Marhaba bikoom! (Arabic: "Hello to all y'all!") My last webpage left you with me driving and arriving to my new compound up here in the vast flat expanses of the northern Saudi Arabian desert on Wednesday, April 24th. After speeding across the Saudi highways of danger and death I rolled into my new Home Sweet Home sometime around 1pm and was briefly processed by the compound department head who assigned me my new residence and gave me a quick tour around the neighborhood. Once I returned to my new pad, Villa 2209, I dropped off my suitcase, duffle bags and backpack in a giant pile in the middle of the living room, sat down on my new couch and then thought to myself, "Daniel, what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time??? Is it absolutely necessarily to pack your bags and fly half way around the world only to live amongst scrub brush, dust storms, and spitting cobras?!?" As I sat there on the couch pondering my new reality, I reassured myself that in the olden days people used to live in the middle of nowhere all the time and that I, too, would survive this questionable setting. I mean, not too long ago most people of planet Earth didn't even know that the rest of the world even existed, and they managed to survive and even flourish so I figured I could to. At least that's what the optimist voice in my mind was telling me. But it wasn't long before the pessimist side of my brain pulled out its bullhorn and started blaring the details of reality into my conscious mind: "Daniel, were you paying attention at all over the past five hours while you were driving OUT of a city of 3 million people (Riyadh) and INTO this sad, dusty little outpost of forlorn villas and mobile homes that houses a whopping *28* like-mindedly crazy Americans??? Do you know what living here is going to do to your social life??? You're going to turn into one of these creepy people who longs so desperately for human contact that you're going to end up talking to yourself as you walk down the street because there's no-one else to listen to you!!! That's what's going to happen to you!!! And it's going to happen much sooner than you think!!!" [Perhaps it's already begun?!] I shuddered at the thought, but was then quickly reminded by the optimist in my mind saying, "Yes, there may not be a whole lot of people around here, and yes, you are in the middle of nowhere technically, but this will be a really great opportunity for you to get some things taken care of over the next 23 months that will go a long way to preparing you for the next chapters of your life post-Saudi Arabia, namely preparing for graduate school, doing a lot of reading and writing, whipping your body into shape, EARNING SOME $$$, and doing some travel during your time off from work. So it's not all that bad. Besides, the fewer distractions you have over the next 23 months means the more opportunities you'll have to focus yourself on your personal tasks at hand." Needless to say, the pessimist just scoffed, but I looked at my belongings lumped in the middle of the living room and thought, "Well, I'd best get unpacked and moved into this place so I can feel at home here as quickly as possible because the fact is that I'm here and I'm staying here, so I'd better just get used to it!" So I unzipped my luggage and started tossing everything out in all directions sifting through what I would put where, what I would hang here, and what I would set there. I worked diligently all afternoon at putting away my things and was completely moved in by the time the local Muslim men started calling one another to prayer over their loud speakers.

So, what were my *first* impressions of 200 Villas, the satellite neighborhood where I live here at King Khalid Military City? Well. . . First impression, as I drove into the compound: "Man, this place is a total hole! What have I done?!?" Second impression, as I walked back to my villa: "I suppose it's not so bad, especially if you keep your eyes closed." Third impression: "Anyone can get used to ghetto living, I mean, ghetto people do it all the time." Fourth impression: "It's not so bad maybe. Sure, the place looks like a post-apocalyptic version of Palm Springs circa 1955, but there's a decent swimming pool on the compound, the gym equipment here ain't too shabby, and the villas are actually quite nice&ldots; as long as you don't look at them from the outside." Fifth impression: "The exteriors of this place aren't so bad. I mean, they've kind of got a Lost World look about 'em. Sixth impression, at work: "The school is quite nice. New'ish modern buildings. Decent students. Nice enough co-workers." Seventh impression: "Al-Hamdu l'illah [all praise be to Allah!] for Internet access." (SR150 for 100 hours. I have to buy these weird little Internet cards&ldots;) Eighth impression: "Boy, I can't wait for my first vacation." Ninth impression: "Boy, I can't wait for my two-year contract to be finished!" As you might be getting the feeling by now, pessimism is not alien to my brain. As a matter of fact, it's one of the first lines of thought that enter into my mind when I see something that doesn't quite measure up to my not-so-undemanding