Jamie's Trip to Kenya

Well, lots of people are wondering about my trip to Kenya so I'm making a very rare (I think this is only my second) contribution to the blog. You can check out the pictures at Kenya HfH 2011.

We began with a late night bus trip to Bahrain Airport which involved crossing the border with 41 people (5 chaperones and 36 high school students). We had two groups going to Nairobi so we shared bus and plane rides in and out of the country. The trip started out well, no hiccups at immigration and all five chaperones got bumped up to business class! It was great, I can't wait to be able to fly business and first class on a regular basis. Too bad that's light years away. We had a brief layover in Addis Abba, Ethiopia and landed in Nairobi mid-day on Thursday.

There are pictures of our first hotel in Nairobi as well as our hotel in the ravine (complete with mosquito nets for all the beds). Both of the hotels we stayed at were really nice, with great outdoor garden areas to relax in during the afternoon. The food was good in both hotel locations. Kenyan food is very heavy on starches and carbohydrates so pretty much every meal had potatoes, rice, and fried bread as well as a meat dish (usually a stew of some sort). We also had some very good fish dishes while we were there and a slaw dish that I didn't eat (it had mayonnaise of course, I can't escape that condiment anywhere in the world).

Nairobi was pretty warm during the day but really comfy at night. In the ravine the temperature didn't get quite as hot during the day. When we were working there was usually a breeze although it got quite cool in the evenings until mid morning the next day. I had exactly one pair of pants for traveling and no long sleeves so I was chilly.

The first evening in Nairobi we had our Habitat for Humanity orientation with Festus who would be our HfH contact for the trip. We learned about some of the traditional Kenyan housing (mud walls that have to be reworked after the rainy season every year) and the fact that boys in the rural areas move out of their families homes when they are 15. They live in a very small house (called a boy's house) on their parents' property until they can afford to build a larger home which often doesn't happen until after they are married with a few children.

During this meeting, we were also reminded of the violence that had broken out during the last presidential election. The race was very close between two popular candidates (who are now the re-elected president and the new prime minister). Because of the tensions, some groups who were considered outsiders in their villages were attacked and fled. The new government has given stipends to the displaced families who are currently living in tents donated by the UN. With this money, families could rebuild their homes that were destroyed. One group decided to buy the land of their refugee camp and set up a permanent settlement so they pooled all of their stipends. This gave them a safe place to live and work but it left them with no money for actual housing. Habitat and the UN are working together to help this community build brick wall homes for everyone in their group. They have completed about half of the homes so far and our group got to stop and visit the settlement on our way to our actual build site.

We stopped a few times along the way to see a couple of look out points, shop for souvenirs, and take a few pictures. Most of our second day was spent on the road although we did get to visit the two families that we would be working with to get their homes started.

We had a total of two and a half building days. During the first day we dug the foundation of one home and began laying the foundation for another. Part of Habitat is that the families do have to pay off the loan of the building materials and contribute to the building through what is called "sweat equity." We had locals and the family helping us lay bricks. Ultimately, we built both the foundation and most of the walls for one home. It was an amazing experience that I recommend to everyone. While we weren't being tourists, and I can't wait to go back to visit Kenya and do all the touristy things, we really got a great experience because we were working with a family of people. Most people had rudimentary English and of the places I've traveled, more people spoke basic English in Kenya than anywhere else. I'm guessing because of imperialism (and they drive on the left side of the road thanks to the Brits).

We did spend one day out on safari in one of the national reserve parks. It was amazing. We got to see lions, rhinos, giraffes, tons of zebra, antelope and deer, and a couple varieties of buffalo. Plus lots of birds. We didn't see a leopard or an elephant but overall the day was pretty great. There was also a lodge hotel in the reserve itself which is where we ate lunch that day.

Our last day was a travel day as well and we made it from the ravine back to Nairobi. We thought for a while that the other Kenya group wasn't going to make the flight but they did and we all headed home together.

