Abu Dhabi et al.

It has been much too long since my last post and there have been a ton of things that have happened, so I'll dive right in:

Speaking of diving I finally went scuba diving in the Red Sea. It was a night dive and it was gorgeous. I went with a group of mostly faculty members who all turned out to be guys. So not only was I the only one in the group that does not have a PhD (yet) but I was also the only one who has to wear an abaya to get to the beach. The guys, however, were all great and because I was the only girl there made sure I was all set. Between them they helped me (and by help I mean they did it for me) set up my gear, get in and out of the water and made sure I was always ok during the dive. The dive itself was a lot of fun! But for some reason of five new flashlights that been purchased for the dive, four of them went out ten minutes into the dive (including mine and my dive buddy's) so we all basically had to dive as a large group of eight.

During the dive we noticed bio luminescent plankton, lots of fish, beautiful coral and even cuttle fish. I hadn't been diving in almost five years, so I was a little nervous to get back in the water (and even more because it was at night) but as soon as I was under, it was like I was one with the water once again. I had so much fun.

Here are some pictures of the group, getting ready and what we saw once we were in the water:

In addition to my deep sea adventure I also had the opportunity to visit Abu Dhabi last weekend. This was my first time out of the kingdom since arriving in the Middle East and I must say that after seeing UAE I've realized that KSA is probably as "Middle East" as it gets. Everything else is more the the "light" version.

Let me explain, first off, you don't have to wear an abaya. While I have made my peace with the abaya and can understand why some women find in liberating, I still think of it like a black sack. However, in Abu Dhabi you saw women in shorts! Maybe I've been in KSA for too long, but I was almost shocked to see some of what the people were wearing. Again, this is probably due to the fact that the only thing I knew about the Middle East is what I have experienced here in KSA and at KAUST. And even while KAUST is as liberal as KSA can be, it still pales in comparison to other parts of the region.

The city of Abu Dhabi itself is pretty small, and very clean (especially when compared to Jeddah). We were able to walk everywhere (something you wouldn't necessarily do here) and had a great time. I was surprised to see that everyone there follows the rules. The taxi drivers will not speed or stop in the middle of road and you rarely hear someone honk their horn. After being in Jeddah, which is the worst city to drive in, in the worst country to drive in, in the worst region to drive in, you can only imagine how nice it was to see everything work "as it should be." I don't think the cabs in Philly, New York or San Francisco are that organized.

My favorite part of the weekend however, was seeing a dear friend. She moved to Abu Dhabi in August to take a job as a college counselor at an American School there and like me is having a ball but is definitely working on adjusting to life in the Middle East. It was so nice to talk to someone who was going through some of the same issues I was going through, although she is allowed to drive and there is alcohol in UAE. Speaking of alcohol, I had almost forgotten how lovely a good glass of red wine is... but I digress.

We arrived in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night, and promptly bought all kinds of alcohol at the duty free. I then proceeded to my friends house, where we caught up for a bit but went to bed at a reasonably early hour because she had to go to work the next day (the weekend in UAE is Friday - Saturday unlike KSA's Thursday - Friday). On Thursday I got up after she already left, and so I met up with my KAUST friends (there were a total of nine of us on this trip) and we went to breakfast. We walked along the corniche looking for a place to eat and finally found a place called Colombiano's Coffee (hilarious I know).

After breakfast, we all jumped into cabs and went to see the Abu Dhabi souqs. They were pitiful. I don't know if we have just become accustomed to souqs here in KSA, but the ones in Abu Dhabi were just, well, bad. After the souq, we went to the grand mosque. Wow. It is an absolutely gorgeous place, if you are ever in Abu Dhabi, I would highly recommend visiting. We arrived at the mosque and were told that the women had to wear abayas and head scarfs to get it (they provided us with them, because none of us had thought to bring our own). We walked along the mosque and took pictures (posted below). After the mosque I met up with my friend and we went to dinner. Where my love affair with wine was rekindled and all was right with the world. After dinner we simply chatted for a bit and again went to bed fairly early.

