Author: jpcwetzel

I joined a group trip this weekend to Qassim & Ha’il, which are northern regions of central Saudi Arabia.

First, a traditional drum and dance group in Qassim.

Then, the market in Qassim

The mud buildings of an old primary school in Uyan Al Jawa:

A volcanic crater in Ha’il, followed by some 3-7,000 year old cave art in Jubbah.

Today included a hike through Volcanic rock mountains in Ha’il.

Can you find me in the last picture?

It was a great trip, and I enjoyed meeting lots of new people on the journey, including Saudis who shared their stories and perspectives.

Later this week: Thailand. Cheers!

Celebrating my first year teaching in Saudi this month. It’s been a wild last 13 months. I appreciate the friendships I have with each of you, and it’s cruel how little time I get to communicate properly.

This posting includes some pictures from my week and a half trip to Rome and the Bay of Naples. Very hard to select just a few, but I’ll try.

Started with a 6 hour layover in Cairo, where we met a tour guide who quickly took us around the local hidden gem known as Garbage City, boasting with the largest Christian church in the Middle East:

Then Rome and all its glory:

Then to Naples:

And on to Pompeii

Then arriving at our Lemon Grove agriturismo accommodations for the week on a trip called “Sorrento- Local Living” – a trip through G Adventures.

Garden of the Gods hike along the Amalfi Coast, ending in Positano.

Learning how to cook local dishes of the and taking a ferry to Sorrento:

Amalfi beach and Isle of Capri:

Finished the trip with a hike up Vesuvius:

Great trip and so many more pictures I could have posted. Hard not to share them all. Life’s good and I hope you can say the same. Looking forward to talking to you soon!

P.S. – Thanks Rachel Hohendorf for the tips on Italy travel. YOUR wonderful photos helped inspire me to take this trip. 🙂

Trip back home enjoying time with friends and family. Then, day before flying back to Saudi, brother James’ band was invited to open for the Foo Fighters at Wrigley. It was an amazing show and he hooked us up with the backstage experience.

June 14-22: Manchester, Leicester, York, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Glencoe, Fort William, Glenfinnan, Mallaig, Oban.

Hope this update finds you doing well. Here are some photos from the past month, starting with a half marathon I participated in. It was a great day for a race: rainy, and pretty crazy, seeing as it was only the fourth day of rain since I moved here last July.

Hunted down a spot in Bahrain to catch a legit Irish band performing for St. Patrick’s Day. Wasn’t going to let that go by uncelebrated!

And speaking of celebrating, word got out about my birthday this week, so I got treated to some tacos and a 5 minute long English/Arabic rendition of Happy birthday sang by the Phillipino servers at a “Mexican” restaurant. That’s life on an international compound.

Till next month,

Cheers!

I hope this post finds you enjoying 2018 and well on your way to making this year better than the last. I don’t mean that in the way that assumes a rough past year, but only in the way that wishes improvement, progress, and I suppose a tinge more happiness to the year ahead.

I enjoyed my time at home in KC over break, catching a Division-clenching game at Arrowhead.

Although the Titans game could have gone better, I’m looking forward to next season. Gotta move on.

It was nice to be home for the holiday to enjoy some other KC staples:

I left KC in its most chilling form…

I returned back to Saudi Arabia only to head back out of the country to Bahrain. This time, I managed to join some friends for a walk around the historic fort there in Manama.

And found Cola flavored Mambas…

Back on compound, I’m working on finding a new owner for my car as it needs a bit more financial attention than I have to throw at it. So to keep me moving, I snagged this car from a retiring employee:

Its a great car and that picture is right after washing it, which would typically mean rain. But here in Saudi we just get dust:

Was a bit eerie with the sky glowing yellow through the duration of the day. I had a guy tell me this is what typically happens before the cold comes in. We may be soon dipping into the 40’s people.

That’s all for now. Now scroll back up and watch that lion video again. That really happened. Visiting the zoo in cold weather is where it’s at.

Cheers,

Peter