Just Another Week

Relaxation?

Last week I went for a massage because I have aggravated neck injuries from an old motorcycle accident (’79).  I got the ‘back and neck’ treatment.  Over my shoulders, where the pain is, felt like a bag of marbles was being moved around – bump, bump, bump… ouch!  I had been sore for 2 weeks and thought that I would try out the brand new (what isn’t around here?) men’s salon.  At first we were notified by email that there was a barber shop opening and then later word got out on the grape vine that it offered massage and when I was in there, I saw tanning beds – in Saudi Arabia no less!  I have a feeling that their market research was lacking.

Talking about marketing, the new yet-to-open book store, is a disappointment even before it opens.  I looked though the windows at the stocked shelves and saw that they are full of Arabic books.  This is OK, but as a rule, the people from this region do not have a literary tradition as their recent history is oral-based.  This means that the books that are printed serve a purpose more of decoration than reading material – having LOTS of gold on the bindings and many in hard cover.  Gazing though the window I saw shelf upon shelf of gold leaf gilt books.  8-/  The other books on display were computer programming books, university standard-exam preparation books (everyone at the university has passed these exams because they are Masters or PhD students) or table-top picture books.  BUT…. The majority of people on the university campus are readers by nature and well educated.  The manager of this bookstore did not do his homework!  Which brings me to lack of marketing research and strategy again.  I did him a favor and suggested that maybe a good thing to stock up on could be travel books for the region.  His eyes lit up and he though that this would be a good idea.  Actually, I was hoping that there might be a book on Jordan when I went there.  So disappointing! 

Normality is coming

I see they have defined the ‘target range’ at the university now.  They have painted the zebra crossings on the road between the university buildings and the community.  Many times this past week I tested the drivers, intending to see if they understand what the crossing lines mean.  They all passed with flying colors.  NOT ONE slowed down or stopped for me.  I believe that we can safely conclude that traffic habits are the same inside the campus as outside and in Jeddah.  Look both ways, stop, look again, wait a bit, and then RUN!   

Taxi drivers

Last weekend Arindam and I went into Jeddah again.  We went in on the Shopping Bus and came back in a local taxi.   I needed to get a telephoto lens for my SLR camera and some shoes.  We wanted to get around a bit so after the first mall we flagged a taxi and went to another.  During the drive, we got to know our taxi driver and mentioned that we wanted to go back to the university and he agreed to wait for us and take us on after our second mall episode.  On the way back to the university we learned that the driver (a strapping, young man from Morocco) used to be a body guard for one of the Saudi Princes and traveled around the world with him for four years.  He was in the employ of a company that provided him as a contractor to the prince. He had been to the US, China, London, Korea, Australia and many other places.  He was quite proud that he never carried a weapon but relied on his training as a martial arts expert.

The Cruise

Not sure what the water temperature was, but it was quite warm.   About 30 of us traveled out about 10 km from the university (straight West – you can zoom in on the Google Map location) on the university’s catamaran last weekend to anchor in some shallow water where the coral reef was close to the surface.  The colors were not as spectacular as my scuba diving lessons location but the fish were plentiful.  I especially enjoyed stopping during my one-hour snorkel tour, and watching a school of about 100 small 3 cm-5cm iridescent orange fish float up from the insides of a coral-head, like sparkling stars and then quickly disappear.  I thought that odd and looked around and a predatory fish (bonito) swam by.  A few moments later, the fish reemerged and floated up from their hiding place again to swirl about just above their home.  Wonderful!  I also saw a stingray, a Puffer Fish, Parrot fish and many other colorful coral dwelling fish.  I think the most beautiful colors were those seen on the lips of the large coral clams (here is an example of what I saw).  As I moved over them their ‘eyes’ along the edges of their colorful lips saw me and they retracted into their shells.  Nature is amazing for sure!

Just before we were permitted to swim, the boat crew designated the free-swimming area with floats and anchors off the back end of the boat, mainly for the children that were along.  Our snorkel trip went outside this area.  There was food and pop for all and hand-line fishing off the front of the boat.  I got lots of bites but caught nothing. 

