Petra

"...a rose-red city half as old as time..." ~John William Burgon

Imagine millions of years ago in the mountains and hills of southern Jordan seismic activity taking place, creating a large fissure or gap. Flash foods and winds further deepened the crevasse, smoothing the red, sandstone walls and making fascinating rock formations. The exposed rock was all variations of reds and browns.

Toward the end of the fourth century B.C. the Nabataens, a group of nomadic people, began settling in this valley. They devised a complicated system involving canals, cisterns and dams to collect and control the water supply. They became wealthy by honing their ability to detect sought after goods and expanding their sphere of influence along the nearby trade routes. And most amazingly, they carved a city into the mountains complete with temples, amphitheaters/ coliseums to seat 4,000+ people, colonnades...some of the facades reaching several stories high. The architecture was clearly influenced by Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Greece and later Rome.

But enough with the history lesson... you have to see the pictures of this place!

We started out riding in on horseback. The horse weren't allowed to go fast, to the boys chagrin. It was at this point we began to learn about tipping in tourist sites; the open palm was evident everywhere we went. Unfortunately we didn't have enough small change to give the "cowboys" who led the horses from the visitors center to the gorge entrance. Rather than just accepting what we were able to give them, they became enraged. I quickly ushered the oblivious boys away while Steve tried unsuccessfully to placate them with apologies. From that point on, we always tried to have plenty of small change ready.


We walked the rest of the way in, beginning our way through the Siq, narrow gorge that led to the city. If you look closely at the entrance of the canyon, you will see about halfway up on the left side the remnants of an ancient arch.


As we wandered slowly through taking in the sights, the boys kept themselves entertained for hours by walking in the dried up water canals, climbing onto rocks, running ahead and then running back. They were covered in fine red dust from head to toe. Knowing how many days it would be until I was able to do laundry, I was severely tempted to rein them. I held my tongue though and let them enjoy themselves, a decision I ended up repeating daily the rest of the trip.



The rocks walls along the way were beyond words: the variation of colors, the smoothness of the walls, and the interesting ways the wind formed the rocks all delighted and amazed us. Here are some of my favorites:





On this wall below, we were able to see the remains of some kind of mural. It apparently used to be a carving of a man leading a camel. You can still see the man's legs and the camel's feet and belly. The rest has been worn away by the elements.



Finally we came to the Siq (gate) to the city. We rounded a corner to see this:




It was astounding, simply astounding. That was all hand carved into the side of rock hill over 2,000 years ago. The building you are looking at was called the Treasury, probably the most widely known building and the most representative picture of Petra. It was actually three stories tall: there is another level below the ground. Flash floods have raised the silt/sand level in the canyon. The beautiful reddish color is natural sandstone - there was not a speck of paint anywhere, nor have my pictures been retouched.

The building was in a sort of courtyard, leading to winding roads that led through rock hills to other parts of the city. Along the way we saw tombs, homes, colonnades, arches, and various buildings all cut into the sides of the hills.









The picture below shows what is left of the theater, which in its day sat over 4,000 people.


Interestingly, people still live in some of the caves you see on the hills. Quite a few Bedouins lived in the caves until the government "moved them" to preserve this ancient city. They were basically relocated to newly built, subsidized housing nearby. A few have been allowed to stay (I have no idea why), and if you look closely, you can see the glass that they added to the cave windows.


After walking about four hours we found a restaurant and had a quick lunch. Even though we had only seen a fraction of the city, we thought it best to begin the long walk back to the visitors center. Grandma and the boys wisely chose to ride donkeys part of the way. Jacob's donkey was very flatulent, which made the boys laugh hysterically! It's still one of their fondest memories of Petra - go figure!

"Decades Day" at School

Every month at Dhahran Hills Elementary School, the kids to have some sort of school spirit day usually involving dressing up. Once it was school colors day, another time pajamas day...you get the picture. This month is was Decades Day, a chance to dress up in a way that is representative of a decade. Obvious examples might be a hippie from the 60's, punk rocker from the 80's, or greasers and poodle skirts from the 50's.

