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TODAY:  Day 29, September 11^th, 2016:  GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and stand up for the National Anthem! 

Yesterday I experienced a 1.5 hour Access Consciousness Bars Therapy session by a masseuse from the Czech Republic.  She was trained in Canada, Poland and the USA.  It was a new experience which I enjoyed and benefited from. I will try it a second time.  To learn more see:  https://youtu.be/X2HWH9fG_40. 

We are enjoying a 9 day break from school while the Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha [Festival of the Sacrifice.] See  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha.  We have seen semi loads of sheep on the drive to and from school this past week. 

Jake and I took the shopping bus this morning to LuLu’s and bought the most delicious hummus, tabouli and two felafels for lunch!  http://www.luluhypermarket.com/SA/all.

It took 26 days to obtain the necessary identification [Iqama] and entry/exit visas in order for us to travel outside of the Kingdom.  It took Jake FOUR trips to Samba Bank to set up our account and yet the international beneficiaries [Bremer and Members COOP] are still pending, so we are unable to wire our money back to the USA at this time.  Nothing moves smoothly or quickly here.

Gas is 70 cents a gallon. 

The Sri Lanken jeweler and his wife have two shops on the compound which sells only eco-friendly gifts and unique Middle-Eastern items such as camel hide luggage.  His brother designs leather journals and was commissioned by the Games of Thrones producers to design the leather bound books for the series.  There’s a compound fun fact!

We had a Mad Max Moment on the highway last week with our driver, Sunil.  There was a bad accident that rerouted traffic.  The second there was an opening in the median, cars, semis and vans started back tracking on an on-ramp OR cut across the desert back to the main highway!  Guess which one Sunil picked?!  It was a frickin free for all.  We couldn’t believe it.  All we could do was clutch the seat in front of us and hold on!  There were a lot of comments in our van such as “Holy Sh**”, “Oh Oh Oh!” ‘Dear God!”

So the canteen, a.k.a the cafeteria, is the exact opposite of Rippleside.  Think of the stoplight.  If that contraption were in our canteen, the red light would have blown up after 10 seconds of lunch beginning because kids come and go, sit where they want, visit, laugh, stand, eat, play on their cell phones, read a book, play with a soccer ball in the corner and SOCIALIZE.  I have duty once a week and I only need to make sure that kids are NOT running in canteen. 

We had our first emergency drill at school.  I was impressed with our procedure, however, Olga filled me in what happened to Miss Heba, our Middle School secretary when she painted our classroom paddles which we hold up outside to indicate our class……Earlier that day, Heba had an EXTREME reaction in our staff lounge and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.  Before school was over, Olga stormed into my classroom.  In her Russian accent:  “Amy, give me your bottle.”  “My bottle?”  “Yes, your bottle right now!”  “Olga, you want my water bottle?!?!” I asked puzzled.  “NO!  Amy, your bottle dat is red on one site and green on de otter site.” “Oh, you mean my PADDLE!  From our emergency drill!  Got it.  The word is paddle, not bottle Olga.  Why?”  “I need it because the paint that Miss Heba used to paint the bottles contains poison!!!!” Damn straight I gave Olga my “bottle” and I have not seen it since.  Olga has my back. 

6^th grade writing assessments were last week over the course of three days:  My students received one prompt each in narrative, informational and opinion.  The students wrote for 45 minutes .  Our language arts department met for two afternoons and began the process of evaluating their writing based on a nine section rubric.  Good stuff.

Our Minnesota principal and his wife, Jon and Cheryl, invited us to a social at their huge home on a different compound last Thursday after work. [Administration is provided with nice pads!] There, we met the most lovely couple from Syria.  He’s a neurosurgeon and she works at our school. I shared Jonah’s 10^th grade story of “Timmy the Tumor”.  He knew exactly what I was talking about.   Visiting with them about the current state of Syria absolutely made my head spin. Their family is still there and so far they are in a safe zone.  Again, the stories that people share and the amazing resiliency against tremendous odds is absolutely awe-inspiring…..and to think that some back home are all bent out of shape over a round-about…..

The temperature has been hovering around 105 to 116 degrees.  Sometimes at night when it’s ONLY 98 degrees, I walk the perimeter of the compound security wall which is a solid 3 miles.  Otherwise, Jake and I are becoming regulars at the Lagoon pool.  We sit in our same cedar pool lounge chairs situated underneath the bamboo thatched umbrella while I read the Arab News:  http://www.arabnews.com/.  Yeah, we feel pretty cool…..

First major cultural FU:  So there I was, at the Dhahran Mall  http://www.dhahranmall.com/  without Jake.  He was at the bank for the third time.  Our school van stopped after work for two hours, so we split up and shopped.  Well, after 15 minutes of being there, I heard the prayers start over the loud-speaker.  Oh NO!  Shops started to close.  I power-walked up to the third floor food court and got my spinach chicken lasagna order in right before they shut off the lights. I sat at the nearest table and waited 15 minutes while it baked.  I could feel staring as I realized that I was the only white person, let alone a white woman sitting there.  I could hear Mitchell’s voice in my head saying “Mom---always be alert, situational awareness.”  Men would walk by and glance longer than felt comfortable.  Saudi women dressed in black with their faces fully covered carrying the most expensive designer bags one can buy strolled by behind their husbands.  I started feeling nervous.  The prayers were audible over the speakers which I find quite eerie.  Finally, my lasagna is done so I picked it up and moved to a table along the wall without making eye contact with anyone.  Men everywhere. Looking, staring, I inhaled my food and threw half of it away and got the f*** out of there.  As I shared my story on the van ride home, my colleagues reminded me that I sat right in the middle of the “Men Only” section. OMG.  Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.  At the time, I didn’t even think about the segregation of seating.  Lesson learned.  Big time.  I felt glad that no one approached me and although as a Western woman, I am allowed to walk alone in public places, I have informed Prince Jake that I am not doing that again. 

Our Middle School International Week is coming up in October.  We’re supposed to wear clothing that represents our country—What do you wear when you’re an American?  I seriously don’t know what to do.

WOW Week for the middle and high school students is scheduled for February 16^th-26^th.  Week Outside the Walls is a time when students are encouraged to travel all over the world.  Multiple trips are offered and scheduled.  Those who do not travel internationally are able to particpiate in unique camps and learning opportunities at our schools and in the KSA.  This year, some of the trips that my middle schoolers are offered include the Grand Canyon, Thailand, Jordan, France, just to name a few.  WOW is built into our school schedule to support the growth of world citizens and to expand our students’ perspectives and understanding of others. 

Indian head wobbling:  So I work with several women from India and noticed the consistent wobbling of their heads when they interact with me.  I really did not understand what was going on until I asked my colleague who has traveled all over the world.  What I took as “attitude” is actually cultural. I feel better!  New knowledge!   

Learn more:  PHOTOS:  Enjoy the varied images of our life in the KSA.

Homemade pizzas delivered to our villa for only 40 Riyals=$10.66.

 

I remodeled the bidet with a kitchen shelf!

Some of our groceries!

One of my favorite Saudi homes on the drive back to the compound.

Our kitchen!  It's starting to feel like home!

The view from our living room window!

The front of our villa!  Home sweet home!

Coke products in Saudi!  This is for my brother!

On the way to work out at the Sports Complex!

This is "Trash Lake", 1/2 mile from our school.

Right outside the compound supermarket!