Orientation

It has all begun in earnest finally, with two days of orientation! The first day would have really helped if it had come a day or two earlier - less fumbling around and wondering why did I come to this place. Anyway, it is all making more sense now and I'm adjusting a little bit; the only issue at hand has been transportation on the camp. The buses work provided you are on the same schedule as the buses and understand what is the most efficient route from A to B ... there are significant time differentials between buses due to their slight route variations. Now on to the orientation!

Orientation Day One
Joining Saudi Aramco is not an easy process if you have never been to the Middle East. The Saudi people are very nice and do their utmost to be helpful, however, when arriving in a new place there is not always enough structure. The structure that comes with the orientation is terrific. They come right to your house to pick you up and the bus does a circuit around the camp to get all off the other newcomers. I was the first pickup so I got a good tour of the camp and met all the new hires. Once we were all on board, it was into the building and getting an understanding of what needs to be done, how things will be timed, and some instructions to help keep us from doing things that are frowned upon in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After our morning briefing, we went for lunch at The Meridian Hotel, which is on the Arabian Gulf (and good food) where we were able to socialize with each other and the people there to help us familiarize ourselves with the company and the country. Plus the bus ride gave us a brief tour of Al Khobar. At the end of the orientation, we were able to get SIM cards for our phones, which would be a huge hassle were we not Aramcons given our Iqamas have not been issued yet. This whole process did not take too long and we got a nice tour of the camp afterwards so we would know where the important things are located. The day ended at a reasonable hour and I returned home to catch up on a few things, then call Akter, a cab driver I met my first day here when I had no clue what was going on. Akter was a bit busy, but he was able to come and get me so I could do some important shopping! Some new linen and a cell phone!

Introduction to Shopping
I was told that shopping in Al Khobar could be a rather daunting experience so I took the amateur approach and asked Akter for some help - he knew where to get a good deal on a cell phone ... and he speaks Arabic (despite being from Indonesia). I also knew that Ikea was the best choice for the linens I wanted since every Ikea store is laid out the same and pricing is both fixed and fair. So we headed to Ikea first and it was Akter's first time in the store - so we did a quick whirlwind to find what I needed then off to the next stop ...we made it through the cashiers just before the evening prayer time (most stores close for about 15-20 minutes for this). The off to the next place for a cell phone ... I wanted an Android phone (I like the OS) and the store was very close to Ikea. We found a parking place (crazy parking lot) and went into the mall which was inundated almost exclusively with people wearing white thobes (the men) and black abayas (the women) so Akter and myself really stuck out! Anyway, we made it to the store and the salesperson suggested one Galaxy model (the bigger screen) which was SAR1800, far more than I wanted to spend, so he came out with a smaller version with a much smaller price! Akter spoke with the salesperson and got the price reduced some as well so I walked away quite happy :-) We came back to the camp and I picked up an STC card for my new phone so I could actually use it, then Akter brought me back to my house ... he had a good tip that evening for all of his great help!! Needless to say I slept a bit better with some nice linens ... except for the single bed part :-/

Orientation Day Two: Housing
The second orientation was only a half day, consisting of an overview of Dhahran Camp and our housing. The culmination of this was signing our housing contract. The morning prior to this I finally got my network login, but still needed another authorization to be able to do things like order DSL and change my bed from a single to a double. After the housing orientation there were only three other details: get my new mailbox, which I share (ironically) with Arun from the orientation; all mailboxes are shared and any priority/registered mail is notified via company e-mail. After that I got a second key for my townhouse (I expect to lose or misplace one at some time) then went to the bank to see if my temporary account was ready - and it was so it took some time to sign all the papers then get a cheque cashed so I had some more spending money here - I plan on renting a car to get around camp for the next while. I will probably buy one in July or August.


So that concluded the orientation phase ... now I can finally start to work and be a contributing Aramcon! The people I work with have been great and we do socialize a fair amount during the work day, and things still get done :-)

Loneliness

My arrival in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the loneliest times of my life so far. I've met some nice people but have felt very isolated since arriving here; most activity appears to be in the evening and my sleep patterns are a total mess right now. Internet is very slow over the cellular network and DLS will take some time to get ... today I get my orientation but it seems to be coming a few days too late to make settling in easier.

Yesterday I met the people I will be working with. They are all quite nice and eager to have another in the group. They are going to be doing some exciting things that will require some corporate culture shifts which will be challenging to say the least! The end result could be truly amazing - although my role is still not very clear.

Back to the original topic though ... loneliness. I've made many moves in my life, many of which were difficult. The difference with this one is that I am in a truly foreign culture and do not understand this place yet, even though Dhahran Camp looks like many western places. Finding the gathering places has been fruitless so far - getting around is limited to walking or taxis right now - and taxis are a challenge with no cell phone (we'll get to this one in a bit). Communication with the outside world is my main threat to sanity; the cellular Internet I have temporarily is a dial-up service and not very good for anything other than very limited tasks.