Rain

Sunday November 22nd it rained!  I was sitting on my bed getting ready for the day and heard an odd sound outside.  Looking out the window I saw that the road was wet.  I quickly went outside and took some pictures.  One has to capitalize on these opportunities because they come seldom in these regions!  It rained for about 5 minutes and then stopped. Actually, it had stopped even before I got out of the house.  My house is the fourth back from the corner on the left hand side.

Real and Fake Days

Fake Monday

I like this!  Fake Monday is actually Saturday and Fake Wednesday is Monday and Fake Friday is  Wednesday.  Got it?  8-)  From now on, I don’t need to figure that the work-week starts on Saturday here and ‘hump-day is Monday or that the last work-day of the week is Wednesday, although I really do like the shifted work week.  You see, I think of working Saturday and Sunday like working overtime, which makes my work week actually only three days and then I get a weekend.  Isn’t that GREAT?  Hmmmm, maybe you have to be here to understand… 8-/

Meals

Went into Jeddah with a few other people in a private car and had a meal at ‘South of the Border’ a Mexican style restaurant.  They have tried to recreate the chain faithfully here but some things just do not transfer very well.  Take for example the signs for the washrooms – Hombre for the men.  Both gender’s facilities are in the basement and there is a strategically stationed staff member at the bottom of the stairs between the two unit’s doors to direct men and women to the correct washroom.  Why they do not just change the signs to say Men and Women or even add the appropriate Arabic word is beyond me.  I guess ‘chain-style’ is more important than functionality and common sense.  Oh, and on the way out of the place, every single employee is trained to automatically stop what they are doing and chime the meaningless – ‘Thank you Sir, please come again.’  I lost count after the 15^th… Not sure if the guy at the bottom of the stairs said anything as I passed him on the way up the stairs though.  I should go back and try that one again.

Eating on campus... has deteriorated markedly for me.  What used to be ANYTHING on the menu is now the value-meal or a sandwich.  You see, we have to pay now.  I must add, the cafeteria does not have much for line-ups any more, which is a plus!   On the same topic, I have become a budding gourmet cook (in my own humble opinion of myself).  I just need a little bit of help now and then.  For example, I called Donna the other day and found out how to bread some steak and then bake them on a tray in the oven!  Simple… if you like boot leather for dinner but the taste was great, it was just a little tough.  Tonight was oven baked fish and salad.  Note to self: test food before putting on plate as it still might be a ‘bit’ raw.

Oh, I never added that it is quite enjoyable to walk around and read the different names tags placed in front of the food on the counters – always interesting to try to decipher them.  Cicken Berger, Seafood Lasagn or Spagetti Cesar.  I am sure that I have missed many as I just recently learned of the entertainment value of scanning the array of foods available.

Travels

I am a mite delayed in getting my blog out this week because of some unexpected travel last weekend.  A group of 14 people from KAUST traveled to the Eastern side of Saudi Arabia, very close to Bahrain and Qatar, to Dhahran a Saudi Aramco compound in the city of Dammam.   

Dhahran is a fenced-in city, and only Saudi Aramco employees and their dependents may live inside.

Dhahran is a major centre for the oil industry. Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935, the Standard Oil company of the United States drilled the first commercially viable oil well. Standard Oil later established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia called the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), the forerunner to the modern Saudi Aramco (now fully owned by the Saudi government). Saudi Aramco still has its headquarters in Dhahran, and is considered by many measures to be the largest oil company in the world.

In the Gulf War, a significant number of United States military personnel were stationed in Dhahran. Some of these personnel remained in the city after the conclusion of the war, operating under Army Forces Central Command - Saudi Arabia (ARCENT-SA). [Sourse]

Google Maps and Dammam   (note how close the city is to Bahrain which is reached by a bridge)

There are four main compounds in the region for Saudi Aramco but I have been told that this one is the largest (30 sq miles) with a population of over 11 000 and the oldest standing building still in use is 75 years old.  This is a city within a city!

This is the second time I have flown on Aramco’s Boeing airliners in about as many weeks it seems.  Two differences I found on these flights from any other flight I have ever taken were:  All the ladies were sitting at the back of the plane, the men in the front and ‘us’ in the middle, and the second was about 10 minutes into the flight an announcement came over the PA system to broadcast a recording of the ‘travel prayer’ which was chanted by a man with a very sonorous voice overlaid by a huge-chamber echo effect.  Truly, I am in Saudi Arabia. 

