Dhahran Camp

For those of you that are computer-savvy and are willing to give Google Earth a try, you can see the entire camp there.

If you navigate to Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, you'll be close. Dhahran is halfway between and a bit west of Dammam and Al Khobar. These towns are on the Persian Gulf coast (east coast) of Saudi Arabia. If you get close, you can't miss the golf course.

Here's a fairly low-res screen shot of camp (low-res only because I dragged it into PowerPoint to add the annotation AND because the phone-as-wireless-modem setup is slow and chokes on large files).

Main Camp encompasses most of the original camp. There is only one original building left from the original camp that was established in 1938 and it is scheduled to be torn down in a couple of years. The Dhahran Hills housing area was built later and is about 20 years old, I believe.

Service Interruption

Well, not really interrupted. But I have become super busy at work, leaving little time to post to the blog. And I found out from Aramco IT yesterday that it may be 13 weeks or more before I get the DSL turned on at home! I'm not happy but there's not much I can do about it.

I am working on a short term fix to home internet connectivity with a USB aircard and a service plan through one of the local companies. I may even have that set up by Wednesday. Vonage probably won't work well with that so the phone calls will have to wait until the DSL line is active. So be patient! I'll start posting again in a couple of days.

The DSL delay is a hitch but other things have moved along quickly. My computer arrived today in my E box along with such critical items as microwave, vacuum cleaner, and dog beds. I got my iqama (KSA work and residence permit) yesterday in a record 6 days. And I got word from Shipping that my household goods might arrive in KSA by December 9! Give them another week to clear customs and I might be able to pull my house together by mid-December.

Today I hired a houseboy to walk the dogs every day at 11am (we start work at 7am). Yes, that's an unpleasant word to our politically correct American ears but that is what they are called. That is what these folks call themselves. Most are from Sri Lanka or India. His name is Upul and he insisted on taking the dogs out right away! They seemed to be just fine with him. I'll probably pay Upul around SAR 120 per month or about USD 30.

Hiring Upul is a relief because while Harry is a perfect gentleman always, Mimi is having accidents during the day. Getting around in camp is a bit of a hassle--I've got a whole post planned on just that topic!

I know you folks all want to hear more and see pictures too--and believe me, I can't wait to send pictures--but be patient!

Oh, not that you'd ever use it but I now have a local cell: 966-55-5894542. Splurged and got a slick and shiny Nokia 3G phone. Unfortunately I didn't splurge for the 3G service yet! It's just a phone for now.

We Have Arrived!

The dogs and I arrived safely Friday night. I only have internet access at work so may not be able to post much for a while until I can get home internet set up. Like everything here in KSA, getting home internet set up is a rather involved process (large bureaucracies result in plenty of jobs for the relatively unskilled Saudi workforce).

The weekend here is Thursday and Friday so I will be out of touch until we return to work on Saturday.

I made a mistake in my earlier Fun Facts post. There are 5,000 residences in Dhahran camp and between 12,000-15,000 people live here. I'm sure Aramco knows exactly how many people are here but they aren't telling.

The dogs are settling in, sort of. They are not dealing with the long days in the house (townhouse sort of affair). I got tired of cleaning up pee everywhere so today Mimi got left in her crate. At least the mess will be localized.