Home

Nothing like McDonalds and Christmas decorations to make a guy feel at home in Arabia. This was actually at the airport in Bahrain, where we flew out from on Dec. 22. Bahrain is an independent kingdom on an island connected to Saudi Arabia by a 15 mile causeway. Much different from Saudi Arabia- not nearly as restrictive. After leaving Bahrain, we had a lengthy layover in Frankfort again before returning to Atlanta. It took me several days to get into the correct time zone again, but I'm baaaaack! Can't wait to go someplace else and blog some more!

College Kids

The students above are enrolled at Al-Yamamah University (please, no yo mama jokes), a co-educational private school located in Riyadh. It's all brand new and very impressive. They have a very western style curriculum, with the major exception that all classes are strictly segregated by sex. In the few co-ed classes, there's a partition in the middle of the room separating the boys from the girls. The students told us that the private schools are better than the public ones, which tend to use straight memorization as the primary instructional method.

The boy I'm standing next to was a typical college guy, telling me that if I wanted to party I'd have to leave to country and go to Dubai. A nice boy, but a New York Yankee fan for some reason.

I gave a Chamblee yearbook to the girl, an Egpytian named Miriam Al-Sayed. The girls were asking questions about my school, and I just happend to have the book with me. It will hold an honored place in the Al-Yamamah library. She gave an eloquent defense for wearing the abaya and hijab, which included the very important "it doesn't matter if I'm having a bad hair day" rationale.

The women in our group visited the girls in their dorm, and found that they seemed very American behind closed doors- lots of designer jeans, and casual clothing, closets full of shoes and signs reminding the girls that bare midrif tops are not appropriate even in the dorm.

Cousin Al

Hello,

I know what you're thinking, but that isn't a picture of me. It's my long lost cousin Ali Abdul Aziz bin Don-egan, or Al as we call him. Remarkable family resemblance. Turns out he's descended from the same Irish family I am. Appparently, years ago our great great great grandfather said we were going to make a journey. He thought grandpa said journey to Mecca, and so off he went on a haj to view the Kaaba and visit the holy mosques. Now he a member of the appointed council that serves under King Abdullah. It's a great honor to be appointed (he's in the Ministry of Education) especially since in the Kingdom there are no elections except to some small local positions. Elections can be very messy anyway.

Lousy Internet

Hi there,

I'm still here, and my magic carpet leaves this afternoon for the land of ice and snow. The internet has been...challenged this week, so no pictures or new update. I'll work on that when I get to the land of DSL. Apparently there's a national glitch in the net, so normally things are quite swift.

I wanted to bring you all back many gifts, but the souk (the market) was closed for afternoon prayers. Perhaps I can get some nice things at the Frankfurt airport.

Happy holidays!

Today we're off to a beach on the Red Sea. That's a little bay in the background. We may go snorkeling on the reef, and the women have been promised that they don't have to wear an abaya to do that. Inshallah, we won't run into any sharks or Somali pirates!

Welcome to the mall! The Red Sea Mall is the 3rd largest in the Middle East, and very reminiscent of Perimeter or Lenox- if they had three levels. All of the usual stores are there. We were all looking for something that said Saudi Arabia on it and found nothing! I might just buy souvenirs at Wal Mart in Atlanta, since everything is made in China anyway. The sign above is outside of most restaurants. Families and single women use the family entrance, and men use the other one. Naturally several women in our group tried to fight the system and were quickly moved to the proper side. And ladies, don't ask to go to the gym at the hotel. Its for men only.

Camels Need Dental Work

Maybe this is why camels make a sound that reminds me of a space cruiser in Star Wars. We haven't seen any sign of a camel here in the city- it's a rural thing. Many of the city boys haven't ridden a camel either.

Nobody Walks in SA

Just a typical car in the parking lot at the hotel. Jeddah has no public transportation system, so everyone drives- except women, of course. They ride with family or hire drivers. With gas at around 50 cents a gallon, who cares? Most cars are American or Japanese and many are SUV's, so we feel right at home on the road.

Meet Fullah!