We passed through two checkpoints to get into this ‘fenced city within a city’ and entered an environment much like what you would find in a city in Arizona (OK, am I really in Saudi Arabia?) – lots of bungalow homes with mature trees, green grassed fields, playgrounds and hedgerows and the sounds of mourning doves and a plethora of other bird sounds enriching the air.  How wonderful!  KAUST is so new that it has yet to attract birdlife – I miss the sounds here.   Oh, as an aside, I read in a news item this week that KAUST is so new that it is not even on Google Maps.  Now, if that is a measure of 'newness' these days, how things have changed eh?

On the bus ride from the airport to the Aramco compound, there is very little for lighting along the sides of the highway at night and I got the strange impression that I was driving along a Canadian prairie highway just after a fresh snowfall; not a tree or a blade of grass anywhere and with graders having smoothed and sculpted the verge so that there is very little variation to the ground surface, small sand drifts have built up behind any obstruction and along the curbs.  So, with little light save for distant spotlights and a little light from the moon, the landscape looked like it was not +30 degrees but rather 30 below!  It was a nice assurance when I got out of the bus that I did not need a down jacket – I left that back in Canada. (Man, I’m getting global whiplash from this!)

Self-Directed Groups

In the morning we were pleased to find that the weekend we came on, was one of the main weekends for community activities in the compound, which leads me to WHY I was in Dammam!

Aramco as you have read, is a mature company with mature processes, refined over many years.  Aramco is also funding the first three or so years of operations of KAUST.  Quality of life is one of the main-stays that ensure that people find their tenure in the Middle East rewarding and enjoyable.  Resulting from this, over the years, many ‘Self-Directed Groups’ have been set up by community members and supported by Aramco.  We went to Dhahran to find out how to set up groups like this at KAUST.  I was included in the group of 14 because I inquired about setting up a group involved in Dragon Boating.  It appears as though I am going to need to gather a group of people with similar interests to build an organizational body and that can manage funds, events, training and equipment.

Back to the weekend!

After breakfast at the ‘commissary’ (first time I have heard this term used… guess it underscores the compound’s heritage) which was just a stones’ throw from the hotel, we were off to the races.   We had to drive a long way around the compound’s central area before we found an entrance into a main sports field – we were constantly redirected because there was a road-race taking place and we were not permitted to cross the race-route by the hundreds of volunteer security personnel.  Eventually we were able to cross the route and get into one of the large parking lots beside a sports field.  There was a crowd of fire fighters competing in their annual games, ‘Feel the Burn.’  They were doing an obstacle race at the time we were there.  During the whole time we were in the compound our conversation was drowned out by regular fly-bys of US fighter jets going out to patrol the southern Iraq no-fly zone from the near-by airbase.  We moved on to visit the craft community center building where we saw facilities for Self-Directed Groups: pottery, (they had 4 large kilns and 11 pottery wheels), lead stained glass, painting, print making, exhibit space offices and more.  From there, we went to see fitness facilities and then to some of their tennis courts where a group was taking part in a fun round-robin tournament.   Later we went to the community library that is as well provisioned as one of the larger Edmonton public library branches.  During a presentation on ‘groups’ we were told about the facilities available for woodworking.  They have a huge hanger kind of set up for their shop which seemed even larger than the cabinet factories I have worked in!

For lunch, we moved to the central event area for the weekend that seemed to be something like a miniature ‘Edmonton heritage days’ sort of set-up, but without the heritage theme.  This event was all about Self-Directed Groups and these groups were either showcasing what they do or fund-raising by selling their products. I think my favorite was the boy scout group doing fishing for candy with poles and clothes pegs dropped over a screen while other kids clipped prizes to the lines… or maybe it was woodworking stations where parents were teaching children how to build wooden periscopes.  We walked around a bit and then went into the adjacent theatre to watch a dress-rehearsal of the theatre group’s next production, Mamma Mia.  I can tell you, from my opinion having seen the ‘professional’ version of this production was everything as good -- with two caveats, it was a dress rehearsal and it was done by high schools students and Aramco employees.  I believe there might be some discussions taking place about the possibility of inviting these people to KAUST to inspire the generation of a similar group here.

