The Holidays in Saudi Arabia

The holiday season is soon approaching. I love the holiday season. I view the activities of the season as one big blow out party before we have to hunker down for the winter. The decorations, the shopping, the buying a gift for someone else and then keeping it for yourself forcing me to go back to the mall, the gift giving, the gatherings, the eating, the drinking, the partying, on yea...and the gift getting; I love it all. And, it all begins starting with Thanksgiving. I ride that swell all the way into to what I hope is going to be a hangover on January 1st.

Well...my holidays in Saudi are not quite like that. In fact, it's severely watered down. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of holiday parties, and I think families create their own traditions. However, the difference is that the energy isn't there...the vibe isn't there. As most of you know you can't escape Christmas if you wanted to in the United States. Gawd. It's like consumerism and it's best and it's worst. But, I have to admit...I love it. The malls are all deck out in holiday gear. Christmas music is playing in the stores. And, pretty much everyone around you is in the Christmas spirit. You're not going to find that in the malls in Saudi, nor will you see anything that is giving you any indication that Christmas is around the corner.

But, as with anything you make the best of what you have, so we celebrate the best we can. It's not that bad. Family and friends will gather for Thanksgiving dinner. I know one lady who is having a Southern Style Thanksgiving Blow Out at her home. When I saw the menu I was like "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaang. They are throwin' it down"! There will be quite a few blow out Christmas parties as well.

This year I will be in San Diego spending Christmas with my son and my family. Yes!!!! But, since I don't fly out until a few days before Christmas, up until I get on that plane, I will be celebrating the Christmas season. Three party invites and counting. So...even though my holiday season is watered down, I'm still celebrating it.

My Trip To Shaybah

I have never seen anything like Shaybah. Yea...I've seen sand dues on photos and television, but here they were now, live and in living color, and they are indeed one of nature's wonder to behold. The sand is fine and soft and ranged in colors from light tan to a burnt orange.

The only thing located in Shaybah is a major crude oil production site and the resources to support it which includes; housing facilities to accommodate 1000 men, administrative offices, an air-strip, a fire station, recreation areas, maintenance and support workshops, and power stations for generation and distribution. Shaybah is located approximately 40 km from the northern edge of the Rub' Al-Khali/Empty Quarter desert, and about 10 km south of the border to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Below for your viewing pleasure are the photos :) You will notice in the video I am not wearing an Abaya. That's right!! I left the house with it, just in case. But, when you're on Aramco property you don't have to wear it. So, I left it on the plane. On this trip there were 135 people (mixed crowd) and only a handful (less than 5 or 6) of women wore their Abaya, and they were Arab. As I've stated before, I only wear it when necessary. Or, if I'm traveling between compounds alone and what I have on is a little skin revealing, then I will kind of use it like a coat. You will also notice that the audio is crappy. It was impromptu to video myself talking and there is a lot of noise around so this is the best I wanted to do with the time I had.

Enjoy!!

Please Note: The parameters for this layout is cutting off some of the right side of the video. If you want to view it unobstructed, click on the YouTube icon on the video and it will take you to the YouTube page.

Looking 4 Motivation

In an effort to get motivated to write in this blog on a regular basis I'm gonna try something I haven't done in the two years that I've been writing this blog. I want to know what you would like me to write about. I know, I know. If you've been reading my blog then you will know that I really don't give a rat's "you-know-what" about what people want to read...it's my experience and I'm sticking to it. LOL. And, I know this puts me at risk for getting trolls and creeps. Gawd I hate people who hide behind a computer screen. It's cowardice at it's worst. To paint a clear picture I would have to say that less than about 2% are trolls and creeps so I've decided to put it out there. Is there something you'd like to know about my life in Saudi Arabia? Do you want my opinion on an aspect of life in the Kingdom? How is expat life in Saudi Arabia? What would you like to have me write about? You let me know.

You can pose your questions on the comments for this post or you can email me at: blackchickinsaudi@yahoo.com

Unmotivated...

So I decided to just sit down and write. It's been a while since I've written in this blog. I've been completely unmotivated. I've lost my motivation. Maybe it's because lately I've been feeling an immense boredom with this place.

I'm still doing my photography. I've started playing around in Photoshop (I've shared a few of the photos below). My next writing course starts in a week. Went to the Yacht Club's Commodore Ball a couple of weeks back (which was fun). I love the whole getting dressed up, copious amounts of food and the open bar thing. Gotta love an open bar!! LOL. So, it's not like I'm sitting around not having anything going on...it's just that I don't feel like sharing it. Maybe that's because I'm not completely satisfied with it; that I find it boring. IDK. I have no answers.

Some good news is that our vacation dates were adjusted in a way that is now allowing us to spend Christmas in San Diego with my son and my family. It's the next big thing that I'm looking forward to. I think I spend a lot of time looking forward to the "next thing" versus just living in the now everyday. Gawd! See... I'm feeling too philosophical and introspective. Something that is the curse of the luxury of having too much time on my hands. I seriously think I need to be semi stressed to be at my most productive. That is what I miss about working. I also miss the sense of accomplishment and recognition that came with me working. But, the deal is...I don't want to get a job in Saudi, so...I gotta find another way to get those things another way. The jury is still out on how I'm going to do it.