Normally I don't take pictures on these days, but this morning the kids looked so cute I couldn't resist. Jacob wanted to be a greaser, and Michael insisted on being Albert Einstein. I'm not sure which decade you would link that with, but he couldn't be talked out of it.


Yes, that is Michael's own hair. We used dry wax, flour and hairspray to achieve this masterpiece. It was so big, I felt it was worthy of a picture all on it's own. The crazy thing is that he just had a haircut last weekend. Those of you who have seen pictures of Steve from the 80's or knew him then, will know immediately that hair like this can only be genetic.

Now tell me, didn't that picture cause you to chuckle or at the very least bring a smile to your face?

The Beginning of Five Fabulous Days in Jordan

I have so much to share with you about our trip last month. In order to keep your interest though, I've decided to feed it to you in very small bites. The last thing I want is your eyes to glaze over while reading my blog!

In December, the boys had four full weeks off of school. In addition, Steve had four days of holiday - the Eid al-Adha , which combined with six vacation days could be taken as two weeks off. In addition, Steve parents were here from Nov. 30th until Jan. 10th. What better time to take a family vacation?

We chose to go to Jordan first and then Egypt (if you are wondering why, go back and read #6 in Nine Things We Learned) . All I knew about Jordan prior to the trip was from reading Queen Noor's fascinating book, Leap of Faith. Did you know that she was an American woman who married the King of Jordan in 1978? In the book she describes falling in love with King Hussein as well as with Jordan and her people. After visiting this delightful country, it's easy to see why.

Jordan is a small country in the Middle East, full of rich history and amazing landscapes. It shares it's borders with Israel, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Not exactly a peaceful neighborhood is it? However trekking around places like the Dead Sea, Petra, Wadi Rum (the desert where Laurence of Arabia lived with the Bedouins) and even its capital city of Amman, you would never know there is unrest nearby.


We spent the first night in Amman just poking around the city a bit. Immediately we were regretful that we hadn't spent more time learning Arabic - we found a lot less people that spoke English in the shops and on the street than in Khobar (the town outside our compound in Saudi). Despite the communication issues, we found the Jordanian people to be incredibly friendly and welcoming, particularly toward the boys. They were like magnets, drawing smiles and attention from our hosts wherever we went. Little did we know at this point that it would be a recurring theme throughout the trip!


Upon recommendation of our tour operator, we ate dinner at a traditional Jordanian restaurant - think typical tourist spot, complete with buses in the parking lot. As much as we hate this kind of thing, we did enjoy being able to sample cuisine representative of Jordan without much effort. They had a set menu and in a flash the waiters began bringing endless platters of food. Dinner was amazing and even with completely stuffed tummies, we still left a shameful amount on the table.


The next morning we set out early for a 3 hour drive to Petra, the ancient city cut out of rocks and definitely a highlight of the trip. The drive took us through dry mountain terrain, with colors and textures that I had never seen before, as well as flat rocky deserts and small towns filled with olive tree groves.



Did you know that olive trees can live to be thousands of years old and STILL produce olives? Neither did I. We really wanted to see these amazing shrub/trees up close but unfortunately never had the chance to stop. I could add that as number ten on the list of things we learned: It's OUR trip - speak up and ask to see the unofficial things you are interested in.


One interesting thing we saw repeatedly along side the road was little rock piles. They are created and left by the Bedouins to mark paths, trails, wells, etc. Here is my best attempt to get a picture of those little monuments while being driven 75 mph down the road:


Experiencing Petra was almost beyond words. In an upcoming post I'll do my best to describe the our amazement as we came around the corner and saw the Treasury carved out of the stone mountain. You'll not want to miss the pictures of this ancient treasure, one of the new wonders of the world.

New Captions

I have a new feature to my blog - captions! If you hold your mouse over the pictures, captions should appear. Go ahead...try it on this photo:


Pretty cool, eh? I'm not going to go back and add captions on the previous posts, but I definitely will on all the future ones.

