Soccer Season and Christmas Shopping

Cameron is playing for Team Chelsea and Bryan is the coach.  The games are 20 minutes long, which is great because of the heat.  We have these great little soccer fields scattered throughout our neighborhood, so it only takes a few minutes to get to each game. 

He looks more and more like his daddy each day!

 

Shopping: I didn't take any pictures of the Souk because it didn't feel right to take pictures.  I will try and help you visualize what we saw, heard, smelled, and felt.  The Balad Souk is in the heart of Jeddah. It is a place where you can find many different items for great deals.  I think there were about 500 men for each women.  When we first arrived I was a little hesitant.  I was in my Abaya and had my head wrapped tightly, and stuck close to Bryan.  In a place like this women should be escorted by a man. 

 

It was a noisy,dusty place.  Some shops were inside and some had set up tables outside.  You could find tables of remote controls, gold bracelets, toys, chewing gum, and blankets.  The indoor stores had nicer items which ranged from household items to clothing.   Most of the people selling items appeared to be from different countries.  I saw some locals, but they were usually in the nicer indoor stores. The poverty is hard to see. What we consider poor in the US, would not be considered poor here.  Our homeless population can go to a shelter or receive some type of assistance. The homeless here have NOTHING.  I saw many people with deformaties.  One lady had her hands in flip flops and was dragging her body across the dirty floor. I think her image will be one I will never forget. 

 

The call to prayer happened while we were in the Souk.  Have you ever heard the Muslim call to prayer?  You should youtube it and listen so you understand what we were hearing.  It was very loud.  All shops began to close and people began running to the Mosque.  We happened to be next to the Mosque when the call happened.  Only men were able to enter, so this left the Souk quite empty.  The  men take off their shoes before entering. Once inside they will get a prayer rug, face Mecca, and pray.  Once they are done praying they have to wash their feet before putting their shoes back on.  I am sure a lot more happens during prayer, but this is what I can see so far.   The call of prayer is sung for about 25 minutes, so we took advantage of the souk being empty and did some window shopping My thoughts were: "I can't believe I am in Saudi Arabia witnessing this incredible time of the day."  Not many people can say they were in a Saudi souk during prayer.  It was quite the experience. 

 

Once prayer finished all the stores opened again.  We had about 60 minutes until the next prayer.  In the evening there is a prayer at sunset and then another about an hour later.  You have to plan accordingly.  Bryan and I found a great shop with some local treasures, and we did some Christmas shopping for our family.  The man in the store was from Saudi and he was so excited to know we were sending these back home. 

 

After this purchase we decided to split up.  I was feeling more comfortable, and our boys were starving! We saw a McDonalds and I wanted to get a Christmas tree.  Bryan took the boys and I set off on my own.  I found the little store that was selling trees in the upstairs corner.  This is the only store that I have been told that will carry some Christmas items.  I bought a tree, ornaments, and lights.  Once I was done Bryan arrived and our driver came and carried everything for me.  It is a different experience having a hired driver carry your bags.  Especially when you are walking by people that have nothing.  It makes me sad to be in position of having so much more than another.  That is something I am getting used to while living here.  There is a sense of hierarchy here, and it doesn't feel good to be on top all the time.

 

Bryan and I always love public markets in foreign countries.  It gives you a feel for the culture and the people that live here.  You have to have an open mind, and ready to have new experiences.  It is always a great opportunity for us to discuss with our boys about the opportunities we have been blessed with, and how some people don't get the privileges we have grown accustomed to having. I am hoping we are raising these boys to have open minds and acceptance of others.  

 

I know many of you feel we are so brave living in Saudi, but I don't think bravery is the correct word.  Adventurist would be the correct word.  It is great and life is good for the Johnsons! 

 

Now , back to  making our Thanksgiving dinner!  We will post about that later.

Getting a Driving License in the Desert!

Bryan's Point of View: Had the opportunity to visit the Saudi version of the DMV so I could get my driving license.  There was 11 of us in total and as we piled on a small white bus that said "school bus" all over it, we knew we were in for a fun day.  The driving license office was 40 minutes north in a town called Rabigh and many of us had not been north of our community (we always go south to Jeddah) and I know anyone who is reading this will be surprised, but there was lots more sand and desert!  Our first stop was at the hospital to get our blood and eye checks done.  I got to go first on the blood test which was a basic finger stick and then the dr. shoving my finger onto a marble plate next to lots of other blood.  I told everyone I wanted to go first because they probably just used the same needle.  That done, we headed to the eye portion of the hospital where the eye test consisted of a nurse asking if we had glasses or contacts...that's it and we were done!  We piled back on our kindergarten-looking bus and headed to the driving license office which was about 10 minutes away.  First we are dropped into a small shack across the street where we had to put our paperwork into a 3-ring folder so everyone's paperwork looks the same.  They filed us back to the main office that was quite crowded and so our government rep that was with us had us sit down and he stood in line for us.  Once he got to the front, we were all called up but the manager caught wind and came out yelling at our rep.  As those two yelled at each other in some speedy Arabic, we held strong in our place in line, although we had to push our way in.  When the first member of our group made it to the front, he was kicked out of line because the holes in his 3-ring binder were not correctly punched.  For each of us, the same thing happened and each of us had to go back to the small shack across the street and re-punch our binders.  While we were doing this, our rep was still going at it with the manager and finally had enough and took our paperwork and headed to the main office, where he got things done.  He came back 5 minutes later and we were expedited to the front of the line and funny, but all of our paperwork was perfect - helps to have a bit of government pull helping us out. Then we filed out and each of us got a turn to drive on a closed course.  5 of us would pile into a car the size of a Toyota Yaris and demonstrate our driving.  The test consisted of pulling forward 20' or so, then backing up about 20' or so, and we were done.  Pretty tough one, and I managed to pass.  We all passed with flying colors and got the hek out of there.  We all patted our rep's back and we bought him a fancy Carls Jr. lunch.  In all, it took us nearly 5 hours to complete everything but we got through it.  Hopefully we will have our driving license in the next day or so.  I often mock the DMV back home for being a horrible experience, but it does not hold a candle to this place.  And even though it was a pretty tough day, it made for some great stories and a ton of laughs along the way.

