 |
| Certainly more of a distraction than texting while driving...but he does have his seat belt on! |
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Our first camel sighting!
Our first camel sighting was definitely in the most unexpected place.
We will never forget it and have seen it a few times since. We have
even seen black camels but apparently they are fairly common here. Who
knew!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Our new home
Here are a few pictures of our home here in Riyadh. It's kind of bare right now because we haven't had a lot of time to decorate...and yes, it's killing Billie Jo! We are also waiting for the compound people to come pick up some of the excess furniture that is accumulating on our living room.
 |
| Our front entrance |
 |
| Living Room |
 |
| Dining Room |
 |
| Kitchen |
 |
| Laundry Room |
 |
| Gabe & Sam's Room |
 |
| An Actual Panty!!! |
 |
| Our Catch-All room...soon to be Ms. Chandra's Room! |
 |
| Our Wheels! |
 |
| Gabe & Sam's wheels! |
 |
| Gabe showing off our room |
 |
| One of Sam's many adopted cats |
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
We made it!!!!
Well, it has been almost three weeks here in Riyadh and we are all still adjusting. Pictures will be coming soon...we have been going non-stop with working at the school since we arrived and on top of that we just got internet service in our house two days ago. We are learning quickly what "In Shalla"(I think I spelled that right???) means...God Willing.
So, where do we begin?
The flight - It was rough leaving our friends and family behind in the States, but it was a fairly painless flight. Or at least MOST of the flight was. We had "that guy" that had just a few too many at the bar before the flight that apparently was a bit obnoxious and another passenger let him know it. The problem was that by the time the other guy had enough it was around 5:00 a.m.! Not cool to wake up to a bunch of F-bombs being tossed around, but made for some good entertainment afterward. We will definitely have to make future plans to stay in Germany longer than a three hour layover. The boys slept for quite a bit of the overnight trip but loved their personal TV and the meals we had. Finding our way around the airport was interesting however and we found a great little coffee shop. The flight to Riyadh was was much better...the boys (all three of us) slept the whole way! We woke up to cheese and hummus sandwiches. YUM!
Riyadh - It definitely is NOT what you see on CNN. The people we have met here have either been very nice and welcoming or they keep to themselves completely. There are hundreds of small shops/stores all over, grandiose malls, coffee shops everywhere, and thousands of wild drivers!!! It is HOT here but very dry so it doesn't feel as hot as the thermometer says. We haven't made it down to the sooqs yet so we are excited to possibly get that chance this weekend. By the way, our weekend is Thursday and Friday. Definitely NOT used to that! We are going for a mini tour tomorrow with our personal buddies, Jaison & Crystal - GREAT PEOPLE, so maybe we will get there and be able to get back without getting lost. The only problem is that getting lost is the best way to figure this city out, although I think Baltimore is more confusing.
AIS-R - WOW! That is the best word I can find to describe the school, the people, the facilities, the house, everything. It is definitely more than we had anticipated. We got off the plane here in Riyadh and an hour later we are standing in our new home that is fully furnished all the way down to a new vehicle in the driveway. Truly amazing. Never did we think we would be where we are back in that hotel room in San Francisco (Thank you for pointing us this direction Tracy). The boys are in an amazing school with tons of activities, resources, great people, and endless possibilities. The welcoming that has been given to us, and all of the other newbies as well, has been overwhelming.
We have just finished our first week of classes and are settling in for our first full weekend off since we have arrived in Riyadh. Hopefully we will get a chance to get out and take a few pics and post them here for you to see. Well, it's a little after 11:00 p.m. here and we have an early morning shopping trip (best time to hit the grocery stores) so I better get to bed. We miss everyone back home and hope this finds everyone well and happy.
Now that we have internet in our house, we can post more frequently so please check back soon for updates!
So, where do we begin?
The flight - It was rough leaving our friends and family behind in the States, but it was a fairly painless flight. Or at least MOST of the flight was. We had "that guy" that had just a few too many at the bar before the flight that apparently was a bit obnoxious and another passenger let him know it. The problem was that by the time the other guy had enough it was around 5:00 a.m.! Not cool to wake up to a bunch of F-bombs being tossed around, but made for some good entertainment afterward. We will definitely have to make future plans to stay in Germany longer than a three hour layover. The boys slept for quite a bit of the overnight trip but loved their personal TV and the meals we had. Finding our way around the airport was interesting however and we found a great little coffee shop. The flight to Riyadh was was much better...the boys (all three of us) slept the whole way! We woke up to cheese and hummus sandwiches. YUM!
Riyadh - It definitely is NOT what you see on CNN. The people we have met here have either been very nice and welcoming or they keep to themselves completely. There are hundreds of small shops/stores all over, grandiose malls, coffee shops everywhere, and thousands of wild drivers!!! It is HOT here but very dry so it doesn't feel as hot as the thermometer says. We haven't made it down to the sooqs yet so we are excited to possibly get that chance this weekend. By the way, our weekend is Thursday and Friday. Definitely NOT used to that! We are going for a mini tour tomorrow with our personal buddies, Jaison & Crystal - GREAT PEOPLE, so maybe we will get there and be able to get back without getting lost. The only problem is that getting lost is the best way to figure this city out, although I think Baltimore is more confusing.
