Goodbye Jeddah, Hello D.C. Well, Not So Fast...

I have another travel story for you, and it's better than the apartment hunting adventure I went on when first arriving in Jeddah...

After going through security at the airport in Jeddah to get on a flight back to Washington, D.C., my wife and I were waiting near the gate before boarding. It was an hour before the plane was scheduled to leave...

She was lying down (we had been up all night before heading to the airport) and I was sitting up just people watching.

I noticed two security officials come into the waiting area and they were looking for someone or something. It's easy to say now, but I knew right away they were coming to talk to me - I had that feeling in my gut.

Sure enough, they approached me and asked for our passports. I didn't think much of it at first, so I handed them over and waited for them to come back.

But then my mind started racing while waiting for them to come back. My wife was a bit uneasy as well. Why would they want our passports? Was it something I wrote on my blog? Did we do something wrong and not know about it? What are we missing here? I was recalling the time I was coming back from Iran and security at the Frankfurt airport took me aside to interview me and check all of my bags...

When the security guys came back I asked what the issue was. Their response was something to the effect of: "Washington, D.C./Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wants to check you guys before you board the flight. As of right now, you can't get on this plane."

What??? An hour before our flight and we can't get on the plane???

I went to talk to the security supervisor guy every 5-10 minutes to get updates. He was just as thrown off by this as we were. He couldn't figure out why two American citizens (with valid passports) would not be allowed to board a flight to the states. Tell me about it.

His response was the same every time: I'm talking to Washington, D.C. They want to clear you before you board the flight. It should just be a matter of time. I'll let you know.

Ugh, fine...

With about 30 minutes to spare, he came to let us know we were cleared to board. Phew!

I still don't know exactly what the issue was - I only know what the guy told me. For all I know, it was the Saudi authorities checking us before we left. Getting a visa to enter Saudi Arabia is hard enough - and you need an exit-re-entry visa to leave. Maybe there was an issue with that??

Either way, I'm back in the US of A for a few days before heading to Brazil for the World Cup!

It's good to be home.

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My First Semester Teaching Environmental Science

Now that final grades are submitted, end-of-semester administrative tasks are completed, and I have time to breathe while I await my flight back to the United States, I thought I'd take time to reflect on what it was like teaching environmental science (for the first time) to women in a Saudi University.

To start off, becoming more proficient in the topics I'm most passionate about never gets old. Almost immediately, I realized just how much of a two way street the learning process is. I got to brush up on so many environmental science topics that I was rusty on (because I never got to apply them in previous jobs) - many times due to the students.

On top of becoming more of an expert within my field, I learned the basics of the Arabic language, visited and learned about many tourist attractions in and around Jeddah, and learned overall what life is like for people in this part of the world.

Helping students become productive members of society is a great feeling as well. In my opinion, I was teaching them some very important topics. And I didn't have "office hours" when the students could come see me. Rather, I simply told them, early and often: "Look at my schedule. Come when I don't have class." I enjoyed being there for them when they had a question or needed help with something.

But it wasn't all happy times. Perhaps the most frustrating thing was the cultural adjustment. Effat University is the only all-women's university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that allows men to teach women face-to-face. They are quite progressive in a country with arguably the most conservative and strictest interpretation of sharia law.

So many times, when I wanted to get things done, and done quickly, my hands were tied. This is because male faculty can't go by themselves to certain parts of the university without a "messenger", who aren't always easy to find. When I wanted lunch, my wife had to go to the cafeteria for me, or I had to have it delivered by one of the messengers. I tend to get grumpy when I'm hungry :-/

Whenever I walked around campus, which wasn't too often to avoid "trouble", it was the same routine - stare at the ground, don't make eye contact, and try not to run into anyone or anything. Avoid looking around in case there is an uncovered woman. I didn't engage a woman unless they were covered and I certainly was not to start class until all students were covered.

Before entering a classroom or office, I stood as far away from the entrance as possible and knocked. Then I waited for women to cover (if they needed to) or someone to come get me before enterring.

It was also really hectic at the end of the semester. I had to develop final exams, get them approved, administer them, proctor them, and grade them. Then I had to get final grades calculated and complete all of the different administrative tasks that you wonder why they heck you are doing, but ultimately serve a purpose.

To top it all off, I then had to run around for two weeks completing various tasks and getting my clearance formed signed by the appropriate people before the school would book my flight back to the United States for summer vacation.

