Staying at Steineke Hall

A resort fit for a king’s least favorite in-law

Steineke Hall offers an adult-dorm atmosphere with little to no support from an uninspired international staff. If you ask the front desk for anything such as places to eat, where to visit, or how to get anywhere, they are more than happy to give you a blank stare and tell you to go help yourself. Don’t expect to get around Dhahran easily because the bus comes only twice a day and taxis are never available. The laundry service is unbelievable. You can be sure to have your clothes slashed to pieces and, if you’re lucky, get someone else’s freshly pressed pants delivered straight to your door. For the first three weeks of my stay I enjoyed the sound of a jackhammer drilling a hole through the sidewalk right outside my window. Sightseers can still visit the hole as work seems to be completed by abandoning any intention of filling it in or doing anything with the large machinery sitting next to it. 

The quality of this photo is comparable to the food served here.

Steineke Hall: Where house keeping comes promptly at 7am, the water is contaminated with sulfur, and the Internet always fails when you need it the most.

Welcome to iSpark

The day before iSpark classes begin.

New Media classroom.

Each classroom has a unique mural.

Before the students and computers arrive.

One Night in Al Khobar

My friend Ramiz took Juan, Nora, Malak, and myself out for Indian food in downtown Al Khobar. It was like an Indian version of Los Angeles' Chinatown. There are lot of shops and food stands. Mouse-over some images for more information and video!

Qahwa ‘Arabiyya or Coffea Arabica

I tasted my first cup of Arabic coffee while waiting to get my finger prints taken in the international arrival line. Don’t expect this treatment when you go, I think it had something to do with being the only white female in the bunch. A uniformed worker approached with a thermos, announcing, “Coffee Arabia!” and handed me a tiny porcelain cup.

Traditional Arabic coffee cup. Source: Wikipedia

The experience of drinking Arabic coffee is a tradition and every element of the practice has a history and reason for being. I am told; the portions are always small so that your host may serve you again and again. The lip of the cup symbolizes the curves of the Arabian sand dunes. Served with dates, this drink will always be present in important meetings to show good will.

Coffee plant indigenous to Yemen. Source: Wikipedia

Welcome to Saudi Arabia

A Taste of Saudi Arabia

Where’s the Saudi Yelp.com when you need it?!

This morning we finally ventured off of the Saudi Aramco campus. Our hosts, Abdullah and Husam, have mentioned how Aramco functions on its own terms. With so many expatriates here (a fancy term for highly paid foreign workers) they cannot afford to force the same conservative norms. I’ve been able to walk to and from the commissary on my own, and wear shorts and a t-shirt without covering up with the abaya. The camp is very comfortable for visitors. That being said, as soon as I leave the compound I must immediately put on my black floor length, polyester, outerwear. There are also certain rules about co-ed environments. For example, men cannot go to the mall alone - a female relative or wife must always accompany them.

Our hosts are very generous and want to show us a good time while we are here. We had asked to try some authentic Saudi breakfast and so we planned to meet at a restaurant this morning called Garmooshi.  Upon entering the restaurant, Husam looked at me and said, “We are taking a very big risk this morning.” I thought he was talking about the ATVs we were going to ride after breakfast. 

Nora and I were asked to sit facing away from the rest of the patrons; not an odd request compared to some of the other customs I’ve learned about. But as we started eating I began to sense that something was awry. The Saudi men we were with were having a heated discussion in Arabic in between bites of lentil, liver, and egg dishes. Then Malak, the Saudi USC graduate showed up and immediately she said, “This is a singles restaurant!” Not just any single, but single men only! I was the first female to ever have stepped foot in this restaurant.

Well, the experience didn’t last long. We were soon asked to leave and had to gulp down the last few drops Arabic coffee on our way out. Accomplishing more than I really wanted to, I also became the first female to ever get kicked out of Garmooshi.

Our Saudi trainers, who are very interested to know what we get up to during the off hours, love this story. First of all they said that they would never eat at Garmooshi because it is like a Saudi version McDonald’s. The food comes fast and is cheap. That being said the food was very delicious (who doesn’t like an egg McMuffin for breakfast?) and authentic to Saudi Arabia.

A Nice Sit-Down Dinner

Tonight our National Talents employer and host, Husam, took us to a restaurant called Madhina. In Arabic it means, “our history.” We sat on the floor, ate from shared dishes, and drank delicious coffee and teas. 

Nora and Me

DJ The Great

I’m sitting with DJ in the Dining Hall of Aramco Camp. While a jackhammer pounds its way through the road outside DJ is pouring over his Arabic language books to prepare phrases to speak to the Saudi trainers. He has already impressed  them with his basic Arabic skills and they are sure to crave more of it tonight. It was important for DJ to stress that while we are here to teach the Saudis all that we know about New Media, he also wants to learn a lot from them, especially the language.

After the very first night we left the training session radiating with enthusiasm that had rubbed off from the Saudi trainers. Once I gave them the overview of what we were going to be doing, creating a webzine saturated with photographs, videos, twitter feed, and blog posts, they just wanted to jump right in. They get it. All the media that they are exposed to has a purpose, and it’s our job to show them how to be better consumers and thus become better producers, and to instruct them on how to use the technology. DJ and I did not mention the theory behind this, but after the prayer break one student, Abdulrahman, asked about Henry Jenkins. I was blown away with his level of understanding for the material. We got into a heavy discussion about representation and identity and how media has influences on our lives. It will be a wonderful two weeks as DJ, who is more eloquent about the theory than I, talks about the why and I, the techie, shows the how. These students are quick and hungry for it.

DJ and the New Media Trainers

DJ just spent twenty-five minutes figuring out how to say, “Tonight you will learn to use the camera.” The Saudis will probably correct his grammar, but love him for trying.

There's No Place Like Home