What's Been and What's Ben

Yesterday we got on the buses at 6:30 am for a full day of activities that last until midnight – no room for sleep. On the buses were boxes that were about the size of a laptop box. The excitement was dwarfed by the reality of a lot of packaging that had at its core a sheet of paper about KAUST’s commitment being environmentally friendly – irony. There was also a phallic shaped USB drive to add to the collection. Also inside was a laptop sleeve that was twice as big as my netbook. I went home at 4:30 and fell asleep promptly. In the afternoon I went to my apartment. It was the large size as seen in the photographs we were shown! KAUST was vindicated, but the apartment still had some finished work left. I have noticed that the bathrooms (a key component) were usually the most unfinished part. A friend went to his apartment closer to campus than mine and it was finished and wonderful. The Mosque on campus is beautiful. There is also what appears to be a little prison on campus. There are a half dozen razor-wire fences between the outside and the campus buildings. The security guard at the front has a gun that looks like an RCP-90 for the goldeneye fans out there.

My fearless leader may be coming! This rumor came from a worker that talked with a student that though we was American when he asked in the President was coming. Remember that rumors are about all we talk about around here.

I still worry about the Saudi Firewall here, the fact that I don’t have my passport, and the feeling that the phrase Insha’Allah (god willing) really means that it will only happen if god directly intervenes. Many of us students are thinking about going abroad the week of the official opening because we don’t get to go to the opening ceremony. Don’t worry, the Saudi Aramco employees who failed to build this place in time will get to go!