Author: jpcwetzel

Finally gotten out into the desert of Saudi Arabia this month. Here’s a few pictures from a hike out in the dunes this pst weekend:

I’ve got to mention that no filters were used in these photos, it was just a windy day causing for a hazy sky. In the photos is a friend who also joined the group of 25 or so of us from an organization called InterNations – connecting expats around the world. Happy to be the only American other than this dude:

Yes, that’s a KC cap he’s wearing, and he hails from south KCMO. After the sun set, we all headed through the desert in our cars to a spot to build a campfire and enjoy dinner in the dunes.

It was an awesome trip out there, and I’m sure many more InterNations trips will be made.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for many things, and remaining in touch with you all in KC, using this site to share my adventures, is something I’m especially grateful for this year. Being away from home does help me really value the great friends and family I have in each of you there in Kansas City.

Being away has also helped me appreciate the complex experience of building an identity from scratch in a place where no one’s got a clue who you are or shares any of your references of home. A complicated, yet fun process shared by most expats anywhere. And it’s in that shared new-ness of identity we expats commiserate, bond, and find family in one another. All making for a never-dull experience which I’m also very thankful for this year.

Ah, and finishing with a couple shots from my three Thanksgiving dinners. It was wonderful to have three new family friends invite me to join them for their holiday meal:

And I can’t help but share this photo of sunrise outside my school building in our now very beautiful daily weather. Low 50’s in the mornings to upper 70’s in the afternoon.

And one of the park in the center of camp.

Thats all. See you soon!

Some things to note:

• First off, things are alright here right now, despite what people have been telling me is on the news.
• The weather is getting nice. Every day sunny and highs in the upper 80’s, still some low 90’s. But at least not generally hitting 100 anymore!
• Hearing the call to prayer all over town during my evening runs is very hypnotic and actually a rather soothing part of the workout.
• I’m starting up a running club for fifth graders with a coworker who’s an experienced and talented triathlete.
• So I never told you about Halloween! It was observed here on camp which was a lot of fun to see some houses decorated up, trick-or-treating down the streets, and of course, what’s Halloween without chili!
• Some friends and I headed down to Bahrain for a Halloween Beach party (which we never made it to due to a protest which closed the highway to the beach). Lots of fun walking around Manama, finding some recognizable signage…
• (That Grill and Chill shot is a shout out to Rachel and Jessica… oh Friday’s in Manhattan in college.)
• And no, the BLVD place doesn’t sell Boulevard. They just stole the logo apparently. 😦
• Bahrain was also a good destination for Octoberfest. Now some of my coworkers actually headed to Munich for the real thing over our three day weekend. I guess they know how to do it right. As for me, I still had fun in the Middle East’s version!
• I’m slowly discovering new places to eat in the city.
• Every Thursday at school we have an additional period in which students compete in games for “House Points,” or have an assembly, or something. Lots of fun last week in a photo scavenger hunt:
• Yesterday was “Thwacky Day,” and man do I love myself some school spirit days. (Didn’t get a picture of my own garb I’m afraid.)
• Working with student council for fifth grade has been fun too. They have lots of creative ideas, many service-based. We have a Walk for Juvenile Diabetes next week.
• I appreciate the chance to talk with more and more of you via WhatsApp. Still blows my mind how accessible conversations with you all can be thanks to technology.
• That includes keeping in touch with my class from last year through Edmodo- a Facebook type website/app for schools. I enjoy getting the lowdown on Frank Rushton, the Chiefs, and all sorts of other random news from them.

I miss you all, but I’m having a really great time. Some challenges, but lots of successes and good people.

Cheers!

Although it’s October and the fall season has started, its more or less still summer here. Starting to become quite nice though, with temps in the 80’s in the morning and evening and 90’s during the day (much preferable to the humid 110’s a few weeks ago).

These photos are of the area around the fifth grade building on campus. The middle school has 1,000 kids, 100 staff, and has the feel of a small college campus. I still get lost walking around, but am starting to find my way. Many grounds-crew help keep it manicured and hallways spotless.

With the weather cooling a bit, I’ve enjoyed the beach some more. As well as some dunes around a new beach I enjoyed with another teacher and his family.