On Friday, I said goodbye to my friend (she was going to a desert resort with her boyfriend) and met up with my friends for breakfast. This time we ended up at a french bakery and were served more food than you can imagine. After breakfast we went to the palace hotel, which is a seven star hotel I think. In order to get on the grounds you have to follow a dress code (no shorts, and no tank tops). The hotel grounds and the hotel itself are really quite something. Then again they should be, the cheapest room is over $1,000 a night! After that we realized that Red Bull was having their air race, so we decided to go the marina mall and watch from there. It was interesting and all, but I guess I'm not much of a plane person so I was an enthralled as others. After the race we stopped at a large supermarket and bought chocolate Easter eggs (you can't find those in KSA). Then dinner and the plane ride home.

This week, was long, as I'm sure you can imagine, but the weekend was delightful. I went windsurfing. I hadn't been windsurfing since I was a kid, but apparently it's like riding a bike, once you learn you never really forget. The wind was pretty negligible, but it was great to relearn how to turn and stand and get the sail to go in the direction I wanted it to. Unfortunately, no pictures allowed on the  beach, so you'll just have to take my word for it that I did a pretty good job :)

Two months and counting

It’s been just over two months since I arrived in KSA, and slowly the dust has begun to settle and I actually feel like I have a life here. My job right now might not be the most thrilling thing I’ve ever done, but I keep reminding myself that this is a new institution and they are playing their cards very close to their chest. As a result everything has be double, triple and quadruple checked and signed off on before we can move onto the next step. I have also begun to realize that I actually work in a pretty laid back office, which is a pretty new concept to me.

As some of you know, I’ve had my share of job related “difficulties” and while this office is not the model of communication and innovation; I do have to say that there is a real open door policy among the staff. Obviously, the doors only open so high, but it’s still refreshing to see that I am really thought of as a colleague as opposed to an employee. I am the youngest person in my office (even the temps are older than I am), which only makes me think I must have done something right in my short work-life to get here.

The other huge part of being at KAUST is the KAUST community itself. I am surrounded by people from all over the world, most of which are studying in fields that I know nothing about and would probably make my head spin, but it’s amazing to think that all of these people were as crazy as I was and decided to uproot their lives and move to this social experiment in the middle of the Saudi desert. I haven’t met a single person that I actively dislike.

I also have to admit that life here is easy. My routine consists of going to work Sat – Wed, going to the gym (I’m in pretty darn good shape right now), meeting my friends for lunch or dinner and every once in a while going out to Jeddah. The weekends are all about going to the beach (which is on campus) or the pool, or meeting with friends to go back to Jeddah or going snorkeling somewhere or just hang out and watching a movie. If this is what small town living is like, perhaps I’ve been too hard on it the past. I have always said that I’m a big city girl, and I still honestly believe that I am. But there is certainly something to be said about the simplicity of community life. All of your friends live within walking distance, and chances are that if were all brave enough to join this community that you must have something else in common.

There are, of course, lot s of things that I miss about living in the city (any city). I miss the ability to just pick up and go to any restaurant I want (regardless of cuisine) without having to organize transportation. I miss public transportation. I even miss the noise to some extent. But I like the idea that I live in an area where everyone is nice to each other, everyone feels safe and everyone feels connected to everyone else. Sure, sometimes it can feel like I live in Stepford, with the cookie cutter houses and apartments, but even Stepford has its place I guess.

Overall I’d say this has been a positive experience so far. I was assigned to nice bi-level one bedroom apartment with an incredible view. I get to live in a country that most people can’t even come visit, and I’ve learned a lot about the Arabic culture and about myself in the process.

Imposition of Culture?

I want to address some of what I what I touched on when talking about how I view women's role here in the Kingdom.  I do, however, understand that to them it is completely normal and most of them are perfectly happy with the arrangement. I understand that my definition of freedom is very different to them and that my culture is completely different to theirs. My observations, were merely that, my observation from my very skewed and biased point of view. I have struggled with the idea that someone could be happy at being (what in my view is) limited in their freedom.