Although at times very stressful, I loved it as much as I thought I would. It was perhaps the greatest learning experience of my life.

Oh, I also noticed they're really bad at recycling - on campus and in the community at large. The environmental movement hasn't exactly taken off here yet. Hopefully I can change that.

Here are some pictures from throughout the semester:

Imagine me at the front of the classroom.

I only have nice things to say about these gentlemen.

This sign is posted all over the humanities building. It's a "man-free zone"... except my three math courses were in there and never got moved to another building.

My male colleagues praying together. My office is back and to the right. I hear the call to prayer twice per day. It was quite soothing.

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Apartment Hunting as a New Expat in Jeddah

"Do it for the stories."

That's what I tell myself when the going gets rough - and the going got rough today... and I have a story.

My wife and I are having trouble finding a permanent place to stay while working in Saudi Arabia. We've been contacting strangers, seeking help through our university and co-workers, and asking around, but with little luck so far. And now it's crunch time. We have to check out of the employer-provided hotel tomorrow, or pay a hefty rate of $160/night.

Being accustomed to the renting process at home, we thought we could do a quick Google search, call some phone numbers, set up some meetings to view apartments, and take our choice. But we quickly realized that we're not in Kansas anymore.

We left Craigslist on the other side of the world, and phone numbers are nothing but dead-ends. Here in Jeddah, you have to go out and find people to help you. One friendly stranger leads you to another, and after a handful of lost in translation moments, you may come somewhere close to where you need to be. More importantly, you've probably made at least one new friend.

So after doing some googling this morning and writing down some notes, I ventured out into the city with my piece of paper and a rough idea of where I should go. I drank a lot of water, put on some light clothes, and set off on this little adventure.

I asked the bellhop at the hotel to flag down a taxi, tell the cab driver where I was heading, and away we went. My first stop was Carrefour, the French version of Walmart. I got out of the cab and walked around the neighborhood looking for two places which I had researched in that area, the Salmia Compound and the Mubarakia Village. These "compounds" are places where Islamic laws and restrictions do not apply. After about twenty minutes, a man noticed I was lost and got my attention. He didn't speak much English, so he asked another man nearby to help me out. The other man obliged.

My new friend spoke English really well and communicating was pretty easy. We called the compounds, he got directions, and told me where to go. But I needed a taxi. Luckily his personal driver had just pulled up and we all hopped in. I thought he was taking me to the compounds himself, but they just took me to the main road to find another taxi. He and his driver tried for about 10 minutes to find me a taxi to no avail.

So they began to give me directions so I could start walking. It was going to be about a mile or two, which was fine with me, even in the blazing hot sun. But just as I started walking, a cab pulled up. The nice man explained to the cab driver where I was heading, I thanked him SO MUCH, and we said our goodbyes.

I was delighted to find out the cab driver also spoke just enough English to makes things easy. We found the first compound after some looping around and a handful of u-turns, but they said come back tomorrow morning to see an apartment (Friday isn't a good day to get things done around here, not too different from back home ;) ).

Then he took me to the second compound not too far away and I was able to see a unit there. It was a three story villa and it was NICE. The community had a swimming pool, gym, tennis court, and recreation room that both my wife and I could use (outside of the compounds, these facilities are strictly men only). The cab driver waited while I checked out the place and then brought me back to the hotel.

The effort hasn't directly paid off yet, as we haven't made anything official, but some good luck started coming our way when I got back to the hotel. The man at the front desk knows the guy who rents out daily units for pretty low prices just down the street and close to our university. He also changed our checkout time to 5pm tomorrow so we didn't have to scramble in the morning. He said he will personally walk us over tomorrow evening to get us set up there.

Meanwhile, another gentleman at the front desk overheard our conversation and jumped in. He said he lives 5 minutes from where we work and knows of places available in that area. I gave him my contact information and he said he will let me know if he finds out anything.

We were also contacted by another local on internations.org who helped us out BIG TIME. He came and picked me up from the hotel and drove me around in his car to look at a few places. (Yes, I got in a car with a complete stranger at 10pm in a foreign country). Anyway, he did the negotiating with the real estate agent and landlord, drove me around, and brought me back. He even offered us his other car until we buy one ourselves! He said he was helped out a lot when he first went to the US of A and is just returning the favor. We're all people after all.

We have met so many friendly and helpful people and it makes us love it here so much more.

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