Meet Fullah! She's kind of an Arabian Barbie. She comes with a number of lovely, tasteful outfits, but this is her favorite- the abaya and hijab. Most of the women we've met are attired like this. Whether we're at the mall, a restaurant or a school this is what we see. More conservative women have the face covered too. Right now the weather is great, but it must be tough in the summer. So far, there's no "Ali " doll to keep her company, since dating isn't allowed.

It's shoe time!

They must love me here in the Kingdom! I was walking around today and they started throwing shoes at me! Made me feel like the president to be so honored. The Arabic word for thank you is shukran (shoe-kran) , so I said that and they threw even more shoes! What a wonderful place.

Today we went to another women's college (all secondary schools and colleges are segregated by sex) and then met with the Women's Chamber of Commerce (also sex segregated). The college kids are very fluent in English, and believe that they will have no trouble finding great jobs. They really don't seem concerned about having to wear the abaya all the time, at least in public. The Chamber of Commerce gave a different view of how they've struggled to gain even the most basic rights for women. A major victory was gaining the right to be a sales clerk in a store! It seems many upper class Saudi women kind of like the system, given that they have personal drivers for their cars. An interesting society.

No more pictures of food, though tonight was a beachside feast on the shores of the Red Sea. They flew in Maine lobster and Alaskan king crab for the occasion. Not exactly local cuisine.

The gentleman sitting with me at lunch said there are two holy professions in Islam- the doctor/nurse who heals the body, and the teacher, who heals the soul. What a brilliant man.

Tomorrow we may actually go shopping. They keep us on a short leash around here due to security concerns. There are still basically no tourists from the West in Saudi Arabia, so we're kind of an attention getter.

Salaam!

The Pepsi Generation

After a long, dusty day of chasing camels in the desert there's nothing like going back to the hotel for a cool drink. Don't worry, the beer is non-alcoholic. This is Saudi Arabia after all!

We're now in Jeddah, the gateway to Mecca and the Great Mosque. While we won't get there, we will get to see the city and visit a college and several businesses. The city is booming- reminds me of Orlando with out Mickey Mouse. And away we go!

Hairy Potter and the Wheel of Fortune

We traveled to a town called Al Hasa to visit the shop of Hairy Potter. It's a town near the Arabian Gulf (around here they don't call it the Persian Gulf) that is famous for growing date palms. The kids were just getting out of school to go home for lunch.

Little Sheiks Room

Don't speak Arabic? No worries! The signs come with pictures! The men's room has the little bearded man, and the ladies room has a picture of a woman in the traditional abaya and hijab. I didn't try to take pictures of the women's room...

Actually, we're going to Jeddah next.

So it's Jeddah, then Riyadh. Jedddah is where many trips to Mecca begin. It's on the Red Sea and we expect balmy temperatures and warm water. See you on the next computer!

I'd Walk A Mile For A Camel

A short drive out of Dhahram and we're in the desert, where we dropped in on a camel farm. I bonded with this one, who obviously was admiring my Florida Gator hat. I passed on a tasty drink of camel milk.

Tomorrow we're off to a small farm town, then on to Riyadh. Another Arabian night!

Bedouin Family

The Bedouins are the famous nomads of the desert. The women are particularly intelligent, and sons are noted for their devotion to their mothers.

Light Reading

Red Crescent at your service

I just told a really awful pun...

School for Girls

Aramco is now running a college prep school for high achieving girls. They've had one for boys for many years, but this is just the third year for girls. Each of these girls applied to Aramco after finishing high school. After a year in the program studying various math and science classes, they'll go to college in Europe or the US before returning to the Kingdom for a job with Aramco. It's a sweet deal- but hard work. These are smart girls. The young woman we had lunch with plans to go to MIT or Boston College. The abaya (long skirt) and hijab(head scarf) are required, especially when away from the Aramco compound. Several signs in the building reminded the girls to speak English only.

Food Glorious Food

Should I have the lobster or the crab? How about the lamb or the chicken? For once we can eat while sitting on the floor and not have to worry about the dog stealing dinner. It reminds me of the food at the CMS cafeteria (not).

Of course, if you can't handle gourmet dining, there are always the old American standbys. I might gain a few pounds on this trip.