Our kids had a great time. They were mostly juniors and seniors who were trying to beef up their college applications but I think by the end of our trip that wasn't their focus anymore. We got to visit two schools and an orphanage which made a huge impact on all of us. We all brought items to donate (clothes, books, and toys) which were gratefully accepted. We also donated some food to the families that we worked with since they had fed all 19 of us everyday. We learned a few Kiswahili words (fundi means expert, and one of our kids got nicknamed junior fundi because he mastered the building process so well) and got to hang out with the family members during morning and afternoon tea. A baby goat was born while we were there (I've got some fuzzy pictures as I chased him around the living room) and a few of the young children saw white people for the first time (and were scared to death of us the first couple of days). We also got the chance to go up against a local school in a soccer game (well I took pictures from the sidelines).

Overall it was a trip that I will never forget. The people were great, the scenery was great, and I felt like I really contributed to the effort to give these people a good, sturdy home. Our students were wonderful, hardworking and cheerful, and so generous of themselves the whole week. I can't wait to take kids on another WOW week trip. There is a lot to be said for the learning experiences that happen through giving beyond the confines of your small school community.

Random Life in Khobar

Life catches up to everyone.  We all get into the same monotonous pattern day after day.  It seems that life here in Saudi can become even more monotonous than even in the U.S.

I have been driving now for over a month.  Driving is not as bad as what people make it out to be. Sure, the drivers here are more careless than in the rule filled US, but as long as you balance your defensive/offensive driving, you'll be fine.

There are roundabouts here, which I though I would hate.  Actually, I am not sure why more US cities do not have roundabouts.  They keep the flow of traffic moving rather nicely.  I guess it is our rebellion from England despite the fact that we had been an independent nation for over 100 years after cars were invented.

I have been playing in a basketball league at Aramco.  Aramco is the company that controls the oil here in Saudi Arabia.  Way back when the first dug here, they brought in US and other western engineers to run their oil business.  They built this enormous compound (about 12,000 people) that is heavily guarded.  They have actual grass, even a very nice grass golf course on their compound.  There are schools, grocery stores, government building, office building, parks, softball fields, gymnasiums, and plenty of swimming pools there.

You have to know someone to get onto Aramco.  You drive to the gate, tell them why you are there, then go to another parking lot and gate and check in with your drivers license, Iqama (green card), and car registration card.  People riding with you only have to present their Iqama or passport.  The guard then calls the number of the person who you know at Aramco.  This person has to be at their home number (no cell phones).  The guy lets then prints up all names of people wanting in ALWAYS misspelling the names.  It is actually quite funny.

You pass through the gate and drive where you need to go.  I have been going for a basketball league and once per week for Ultimate Frisbee.  I will also go in the Spring for softball.  It keeps my week pretty busy.

Jamie is in Kenya for the week.  I am hoping that she will blog about it when she returns.

We are still playing Settlers of Catan every Friday and sometimes through the week.  A new game introduced by a friend was Dominion, a strategy card game which has caught on.  Darts has also been a hot game to play.

This week, I was finally able to put up some picture frames around the house.  What is funny about that is that there are not any actual pictures in them.  We'll get to that later when I have time to go print some.  We have a color printer, but I worry about the quality when I print them.

I have been pulling some long days by going in early and then tutoring right after school.  Tutoring is something that many people do here.  It is usually for just 1 hour for how many ever days you want.  I do 4 days per week, which is quite a bit, but the money is outstanding. Jamie and live off my tutoring money alone.  It was a pleasant surprise that we were able to do that.

Finally received a bank account and my ATM card.  I now have my check direct deposited so I do not have to go sit at that evil Saudi Hollandi bank any more.  I now sit at a probably just as evil Sabb bank for any banking needs. Banks usually on have about 2 tellers and only one of them will actually do any work.  You have to get a number and wait for the 1 teller to go through all of the people.  I have not been in a bank for less than 45 minutes. This is just to cash a check.  Crazy.

School here is as busy as anywhere.  The school offers a ton of things for the kids to do.  This week, it was Book Fair.  Nice selection as the student order the books, then they bring them in from Bahrain.  Only takes about 2 weeks from what they tell me.  I ordered a Dr. Seuss book I had never heard of called Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?  I also ordered those Brain Quest trivia questions and an Italian cookbook.

All for now.  I'll try and talk Jamie into posting sometime about her Habitat for Humanity Kenya trip.  Interestingly, she is sleeping in the Southern Hemisphere and working in the Northern Hemisphere.  I think yesterday she went on a Safari - cool!