I will re-emphasize that the women here in Saudi seem happy with their role in society. This is even true of Saudi women that I know who have studied in Westernized countries (like US or UK) and have returned home to KSA and still fulfill their role as Saudi women fully and contently.  I know that there is something to be said about how people can only see things from their point of view, and I understand that mine is quite different to that of the women here. They don't seem to mind that they can't drive, can't vote, can't walk alone in the streets, can't catch a cab by themselves, can't travel without a male companion, can't wear what they want, can't have their picture taken, and (traditionally) can't study, work or really been seen in public with members of the opposite sex that are not immediate family. They have grown up this way and so to them it's normal.  In fact I almost feel that to them, my independence seems odd and even slightly off-putting. Why would I choose to be alone is something they all seem to question. It seems like everyday I get someone who looks at me a with a quizzical slant to their head when I tell them I'm here alone, and no I'm not married or living with my parents.

The role of women here is clearly defined and perhaps that is a good thing. These are women who don't feel the need to go out and prove themselves in the "real world." They are happy knowing that they are taken care of and that they are in control of their dominion (the household). I just wanted to say that is not how I want to live my life. Unlike the women in KSA, I was brought up to think that independence was something to aspire to. That you should go out and work and be on equal footing as anyone else (male or female). I like the idea that I can express myself in anyway I choose (be it clothing, expressions or even who I choose to spend time with). I want to drive and be able to go out in the city by myself and get lost and explore, but I can't. So perhaps my struggle is not me trying to impose my values and culture on Saudi but how Saudi is imposing itself on me.

The Mis-Independence of women...

I know that there is something to said about not being responsible for your own actions, but how do you learn anything about who you are if you have no liability? I ask this question because of a conversation that I recently had with a colleague of mine. She explained to me that here in KSA women are not liable for anything that they do, their husbands, fathers or brothers are. She told me that at the company that her father had worked in previously to coming to KAUST, a man had been fired because his daughter was being disruptive.

Now, let's think about that for a second. What does that do to the women who are, technically speaking, free to do anything they want because their male counterparts will take the blame? Well as you might suspect, that gives men even more of a reason to control everything that their women do. And the women listen to their men happily. When this same friend and I went shopping I ran into a group of friends who invited us to dinner. I was happy to eat out and eagerly said yes, inviting my friend to come along, she decline but urged me to go on without her. Not really understanding what was going on, I left for dinner with my friends and met up with her later in the evening. On our way home, she explained to me that she had not joined us for dinner because she had not asked for permission. I should probably point out that she is 30 years old and has a masters degree. I was shocked (for lack of a better word). Here was what I considered an educated woman who was still conforming to the rules we might ask of a child.

So it dawned on me that what I had always considered to be one of a best attributes, my independence, was probably seen as a serious flaw in this country. I have always been proud to say that I have taken care of myself and relied on anyone to get me to where I want to go and where I am. Now, I live in a country where I can walk alone, can't catch a cab alone and can't drive simply because I am a woman and can't be trusted to make decisions on my own (that's what men are for apparently).

The land of abayas has many more hurdles that I had originally thought, in fact, the very fact that the abaya is black while the thawb (the male counterpart to the abaya) is white, speaks volumes of how women are seen and see themselves in this culture. Now, I should probably point out that the women that I have talked to all seem happy with the arrangement. But, I will also admit that I wonder if that is because they just don't know any better or if there is something to not being liable for your actions that is actually freeing.

In the end there is something very powerful about culture, both the Saudi culture and my mixed Latino-American fusion culture. Which is better? Who knows.

What do you do when there is nothing to do.

Life on KAUST's campus consists of going to work, then going to the gym and finally going to sleep (with a few meals interspersed here and there). Basically we are determined to leave KAUST in good fiscal and physical shape.