Fake Sunday at the Beach

Friday was an odd day for me.  I was so close to Dubai and yet could not get there for a very special gathering of my friends – I definitely knew where I wanted to be if I had an option, but I did not, so made the best of it. 

Friday was a free-day as our flight was booked for the evening.  A few went shopping and the rest chose to go to a beach resort.  If you zoom in as much as you can on this Google Map link you will just about see me on the beach chair (well maybe not…. But I WAS there!)  You see, I can use my iPhone and open Google Maps on it and hit a button and I get the ‘pin’ that you see in the middle of the map which marks the location that I am at that time.  If you look closely at the map you will see the water slides and ‘lazy river’ where I floated around on a tube.

Real Sunday

SSunday evening last week and again last night (this week Sunday) I participated in a meeting with some friends in Edmonton, where my family is.  A few of us have purchased a Polycom phone system that can be placed in the center of a room and be used as a conference communication device.  I am here in Saudi Arabia and I dial the homes’ phone number using Skype and they pick up, test the audio and then ‘carry me’ into the room and set ‘me’ down under a table in the room -- for the duration.  This was how I heard, for the first time, my son Garnet’s thoughts.  It is wonderful to be able to listen to Donna and Aven and each as they share their thoughts for the week.  The communication goes both ways as I am able to share a little about my experiences with them, there as well.  My body might be here, but my heart is definitely there.

Starting to feel like ages

Although it is just eight weeks that I have been here, it feels like ages!  We meet people who are new and they look at us like veterans when in fact we are just as ‘wet behind the years’ as they are.  But we can’t miss the opportunity and often say with a smile that we have been here from before the opening.  Work is going by like a blur as we work from one issue to the next.  Setting up software and applications and systems is not a simple thing even in a mature organization.  Setting up the whole thing from scratch is indescribable in its complexity!  Blackboard which I work with primarily, is a relatively mature application as a whole, but when connecting to other applications and additional programs that sit between them to assist in communication between the two… the scope for error, and complications is exponential in nature.  We are beginning to tackle the grading system while students are taking exams and instructors want to upload these results in Blackboard -- while we are trying to figure out how to pass these grades to the Student Records system which ultimately generates a student’s transcript and grade point average (final marks) -- is a challenge to say the least.  In tandem, we are developing our backup processes and systems so that we can recover data if there is a system failure.  On top of this we are addressing single-user access issues on a daily and hourly basis.  All of this keeps the three of us hopping!  I say three, because I work with Vanessa (an Australian lady who has been here longer than I…), and Velavan who is an Indian contractor from a company called EduTech out of India and Dubai.  I had dealings with this company while working at Dubai Women’s College in the UAE.
‘Guy intelligence’ 

And now there are two.  This past week, Kannan’s spouse arrived from Bahrain where they had been living before Kannan got this job here.  Now there is only Arindam and I who are bachelors – from the initial ‘hotel group’ when I first arrived.  Kannan was in a panic for the last few days before his wife arrived and both Arindam and I were trying to council him in how to handle the situation.  Kannan was fixated on getting the home spotless while Arindam and I were telling him to do a ‘little’ but not ‘too much’ because we believe that the effort a man puts into cleaning just never seems to be good enough for a woman. I firmly believe that a home is not a home till tidied and cleaned by its manager.  As an aside, I was also trying to talk sense into Arindam related to his shipment that was sitting in boxes in his hallway.  I said that it might be best to leave it as-is and ‘help’ his wife when she comes in a few months, to put things where she wants them rather than guessing where they ‘should’ go.  I was trying to convince him that it might be an exercise in futility…  I lost, and he gave in and unpacked.  Time will tell what eventually happens.

What to do?

Grocery shopping till 1am and home by 2.30.  Arggg!  Arindam and I split the cost of a taxi for the full day and ventured into Jeddah again.  Since the selection is very limited in the small grocery shop here on campus, it is almost essential that we make a grocery run at least twice a month.  My first big shop cost me $150.  We did a few other stops along the way which included IKEA again for the first stop, then to Al Balad (the old district of the city) and finally to a large grocery store. 

No one sleeps in this country!  We were driving home after 1 am and there were children all over the places – from toddlers being tossed in the air by parents to teens.  There were family groups sitting in circles where ever there was grass and most were choosing the grass in the median of the road (between the two lanes of traffic).   Can’t think that this is the safest place for children to be playing tag, but it seems to be a common occurrence.  Makes me wonder about what these children do about staying awake at school. 