standards. Fortunately I'm able to spot the silver lining of every cloud and usually end up making the best of whatever situation I happen to be in. This would be one of those cases. I mean, really, this place looks B-A-D at first sight. REALLY, REALLY BAD. Before my arrival I had told myself, "Daniel, hope for the best, expect the worst." I must have just run away with the hope-for-the-best part and dreamed of living in a really ritzy compound with lush green landscaping all around, brand new buildings gleaming in the crystal clear blue sky neighboring hip and trendy little Arab eateries and coffee shops. I don't know what possibly made me think that's how life would be here which leads me to believe that I was on CRACK somewhere down the line and don't remember taking it. Needless to say, I wasn't on crack when my Saudi chauffeur dropped me off into my new little life, and I was fully aware of what I was seeing around me. Maybe I had been spoiled by the previous seven months of traveling around the lush, populated lands of Canada and the United States and had forgotten what rural Saudi Arabia was like? Actually, that's probably it because this area is generally everything I had realistically expected it to be. I guess I had just hoped I'd be one of these lucky ex-pat souls who lives in a really luxurious compound. Apparently that was not in the cards for me this time around and I'm starting to see that there's more here than meets the eye. What might that be? Hmmm. . . let me get back to you when I figure it out. ;-}

In the mean time, allow me to describe "200 Villas" and King Khalid Military City - my new little piece of paradise. A few factual details about King Khalid Military City 1. Built between 1974 and 1986 and designed by U.S. Army and Air Force engineers. 2. Total cost - between $1.3 billion and $20 billion. (a wee bit of a discrepancy there in estimates! Go figure, it's government spending!) 3. The "city" consists of 3387 double story family housing units with utility tunnels, 5 multi-dome mosques, associated facilities and a series of satellite communities, such as mine. 4. Weather: King Khalid Military City is located in the northeast corner of the Kingdom, near Kuwait. King Khalid Military City lies around 400km from Riyadh, and about 60km from the town of Hafr Al Batin. The weather in KKMC is generally hot and dry thru the summer with somewhat cooler temperatures during the winter months. Humidity is greater than in Riyadh, but less than at the coastal cities with a range from 30-60 %. Rainfall is virtually non-existent. 5. [As sourced on one webpage:] Most of the desert near KKMC is not the stark but beautiful desert seen in Lawrence of Arabia with deep sand and massive, windswept dunes. Instead there are miles of flat, pebble-strewn, hard-packed sand or dirt. This flat, hard surface seems to go on forever as it stretches to the horizon. ("seems"?!) King Khalid Military City is located two hours south of the Kuwait and Iraq borders. It is the most religiously conservative area of a country whose sole religion is Islam. In essence, King Khalid Military City is shaped like a large cirle, and my particular section of KKMC is a small satellite community located just off the southeastern sector of the "city" known as "200 Villas" probably because there are 200 villas here, I assume. My understanding is that 200 Villas was built largely for a Western ex-patriot community that was overflowing from capacity during the 1990-1991 build-up and execution of the Gulf War when Coalition forces used KKMC as one of their key operation centers. Since then, however, the population of KKMC has dwindled to just a few thousand Saudi cadets and officers, and 200 Villas area is quite devoid of inhabitants. Within the 200 Villas satellite compound, there are sub-sections that house different ethnic groups: the Saudis have one section, the impoverished/indentured Asian workers/servants live in another section, and the 28 Americans that remain here at KKMC live in the remaining gated off sub-sector. Technically there are no mosques located in the American sub-sector, although there are mosques lining the chain-link fence parameter so I can clearly hear the 5-times-daily prayers from all directions. The American sub-section comprises of three main neighborhoods, two containing foundation-built villas and one neighborhood of "American made" slightly-more-than-single-wide mobile homes. Since the population of 200 Villas is so low, a new arrival like myself can easily choose which type of accommodation he prefers and there is no need to live with a roommate as was the case in the past. Also, because there are so few people living here (28 Americans in a sub-section which could easily house several hundred), the place has a forgotten and unattended air about it since the lack of residents here barely justifies the resources it would require to properly landscape the area. There are a few Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers running around the sub-compound though and for a little money they can be persuaded to spruce up your yard or do housekeeping. I think I'll have them do something with my yard come