What's Been and What's Ben

Saudi Arabia has a few challenges to get used to such as the lunar/Islam based calendar versus the usual solar/Jesus system used in the US. The work-week is also from Saturday to Wednesday – Thursday/Friday are the weekend. It is 8 hours ahead in time.

I am spending the next week or two in a hotel until KAUST finalizes the housing on campus. My body didn’t feel all that tired last night after more than 25 hours of transit. KAUST has a nice kiosk at the airport and we get handlers that help us through customs. People are very nice here and the hotel is amazing. I can see the Red Sea from my room and a good part of the 2.3 million people who live in Jeddah – an hour drive from Thuwal where the campus is. I have yet to visit it, but people who have gone are generally very impressed.

It seems strange to think after 1.5 years of being in the KAUST universe that I will actually go to class as part of this. We often joke that it seems like mostly it is just a international student hang-out club.

I had my last beer in Frankfurt, Germany and my last bacon at Green Mill in Minneapolis on a cheeseburger.

I have been watching FOX “news” channel because it is a direct copy of the US version. I suggest you email me or otherwise contact me to sign up for my internal private email-based newsletter about living here to get the inside scoop!