I find myself settling in here despite my dislike of the culture and my curmudgeonly view of humanity in general. For one thing, I can comfortably weigh in on all of the topics that expats like to gnaw and worry over in social gatherings (MENA geopolitics, housing, Aramco politics, to name a few). That's not much of a stretch as I can schmooze with just about anybody on any topic if I am motivated to do so. But sometimes my opinion is even sought out, pretty flattering to a curmudgeon.
But what surprises me the most is how many people I know and greet as I go about my tiny, circumscribed life. At work, at the commissary, at the gym, walking the dogs, even in stores and malls in Khobar, I constantly run into people that I know. Well, so what, you are thinking. I'll tell you, I probably have never actually been recognized by so many people in my entire life. It is kind of weird because sometimes these people even come up and greet me first. This has simply not happened to me before.
I now have all of you thinking that I'm some sort of social misfit, and I suppose there is a grain of truth in that, but the larger point is that I seem to have become a member of the expat community without noticing it happening. I'm not notorious, that's not the right word, but I seem to have become someone that people recognize...in a good way.
The dog training classes of course play a large role here. Last weekend, I volunteered at a fund-raising event held annually by the Dhahran Running Club. It was the second year I helped them out, happily sitting at the registration table taking money and names. The community event is called the "Doggie Dawdle"--it's a 1-km run/walk/stroll with the goal of raising money for the local animal rescue group. People are welcome to bring leashed dogs, although a dog isn't necessary to participate. This year I knew, sometimes even knew the names of both people and dogs, around half of the 65 or so participants. And the common thread is that they all took the dog obedience classes from me.
The second contributing factor is my role at work. I oversee the construction of training programs for all of the geologists at Aramco. In the process, I meet geoscientists from every department, including a lot of Saudis. And here I have a fairly distinct advantage: there are still only about a dozen female geologists at Aramco, so I stick out. It is easy to pick up the phone to call someone to ask for something because even if I haven't met the person I'm calling, I'm pretty sure they already know who I am.
Although Dhahran has changed radically since its founding in the 1940's, it still retains many characteristics of a small town. It is hard to hide yourself away in this kind of environment. In a way, this is all probably a good thing although I hate that I had to come to Saudi Arabia to experience this.
But what surprises me the most is how many people I know and greet as I go about my tiny, circumscribed life. At work, at the commissary, at the gym, walking the dogs, even in stores and malls in Khobar, I constantly run into people that I know. Well, so what, you are thinking. I'll tell you, I probably have never actually been recognized by so many people in my entire life. It is kind of weird because sometimes these people even come up and greet me first. This has simply not happened to me before.
I now have all of you thinking that I'm some sort of social misfit, and I suppose there is a grain of truth in that, but the larger point is that I seem to have become a member of the expat community without noticing it happening. I'm not notorious, that's not the right word, but I seem to have become someone that people recognize...in a good way.
The dog training classes of course play a large role here. Last weekend, I volunteered at a fund-raising event held annually by the Dhahran Running Club. It was the second year I helped them out, happily sitting at the registration table taking money and names. The community event is called the "Doggie Dawdle"--it's a 1-km run/walk/stroll with the goal of raising money for the local animal rescue group. People are welcome to bring leashed dogs, although a dog isn't necessary to participate. This year I knew, sometimes even knew the names of both people and dogs, around half of the 65 or so participants. And the common thread is that they all took the dog obedience classes from me.
The second contributing factor is my role at work. I oversee the construction of training programs for all of the geologists at Aramco. In the process, I meet geoscientists from every department, including a lot of Saudis. And here I have a fairly distinct advantage: there are still only about a dozen female geologists at Aramco, so I stick out. It is easy to pick up the phone to call someone to ask for something because even if I haven't met the person I'm calling, I'm pretty sure they already know who I am.
Although Dhahran has changed radically since its founding in the 1940's, it still retains many characteristics of a small town. It is hard to hide yourself away in this kind of environment. In a way, this is all probably a good thing although I hate that I had to come to Saudi Arabia to experience this.
2 comments:
It's been two years, your green feathers are changing colors now.
You're still my inspiration.
And I'm settling in too. The culture in Portland is very different than in SLC, but probably not the same change that you're experiencing!!!
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