summer. One problem apparently with the workers is that you arrange to pay X price prior to service, and once they finish the service they come up to you and say, "Sir, I am a poor man. I have a big family back home in Country Y, could you please spare a little extra money for a sad, impoverished man like myself?" So you have to figure that into whatever payment agreement you make with them and be prepared to give them a bit extra once they finish their work. I would NEVER put up with this in the United States, but the fact is that these guys really ARE poor, in a way that "poor" people with access to welfare and social services in the West are NOT, and so I do have a bit of sympathy with them and don't mind slipping them money now and then. As a side note: when Westerners go shopping here and you've finished paying for your groceries, the South Asian workers basically compete with one another to see who will carry your things out to your car for you, with the expectation that a tip will be in order once you get there. I'm not sure what the going rate is, but I hand out 5 Saudi Riyals, which works out to $1.33. While this may not sound like a lot, it is certainly more than I would ever pay in the USA for the same service (as I would just do it myself!), but I think for these guys $1.33 isn't so bad. I mean, in Saudi Arabia it can buy you 5 loaves of bread and I imagine it can buy more where they come from. The *only* problem I have is when I go shopping at multiple stores since I have to make sure I have ample SR5 notes on me to pay the guys, lest I look like a cheap bastard for not tipping, or be in the position to have to kick out some serious cash!

Anyways, back to the compound: in addition to the villas and mobile home "neighborhoods" here in our sub-section, there is a large swimming pool with a nice old Muslim Bangladeshi man who tends to it every day (who attended a Catholic school as a child in Bangladesh and he said the Catholics were very friendly and kind to him and his family); there's a tennis court which apparently has NEVER been resurfaced and appears to have been royally scorched over the last 10 years by the intense Saudi sun into a cracked and unplayable mess. One of the men I've met here says he plays on it from time to time and that you just have to mind the dips, dimples, and cracks as they shoot the balls into bizarre and unexpected directions when they hit them. Also located in the "neighborhood" is a villa-turned-gym that is basically a house that has room after room of exercise equipment and weights which I plan to use over the next 23 months to whip my body into shape, and in conjunction with the limitless sun down at the pool, I should be a bronzed little hottie in no time flat! "Insha'allah!" [Allah willing, of course!]   As for my villa. . . For all intents and purposes, it is a house and it has two bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen with a laundry area, plenty of closet and storage space, and a covered deck area with table and chairs connected to the back side of the house. While the outside of the villa looks not-so-swanky, the inside is quite ritzy and I am very happy with the set up. As a matter of fact, it's the largest place I've lived since leaving home for university back in 1992, so I shan't complain in the slightest especially since I don't have to pay rent and nor do I have to pay utilities. While there is water service into the house, it is not potable so I have a 5 gallon drum of water delivered to me once a week at the cost of $1.33 per drum, and that takes care of my drinking and cooking needs. Other than that, it's your basic American-esque home and I find it to be very comfy. Due to the fact that the house is carpeted from wall to wall (something I don't quite care for, as I would prefer wood or stone floors), I have a strict NO SHOES policy. I can thank Japan for doing that me! :-] Also, villa is slightly modified for Muslim tenants who would require locking their women up in the rear portion of the house as there are doors in the hallway and kitchen that would seal the house in two sections if I wanted, keeping the living room and dining room open for men only. As you all might know, I'm not married so I shall be keeping my doors open, and even if I WERE married, I sure as hell wouldn't be locking up my wife in the back of a house!!! Ah. . . the cultural differences between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the planet! So that's my apartment and my compound. All in all, it's rural, a bit run down, and shockingly unexciting, but I'm managing to keep myself busy here so I think it'll work out just fine for me over the next two years. Also, my job is turning out to be fulfilling and my students are fun to teach, so I'm quite satisfied with my decision to move here. In addition to this, Saudi Arabia is located smack dab in the middle of the eastern hemisphere so there are relatively cheap flights to Africa, Europe and Asia, so I can't wait to sink my teeth into my first vacations come Fall! In my next email I'll write about the school and the general day to day details of life out here south of the Iraqi boarder! Ciao for now! Daniel