I'll try and take pictures in the next couple of weeks.  It won't be much to look at, but it might give you an idea of where we live.  

Winter Break 2010

Just now posting this, but I wanted a record of what we did on our winter break for 2010.

It had been 3 years since Jamie and I had been home for Christmas and the first time since we moved overseas. We had spent the last 2 winter breaks in Thailand (Christmas day on Koh Chang island in 2008) and Southwest China and Laos (Christmas day in Dali, China in 2009).

Back in September, I found a pretty good flight home, so we jumped on the opportunity and decided to go home instead of going on another trip somewhere in Europe or the Middle East.

We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed spending the time with our families.  We apologize to any of our friends for not being able to see you.  With limited time over the break, we spent the vast majority of it with our families.

We landed safely in Atlanta and had brought back plenty of bags so we could bring some items back with us.  One of the bags was lost by the airline; and unfortunately, it was Jamie's bag with clothing in it.  I had also placed my hard drive in that bag, so I was very anxious to get it back. After a couple of nail biting days, it arrived at Jamie's parent's house intact with everything in it.

The day after landing, I went to oral surgeon to have my wisdom teeth removed.  Lucky me. The next day, we drove to down south Georgia to visit Jamie's father and had a wonderful fried fish dinner with his family.  We spent a couple of full days down there, but then drove back to north Georgia and Cartersville for the next couple of days.

On Christmas day, we spent the morning with Jamie's family in Cartersville, then drove to Tennessee to spend the week with my family.

It was during that week that we readied Griffey to be sent to Saudi Arabia (please see that blog post HERE).

Part of going home was for Jamie and I to retrieve our Settlers of Catan game.  We have been playing it on the compound with several people and have really enjoyed learning how to play.  We taught my family how to play and my dad ordered a wooden box so all of the Settlers game and expansion packs would fit in nicely.  My grandmother even wood burned the top of the box with the image of the original Settlers box cover.  Looks great!

On December 30, me and my parents and Jamie and her parents drove to Nashville, TN so dad and I could go to Music City Bowl (Tennessee vs. North Carolina).  The game was a blast and the 1st game I had been able to see in 3 seasons.  We then drove to Memphis so Jamie and her parents could go watch the Liberty Bowl between Georgia and Central Florida.  They had a good time there, and my parents and I stayed on Beale Street to watch the game and listen to some good old blues music at a great little Irish pub.

New Year's Day unfortunately was spent driving back to Georgia after swinging by Calhoun to pick up Griffey.  The next couple of days were a blur as we were busy packing and shopping for some needed supplies.

Overall, a great trip home for the holidays. Our original goal was to go home every other year, but the cost of a 2 plane tickets home is quite pricey.  Not sure what will happen next year (perhaps Germany), but we certainly did enjoy our trip home for the holidays in 2010.  I'll get some pictures posted later...

Getting Griffey into the Kingdom

Getting Griffey into Saudi Arabia took the customs official here about 15 seconds to look at the paperwork.  That was the easy part.  The hard part came the previous 12 days.  So, how do you get a dog into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the United States in 12 days?  Here is how I did it...

I first had to obtain an import permit from the Saudi end of things allowing Griffey into the country.  To do this, I went to a local vet here, who I paid to get this permit for me.  I'm not sure it can even be done without the services of a vet. 

Secondly, I had to get my school government relations department to write a letter stating that it was OK for the vet to pick up the import permit for me.  This had to be done on the school letterhead and signed by the head of the GR department.  I also had to sign the letter.  

Third, Griffey went to the vet to get a clean bill of health and obtain a vaccination record as well as a international health certificate.  I also needed a regular health certificate to send back to the vet in Saudi Arabia so he could finalize the health certificate.  The vet also ended up writing a "Guard Dog Letter" stating that he was in fact used for personal protection purposes.  This is funny for anyone who has ever met Griffey. Saudi Arabia will only allow certain dogs into the country, and even then they have to be for guard dog, hunting, or seeing eye purposes.

Fourth, after obtaining the international health certificate, it needs to be signed and stamped by the following agencies: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States State Department, and finally the Saudi Arabian consulate in Washington DC. 

