Category Archives: Uncategorized

The intermediate school kids are divided into 4 houses. The kids are “sorted” and remain in the same house for four years. The houses then compete to be House Champion. The pictures are from the gym showing banners of previous champions.

I am learning how things get done here with help of experienced ex-pats. There is the way the new hire manual says, there is the way things actually happen and then there is the way to get things done. I have been waiting on my application to the Saudi Council of engineers to be approved.Continue reading “Mufeed”

I got to ride in this. Fire department was doing an event. I went over to check out this awesome fire truck. One of the fire fighters saw me looking at it and came over and asked if I wanted a ride. I jumped in and he drove me around the block. This thing hasContinue reading “Fire Truck”

I have been sober for 12 days. I have not watched television in 12 days. I do not even own a television. I set small goals for myself and I accomplished a lot this week. I know how to ride the bus to and from work. I was able to drive to work today withoutContinue reading “First Week of Work”

The pool in community is heated in Winter and cooled in Summer. At work, parking on or over the lines will result in a fine. F35 raptors are seen flying over head every day. Air Force base is nearby. If you loose your residency permit card, it is a $500 fine per card. This goesContinue reading “Fun Facts”

Grocery store is typical. One in community is open 24 hours. I was there at 1 am because I couldn’t sleep so I was able to get some pictures. I bought U.S. Ranch because it was born in the USA. I bought a selection of drinks to try. Apple flavor is very popular. The gingerContinue reading “Grocery Store”

After the mall, I went to hangout in the Costa coffee shop. I passed up the Seattle’s best coffee shop. Starbucks is coming soon. I paid with a fifty riyal bill. The cashier took the bill, examined it and then started showing it to the other workers. He then handed me the bill back andContinue reading “Fifty Riyal Bill”

I ventured outside the community for the first time today. I took one of the shopping buses to the mall of Dhahran. This is one of the largest malls. 70,000 square meters according to Christian who I met on the bus. Square meters doesn’t register with me, but the mall was huge. There were golfContinue reading “Mall of Dhahran”

The workweek in Saudi Arabia is Sunday-Thursday. Weekends are Friday and Saturday. My coworker invited me to his house for breakfast Friday to see his house and meet his family. He has 5 kids and recently moved into one of the newly built houses. House was beautiful and Charlotte will be jealous. After 2 yearsContinue reading “First Weekend”

I ended day getting food from the Popeyes Chicken food truck and eating in Kings Park. This is the main park in camp where festivals are held. Orientation is focused on settling in and getting the residency permit (Iqama). We watched the Saudi Aramco IPO live on TV which occurred yesterday. Stock jumped 10% firstContinue reading “Orientation”