Nattaproblem

My arrival date was August 15th, 2019.  I had spent the previous year teaching in Geoje, Korea and was ironically introduced to my current post through the teacher I replaced there.  Researching another culture online is often misleading, and proved futile in properly guiding me towards realistic expectations for Saudi Arabia.  I soon found out that the best way to determine the lifestyle in Saudi Arabia and it’s surrounding countries was to ask people that were on the ground.  Even then, two people rarely share the same opinion so I ultimately had to make an executive decision using all the assimilated data I had collected.  As you can see, I decided to take the plunge and I stand by my sandy decision.

Upon my arrival, I found out that I was the first of 10 expected new hires to arrive.  Entering the school doors, I noticed paint cans, ladders, and woodpiles strewn across the floor.  With two weeks left, the current state was definitely not ready for opening day.  Enter the term: “Enshala,” meaning “if Alla wills it to be, it will be.”  That was the first day I heard the term and it has subsequently been used on many occasions since then.  Arriving first gave me quite a few advantages: quality housing, living alone (something I mandated before getting on my flight), and classroom arrangements.  In the middle east, airconditioning is as important as water; without it, you wither away.  I, therefore, made certain the units in both my apartment and my classroom were in working condition.  They haven’t disappointed me yet.

Saudi Arabia has gone through quite an evolution since 1979.  Its reputation swings from an ultra-conservative nation with a majority stake in the world’s oil market, to one of beautiful historical sites including Mecca itself, the Islamic holy land.  For decades, OPEC, Aramco and other oil companies have built petrochemical processing plants in and around Saudi.  Amidst the surrounding conflict around the middle east, this year looks as if it will be the beginning of a new era.

Conversations with my students’ parents and other locals around Dammam and Dharan have informed me of Saudi Arabia’s increasing willingness to embrace change.  A conversation with my barber alluded to numerous Trump supporters for instance, signaling a common understanding between expatriates and Saudis of the mutual benefit between US and Saudi cooperation.  Both petroleum and Natural gas can be harnessed for higher-value uses and to allow for future growth.

If one thing is for certain, Saudi Arabia is not concerned with being short-changed.  I have mistakenly over-payed on several occasions, and the clerk on the other side of the transaction has always made sure to put the correct amount of money back in my hands before I left.  This is something I haven’t quite experienced, especially this frequently.  The sense of security and financial well-being seems to permeate throughout Saudi Arabia.  The food vendors at the markets, store clerks, cashiers, and bank tellers all arrive to work on their own time with a strong assuredness of their job security; almost as if it were volunteering.  Although this might not be true for some expats, the consciousness has seeped into the workforce and Saudi citizen or not, people are content to be here.

Ithra Museum was impressive and the Munch Exhibit was complimented very well by the Islamic Art gallery and Saudi modern Art displays which are both more permanent exhibits.  I felt fortunate to have arrived at a time where I can visit a museum and feel as if I were in a safe, exploratory art space.  The internet was severely misleading when I was researching Saudi Arabia as a potential place of work.  In one month, I’ve met expat groups who share global travel experiences at a bi-monthly clubhouse meeting, book discussion groups, joined a softball league, rode in an Uber with a woman driver, and have conversed with students who are as bilingual in Arabic and English as they are in pop culture.  Teens here use the word “bruh” so frequently, I worry it’ll start to rub off on me.  To cap it all off, both the airport security and major checkpoints (such as Aramco and Ithra) were fairly executed.  Timing truly is everything.

I experience Saudi National Day on September 23rd, and witnessed the national pride that Saudis share.  The world is a small place and each nation fully deserves to be recognized as a unique state.  Saudi Arabia is no longer a desert with oil.  I’ve since learned about the Rub Al- Khali, Madain Saleh (evidence of the kingdom’s southernmost settlement after Petra), Jedda, and several other beautiful outdoor adventures that await.  My decision wasn’t to solely gain teaching experience, but rather to gain access to the middle east, learn as much Arabic as I can, and travel throughout the Mediterranean and take in everything this corner of the world has to offer.  Starting with the historical significance of Mesopotamia, and the Romans, there’s a lot of traveling and exploring to do.

The Arabian Gulf espouses feelings of adventure, 16th tone chants echoing from mosque rooftops, and wildly colorful garments.  Islam is the 2nd most practiced religion in the world and has embedded traditions and customs that are as artful as they are disciplined.  The arid climate would necessitate total skin coverage and personally, I think the cultural garments of the Middle East are quite beautiful.  The winters are supposedly quite chili by comparison, and I look forward to the sweater designs I’ll be seeing on my students.  I haven’t seen too many Supreme yet, but perhaps that’s just beginning to catch on.

Walking home from work late one evening to hear the Islamic prayer sounds echoing from throughout the city espouses a feeling of calm seclusion.  One of the reasons I enjoy learning languages and exploring other cultures is the excitement that accompanies a new experience.  It’s been 2 and a half months, and while the students at the school incessantly challenge me to become a better teacher each day, I realize that teaching is the only form of work I willingly do each day that doesn’t feel like I’m working for another entity.  I work for a school, and have certain parameters, but when I walk into the classroom, it’s mine.  The students’ eager eyes every morning inspire me to push myself to show them that it’s worthwhile to learn and share information; it’s a fiery privilege that lights up my soul whenever I see them engaging in discussion with books opened on their desks.

A question that came up during the beginning of science class one day was, “Mr. Abbett, why is it that the whole world has to know English?”  This question broke my heart and impressed me at the same time.  Before launching into a brief history of the Anglo-French War, and the rival for dominion between England, France and Spain, I quickly reminded them that Arabic ranks within the top 5 most used languages globally.  After ensuring they understand the value in “the other” I opened up a discussion on the influence of popular culture.  Then I quickly tied that into how the US has somehow become a desireable culture to replicate either through sheer dumb luck, or miraculous PR throughout the centuries.  The main conclusion was English will help aid in three things: traveling, work and building confidence. China is making a concerted attempt to dethrone America as the world’s most dominant economy.  Whether that translates into linguistics as well has yet to be seen.  Clearly, we didn’t work on science in that period.  My students have yet again shown me how emotionally and culturally intelligent they are to bring up such elephants in the room.

Male aggression is prominent worldwide, and in an all-boys school, it’s a behavior I notice daily.  Mostly done in a jocular mood, boys push, shove and sometimes punch.  Honestly, this was something I noticed in South Korea as well so in retrospect it’s perhaps an impulse control issue that is consistent across all pre-adolescent and teenage-age groups.

Luckily, I didn’t have to restrain any of my students on our first field trip to a technology center where students are introduced to video game programming and automobile manufacturing.  There was a slight hiccup in the food vendor being held up in traffic.  Kids need to eat every 3 hours so that was a challenge trying to entertain them in between micro bit and console activities. Once the food arrived, they were calmly eating at their assigned lunch tables and dutifully placed their water bottle caps in a bag for the school recycling contest.

This school year’s going to be frenetic and chaotic, to say the least.  Here’s to hopeing.