Here is the hard part.  Airlines only honor an international health certificate for 10 days while countries and other agencies will honor it for 30.  If you can get it stamped by all those agencies in 10 days before your flight date, you are good to go.  Unfortunately, Tennessee does not have all of those agencies in their backyard, so it took me getting creative on how to get them all signed within 10 days.  

The USDA stamp can be done in 3 business days counting mailing it up to Nashville and back.  The US State Department takes up to 15 business days while the Saudi consulate... well, that is a whole other story as the "sometimes close down for someone's birthday" as was told to me.

Here is how I did it.  Dad and I drove to Nashville on the same day when Griffey went to the vet and got his international health certificate by the vet.  We took it to the USDA and got it stamped and FedEx it overnight to the Shady Springs Animal Kennel in Baltimore, Maryland, where we had paid a guy to serve as a courier for us.  The next 3 days, he took it to the State Department and the Saudi consulate and had it mailed back to me overnight.  

It all came back on the morning of our flight in time.  Griffey was then checked into live cargo on our plane and rode the whole way.  I next saw him on the side of the baggage claim in the Dammam airport nearly 17 hours later.  

If you want the costs for such a process, I can get it for you.  I can also give you the names and numbers and addresses of the specific people who helped me out.  It did cost considerably less than getting him in and out of China, so that is a plus.  

Griffey is safe and sound here and enjoying the compound life.  

Buying a Car

Jamie and I found a decent deal on a brand new 2009 Chevrolet Trailblazer that we liked. You are not allowed to test drive a vehicle, so you simply rely on the warranty they give you. Nonetheless, this one is fully loaded and we liked it. On December 5, we put down a small deposit on the car. We received the paperwork from the dealership to take back to the finance department of our school for the loan.

On December 6, I dropped off the paperwork at the school and amazingly received a check the next day. I also received the paperwork to fill out regarding the insurance and dropped by the government relations office to receive what they call a "good boy" letter basically stating that I am employed by them and a good person in Saudi Arabia.

The good boy letter was going to take 6 days to receive, so I had to wait that long. In the meantime, I dropped off the loan check and the remainder of the car's balance in cash to the dealership on December 6 and simply waited until I received my good boy letter and official copy of the insurance form.

I received my good boy letter the next day without a stamp from the Chamber of Commerce. I tried going to the dealership to see if they would allow it but they did not. They told me the letter was wrong anyway, so it worked out well that I went over there without the stamp. I went back to GR and told them to revise the letter, which they did, but could not give it to me for 6 days. So we waited...

Finally, on December 12, I picked up my official good boy letter (the correct one) and my official insurance documents and went to the dealership to drop them off. They assured me that it would only take a couple of days to received the registration and license plate.

It did, and on December 15, we went again to the dealership, signed a couple of papers, received the registration card, a receipt for a free tank of gas and a free car cleaning, and drove away very happy in our new car.

Upon entering the vehicle, Jamie noticed the there was a fire extinguisher underneath the floor mat on the passenger's side. it was literally bolted to the floor with the floor mat placed on top of it. Her feet were sitting higher than usual. Single handedly, the worst engineering design I have ever seen on any object in my life. See the picture above. We were told that we could remove it later; and luckily, I was able to just unscrew it and throw it in the back compartment with the tire changing tools. Crazy!

Overall, we are very happy with it. It drives great, but most importantly, it gives us the freedom to go wherever we want to go in town without using a taxi, a neighbor, or the compound bus.

Sri Lanka - Inland

 

On Wednesday of our vacation, we checked out of our resort and met our guide and driver at 5:00 am for a 4 hour drive inland into the mountains of Sri Lanka. Jamie and I usually take a dramamine of some sort before we take bus or van rides, especially through mountains, but we didn't have any for this trip. Luckily, we were able to stretch out and lie down in the van seats as we swerved, bumped, and jerked throughout the countryside. We arrived at our first stop 4 hours later green faced and ready for some solid land.

Our first stop was the St. Clair Tea Castle, so named because of the British family who owned the tea plantations in the area and built a castle to commemorate it. We sipped on some tea and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and waterfalls below. Our next stop took us by more waterfalls and tea plantations through what is called Little England, before we picked up some dramamine at a local pharmacy, and finally jumped onto a train that had been booked by our guide.

