Thoughts While Jet-lagging

Just some post-reunion thoughts since I’m already up way too early...

Firstly, we’re definitely glad we made the trip.  Not only did we get to visit some of our old haunts, but we also saw some parts of Saudi Arabia that we never visited while living there.  We experienced Saudi Arabia as guests staying in an Al-Khobar hotel rather than as Expats living inside the shelter of a company compound.

While there have been drastic changes since we were last living there, it is comforting to see the Saudis take such pride in their heritage, wanting to preserve and share it...from the many cultural and natural history museums that are being developed to the wonderful Heritage Village Museum and Restaurant to the preservation projects in old Jeddah.  Too often, the old is thrown out or devalued in the movement toward modernization, and so much is lost before anyone realizes that it is, truly, a loss.  Houston is a prime example.

Saudi hospitality is the best in the world.  They invite you into their homes, feed you until you are full to the gills, and would give you the shirt off their backs if you asked.  So don’t!  Their generosity is grounded in centuries-old bedouin customs that were a necessity for survival in the harsh environment, and it hasn’t changed.

The reunion organizing committee took on a quite a project.  I shudder to think of the organizational and logistical nightmare it must have been for them.  Some things did not go so smoothly, and I am sure they put up with a lot of grief from the reunion attendees, but given the scope, they deserve a pat on the back and a few days rest!

Although many of the places in camp are still familiar and bring back fond memories, the landscape and cultural fabric have changed so much that we definitely felt like guests.  Very welcome guests who were treated like royalty, but guests nonetheless.  Dhahran no longer feels like home.  Many of the memories and inside jokes that we share as expats seem out of context there now.  But they are still at “home” in the context of the biennial Aramco Brat reunions.  The reunions are truly a virtual home town and the closest we will ever come to going “home.”

Saudi Aramco President and CEO Khalid Al-Falih put it very eloquently when he spoke of the individual experiences and accomplishments of  Aramcons as fibers in weaving a greater tapestry for the company and country (“Those Who Helped Build Company Honored”).  The same holds true for us as individuals: we were profoundly affected and shaped by our experiences in Saudi Arabia.  They make up part of the weft of our personal tapestries.