May I See Your ID Please

I made my first trip to KAUST's recently opened beach today.  Much to my surprise, it's a coed beach.  The rules dictate some common sense in choice of apparel but that's about it.  It's located a couple of miles from the main housing area while the beach much closer and directly in front of the seafront homes remains fenced from access.  There are so many things here at KAUST that just don't seem to make much sense.  This is just one more.

My trip to the beach did remind me of something that is ubiquitous at KAUST which is the need for an ID.  To enter the beach area you must show your id, write down your id, sign your name and whether you are a "single" or "family".  Yesterday, to get a mailbox which everyone is supposed to have you must show your id, write down your id, address, mobile number, etc., etc..   To ride the shopping bus to Jeddah, you must show your id.  I guess that's the one facet of living here that causes me to realize just how tenuous KAUST's existence is.....there is constant checking to see if you belong.  (The miles of fencing topped with razor wire could be another clue, I suppose.) (Oh, and the guards with automatic weapons, truck mounted machine guns, and occasional use of a mirror to see the underside of a vehicle are also indicators.)  This radical (for Saudi Arabia) concept of men and women more or less freely mingling engenders its share of ill will among the religious conservatives in the Kingdom so a certain level of caution is to be expected.

 

Back to the beach.  As you can see above, there are kayaks and paddleboats for rent.  There is a refreshment stand with drinks and food for sale.  There are "lifeguards" by the dozens.  They outnumbered the beach goers today, for example.  Whether walking around, sitting in lifeguard chairs, riding 4-wheelers around or sitting offshore in boats, they're everywhere!  There is also, of course, lots of fencing.  As noted, I have to assume it's for our protection but it gets a little stifling after awhile.

This view is looking back at the University and is taken just to the left of the picture above.  The shallow water area in the foreground is a tidal basin and the tide was out when I took this photo. 

Green Grass in the "Big Tan"

This post will likely only be of interest to any golfers reading it.  I received my "playing" card at Safaa Golf Course here at KAUST today.  I met with one of the Pros on staff who watched me hit for a bit and gave me some excellent tips.  I found out that I'm an "aggressive ball striker"!  He gave me the impression that's a good thing but one never knows.  He could have just been being kind to an old duffer.  Nonetheless, I have my first tee time on Thursday morning (which, you may recall, is my "Saturday") and I can't wait.  Here are a few more pictures I took at the course.

This is the clubhouse as seen from the course side.  It's got a pro shop and a nice restaurant plus men's and women's locker rooms.  Very new and nice inside.  I had a tasty chicken and avocado sandwich, fries, and a diet pepsi for SR28.  (if you've been paying attention, you'll be able to figure that out in American $ :-))

This view is approaching the first tee.  The little hut beyond the golf carts is the starters booth.

This is a view of the first hole from the back tees.  It turns out the course is longer than I thought.  This hole is a 445 yard (black tees) par 4.  The current 9 hole course clocks in at over 3000 yards from the white tees and almost 3600 yards from the black tees.

From behind the first tee you can see the practice greens and chipping area.  I didn't know it when I took this picture but the fellow in the background is the CIO (Chief Information Officer) at KAUST.  My boss reports to him.

This was a relaxing way to spend a couple of hours after a long day at work.  The weather was perfect and I only hurt a little bit.  It's all good.

Going Places

I've joined the ranks of the mobile here at KAUST.  My transportation alternatives have dramatically increased in the past week.  I was limited to two feet but look at me now!

On the right is my Trek bicycle which arrived in my shipment from home along with some clothes, tools, and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff which had me wondering why I packed it.  On the left is my first major purchase in Saudi Arabia and a fine example of Chinese manufacturing it is.  My brand new Banweer Super Classic 110cc scooter will be perfect for those 115F degree days when peddling a bike seems like just too much work.  It's already served it's purpose by getting me and my golf clubs (which were also in the shipment) to the golf course here at KAUST  I only had to do that once because they'll store the clubs for me.  Golf, including rounds, carts, and the driving range are all free for the time being!  I don't know when they'll start charging but I'm going to take advantage of it now.