As our guide said... "Sri Lanka is friends to all religions, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhist." For the Muslims, this week was an espcially busy time for them, the the trains were packed with all sorts of people. Our guide bribed his way into getting us into the first class train car and where we had nice cushioned seats for the 3 hour train ride. The train only went about 20 mph and wound its way through the countryside through the various tea, rubber, cinnamon, and herbal plantations of Sri Lanka. We finally arrived at a train station in Kandy, a large city in the center of Sri Lanka and its cultural hub.

We ate a quick lunch at yet another buffet before checking into our hotel, the Thilanka Hotel, which had a wonderful view overlooking the city. We took a quick nap before meeting our guide once again and going to a gem factory and store. Jamie was able to buy some nice emerald and sapphire earrings and a ring. That evening, we enjoyed some Kandy cultural dancing. Be sure to check out clips of the video on our Picasa Photo Albums. I'll upload it soon, but it'll take some time. We absolutely crashed after the performance and dinner after a long long day of traveling.

The next morning was early yet again as we first visited the Buddha Tooth Temple, a Buddhist temple in Kandy that claims to house the actual tooth from the remains of Siddhārtha Gautama, or Buddha. There had been some bombings there in previous years, so security was tight and there were hundreds of people there early in the morning to catch a sight of the tooth. Because of the long lines, we didn't get a chance to see the tooth, but I don't think it would have meant that much to us anyway.

We ate some breakfast and checked out of the hotel before departing to the Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens. It was a perfect day, and we caught the gardens at a good time where it wasn't too crowded and the flowers had not died because of bad weather. The highlight of the gardens is a 100 year old tree that covers 2500 square feet. Be sure to find the picture in the photo album. Pretty amazing.

We then went to a tea factory where they showed us how they process all of the tea we saw at the tea plantations. We picked up some tea to take home with us and will enjoy it in the months to come.

Our last stop was the herbal gardens, where a guide showed us all sorts of herbs and spices they use for a variety of home remedies. Of course, we picked up some to take home with us as they were unique and apparently pretty costly in the western world.

A 2 hour drive to the airport, a 3 hours wait there, and a 5 hour flight back home followed by a 45 minute taxi ride had us back in our villa at 11:30 that night. A long end to the holiday, but we enjoyed our stay in Sri Lanka. We hope to return in the future if our travel plans allow for it.

Sri Lanka 2010

 

On November 11, Jamie and I caught a late overnight flight to Columbo, Sri Lanka to begin our next vacation. We had originally thought of going to Athens, Greece or Jordan for this holiday, but decided on a beach vacation instead. We had heard nothing but great things about Sri Lanka, so we finally decided to make it our destination for this Eid break. The reason for the break in November is for the Islam hajj, or the annual pilgrimage that many Muslims make to Mecca, one of the holiest cities of Islam.

The flight on Sri Lankan Airlines took us non stop from Dammam to Columbo, where we arrived at 6:00 am. We had pre-arranged a pickup at the airport via our hotel and he met us promptly. 3 hours later, we arrived at our resort and home for the next 5 days, the Mermaid Hotel and Club in Kalatura (on the western side of the island below Columbo). We had arranged a delux room with an all inclusive package, so we didn't have to worry about spending any money out of pocket for meals and drinks.

Each day was pretty much the same for Friday through Tuesday at the resort. We woke up, ate, relaxed by the pool or or villa with drinks, played some beach volleyball, water volleyball, ping pong, croquet, napped, and read in our Kindles. Everything a vacation should be. Jamie treated herself to a 70 minute massage and pedicure, and I worked out as best I could until my cracked rib got the better of me.

The only blemish was the constant harrisment you would recieve from the beach boys who would try and sell you packages to go somewhere on the island. We were going to do something, but it was annoying being asked all day long about it.

Each meal was a buffet which had a variety of Eastern and Western choices. Overall, it was great food for the money.

We then booked a 2 day/1 night tour of inland Sri Lanka through one a tour guide by the name of Anura (anuratours@yahoo.com). He arranged everything for us for the next 2 days, which I'll let you read about in the next post.

Be sure to check out the pictures on our Picasa Photo Album.