A big shout to "E," who writes According to E and Long Live Locke, a couple of my favorite blogs. If you are a "Lost" fan, you must check her site out (LongLiveLocke). Thank you "E" for the help with the captioning. You saved me many hours of frustration.

Nine Things We Learned

As I mentioned last month in the "Home Sweet Home" post, we spent nearly two weeks exploring Jordan and Egypt with Steve's parents. It was our first international vacation with the kids, and the second or third time we've traveled with Tom and Dolly. When I reflect on the trip, it was relatively smooth, but there were certainly some things we learned.

In no particular order...

1. When shopping in third world countries, if you are happy with the price, just pay it. There is no need to keep bargaining just for the sport of it (unless you make a hobby of this sort of thing). They need the money more than we do.

2. After looking at something that is more than 4,000 years old, you realize how new/young even the oldest things in the U.S. are.

3. When getting out of a vehicle for the last time, look under the seats.

4. We have A LOT to be thankful for. Period.

5. Two days is the maximum amount of time that the boys can go without putting on clean clothes while traveling in developing/third world countries. They just get waaaay too dirty.

6. If you suspect you may end up getting "Mummy Tummy" or "Montezuma's Revenge" at some point on the trip, it definitely pays to schedule that segment at the end.

7. Things are not always the way the look. In many places in the world, including Cairo, the outside of buildings are not maintained whatsoever - they look just nasty. But the insides are magnificent and well cared for.

8. Thirteen days straight of sightseeing, particularly historical sightseeing, is too much for the boys, or actually any of us, to take.

9. The Green Family loves to travel!

The Holiday Season - Saudi Style

I meant to post this in December, but I got busier than expected and didn't have a chance to finish it. I still would like you to know what the holidays are like here, so I'm going to post it anyway.


The Butterball turkeys started appearing only a couple weeks ago, just like in the states. The same thing for big flats of Libby's canned pumpkin, huge stacks of cranberry sauce, boxes of holiday M&M's, and piles of bagged stuffing mix. I did buy myself a turkey to be cooked at a later date as well as grabbing some of the pumpkin (when I wanted to make pumpkin bars for a Halloween party I had to use sweet potatoes). I'm fairly certain that once the holiday season is over you will not be able to find this stuff anywhere.

Thanksgiving of course falls on the last Thursday of November, which works out fabulously for us - Thursday is the weekend, remember? That means Steve won't have to take the day off to celebrate. We also got lucky with where Christmas falls this year, also a Thursday. Aramco apparently used to give Christmas off to non-Muslims. Now you just get two floating holidays to use at your pleasure. We typically will not get New Year's Day off either but it's a Thursday this year too.

It's a little surreal to read on the Internet about retailers in the states playing Christmas music and putting up the holiday decorations early. Or the stampede at Walmart on the morning after Thanksgiving. Other than the flats of seasonal ingredients mentioned above, it's almost forgettable here that Christmas is coming. There are few houses decorated around the neighborhood. The malls are no more crowded than usual. There are no Christmas specials on TV. The kids had some Thanksgiving activities/programs at school, but the trimester ended on Dec. 3 so there were no holiday parties. Really, no signs of Christmas at all.

It kind of unnerves me to a certain degree. I feel like I don't have a good sense of how much time I have to prepare for the holidays. It certainly doesn't help that we will be on a trip from Dec. 3rd until the 16th. It's possible that when we return, we MAY see some evidence of a holiday coming. It is a very strict Muslim country though, and they do not celebrate Christmas so I doubt it will even come close to what you all are experiencing.

We brought all our Christmas decorations and I have what I need to start the Christmas baking. We will do everything we can to make our home "feel" like Christmas. Maybe I'll even up the air conditioning to 65 so it feels cold in here (current outside temperature as I'm typing this is 80F). But I'm betting that this experience will force us to think about the meaning of Christmas and true Christmas spirit . We always talk about avoiding the commercialism, but have you ever thought about how much do we unknowingly rely on the external prompts to create Christmas? When you strip away the winter weather, the music in the stores, the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers, the sale ads, the stress (let's be honest), the decorations...what's left is what is inside us. It's eye opening, and a bit humbling too.