More Day 1- Welcome to Aramco

Our first day was tour of Saudi Aramco, the biggest oil company you've never heard of. They used to be American owned, but in the last couple of decades it became a Saudi outfit. They still employ lots of foreign workers.

Their history museum was actually quite good. You could learn a lot even if you didn't read all of the little signs on the exhibits. Not that I would...

They then took us to their Exploration and Petroleum Center for a look at their methods of oil extraction. Pretty advanced stuff. They can now drill at angles and even horizontally to get all of the oil from underground from one well. Sensors on the drill bit allow them to monitor progress from the Center by computer. It's a techie dreamworld.

After an epic lunch, we visited the home of a retired Aramco employee named Saud, as in Saudi Arabia. The wall hanging was part of one of the great cloths that covers the Kaaba in Mecca.

Day 1- Welcome to Aramco

It is always important to deal with the important matters first. If your English and your Arabic are flawed, you can always use the illustrations to help you find relief!

Jeremy Renaud, former student

Here I am with Jeremy Renaud, a former CMS student who now lives in Saudi Arabia. He tells me I haven't aged a bit since he was in 7th grade 4 years ago.

Saturday, Dec. 13 shortly after midnight. As I was walking through the airport heading toward the security line, I heard someone calling "Mr. Donegan, Mr. Donegan!" I assumed that I was about to be arrested and thrown into jail for the camel joke I told, but it turned out to be a teenager named Jeremy Renaud, a former Chamblee MS Magnet student! After 7th grade he moved to Saudi Arabia with his family, who work for Saudi Aramco. He's now a junior in high school at a boarding school in Switzerland. It seems that the schools for foreign employees end after 9th grade. He's home for Christmas. I have to confess that I didn't recognize him immediately, but he reminded me that he was my favorite student and that I was his favorite teacher. Obviously an intelligent boy.

If you haven't checked mrheiden.blogspot.com, do so. He's a lot better at this than I am.
I'm going to try again to post some pictures. Wish me luck!

If you send me a note using firstclass, be sure to include your email address if you want a response.

Now go study for finals (if applicable)

Made it! Can't post pictures from here, but I'll try and put in a word now and then. We left Houston (after a surprise snowfall!) on Thursday at noon. The plane took off at 4:30 PM, and we made it to Frankfort for breakfast. Now I can say I've been to Germany, although they even took US currency in the airport. $6 for a bottle of water!

After Frankfort we landed in Kuwait(and I can check that off too!), dropped off a few people and went into Saudi. Their security there is tight- they took pictures and fingerprints of everyone. One woman's baggage went to Bahrain, but eventually we all made it to the hotel. Total travel time- 26 hours.

More later, including a thrilling surprise visit!

Another teacher has a blog- mrheiden.blogspot.com. He's been entering lots of stuff (he packed a laptop) so check out his site to find out what's really happening.

One of these three people is real. Can you identify the real person?

We have an itinerary! Tomorrow we take off for the city of Dhahran on the Persian Gulf. After three days there it's off to Jeddah on the Red Sea, and then we finish in the capital of Riyadh. I've learned to say the important stuff in Arabic- yes, no, please, thank you and where's the bathroom. This may be my last entry, depending on computer availability in the Kingdom. Or I may be posting stuff all of the time. Stay tuned!

ARABIAN TOUR

Thursday, 12/9/08
Houston, we have no problem! I made it to Houston for the orientation despite having to hang around school and create massive piles of work for my favorite students I've ever taught this school year. Today I met the rest of the teachers. They're an impressive group! Several speak Arabic, one teaches in Stuart, FL, and two were in the Peace Corps. When asked why I wanted to go on the trip to Saudi Arabia, I told them that it was my dream to "Mecca" journey like that. I've been asked not to make any more puns.

Tomorrow we go to Aramco headquarters to get a crash course in Arabian history and culture. I've already learned how to shake hands (brief and firm- no massive shaking) and how to sit properly without crossing my leg with my shoe staring at my host. I've also been advised to be grateful I'm right-handed. No lefties in Saudi Arabia- political or otherwise.

Stay tuned!