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Published: February 6th 2009
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Aramco - Outside of The Dining Hall
It's really pretty here. It's more green than you would think. It reminds me of being on a college campus. Shwarma in Al Khobar
Today was the second day of the weekend, so it's off to work tomorrow. I'm getting more comfortable by the hour. I mostly worked today, entering GPI scores into Excel spreadsheets (hey Paula, please note that Ted is working hard even on his days off!). But don't cry for me (Argentina). I was able to sit outside in 70 degrees in the sun with my laptop. However to speed things up, I went back to my room and made good time entering scores by using both the desktop in my room next to my laptop (one to display the system scores and one for entering the data into Excel. Hey Paula, I’m working on TWO PC’s!
I started the morning with breakfast at the Dining Hall (this is called “The Dining Hall” here at camp - you too can speak Arabic! However, this time I made a better food choice and had a European-style chocolate croissant and a cup of coffee (the coffee is actually good).
For lunch, I learned to get the Middle-Eastern food. Duh! Just like you don’t order fish in Houston, you shouldn’t get the mac and cheese in Saudi. So
Water Tower in Khobar
Apparently they have been building this for a couple of years. It's a water tower, but it will have a restaurant on top. It's on the Arabian Gulf (see blog entry). I had chicken biryani with flavored rice, hummus and pita bread, and some tabouli salad. With this strategy, the dining hall works in your favor. (And all of that was about $5 US.)
Besides eating, I finally met the other consultants. There is Pat from New York and Miami. Pat made fun of my Minnesota accent. Now I know how my daughter feels living in Arizona. However, I can speak New Yawk if I try hard. Sinclair is from England, but is now living in Romania. Glyn is from Australia (I think) and Esbjorn is from Sweden. And of course there is Ping from Shanghai who grew up in Los Angeles and Wolf from Germany, but living in Australia. And me. There will be a test later.
After some male bonding time (it’s a secret ritual that I can’t reveal), Esbjorn and I ventured off for Al Khobar. This is his 20th trip to Saudi Arabia (!) so he really knows his way around (“this street is the first street that Aramco built in 1934.”). We saw the Persian Gulf while it was still light, but Esbjorn tells me NEVER to call it the Persian Gulf. It’s referred to as the Arabian Gulf. Who knew?
Esbjorn took me to a corner Shwarma place that was definitely local. Shwarma is kind of like a gyro, but tasted much better. We each ordered two (they are smaller than American gyros) and a Coke Light. The total was 9 Saudi Riyals, which is about $2.50. I think it’s interesting that a can of pop costs 1 Riyal everywhere, which is about 25 or 30 cents, US. Why does it cost more in the US (typically 75 cents to a dollar, I’d say). We then caught the 8:00 pm bus back to Aramco.
What I find interesting is that Khobar has more in common with Manhattan than you would think. The drivers are maniacs and you have to
run across the busy roads because there aren’t crossing places. And because it’s the weekend, it’s crazy-busy with people and cars. I now feel that I face more danger from being run over than I face from any sort of violence towards Americans. In fact, I have never felt threatened or hassled.
There is a dichotomy here. One minute you see American retailers and restaurant chains that exist in Ridgedale Mall, but then you see signs in Arabic and lots of people in Arab-style clothing, as well as hearing the calls to prayer five times a day. So it’s a combination of the familiar with the exotic. I really enjoy it!
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Ellen
non-member comment
Food
I am jealous of all that great middle eastern food