If I remember correctly, we went through this when we were living in China too, but not to the degree we are experiencing here. I wasn't as worried about "warping" the kids and their memories of Christmas - Michael was only a year old when we returned to the states. But it's something I think about here. How will we make it Christmas? It will certainly take more effort and planning. But do we really want to recreate what we were trying to get away from? What is it exactly that we want Christmas to be?

As I ponder that thought, I'm reminded of what Dr. Suess said in How the Grinch Stole Christmas:

...Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,

Was Singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

The Seasonal Vistor

I forced the kids to go see Santa for the last time, even though neither of them honestly believe any more. I'm not proud of this but I just wasn't ready to give it up yet - there was too much other change this year. To my amazement, they went without too much arguement. Aren't they so kind to their mommy? Check out the expression on Michael's face. That alone tells me there's no way he'll do this again!

The "seasonal visitor" came to a large conference room. Aramco did a admirable job with the ambiance: there was a choir, a table of goodies, festive decorations, butlers (?) walking around with trays of mulled cider, etc.

Yet, it still felt just a little "off." It can best be described as being a shock to our senses, and feeling somewhat forced. We walked out of 80 degree weather into an air-conditioned room, desert into winter wonderland - relative quiet (aside from the ever present roar of air force jets) into Christmas carols sung with an Indian accent. There was a beautiful buffet laden not with Christmas goodies but with Middle Eastern delights.

There's not much more to say without starting to sound whiny and ungrateful. However, it's not likely that any of us will express disappointment at skipping this event next year. I guess it's time to move on.

Home Sweet Home

We're back! After 13 days of intense sightseeing in dirty, crowded countries...it's good to be home. We were nervous about getting "mummy tummy" (the middle east equivalent of "Montezuma's revenge,") so we made the choice to book the Jordan trip first, followed immediately by Egypt. Our intuition proved correct, but thankfully we got sick just as we were leaving Cairo and returning to Saudi (and not in the middle of the trip). Moreover, I'm especially thankfully that it was only the adults that got sick.

We all loved Jordan and hope to take another trip back to catch a couple cities/sites we didn't have time to see. Of what we did get to see, Petra and the Dead Sea were Steve and my favorites; the boys loved climbing the fascinating rock formations in the desert.

Egypt was a once in a lifetime trip. The sand and dry climate had excellently preserved the temples, pyramids, statues, mummys, etc. Some of the things we saw were over 5,000 years old - it was truly amazing. We took a very relaxing 3-day cruise on the Nile River and among other things saw the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, where over 62 tombs have been unearthed in the mountains. However, we hated Cairo and hope to never have to return there. It was crowded, filthy, and jammed packed with traffic. Moreover, it was really disheartening to see enormous amounts of trash around the Great Pyramid and Great Sphinx areas, as well as priceless treasures from King Tut's tomb not being well preserved in decent museums.

This was our first international trip with the kids since Michael was one. They did amazing and we are so proud of them. They're both anxious to travel again, but "after a while." I would have to agree.

I'm hoping after the holidays to take my time and show you some of the sights (don't worry - I'll limit my postings to only a couple of the best temples!) For the time being, I am in high gear trying to get ready for Christmas.

In case I don't get another opportunity before then, I just want to thank you all for your support and friendship, and wish you a wonderful Holiday season.

Don't Change that Channel

Guess what? Steve's parents arrived last night. Our first Saudi visitors! You know, you all are welcome to visit us too ;o) They are here until January 10th, or maybe 11th, I can't remember now. Despite the fact that they have at least a Seven Day Jet-Lag ordeal ahead of them (it's b-r-u-t-a-l, I'm here to tell you), we are going to whisk them away on Wednesday!

