Ponderings...

I'm still surprised at myself for this but I miss Riyadh. We had a love hate relationship while I was living there but not that I'm back in the states I miss this amazing city. Yes I know there wasnt much to do there except go to the malls or stores and shop but the city was huge. Now I'm going to school in a small town in Arizona and I'm still going through reverse culture shock... That hasnt stopped me from listening to Arabic Music though. Amr Diab all the way.

Dont get me wrong I like the area I'm living in. Its very nice though its a small town. I think the weather was better than Riyadh. Like the day after I got here it rained on and off for the next few days. And yesterday it only got up to a 100 degrees farenheight. Yeah I know I'm used to the Centigrade Scale so I'm having trouble switching back from that and the Metric Scale.

The thing about Riyadh is that there were so many people from so many different cultures it was very muticultural. I was a minority there as a tall white guy from the U.S. too so it got interesting seeing mostly Philipinos there (one quarter of Saudi Arabias population is from the Phillipines). Although there was no public transportation there like busses there were cars and private taxis. I still am amazed at how orderly driving is here. There everyone drives insanely but if theres an accident they are usually pretty calm about it and they know what to do. Call the police to report the accident, exchange insurance information, and if they are going to work call their employers to let them know that they will either be late or not be able to come into work at all. To them a good accident is one where everyone walks away fine from the accident no matter how much damage there is to the cars. But honestly some people drive their cars like they are camels being herded. You wouldnt believe some of the tight spaces they can drive in.

so I've made a list about the things I like about Riyadh

Riyadh/likes
Huge Multicultural City
Clock Tower and various Souqs
Food from all over the place
Cheap gas (you can fill a suburban up for about 10 bucks)
how friendly everyone usually is (though you do get some grouchy people everywhere)
saudi diamonds (not actual diamonds per say, you can find these in the desert)
meeting someone from pretty much everywhere with the exception of israel

Riyadh/dislikes
how hot it is
rude expats usually from the uk (you dont meet these people often but when you do they ruin your day)
no pork products or alcohol allowed (now I am not a drinker like some people but I did like the occasional ham sandwich)
stores closing five times a day for prayers
standing by a coffee shop right as prayers are almost over (you do not want to stand between these women and their coffee)
the sky usually was dusty even at night so you usually couldnt see the stars
how indians and philipinos were usually treated

and heres the list about the things I like or dislike about Thatcher

Thatcher/likes
Very green area.
My school is here.
People are usually pretty friendly here.
Its well outside the Phoenix area

Thatcher/dislikes
The distance to Phoenix or Tuscon
Not that many grocery stores here
I dont know very many people here.
EAC doesnt offer any languages besides French or Spanish because they cant find teachers for other languages.
My family doesnt live here so I do get a bit homesick occasionally. However with school having now started I've been busy with schoolwork so I usually dont have time to think about it.

Well those are my two lists.

Now for an update on my week.
Classes started Monday and in Monday and Tuesday classes we went through the receiving of the standard sylabi and were let known what kind of books and supplies we would need. I met an Egyptian Girl in my French Class so we were talking about Saudi and Egypt. That was interesting. She actually graduated from High School last year but she took a year off so she could go see her Dad (parents are divorced) who lives in Egypt and her family who lives there.
For classes I am taking
English 101
Conversational French
Basic Math
Gym
and U.S. History 1.

I was surprised last week when I ran into Joe Gonfel. He's also a student at EAC now and we are in the same English 101 class. And Bonnie Bodine goes here as well. Crazy times people.