And some beach photos from the last couple weekends:

It was fun taking the car out of camp for the trip out to the beach. Speed limit 120km/hr beats the 40-65 around camp.

You’ll have to forgive me for all the beach photos, but I am from Kansas and still can’t quite get used to the reality that I can be sliding my feet into the fine-grain white shores and warm, flowing salt water within half an hour’s drive from my couch. Which, speaking of couch, I’ve upgraded the living room with one:

Lastly, just wanting to share that I’ve booked a flight back to KC for Dec. 19-Jan. 1, so I’ll be back for a brief time to visit family. Hoping to catch a Chiefs game while I’m home! With them doing so well, it’s given me a little recognition around the school, being the one guy from KC. Happy that I’ve been able to watch their games so far.

Thanks for reading, that’s all for now. Next post won’t be flooded with beach photos, I promise. Maybe I’ll give some more insights on day-to-day life. (But as you can tell, the beach really has been able to be part of that for me lately!)

Spent the afternoon at the private beach not too far away from my community. It’s a 45 minute, free bus ride, and is available to us year round. Looking forward to enjoying it during the winter months. Pretty hot sand at the moment!

Of course the chilled pool back in my area is a nice way to cool down and get some laps in. Walking distance from my house.

Days start early here, so I usually get in a quick breakfast at home or the dining hall (great deal on waffles!). Then school 7-4, and everyone gets an hour at lunch (11:40-12:40), so I usually head out to the dining hall or home for that as well. There’s also a great food truck on camp with some great burgers and fries, I’ve enjoyed only once so far. Great chance to breathe before the second half of the day. A few nights a week I’ll hang around school a while to work on stuff. Then dinner I prep or at a fellow teacher’s house to enjoy a healthier meal. 🙂 Sometimes I’ll go with friends to hit up the Mexican restaurant in camp, the dining hall, the bakery, or we’ll take a car or bus to get something from in the city. Lots of options out there. Here’s another shot from some mall shopping, because yes, Saudis love their malls!

Upon return, I’ll get in either a run or swim to close out the evening. Then, I’ve got my Netflix, YouTube, MLB.com, and NFL Game Pass accounts to catch up with the world.

Speaking of NFL, props to my Chiefs for their wild win against the Patriots! Amazing to watch live at 3am and try not to scream, avoiding ticking off my neighbors. Shout out to Kerri Beck- thanks for the shirt to show my Chiefs pride at work that day!

School is great and families have been very supportive and enjoyable to meet with. Admin is supportive and fellow teachers all pitch in to make the school run. Kids have over 20 clubs to choose from to enjoy at lunch or after school. Lots of great options for kids, facilitated by staff. I recently checked out the lunch dodgeball club, which was a lot of fun. More on clubs another time.

For now, I leave you with your moment of zen. From an Eid holiday celebration the other day. Enjoy!

Cheers!

Just checking in with you all. Some Saudi Arabian notes from the past couple weeks:

• Every task (getting permits/ID’s/licenses) can be an exhausting experience. It takes 3-4 trips to a place to get what you need.
• Everything on compound is open 7-4, which conveniently happen to be my work hours. So that’s fun to try and work with.
• Sometimes if I get out of work early to get something done before 4, the employee at the place I’m trying to get work done often had also taken an early leave of work.
• Living by a military air base with seriously low flying jets at all times of the day and night can also be…fun.
• Driving in the towns and highways is quite dangerous. A security official told me today that to drive by the laws is unwise. You must drive crazy to be safe, he said. Now there’s advice for you.
• I’ve found the best way to describe the heat: you know when you get in your car on a super hot day and you immediately roll down your windows to let the hot air out? With the heat here, it’s actually better to get in your car, keep the windows up, and just wait for the A/C to kick on, because the inside of a steaming car is actually better than the heat outside.

In other news, I’ve done some furniture shopping:

Also some car shopping:

So the car’s my way of dealing with the settling in frustrations. Actually was an incredibly good deal and I got it for almost half the cost of my Mazda in the States. Saudi Arabia is a great place to buy cars and gas!

That’s all for now. Thanks for hearing me vent.

Cheers,

Peter