So when the announcement came out that the pools were going to be opening this past weekend, I was beyond excited! Granted they were separate men and women's pool, but my apartment faces the men's pool and it's nice! Looks like a 25m pool with lounge chairs and umbrellas for laying out. "Lovely!"  I thought, "surely the women's pool will have to be equivalent to that." But, alas, I was wrong.

Where as the men's pool is open, spacious and large, the women's pool is not. It is 10m long at best and is 5ft deep in the shallow end. There are five lounge chairs that fight for the tiny bit of sun that can get through the roof and wall enclosure where the pool is located. And to add insult to injury the pool dress code is one piece suits only! It's all women pool! But the gym staff assured me that is the rule in KSA (I should also add that while she was saying this me a Saudi woman interrupted her and said that this was, in fact, not the case. In the all female pools in Jeddah, the women are allowed to wear whatever they want and that includes two piece bathing suits.)

So, I go to the pool in my one piece bathing suit and attempt to make the best of a less than optimal situation, when suddenly it dawns on me, the women's pool means the mother's pool. Mothers = children and this pool isn't large enough for people who want to swim and children who want to play, and worse the pool is too deep for most children anyway (ok maybe not worse for me who has no children, but you know what I mean).

Oh well, the pool situation was finally resolved when several angry mothers complained (and rightfully so) that the pool was unsafe for young children and that there is a perfectly suitable toddler pool on the men's side. Now the men's pool is a family pool, what that means exactly I'm not sure but it's a good precursor to the beach that is supposed to open this Friday!

You might think that after the pool debacle I would know to curb my enthusiasm about the beach, but again when there isn't much to do or look forward to, you work with what you have. I'll definitely let you know how that works out.

Un mes...

It has been exactly one month since I arrived in KSA and what a month it has been! I have met a lot of people, and learned a lot about what the expat life is really like. So let me do a quick overview of what has happened in the past month.

We all remember my arrival and pitfalls therein. After which came my abaya shopping adventure (lecherous man included). Then I started work and well, lets be honest, that is pretty much all I've done since, work. Granted, working like a crazy person is normal for admissions at this time of year but you wouldn't think that would be so hard for five people to through 3,000 applications! But IT IS.

First, let's discuss the reading system. I would have thought that considering KAUST has spent all of these billions of dollars getting ready and bringing students and staff from all around the world, they would have invested in a good, solid tested admissions application reading system. Alas, no. They have tried to adapt a business system to fit the needs of admissions. It doesn't. What should only be taking us 10 minutes to do, actually takes closer to 30. I am supposed to have a fairly easy job (at least in the admissions world). All I really have to do is check GRE and TOELF/IELTS score, look at the transcripts and see gpa and coursework and then glance through the Statement of Purpose, the CV, and (if time allows) the Three Letters of Recommendation. Simple enough, no? Well unfortunately, I spend most of my time watching the computer think (a.k.a. the spinning circle of death)  while I have to download documents onto my computer so that they can be viewed.

Second, there is no queue, no list on the system that tells me how many files I have to read, have read or are complete. Instead I rely on an excel spreadsheet that is emailed out every week where (hopefully) all the students that have applied to the programs I'm reading are located. I then search for them by application number, determine whether or not the file is complete and then either read the file, and forward it to the faculty committee for decision, or email the student asking them to send me their missing information. Then, naturally, the frantic applicants all send me mountains of application related material that I then have to upload onto their file, so that it can be considered complete and be sent to the faculty for review. Basically there is no real way of knowing how much you've done and how much you still have left to do.

Finally, let's talk about the applications. Now, I realize that reading for Penn made me spoiled. I am used to seeing the absolute best of the best, and have to rethink what a strong application is. However, when you're job consists of "contextualizing" the applications for the faculty, this becomes a little tough. Especially when most of the professors came from places like Stanford and the like and are expecting the same quality of students. So, I have learned the art of "spin" (there are so many people who would be so proud of me) and I hope it's working!

And that in a nutshell has been my life for the last month. I work 10-11 hour work days, six days a week. So, it has been tough to get out and actually see KSA, Jeddah or anything other than my cubicle, my computer, my bed and (on occasion) the gym. I have learned that while it is hard (and expensive) to get an expat here, they are just expendable as the next person. So for now I'll keep my head down, do my job to the best of my ability and continue to hope for the best.