IKEA, I now understand why people were killed here... A press of humanity!  We thought that it would be faster to walk backwards through the store and find the stuff we wanted in the warehouse and then get out rather than walking through the whole store and then through the warehouse.  Where our plan fell through was that all the signs are in Arabic and a lot of the things in the warehouse were not on display so we could not shop the shelves and had to move further into the store to get part numbers.  Man!  That was a mistake big-time!   I think I might have been the only Caucasian in the whole store that night.  Pushing our cart was sort of surreal, a bit like driving in Jeddah -- I was cut off and pushed aside at every opportunity -- but in this version with no cars, everything was in monochrome – B&W. 

 Making my house a home:

I have taken a number of photos that were taken in the UAE (a series of Camels on gravel road, an old man sleeping on a wooden boat and a portrait of my family, …) and enlarged them with Photoshop so that they can be printed in  sizes up to 3’ x 2.5’.  They will all be mounted on a wood backboard.  I think the total cost will be just shy of $100 which I think is a good price.  Here a week later, and I have them on the walls around the house.  They are so much better than the schlock that was here when I moved in.

There is bicycle envy on campus.  8-)

 Riding to work each day, I get many comments on my bike – Donna purchased it for me in Dubai for a birthday present 3 years ago.  It was getting a ‘bit’ dusty and I felt compelled to wash it.  Oh, the vanity of it all!  On the environmental side, I think I can recoup some of your opinion of me by telling you that it took one ‘damp’ cloth to wash it, no running water, no bucket of water and no phosphates etc...

Navigating the bureaucracy

Never a dull moment when I venture out to acquire official documents.  A group of us gathered at the administration building at 9 am expecting to leave for the dreaded drivers license again.  You might ask yourself that I have already got mine!  Yes, but I have to go through it all again because I want to get a motorcycle license.  If I want an additional vehicle added to my license I have to go though the whole process all over again and get a second card.  I forget to bring food... that was a mistake!  We finally got out of the university’s admin building by 11.  We have no idea why it took so long, but have found it is better not to ask. 

We drove away from Jeddah this time as the Government Affairs people at the university were determined to find a place less crowded than Jeddah’s police station.  We drove 60 km North and then into a small town where we promptly got lost.  Eventually we found a medical clinic.  We gave blood again and eyes were tested (myself and a German were the two that were doing this for a second time, the rest were getting their car licenses).  When we finally got to the police station we were just in time for prayer time.  The place was deserted…  We were told to sit in a waiting room and the Gov. Affairs guys left to find people.  We then were taken to a translation room and each gave their home country license (second time for us…).    Each time we said that we did not want the car license but the motorcycle, the official would stop and look at us…    Motorcycle licenses I think, are not common! 

We found it a bit odd that there was bargaining taking place when we were paying for our licenses and translation. It started at Saudi riyal 430 and ended at 300.  For some reason, the cost is greater out in the outlying towns.  Don’t ask!  8-)

After the translation we were all taken back to the medical center and given another eye exam because we all were told that we need to have had a microscope-kind-of-test rather than the chart on the wall variety which was the kind that we had in Jeddah – why?...   Don’t ask!  We found that ‘us motorcycle license guys’ were being asked for more information than the car guys.  They wanted our finger prints.  Again, no questions on our part, it seems to be just process, but wondered if they thought that our fingers would be the only thing identifiable after an accident??? Hmmmm  The police station and medical clinic closed for the day after the eye exam and we were told to come back another day for the finger printing process.  8-/   Oh, and another thing, they would not give us our license until we present a receipt from purchasing a helmet.  I said I had a helmet from Dubai and would bring it in… They did not accept that, they wanted the receipt.  So, I will be asking around from some of the other people at the university and ‘borrow’ a receipt so that I can fulfill the license obligation.  Can’t figure out why they would not accept seeing my helmet other than that they wanted to attach a copy of a receipt to all the other paper work.  Oh dear me!  I believe that if I get a bike after all this, that I will be one of a very small elite fraternity of bike riders.  In the end, there was progress -- on a positive note, we are half way there.