We'll be leaving early on the 3rd to spend five days in Jordan and eight days in Egypt. We're all very excited and I'm sure I'll have lots to share with you when we return. I also have a few other posts rattling around in my brain that I'm hoping to get finished soon. Stay tuned for essays on My Rock Hounds, Holidays Saudi Style, and Repelling in the Desert.

That's it for now - I need to get back to my packing...be sure to check back in with me around mid-December.

Call to Prayer

Until we moved here I the only thing I knew for certain about Islamic prayer was that believers faced a certain direction and knelt on the ground when praying. I'm still not an expert by any means but I have learned that it's very, very structured - and it really matters that, while living in Saudi Arabia, we know exactly when prayer time is.

In Islamic daily life there are five calls to prayer. I carry a schedule in my purse of exactly what time the prayers start each day. It changes weekly, as it is based on what time the sunrise and sunset is for the week. This is the same for all Muslims, regardless of what country they live in. Generally, it is the believer's responsibility to take the opportunity to pray. If you are near a mosque you will hear the call to prayer over an outside loud speaker, just as a reminder but you are certainly not obligated to stop whatever you are doing. However Saudi Arabia, as in many things, takes it a step further, completely blurring the line between culture and religion. Perhaps you could even say there is no line at all.

Prayer time here is mandated. They do not actually stand over anyone to make sure that one prays. However, stores, restaurants, libraries, post offices, businesses, government buildings and any other public places completely close down during prayer time, sometimes even shuttering the doors ten minutes before. Apparently the Mutawwa, the religious police (yes, that is really what they are called, and it is a very apt description) , actually stroll around watching for anyone that is conducting business during the time when all should be praying. It doesn't matter if the shoppers are Muslim, or if the clerks are Muslim, or if the owners of the business are Muslim: everyone MUST stop conducting business during prayer time. There are serious punishments if a storekeeper is caught committing this grave offense.

We have no idea how long each prayer time lasts. Some seem to be around 30 minutes; others closer to an hour and a half. If you are caught downtown in between errands when prayer time starts, there is little to do except sit in your car and wait. Trust me when I say that if you have a couple of monkeys in the back seat, it can be miserable.

Aramco gives us a handy little card to keep in our wallets so we can plan life around the prayer times. Here are the times for this week:

4:39am sunrise
11:26am lunch
2:27pm
4:48pm sunset
6:18 evening

That may not seem too bad, but there are some additional things you need to consider. To begin with, you need to know that all of this only matters OFF the compound. Here inside the walls, you can hear the call to prayer but absolutely nothing grinds to a halt (well, except the bulk foods counter in the grocery store - I still can't figure that one out!). Thankfully we do not live close enough to a mosque to hear the call, which as I said above, starts at sunset. We do hear it when we go about our business though - it's a very loud singing.

Secondly, it takes about 20 minutes to get into town. If I hire a driver and go in the morning, it works out decently - I have to be home by 11:15 for lunchtime anyway. But if we all need to go into town we obviously wait for Steve comes home from work. He walks in the door at 4:15; leaving immediately gets us downtown minutes before the 4:48 prayer time. If we leave at 4:45 (the approx. start of prayer time), we get there around the time the stores are starting to open but we only have an hour to accomplish anything before the next prayer starts. Waiting until after the 6:18 time means you start shopping around 7pm and the boys normally go to bed at 7:30.

We have found a couple ways around the frustration and mess. We try to avoid going downtown during the week unless absolutely necessary. We have figured out a certain McDonald's locks it's front doors during prayer time, but the drive-thru will serve us. Chili's restaurant, which is right across from the Safeway supermarket, will let you in if you are a westerner. If you order your food in the food court at the mall before the start of prayer time, you can sit and eat it while you are waiting for the stores to reopen. Sometimes Safeway will let us continue shopping, but you can't check out until the end of prayer time.

It's a pain in the neck, to put it politely, but living in any foreign country has it's challenges. Thankfully organization and planning ahead are a couple of my strengths. And for all the times we blow it and have to sit and wait, we've learned to keep some entertainment and granola bars in the car for the monkeys.