My cell phone has been a real frustration. About a month before leaving, I went to T-Mobile and bought a phone for full price that was supposed to be unlocked, with a pay as you go plan. A day before I left, I went to confirm this and found that it was not - in fact, they require a minimum of 60 days service and maintaining a minimum credit of $10 (basically 90 days of service) before they will unlock the device that I paid full price for understanding it was unlocked. Now trying to deal with T-Mobile has been really interesting, especially when I have no phone service here in Saudi Arabia ... I tried getting some resolve while at the Frankfurt airport last week, but found that my US T-Mobile phone does not work on the German T-Mobile network either ... so back to frustration. After some back and forth, I found that T-Mobile is no different than any other cell phone provide so it is now in the hands of Bank of America to reverse all charges. Kinda funny that T-Mobile would rather lose money than unlock a phone that was fully paid for as an unlocked phone ...

Change is something that is always difficult for me, despite having gone through a lot of change in my life. There is usually some stability, or something familiar to grasp on to that helps me get through the turbulence of change. I've not found that here yet - which is making this one even more difficult. Despite what people may think, making friends is very difficult for me; Houston was a very slow process for me to make friends - it took me over a year to find any friends there. I new some people, but nobody seemed interested in knowing me much; I was perceived as bit arrogant and kind of aloof, but I kept with it and slowly met a few people. All of the people were in the dance scene and that was the focus. When I started the Blue Room, things really changed and I was suddenly more accepted. That helped a lot but also caused some turmoil; communicating with people is not always a strong point for me me and most of what I do is learned rather than natural so I have to pay attention to what I do, say and express non-verbally to be normal. Normal is a challenge for me most of the time; I learned to cope with Aspergers syndrome before it was understood.

Day One in the Kingdom

Well, I made it here late last night and while the trip was good, I had no concept of what Dhahran is like until today when it was light out. Fortunately, I was able to sleep a fair bit but my internal clock is way off. My only connection to the world right now is a cellular (wireless) USB stick provided by the company. While it is very helpful, the connection is a tad dodgy ... needless to say, I cannot wait until I get DSL at the house. Until then, I will feel very isolated. Meeting people today was difficult as few people were out and about. Seems to be a typical day here: 38C, no clouds, light breeze. That is the forecast as far as they can forecast. Today's trauma as the commissary did not have any whole bean coffee - I need to ask Majed for urgent help resolving this problem! There is no life without coffee.

Tomorrow will be my first day of work then Sunday will be my orientation day - hopefully my floundering will end there. Lots going to through my head these days and it is a difficult transition for me - the attempts to comfort expats are clear and people are very friendly, but there are some short-term challenges: I cannot drive until I get a driver license, which I cannot get until I get an Iqama which takes up to 4 weeks. Taxis are not that expensive, but everything adds up quickly no matter what is done. It seems like August will be a sanity break for me ... possibly Europe, but could be a return to Houston ... first major vacation I hope to be in November and return to Houston and Canada for that one.

So the adventure in the Arabian Oasis known as Dhahran Camp has begun.

Arrival

After 19 hours of travel, I made it to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the A330 was not as impressive as the 777 (note to self for future bookings). Arrival was interesting and took a bit of time due to a few flight arrivals at the same time; immigration and customs representatives did there best to expedite the processing,  but it still took a couple of hours. After that, I met with the Saudi Aramco representative, got my temporary ID card then was met by Majed, a member of the same team I will be joining. It sounds like it will be an interesting transition and I will learn Arabic while here :-)

Day One - In Transit

The journey has begun and I am now in Frankfurt Airport. This trip has made be truly appreciate flying business class! The 777 is an incredible plane and when in business, you get the airport lounge before your flight (this means free beer - Shiner Bock in Texas) are free (but dodgy) Internet, then boarding the plane first ... to be greeted by beer (Corona unfortunately), wine or champagne. This is a great start to the flight since the business class seats on a 777 are amazing! It is like your own personal cocoon in the form of a multi-directional power seat that can do pretty much anything from vertical to flat, accompanied by a 40cm (or so) touch screen for movies, an AC (220/12) outlet, a USB port and some nice places to store small stuff like a book or a Kindle. The meal was a nice four course with plenty of choices (too much food and it is necessary to say no to some items) and breakfast was a nice omelet. Arriving in Frankfurt was easy, but lots of walking to find the right place to be ... and of course another security check that was far more thorough that at IAH (despite my first experience in the full body scan).

Back to the benefits of business class ... well, arriving in Frankfurt I felt somewhat funky and the business class lounge has nice shower facilities and amenities so I could feel like a human again and be thankful for the change of clothes I brought in my carry on ... a shower later and a change of clothes and it was into the public area for a beer (Franziskaner Weissbier - quite palatable) and to write my little blog. In an hour or so I board for Dammam, Saudi Arabia where my new life will begin. I expect the flight to be quite interesting since it is going to The Kingdom and cradle of Islam.

So far the journey has been most pleasant ... and I have decided to never fly coach again on an international flight!

Day Zero

Today is the official day zero. Everything is packed, basically reducing my life to two suitcases, one duffell bag, and one carry-on bag. In a few hours, I will be on a plane for a new adventure ... and wonder if I am crazy to be doing this! Not a lot else to say, except I will miss all of my friends and the life I made her in Houston. Maybe I will return some day in the future ...

Preparations

Every adventure begins with preparation. This one is a little unique since I have a house in Houston, Texas that I do not want to sell; fortunately I have some great friends who are able to help bridge the gap. The greatest challenge is downsizing all of the stuff that I have accumulated, mainly so others can live here, and packing what I think I will need for a new life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia working for Saudi Aramco. The plan is to put everything into three suitcases and one duffel bag ...