Riyadh

So last week I got to go to Saudi's capital, Riyadh, for a college fair hosted by the KSA Ministry of Higher Education. I basically got to pack my stuff from my hotel in Jeddah, drop it off at my new house on campus (more on the living situation at KAUST later) and head to the airport.

Flying in Kingdom is a little different to flying in other places. Take the security line, for example. We are all used to go through the same security line, taking our shoes off, our belts off, putting everything on the conveyor belt for an x-ray and walking through the metal detector. Well, in KSA, only the men go through all of that. The women are asked to go through a series of rooms (far from the prying eyes of men) where they are basically given the once over by a female airport police guard and then walk out. It takes about half the time then the regular security line! So perk #1 of being a woman in Saudi has been discovered.

Perk #2: After going through security we decided (we being my boss, my co-worker and myself) to go get a cup of coffee while they boarded the plane. Well my boss (who happens to be a guy) and I walked up to the coffee counter. Upon my approach the men who were in line, let me through and place my order before theirs :) Then we get the call to board our flight (which was 45 min before departure) and proceed to the buses. I guess I should take this moment to explain that the Jeddah airport is a little different. The planes don't actually arrive at the gates. The park out by the runways and passengers and shuttled back and forth by bus. When we do get to the bus, again the men get up and move away from the seats so that the women (i.e. me) can sit down.

We get to the plane and I discover that I have been seated in the middle seat in the row behind my boss and co-worker. And to make matters worse, I'm between smelly men. Well, this is just not acceptable in KSA, so thankfully my co-worker tells the man who is seated next to her to switch places with me so that I will not have to sit by men by myself! Perk #3.

We arrive in Riyadh and my co-worker (a Saudi woman) tells me I have to cover my hair, so I oblige. Now I have to admit that covering one's hair is not as simple as you would think. The scarf kept slipping on my head and the ends kept swinging all over the place. And eating with a head scarf is even harder! I kept feeling like it was going to fall in my food! Lesson learned, I need to buy an actual headscarf for the next time I travel in Kingdom.

A little about Riyadh. It is the capital of KSA and as a result is a little more of a city than Jeddah. More skyscrapers and the like. I will definitely have to go back and actually do some touristy stuff, because on this trip I didn't have a moment. The capital is also a little stricter about security. To get into any of the hotels you have to stop at a guard station, open the trunk and hood of the car and then go through a bit of an obstacle course to get to the driveway.

The fair: Boring. But we did have an amazing booth! It was 90 square meters, with 4 flat screen tv's, leather seats and hard wood floors. I felt like I was at a car expo and our wasn't even the biggest booth there. The Saudi schools really went all out. I did, however, get to meet both the US Ambassador and the Venezuela Ambassador. Both were very nice and gave me their business cards, stating that any help we might need in recruiting and retaining the citizens of their respective countries, they would be happy to provide.

Speaking of the US Ambassador, we got invited to a dinner at his house. So we of course RSVP'd yes and got in a cab to go. We arrive at the Diplomatic Quarter (the section of Riyadh where all the embassies, consulates and the like are located), go through more obstacle courses and arrive at the guard station. My co-worker starts to talk to the guard and soon it becomes quite the argument in Arabic. Basically he didn't want to let us in because we didn't have a printed invitation, but we had been invited over email, so there was no formal printed invitation to speak of. After 15 min of argument we leave and my co-worker tells me we are going to try the other gate, which she says the guard has told her is more lenient. We arrive and I do the talking, in English. I show them my KSA id which states I am a US citizen, tell them where we are going, and finally we are on our way. We arrive at the ambassador's house (which is it's own bunker) and I get straight for the wine counter. Yes, the US embassy serves wine :)

And that, in a nutshell was my trip. Now, I have to learn to live on campus with a roommate (and co-worker) while I wait for my permanent (and single) apartment...