Fall time is Beach time

Fall time is Beach time

jpcwetzel

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!)

Into September

Into September

jpcwetzel

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!

Eid Mubarak!

jpcwetzel

Celebrating time off school this week for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. During this time, it is customary to greet others with the Arabic phrase of “Eid Mubarak,” which essentially means, “Happy Eid.” I took advantage of the time off here by escaping to Bahrain, which is a small country about an hour’s drive across a causeway Southeast of Dhahran. Bahrain is a near get-a-way for many coworkers and Saudis in general, much due to their less restrictive laws on entertainment and beverage consumption.

A coworker friend of mine from California and I took recommendations to decide to stay at the Gulf Hotel, an amazing 5-star hotel:

Complete with a beautiful pool:

There were walkways leading to near a dozen different country cuisine restaurants.

Of course I found the Mexican restaurant. 🙂

We enjoyed a trip to the Grand Mosque, which was closed, but we walked around the outside:

Also the Bahrain National Museum:

I got in a run in the 104 degree heat along the water front. Later we’d walk the same route again en route to try and catch a folk performance at culture hall:

Which unfortunately we had to watch on a screen in the overflow room because they were packed. So we enjoyed a walk down the road to an Irish pub (in honor of not being able to attend Irish Fest in KC this weekend!)

Other than the trip, all is good, and I’m looking forward to hopping on NFL league pass and watching the condensed replay of the Chiefs game from this weekend (win or lose!) Ah, and I did run into a fellow Chiefs fan at a restaurant in Bahrain. Just goes to show we’re worldwide! And I guess I learned that Bahrain isn’t just a kingdom, its part of Chiefs Kingdom. Yes, bad joke.

Cheers!

Getting Along

Getting Along

jpcwetzel

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

Moved!…again!…almost.

jpcwetzel

Lots of good news in the past few days:

  1. I'm in a new home! I moved out of temporary housing to my "permanent" housing. 500 sq. ft. to 700 sq. ft.
  2. I'm now officially a Saudi Resident! My Iqama (proof of residency card) came through today (Photo is intentionally cropped for legal purposes, obviously).
  3. I did some IKEA shopping for the new home. Unfortunately the stuff doesn't come in for a couple weeks, so it's just me and the mattress for now. 😕
  4. I've got five days till school starts, and that's been stressful to take care of while also doing loads of running around for life-stuff: car, permit, Saudi driver's liscence, setting up a local Saudi bank account, medical appointments, MOVING, buying phones, internet, groceries, eating, running, swimming, etc. etc. etc.
  5. Teachers have been super helpful at this school (which I can't label by name, and if you know, please don't mention it by name on this site either, thank you!), and that had made this process so much better.

Here's a shot of my "buddy"/experienced teacher who volunteered to come back to S.A. early from his repatriation back to Canada early this summer to show me around and get me acclimated. I owe him so much. This is IKEA shopping.

That's enough for now, but know that things are going well. Although, I couldn't be more ready for that day when I'm settled into my new home, I've checked all the things off my relocation to-do list, and I'm in full swing in my teaching. Then, I'll breathe a bit easier. Trying to enjoy the moment as well, and new friends here are making that possible with plenty of parties, mall trips, and meals spent talking about how we all wound up here in this amazing place.

Something that sets this international school apart from others is that this is a place families (of which almost everyone here has), stay here. Uncommon, and that just shows the quality of the life, ability to travel, and generally enjoyable experience people can have here. Very happy to get this experience as well, albeit sans-familia.

My best to you all!!

Oh! And if you're looking for me on WhatsApp, try adding my new Saudi phone number: +966-50-529-8378

Cheers!

Lost and Found

jpcwetzel

Two things I've found in the last couple days. First off, my classroom: with a nice view out my classroom window of the common area:

Also found today…TACOS! Great restaurant also serving chips and salsa. Aaaaand now I feel at home. (I'm clearly a rookie at food blogging, cause I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to take a bite of the food before you take a picture. Hey, I was hungry.)

And yes, it's warm. Or according to Siri, "hot!" Although its 11 degrees cooler than yesterday, so I'll take it!
In other news, I'm moving Sunday to a new spot for single-status residents. Should give me a little more room, and it's in a newer part of the compound. However, it's a bit further from school. More to come.

Take Care Everyone!

Here!

jpcwetzel

Just letting you know I've made it over and have moved into my new place! I spent yesterday with a returning teacher, who has helped me attain a new SIM card for my phone (hence the reason it's taken me a while to post!), rent a car, and shop at the local commissary (mostly healthy stuff for now until I go on my own and take advantage of the Dunkin-donuts).

Here's a picture of my flat, and a couple of the school I'll be at: after getting some things done, my "experienced teaching buddy" took me over to his place to enjoy a taste of home (he's on family housing which is significantly bigger, and yes, yes that is the Royals game on attained through MLBtv).
After some steaks at his place, I headed out for a run at 7, at which time it was already dark. Wish I had my phone to capture a picture of a desert fox which crossed my path. Very nice path through the old golf course, which is lined with green bushes, palms, desert plants, and is well-lit.

I have orientation today and tomorrow, at which I'll learn more about what life here in Saudi will be like. I've been getting a good taste so far, and I'll try to keep you posted maybe with shorter posts through the day, I don't know. I'm new to this whole blogging thing, so you'll just have to be patient with me as I figure it out. 🙂

Also, this place is very private, so there will only be so much Im able to post and show pictures of, I'm sure. I may have to retract this very post, so we'll be in touch, and take this day-by-day!

Cheers, and much love to everyone!

The Journey Awaits!

jpcwetzel

9 Days and Counting!

In preparation for the move, I’ve been telling quite a few people about “MrWetzel.com” recently, so I wanted to create another post welcoming you to the site! Thanks for checking in, and I hope to stay in contact through this site. Also, I’ve been advised that the best phone app for conversing with friends and family abroad is “WhatsApp,” so if you don’t have it already, please download and connect with me via that. Once I get my Saudi number, I’ll re-add your contact info.

Departure is July 30, and I’ll head from KC – Newark – Frankfurt – Dammam, followed by a short car trip to Dhahran. Upon arrival, I’ll share some photos of the place and we’ll get this party started!

Thanks again for following, and be sure to drop a comment via the site or connect via WhatsApp. CHEERS!

What’s on?

jpcwetzel

Hey everyone! Thanks for checking out the site. In travels around Scotland, I found the phrase to use when you want to know what’s happening in town that night is, “What’s on?” So my first post is just a shout out to see who’s checking out this site and see whIMG_3860at’s on? Leave a note, keep me posted, and I’ll try and do the same. Cheers!