Our First Cub Scout Campout

They finally did it! Steve and boys somehow managed to get me camping. I haven't gone camping since I was a child, and the longer time goes on - the less I liked the idea. Even given quality equipment, it just sounds like an enormous amount of work, organization and details. I'm fine with the organization and details - just not all the work!

All that being said, I knew that the boys would absolutely love it and family camping would make some wonderful memories in their childhood. I decided that it's something I can give them as a gift. And hopefully I'll grow to enjoy it too. Hopefully.

Our first opportunity came last weekend with the Cub Scout Fall Family Camp Out. It was held at Half Moon Bay - the beach where the sailboat racing took place. To be completely honest with you, I disliked nearly every single minute of it (I wanted to say "hated" but that's a very strong word). One hundred and twenty boys running amok, lots of sand everywhere, a very long walk to the bathrooms, cheap air mattresses that didn't work well, a cheap tent that was wet inside in the morning (I was sleeping next to the tent wall)- I could continue but I'm sure you don't want to read the griping.

So, on the positive side, the weather was perfect and the sunrise was out of this world. The boys had a FANTASTIC time. Steve made a lovely breakfast - we had beef bacon, hashbrowns, coffee and eggs. Isn't he amazing? Here's a picture of the sun rising low in the sky, and if you look carefully on the lower left you can see Steve bending over while cooking.


The camp out was very well organized and I was appreciative of the work that went into it. There were activities planned all day with awards ceremonies, campfires, and skits into the evening. Thankfully lights out was enforced at 10pm so we had a reasonable (?) night sleep when 120 boys woke simultaneously at 5am with the sunrise. No, I'm not kidding.

And I actually learned some things. I learned to call dibs on the middle of the tent, so that I won't wake up with a wet pillow. I learned that even though you think the boys can just sleep in their clothes for one night, it's a bad, bad idea: they will be FILTHY (and possibly wet) and you won't want them to get into the sleeping bag that way. I learned that after future beach campouts, it's a good idea to hose them off before putting them in the tub at home, lest the tub clog up from all the sand. I learned to bring a mug for my coffee. And most of all, I learned that sometimes doing things you detest (oops, there's another strong word) can still bring you pleasure when you watch those you love having a great time.

I promised my family to give camping a second chance - the next time being with just maybe us and another family or two. It can only get better.

Misc. photos of everyday life

More pictures? Everyone loves to see pictures, right? Here are some miscellaneous ones of the last month or so that don't fit neatly into any particular posting. Some pictures need no explanation, for others...there is no explanation!



This one of these two unknown guys at Carrefore, a French chain similar to Meijers / Fred Meyers, was already on the brand new SD card just I bought at Carrefore. Nice. (By the way, if you recognize them, you might want to tell them that it's just courtesy when trying out a camera to delete any pictures you take before putting the card back in the packaging.) What a hoot!

The Sticker

It started out just like any other trip to the clinic in Dhahran: the boys and I sitting on the hard plastic chairs in the waiting room, surrounded by covered Saudi moms and their children. With appointments for flu shots and typhoid immunizations, we had already mistakenly gone to the primary care building instead of the specialty building. The boys were a bit crabby not just because they knew they were there for the shots, but because there was the potential to not make it back to school in time for some activities they were looking forward to that afternoon. Despite all my best efforts to get there early, get in and then get out...we still had to wait. Wait on the plastic chairs to be called in for the height/weight/temperature readings, then wait again on the chairs to be called into the doctor's room to discuss the immunizations and any other concerns, then wait again on the chairs to be called back for the actual immunizations. Impatient boys are not good at waiting - their mother is even worse. Thankfully, or perhaps with a bit of foreboding, I had given them permission to bring their DS games along. This kept most of the griping at bay.