The 9-hole course is pretty short but very well maintained and under utilized.  I'm looking forward to being a bad golfer on an entirely new continent.  I'll have to learn the appropriate expletives to mutter in Arabic now.  I'm scheduled to meet one of the three PGA golf pros tomorrow to ascertain my "level" of golf and to begin the establishment of a handicap.  (Something we just never got around to in the States).  They are wary of complete novices coming out with no knowledge of the rules of golf or how to hit a ball without tearing up the course.  I, at least, know the rules.  I don't recall being a strict adherent of them.....but I know what they are.  On the other count.....well doesn't everyone take a divot now and then?!? 

News of the Day

This is one article you won't find in the Detroit Free Press or News!

If you just have to see the complete article, look here.  My only encounter with camels so far is seeing 4 or 5 of them being herded through Rabigh when I went to get my driver's license.

Where Cultures Meet

I went shopping in Jeddah a few days ago which revealed more ways in which the American and Middle Eastern cultures are different yet the same.  Four guys from my department took the 90km ride to the Red Sea Mall after work.  The Red Seal Mall is  truly a mall just like you would think of one in the U.S..  It's large, modern, is full of people and has a ton of stores (dominated, of course, by women's clothing).  I lifted the following picture from another blog, jedisinjeddah.blogspot.com.  (Four MBA students from Berkley spent three weeks in the KSA on a consulting gig.  It's a pretty entertaining blog.)

I took the next couple of pictures the night we were shopping.  The first one shows a huge 2 1/2 story "shirt" hanging over where the fountain is in the picture above.  I have no idea why it was there but a few days later it was gone.

The fountain below is outside the entrance to the mall.

The Red Sea Mall has Starbucks, The CheeseCake Factory, Radio Shack, Gucci, Sony, KFC, Hardee's Burger, and many other recognizable and not so recognizable stores.  There are many families shopping there plus lots of teenagers (girls in Abayas, of course).  The stores and Malls in Jeddah don't really get busy until later in the evening.  After 9 pm is when they start to get crowded which, by the way, is after last prayer.  There are 6 prayer times during the day beginning at about 5:30 am with the last prayer at about 8pm  The prayer times vary by a few minutes every day and it's important in Islam to pray at the proper time.  I have an app on my iPhone which tells the daily prayer times and uses the iPhone compass to show the direction to kneel (facing Mecca).  It's helpful to know the times because, if you happen to be in a smaller store,  everyone is shoo'd out shortly before prayer time and the doors/gates are closed.  In the larger department stores,  you may be allowed to keep shopping but the gates to the mall close and the registers are shut down.   Just before prayer, everyone heads for the food court or the coffee shops, gets something to eat or drink, and sits down to wait it out.  The lines get long so knowing the prayer times is useful.  The shopkeepers in the food court push serving to the last second, half closing their gates while still serving food and drink.   The "mutaween" or religious police are on hand to make sure they are closed by the time prayer starts.  There are large prayer rooms available for the men (not women) at the mall.   Prayer usually takes about 30 minutes after which everything opens back up and normal mall activities resume.   It's just life as usual here in Saudi Arabia. 

I read a very interesting article in the Gulf News, a UAE paper, which captures a subtlety of public social life  that I sensed but couldn't put my finger on.  The complete article is an opinion piece by Gautam Raja entitled Of American conviviality.  The gist of the piece is that Americans in social settings talk at length and loudly about what other cultures consider too personal or, in some cases, too obvious to bother with.  It's an interesting commentary worth reading to get an insight into how we are sometimes perceived.  Having read Raja's article I now realize that, even in a busy place like the Red Sea Mall, it's much quieter than a similar venue would be at home.  It's not earth-shattering but it is interesting and is one more difference to file away.

Pictures From KAUST

Here are a few images from KAUST taken Friday, February 19 which is my "Sunday".

A view of my apartment looking at the patio.  I have a table and 6 chairs for sitting out.  The sliding doors on the right open from my main living area.  Those on the left open from the downstairs bedroom.  The buildings are quite tall so I have very high ceilings, (over 20') in the main living area and there are still apartments above mine.

This is the entry to my apartment.  The door on the right is the "maid's" entrance to the little tiny maid's room.  The little sign on my door says "Occupied" which is to keep the many laborers from taking their breaks in an occupied unit.  Yesterday I had several guys lounging on my patio.  We were both surprised to see each other when I slid open the drapes.