AIS-R - WOW! That is the best word I can find to describe the school, the people, the facilities, the house, everything. It is definitely more than we had anticipated. We got off the plane here in Riyadh and an hour later we are standing in our new home that is fully furnished all the way down to a new vehicle in the driveway. Truly amazing. Never did we think we would be where we are back in that hotel room in San Francisco (Thank you for pointing us this direction Tracy). The boys are in an amazing school with tons of activities, resources, great people, and endless possibilities. The welcoming that has been given to us, and all of the other newbies as well, has been overwhelming.
We have just finished our first week of classes and are settling in for our first full weekend off since we have arrived in Riyadh. Hopefully we will get a chance to get out and take a few pics and post them here for you to see. Well, it's a little after 11:00 p.m. here and we have an early morning shopping trip (best time to hit the grocery stores) so I better get to bed. We miss everyone back home and hope this finds everyone well and happy.
Now that we have internet in our house, we can post more frequently so please check back soon for updates!
Friday, August 10, 2012
T-Minus 3 and counting
Well, there are only three days left before our departure and we are needless to say VERY excited! The boys are still not sold on the whole move but they are not fighting it so that is a good thing.
This last weekend we have here in the States is shaping up to be like the past eight or ten that have passed...busy finishing packing/unpacking/repacking and packing again, traveling to see some friends and family before we go, and oh yes...drinking and eating way too much and having a blast while doing it!!!
We have our "Sports Family" Going Away Party this Saturday and a "Last Breakfast" with the extended family Sunday morning. Definitely NOT looking forward to scrambled eggs with a hangover but can't wait for the last bit of scrapple and bacon that we will have before our bon voyage. That just might be the thing that we will miss the most...no bacon, sausage, scrapple or ham until next summer!!!! How are we expected to eat pancakes with none of the traditional meats? No BBQ ribs? No BBQ? No pork chops with my applesauce? NOT COOL! But these are some of the sacrifices we must make in our attempt to travel the world. Oh yeah, I guess we are supposed to be teaching a little bit too while we are traveling. :)
This last weekend we have here in the States is shaping up to be like the past eight or ten that have passed...busy finishing packing/unpacking/repacking and packing again, traveling to see some friends and family before we go, and oh yes...drinking and eating way too much and having a blast while doing it!!!
We have our "Sports Family" Going Away Party this Saturday and a "Last Breakfast" with the extended family Sunday morning. Definitely NOT looking forward to scrambled eggs with a hangover but can't wait for the last bit of scrapple and bacon that we will have before our bon voyage. That just might be the thing that we will miss the most...no bacon, sausage, scrapple or ham until next summer!!!! How are we expected to eat pancakes with none of the traditional meats? No BBQ ribs? No BBQ? No pork chops with my applesauce? NOT COOL! But these are some of the sacrifices we must make in our attempt to travel the world. Oh yeah, I guess we are supposed to be teaching a little bit too while we are traveling. :)
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Two Weeks To Go AND...
...we have our VISAS, we have all our paperwork and we have most of our bags packed. Hopefully all of our stress headaches are past us. This only means that we can look forward to our anxiety headaches! :) In thirteen days we will depart the States for our new adventure. Are we nervous? Yes. Are we excited? YES!
Although it has been a very hectic summer, we have had some excellent opportunities to spend quality time with friends and family over the past two months. From numerous lacrosse practices and tournaments, soccer tournaments, trips, family gatherings, dinners, social gatherings, and the rare opportunity to spend lengths of time with immediate family, we have made hundreds of memories that we are going to take with us on our journey. Along the way we have learned how to pack an entire house full of "stuff" into eight airline approved trunks. Talk about downsizing!
Stay tuned for pictures of the Kingdom baby!
Although it has been a very hectic summer, we have had some excellent opportunities to spend quality time with friends and family over the past two months. From numerous lacrosse practices and tournaments, soccer tournaments, trips, family gatherings, dinners, social gatherings, and the rare opportunity to spend lengths of time with immediate family, we have made hundreds of memories that we are going to take with us on our journey. Along the way we have learned how to pack an entire house full of "stuff" into eight airline approved trunks. Talk about downsizing!
Stay tuned for pictures of the Kingdom baby!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
And the journey begins...
Well, here we are getting ready to pack up and move halfway around the world. Are we nervous? YES! But more excited than anything. We are moving to Saudi Arabia in August and are looking at every blog, website, news article, image, etc. that we can find trying to find out what to expect 6 months from now.
Our initial "To Do List" (while waiting for our contracts and information packet - in no particular order)
1. Let all of the family know and answer the "Isn't that dangerous?" question about 100 times.
2. Get Passport Applications and turn them in.
3. Find a renter/buyer for our house.
4. Set up Skype accounts for everyone and begin Skypeing now.
5. Start eliminating all non-essential items at home.
6. Tell our friends & work.
7. Set up international bank account. (no clue how to do this one)
8. Write a will and set power of attorney. (wow, that sounds really morbid for some reason)
9. Read as much as we can about living in Saudi Arabia.
10. Begin taking as many pictures of friends and places we will miss as possible.
Our initial "To Do List" (while waiting for our contracts and information packet - in no particular order)
1. Let all of the family know and answer the "Isn't that dangerous?" question about 100 times.
2. Get Passport Applications and turn them in.
3. Find a renter/buyer for our house.
4. Set up Skype accounts for everyone and begin Skypeing now.
5. Start eliminating all non-essential items at home.
6. Tell our friends & work.
7. Set up international bank account. (no clue how to do this one)
8. Write a will and set power of attorney. (wow, that sounds really morbid for some reason)
9. Read as much as we can about living in Saudi Arabia.
10. Begin taking as many pictures of friends and places we will miss as possible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)