On the hard plastic chairs in front of us was an Arab family with two young boys. The boys looked to be about ages four and six, judging from the wiggling and complaining going on. They did not bring anything along to do, and started looking longingly at the video games my boys held in their hands. The younger one spoke first. "What is that?" he asked no one in particular, speaking remarkably good English. His mother quickly told him it was a DS. Almost immediately the older boy and my two began conversing about what games they had, many of which were in common. Already bored with this topic, the younger boy showed me the Winnie the Pooh sticker on his shirt.

It really wasn't anything special at first glance. Even at the second glance, it was still just a sticker. Actually it was far from an ordinary sticker.

He launched into a monologue, none of which I understood. The translation included something about earning the sticker by doing a job at preschool that morning. Being very careful, he took the sticker off his shirt in order to give me closer view. I leaned forward to look but he expected much more from me: he wanted me to hold his treasure. As I gently examined it, I told him it was wonderful and he must be very proud of it. Then he wanted me to keep it. Of course I insisted that he keep it but he would hear nothing of it. Feeling very honored, I pressed in firmly on the back of my hand and thanked him profusely. Shortly after this exchange, the family was called in to see the doctor. The small boy beamed at me as we said goodbye.

Within minutes another mother and child took their place on the plastic chairs. The small girl, around the age of five, was crying incessantly at an unbelievably loud volume. They had just come back from the room where you get your vital signs taken. I looked at the sticker on my hand. Without a thought, I leaned forward to interrupt her relentless sobs.

"Would you like to have this sticker?" I asked the distraught child. Her long curls bobbed up and down as she silently nodded. Even with her tear streaked face she was very cute. "What do you say?" her mother prompted her. A small sweet voice said thank you, as her eyes held mine for just a brief moment.

It was truly astounding how quickly the crying stopped. One might argue that it was the embarrassment of a stranger talking to her that ebbed the flow. Or perhaps the distraction took her mind off the horrifying prior events.

If you ask me though, it was the magic of the Winnie the Pooh sticker. The sticker had lost its stickiness by that point, but not its ability to bridge cultural divides and bring smiles in even impossibly frustrating situations.

Where can I get more of those stickers?

Michael Jackson is our Neighbor?

Oh my gosh! I just read on CNN.com that Michael Jackson lives in Bahrain - MY Bahrain! Here is the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/17/jackson.court.ap/index.html

I remember when he was acquitted of molestation charges in 2003, and remember hearing that he "fled" the US and moved to the middle east. I probably read then that it was Bahrain, but it didn't mean anything to me and I forgot exactly where he was. But now it obviously hits home.

We go to Bahrain at least once a month, sometimes twice. From our house, depending on the backup at the border, it can as little as 45 min. to get there.

I know that you could easily look Bahrain up on Wikipedia to learn more about it, but you probably won't. So I'll summarize for you...Bahrain is a very small island nation: it's only 253 square miles. It's 80% Muslim, 10% Christian, and 10% other religions. It has a King, a prime minister and declared independence from Britain in 1971. It's connected to Saudi Arabia only by a causeway - crossing the causeway can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours (unfortunately we've done both). You must go through immigration, customs and various other booths for both the Saudi & Bahrain sides - much like driving across the border into Canada -- but definitely more chaotic and stressful, and infinitely less efficient.

We enjoy going to Bahrain to shop and escape, so to speak, from Saudi Arabia. Wikipedia describes Bahrain, "...as the "Middle East lite" because it combines modern infrastructure with a Gulf identity and, unlike other countries in the region, its prosperity is not solely a reflection of the size of its oil wealth but is also related to the creation of an indigenous middle class."

In addition to the better shopping and entertainment (current, uncensored movies), we also enjoy ordering adult beverages with our meals. We can imbibe on the island, but would be expelled from Saudi if we were caught bringing any of those beverages across the border. I also am allowed to drive in Bahrain, but I decline the privilege. It's almost as crazy on the roads as it is here and there is no way I want that stress.

I hate cliches, but can't resist one right now...what a small world! I doubt that we will ever run into Mr. Jackson, but it still creeps me out nonetheless.

Welcome Grace Leigh!