These homes are right on the Red Sea.  They are for much higher status folks than me!

This is the Red Sea.  Notice the fence with concertina wire.  We can't get to the beautiful beach.  I assume this is because they don't have controls in place to keep unmarried men and women from mingling which is considered "haraam".  (In Islam , haraam is used to refer to anything that is prohibited by the faith.  See  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haraam)  Eventually they will have a "men's" beach, a "women's" beach, and a "family" beach.  Westernization, even at KAUST,  can only go so far in the Kingdom.  It doesn't reach beaches or health clubs.

 

I took this self-portrait at a nearby park using the camera timer.  It's really beautiful here but hot!  It was about 90F at 11:00am when I took this.  I am  reluctantly anticipating temperatures regularly between 100F and 115F in the summer. 

Busy Days

Let me tell you about my Tuesday.  The lead-in was on Monday night when, much to my surprise, I received an email from the KAUST housing department informing me that my accommodations were ready for me.  I have been staying in a hotel in Jeddah for two weeks along with other "commuters" who have been there much longer.  Apparently the KAUST leadership has been pushing pretty hard to get people out of Jeddah where they are paying all the bills into on campus housing where the employees start paying  rent and don't get free food.  After spending 3 hours per day on a bus, I wasn't going to turn down the offer.

First, though, Tuesday (and Sunday) are the days to get Saudi Arabian drivers licenses and I had already planned getting my license on Tuesday.  At 9AM I went to the "Government Affairs" office at KAUST.   There I met a Saudi gentleman who took a copy of my passport, visa, and Saudi Iqama and filled out a form.  He did this for two other guys and we all got in his Toyota Camry for a ride to.....where?  Our destination, I discovered,  was Rabigh, about 50KM north of KAUST along Medina Highway.  The  Saudi driver and I were joined by a Palestinian  and a Moroccan with a French Canadian driver's license.  The first is an elementary school teaching assistant at KAUST and the second is doing post doctoral work.  (There are about 75 countries represented by KAUST  students, teaching staff, and employees) 

The first notable consideration on this journey was the highway speed.  It's posted at 120kmh or about 75mph.  It seems a reasonable speed,  if you actually travel that fast.  Unfortunately our driver maintained a steady 140kmh, reaching speeds of 180kmh (~110mph) on many occasions.....and we were being passed by other cars!  Faster traffic would flash their lights, we would slide over about 1/2 a lane, the overtaking vehicle would pass, half in the lane and half on the shoulder, and we slide back into our lane.  (I would discover that these were not unusual speeds on the following day when the driver taking me and my luggage from Jeddah to KAUST drove at similar speeds).  We got to Rabigh rather quickly and proceeded to a stationary shop.  There we each spent 2SR ($ .52) on a file folder with a paper binder attached.  We punched the paperwork we had so far and put it in the binders.  Then we all went a few storefronts down the street and walked into a medical clinic.  At least the lab coats and stethoscopes led me to believe it was a medical clinic.  We walked up to a counter where an Abaya clad and veiled cashier accepted 60SR ($16) from each of us.  From there we went to have our blood typed.  That procedure went pretty quicky because, when I told the "lab" technician I was O+ (actually, I pointed to it on a form on which everything else was in Arabic), he just circled it and stamped it with some official looking stamp.  That was much quicker than drawing blood, that's for sure.  Then it was up 3 flights of stairs to the Optician.  There we looked across a room at different letters on a blurry eye chart projected on a cloth on the wall and received some more official looking stamps on our paperwork.  I was told I needed glasses to drive.  I'm getting used to being referred to as "Mr. William" as in (insert heavy accent) "Mr. William.  You need eyeglasses to drive the car". Back down the 3 flights of stairs to another guy with some stamps; off to another room and yet another guy with some stamps; and out the door.  Whew!  Back in the car and off to a Police Station.  There we turned over our paperwork and sat down in the waiting area.  One by one we were called before an officer with a little eye test machine on his desk which we looked into and told him if the little "E"s were pointing up, down, or sideways.  For this we received another form and some more stamps.  (My form, as interpreted by the Palestinian, said I did not need glasses to drive.  Go figure)

