle of the huge (1000 foot) red sand dunes. It's 500 miles to the nearest town and the most inhospitable terrain in the world. That's why it's called "The Empty Quarter".
We took a bus to the (private) Aramco airport in Dammam, then took an Aramco plane to Shaybah. I had no idea how nice and luxurious their planes were! Wow! An hour flight and we touched down on a runway with towering red dunes on all sides of us.
They have built an oasis in the middle of nowhere - litterally. It was very, very hot there - much warmer than Dhahran, so I can only imagine how hot it gets in the summer. A sense of claustrophobia kicked in..... knowing I was pretty much surrounded by an environment I would not last long in.
We drove around the HUGE oil processing plants... called GOSPs - Gas and oil separation plants. There are several of them and they are building more.
Apparently, very few people live there full time, and most everyone who goes there is male... even the restrooms were unmarked as mens and womens.
Most people work there and fly home at the end of the day, and if they're really unfortunate, only on weekends.
At the end of our trip we were set free to run up and down the huge red sand dunes. Most of us collected sand to bring home and it looked just like paprika! Just an amazing experience. I wondered how on earth they manage to keep the shifting dunes from engulfing everything, but Shaybah is a miracle of modern man... reminding my that very little is truly impossible.
Background on the area is that oil (and LOTS of it) was discovered in Shaybah in the 1960s but it's located in the middle of the Rub al Khali desert with nothing around it, so it remained pretty untapped until recently. This Aramco "town" they built is a true miracle of modern man's power.
Basically, they cleared millions and millions of tons of sand out of the way and built an airstrip out there and then built an oil and gas processing plant in the middle of the huge (1000 foot) red sand dunes. It's 500 miles to the nearest town and the most inhospitable terrain in the world. That's why it's called "The Empty Quarter".
We took a bus to the (private) Aramco airport in Dammam, then took an Aramco plane to Shaybah. I had no idea how nice and luxurious their planes were! Wow! An hour flight and we touched down on a runway with towering red dunes on all sides of us.
They have built an oasis in the middle of nowhere - litterally. It was very, very hot there - much warmer than Dhahran, so I can only imagine how hot it gets in the summer. A sense of claustrophobia kicked in..... knowing I was pretty much surrounded by an environment I would not last long in.
We drove around the HUGE oil processing plants... called GOSPs - Gas and oil separation plants. There are several of them and they are building more.
Apparently, very few people live there full time, and most everyone who goes there is male... even the restrooms were unmarked as mens and womens.
Most people work there and fly home at the end of the day, and if they're really unfortunate, only on weekends.
At the end of our trip we were set free to run up and down the huge red sand dunes. Most of us collected sand to bring home and it looked just like paprika! Just an amazing experience. I wondered how on earth they manage to keep the shifting dunes from engulfing everything, but Shaybah is a miracle of modern man... reminding my that very little is truly impossible.
Ras Tanura
It's been a few days since I've had time to write and tonight is our last night in Saudi, so I figure I'd better get current before my computer washes away in a torrent of tears. :-)
Two days ago we caught the early bus to the beach town of Ras Tanura. It's another one of the Aramco compounds, mainly used for loading oil tankers since it's on the Gulf. Oh, before I forget, I found out that gas is 60 cents per gallon here. Just an FYI... I was curious.
Ras Tanura is built up quite a bit from the time I was last there. It's a BEAUTIFUL compound, especially right on the beach area. Palapas are on the sand and the swimming pool, schools, walkways, theaters, and general areas are really gorgeous. It kind of reminded me of being on vacation in a tropical place.
We toured around a bit and visited the Ras Tanura golf course, which is still the oiled sand. They don't have the grass that Dhahran has. Another stop we made was a swanky building where are the major Aramco meetings are held... sort of a big wig meeting spot. Very shee shee.
All the volunteers in Ras Tanura were VERY FRIENDLY. Almost too friendly. It's like they were starving for human interaction! Lol! Apparently Ras Tanura's population is about 2,500 whereas Dhahran has about 18,000. That's a pretty big difference. Despite how beautiful it is there, I would not want to live in a community that small... just too small.
No, I'd say it's the perfect weekend spot.
I heard a lot about what a ghost town Abqaiq is now... that it's withering away and a lot of the houses are boarded up with broken windows, etc. It was very sad for folks on this reuniuon who used to live there to see it in that condition. I can understand why.
Two days ago we caught the early bus to the beach town of Ras Tanura. It's another one of the Aramco compounds, mainly used for loading oil tankers since it's on the Gulf. Oh, before I forget, I found out that gas is 60 cents per gallon here. Just an FYI... I was curious.
Ras Tanura is built up quite a bit from the time I was last there. It's a BEAUTIFUL compound, especially right on the beach area. Palapas are on the sand and the swimming pool, schools, walkways, theaters, and general areas are really gorgeous. It kind of reminded me of being on vacation in a tropical place.
We toured around a bit and visited the Ras Tanura golf course, which is still the oiled sand. They don't have the grass that Dhahran has. Another stop we made was a swanky building where are the major Aramco meetings are held... sort of a big wig meeting spot. Very shee shee.
All the volunteers in Ras Tanura were VERY FRIENDLY. Almost too friendly. It's like they were starving for human interaction! Lol! Apparently Ras Tanura's population is about 2,500 whereas Dhahran has about 18,000. That's a pretty big difference. Despite how beautiful it is there, I would not want to live in a community that small... just too small.
No, I'd say it's the perfect weekend spot.
I heard a lot about what a ghost town Abqaiq is now... that it's withering away and a lot of the houses are boarded up with broken windows, etc. It was very sad for folks on this reuniuon who used to live there to see it in that condition. I can understand why.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Westerners in Saudi
Just on a side note, as I was looking around Dhahran Hills School yesterday, I noticed a huge wall full of class photos. Each class had about 12 students and, on average, only about 3 of those students were Westerners. 95% of the teachers were Westerners, however. Very interesting and very different for when I lived here.
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