Busy! Busy! Busy!

We have had a busy 7 days this week.  Today is a day of resting, watching Survivor, laundry, cutting hair, planting some Banana Trees, and then heading to the beach for sunset.

I wish I had pictures to show you of our week, but I guess a story will have to do.  Where should I start?

Carter: Carter finally joined a football (soccer) club.  He has been wanting to join for about a year now!  We took the bus to Jeddah to buy  him soccer shoes, shin guards, ball, and a bag.  None of these were needed, but he was so excited.  This club meets once a week and parents play with the kids.  When we arrived that kid shot out onto the field and dribbled the ball back and forth firing it into the goal.  He was so fast!  I had troubles keeping up with him, and this was only warm up.  The kids playing are 3-5, and it is just a group of teachers wanting this age group to get some experience.  Carter took this time very seriously and is excited for this Sunday.  Both of us are in charge of snacks and coming up with the activities.  He wants to make everyone turkey and cheese sandwiches, which are his new favorite food. 

We also had Carter's first conference.  We are so proud of how he is doing.  He loves writing in his journal and had some precious journal entries. He is also reading and becoming quite the classroom reader.  I am so thankful for his teacher and being in a classroom with only 13 kids.  (There are 10 teachers at kindergarten to keep the numbers low.)  

 

 

Cameron: Cameron is keeping extra busy, but keep in mind that all if this is right after school and we are home by dinner.  Cameron is in the middle of his football (soccer) season.  He plays on Team Chelsea and Bryan is the coach.  They have games each Saturday morning that last 20 minutes.  The kids are a sweaty mess afterwards, so I think 20 minutes is just long enough.  We can ride our bikes to the football pitch (field) and be home within 30 minutes.  Cameron also starts baseball two days a week.  This is a school activity, so he will be doing this on the school field.  Baseball is new to the community, and not many kids have experience playing.  Bryan is also helping out and so is our neighbor Mr. Kelly.  He is also the P.E. teacher at our school.  Cameron is also in a badminton club at the recreation center that meets twice a week.  He loves it! 

 

We also had Cameron's conference.  He is doing great and has adjusted so well.  He has so many friends, despite his two best friends moving away.  I am noticing a lot of learning progress, so now we just need to build some confidence!  He is doing quite well with his laptop at school and is learning to research.  Please feel free to email him at Cameron.johnson@thekaustschool.org as he loves getting email. 

 

Bryan: The most exciting part of our week was that we finally received one of our shipments.  It was our air shipment, which was nothing from our actual home, but things we had ordered.  It turned out that almost the entire shipment was Bryan's.  We were all so excited to open it and then each box was for Bryan.  He got a bike, bike trailer, golf clubs, bike tools, and lots of underwear!  We are all hooked on Ex-Officio underwear, and he bought 16 pairs!  I am not sure why so many.  We also ordered some for our friends.  I would say we are probably known as the strange Americans that love underwear!  Oh well, it could be a lot worse.

 

Bryan took his golf clubs right away to the golf course without a golf bag.  He had a box!  I am so embarrassed for his friends that were with him.  I think the golf pro was embarrassed and let him borrow a bag until our sea shipment is delivered. He now leaves his clubs at the course.  They clean them and keep them in a locker.  Good grief that guy is spoiled!  He turns 40 and you would think he became a Prince!

 

Bryan is also participating in Movember.  It is a big deal around here and emails are constantly being sent to see how the moustache is growing.  It is to support an awareness of prostate cancer.  I will post a picture once he begins to look like a hairy wolf!  There are a lot of rules for this competition, so he has to do some grooming this weekend.

 

Me: Well, I made it through my first conference week!  I have 15 kids from 7 different nationalities.  It was quite fun meeting all the parents and learning so much about their views on education.  So many families were so appreciative of me being their child's teacher.  It was a rewarding and exhausting week.  We do not get time off to conference, so all of this has to be fit in after school.

 

I have started working out with  my neighbor who is a personal trainer.  She is kicking my butt! The first week I couldn't even sleep without feeling pain.  My body was on fire!  However, I love this feeling and realized I have been lazy for far too long!  I hope to be in good shape before I hit 40, and I think I have a triathlon in mind for next summer.  I have been swimming laps, which has always been my weakest area. 

 

I am also enrolled in a 4 week class to get my PYP certification.  This is the first workshop and I believe I will have to do 3.  I am hoping on at least one of them I can travel and do the course in a weekend.  They are offered all around the world and I get a professional development budget.  I am sure these next few weeks will be intense and busy! 

 

Well, doesn't that sound busy?  Our boys are so skinny, but did you notice they never stop moving! They are constantly exercising.  I am working on adding some good fat to their diet.

 

Hope everything is well with all of our friends and family.  We will post some pictures soon!  I think the heat is cooling down a little, which will allow me to get some outside pictures.  (Cooling down means mid 80 with 80% humidity).  Things are getting cold around here!