I'm an Aunt again! That's right.. my brother, Dean, had another daughter! I'm so very proud and excited that I can't seem to type anything this morning that doesn't have an exclamation point at the end! OK, deep breath...

Her name is Grace Leigh Keck, and she was born yesterday (Nov. 17) . She weighs exactly 8 pounds and is 19.5 inches long. Yep, Dean is going to have another tall, beautiful girl. Here is a picture of a very proud Casey holding her new little sister:


It's killing me to be so far away from my brand new niece, just as it did when Casey was born. (When Jodi was born, we were within 2.5 hours driving time, so I got to meet her right away) I'm sure we will get to see them this summer - in fact, Dean and Kathleen are now most certainly guaranteed to have a houseful of Greens sometime between July 1 and August 29.

Of my two boys, Jake has shown the most interest at the news. "A new cousin..." he said slowly. "Someone younger than me again. YES!" (to get the full effect of the statement, imagine him pumping his fist in the air as he made it).

Obviously we didn't have any daughters, so my wonderful little brother has very graciously supplied me now with three nieces (and we also have three beautiful nieces from Steve's family too, all of whom are grown or nearly grown - where does the time go?). Dean's oldest daughter Jodi (who is going to be 12 yrs. old in January) lives in Virginia Beach. We were able to see her a couple times a year when we were in Maryland - but I haven't seen her now for several years. I tried to see her this past summer when the boys and I were on the East Coast, but we couldn't hook up and it broke my heart. It's been difficult to maintain a relationship long distance, and I've got to figure out a better way.


I could gush on forever, but I do have a million things to do this morning so I'll spare you. Just know, I'll be smiling all day!

Boo!

Did you all have a good Halloween? Here's a short description of ours...The boys begged to be something "scary" this year. After asking them what they had in mind (their definition may be different than mine), I realized that I can't keep them small and control the costumes forever... so I relented to a certain degree. Michael ended up being Indian Jones and Jake decided to capitalize on Mom's compromise and chose to be a vampire with "blood" running out of his mouth.

Being our first year here we weren't sure what to expect. There was going to be a parade at school, followed by parties - just like anywhere else.

Here is Julia and Snow White, aka Amanda, looking a bit grumpy because she couldn't participate in the parade.



Note the Teva sandals peeking out of Jake's costume...what else would a vampire wear on his feet but sandals when it's 90 degrees outside?



The parade was at school on Wednesday morning (our version of Friday). Then we waited for the actual Halloween day, of course. There was an email sent out - you will get a kick out of it! It read:

The 2008 Dhahran Community October Event will be held on Friday October 31st from 5-7pm for those who choose to participate, please keep your front house light illuminated to welcome visitors. Those houses with lights out are understood to not be participating in this activity.

Apparently the practice of not referring to Christian holidays by their name includes Halloween as well! On a side note, we also received information about a "seasonal visitor" who will be coming in December bringing gifts to the first 250 kids who sign up to come see him. Sheesh!

We ended up going outside our immediate neighborhood to an equally busy area on the other side of the school, where some friends were getting together to trick-or-treat and have pizza afterwards. We didn't have school the next day (I'm convinced they planned a professional development day on Nov. 1 on purpose!). It was lots of fun - crazy, wild, crowded fun. Many more cars than I was comfortable with were driving up and down the streets in the dark, which were already packed with sugared-up kids. I have never lived in such a popular trick-or-treat area. I'm assuming that the rest of the compound brought their kids into our area because more people were participating. We gave out only one piece per kid and ran out of candy within an hour. Without being able to describe how much we started with, I know that last statement is meaningless - the best I can do is tell you that our candy was in a five gallon bucket, and everyone mocked me initially for having way too much! Here is a picture of a particularly well decorated front yard (for here) , and an example of the crowds on the streets.



On a completely different note, Steve was able to take a couple pictures of the completely covered Saudi women, while he was taking pictures of costumes. That's a big, big no-no, so this will be my only chance to show you what they look like. Realize that it's very dark out, but you can see just their eyes showing.