From there we went to what would pass for a small strip mall of shops.  We went to a small coffee shop where there was seated a rather harried looking guy surrounded by paperwork.  This was the guy who was going to, for 40SR each ($10.65), translate our home country drivers licenses into Arabic and for another 20SR, enter the results into the "official" website for the traffic bureau.  All the conversations were being carried out in Arabic.  While my KAUST facilator's English was sketchy at best, both the Palestinian and Moroccan spoke Arabic and their English was slightly better English so  I managed to follow at least part of what was going on.   Apparently, the "translator" felt he was too busy to do the work that day.  After a lot of arguing and cajoling by our KAUST facilitator, he finally agreed to do it.  In the meantime we walked our forms down a few storefronts to the traffic bureau office.  I'm guessing here but the guys behind the windows had uniforms and it looked official.  They looked at our paperwork, looked at our Iqamas, looked at our licenses, and sent us back to the translation guy.  The Moroccan had to translate his own French Canadian license to English so the guy could translate that to Arabic.  My Michigan license ( as you Michiganders will note if you look at your own) does not contain the word "drive" in any form.  It says "Operator's" license.  I had to convince the translator that "Operator" meant that I could do more than just start a car; I could also drive it in traffic.  The cost of the license itself was another 440SR ($117) which, oddly enough, we gave to the translator.  This adventure in Rabigh took about 4 hours and, after a "fast" drive back to KAUST, it was on to my next adventure of the day.

I went to the KAUST housing office which is currently located in a ground floor room at the KAUST Inn, a nice on-campus hotel for visitors.  The staff is young and run ragged trying to move people in to places as they are still being finished.  The folder containing the information  for my unit had a contract for someone else in it.  It took a couple of hours to sort that out and get the right contract.  In the interim, I went to look at the assigned unit to see if it would be acceptable.  The design and style of the housing is absolutely gorgeous but, unfortunately, it's been built by low paid, low skilled imported labor and completed in a very short amount of time.   Everything is still beautiful from a distance but close up the townhouses and apartments are a mess for being virtually brand new.  There are paint splatters everywhere, toilet covers are scratched and dulled from being used as step stools, the appliances are scratched, the tile floors are dirty and the finish has been ruined, the granite countertops  are covered in hardened drops of spilled grout or something, and it just doesn't feel clean in the sense that I am used to clean.  All the surfaces that should be smooth and shiny; granite, wood, glass, chrome, etc. are dulled and/or covered in a filmy residue.   That said, as I looked at my designated townhouse  accepted that everyone was doing the best they could with the resources at their disposal and I was  happy with having gotten a pretty decent place to live.   Certainly it's much better accommodations than the vast majority of people on this planet are blessed with.  Some hard work (and cleaning supplies),  will make it a really great place.  Here is the location on the campus compound relative to my workplace.

I got a really large place for one person because KAUST is still under the impression that my family will be joining me.  That's highly unlikely but, for a small  amount more per month, I have much more room.  It's a two-bedroom townhouse with a bedroom downstairs and a bedroom and office upstairs.
Here's a picture looking down at the main living area from the upstairs.

The units come equipped with a washer and dryer, kitchen appliances, furniture, two TVs, two IP telephones, dishes, flatware, pots & pans, linens, etc..  Unfortunately I have to start cooking for myself and doing my own laundry and cleaning.  Oh well.  Back to reality!  The unit does include  a room about the size of a laundry room with a single bed and a very small bathroom that is for the live-in maid.  Unfortunately a maid would only be allowed if my wife were living here, too.

I've made two walking trips to the supermarket (pointed out in the picture above) and managed to get some of the essentials for cooking and cleaning.  I'm going to get in lots of walking at KAUST by not having an automobile  and the health club (see photo) is also close by.  The health club includes well-equipped workout rooms (separate for men and women), swimming pools (men only, women only, and family), squash courts, racquetball courts, basketball courts,  and a small bowling alley.  I'm hoping the shipment of goods I made before I left the States will arrive next week.  It will include my bicycle so I can explore the area a bit more broadly.  The local bike shop also sells some pretty cheap Chinese knockoffs of Suzuki scooters and motorcycles.  I wonder just how silly I would look on a scooter.