Off to Live in Saudi Arabia 2013

We officially moved to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Monday, August 26, 2013!  We left New Orleans Airport Sunday, August 25 at 8:00 a.m.  It was hard to say bye and leave behind my 3 older daughters, (Chelsey , Devin, and Heather), my Mom, my brother Lonny , and his wife Denise at the airport.  It was a 45 minute flight to Dallas, Texas where we were met by Paul and Kathy .  What a blessing to be able to see them and give them a hug bye before leaving the country .  I felt like we had a VIP service in Dallas because Kathy was great.  She knew where we needed to go, what we needed to do and even took us to McDonalds because Rachael was starving . Yes, we even left the airport for a while!  We had a 3 hour layover in Dallas, then a 14 hour 45 minute flight to Dubai.

We flew Emirates Airline and it was really nice.  I think Rachael and Hannah were pleasantly surprised .  There were monitors in the seats in front of each of us, so we could each do our own thing .  We could watch movies, TV shows, listen to music or watch the flight in progress.  Sometimes Hannah had 2 screens up at a time, watching the Big Bang Theory and watching the flight progress.  Hannah said it didn’t seem like a 15 hour flight and she didn’t sleep.  I guess there was enough to keep her busy and she didn't want to miss a thing .  We were served 3 meals on this flight; lunch, dinner, and then breakfast.

We had a 4 hour layover in Dubai .  I didn’t like this airport experience .  I think we were the only Americans on this flight and I felt so out of place .  I really would have felt more secure if Marty could have been there with us .  Rachael & I were both having sinus trouble and took medicine so we both fell asleep in the airport while waiting for our flight .  When it was time to board the plane I had my first experience with difference in American and Saudi manners.  I felt like we were all cattle trying to all get into a gate.  The men would even cut children off, separating them from their families just so they could get onboard the plane first.  How sad !  It’s not like the plane was going to leave them.  The flight from Dubai was a one hour flight and we were served a “snack”  a sandwich, a wrap, fruit, cake, trail mix, tea, and water.  I would have called it a meal but in Saudi a sandwich is a snack .       

The World view of our flight progress from Dallas to Dubai

Marty set up a VIP meet and greet service provided by     "Al-Fifa" which was paid for by DOW on this first trip to help us go through the custom process easier.  When we stepped off the airplane we didn't even go through the corridor and there was a man standing in a white thobe, a red & white checkered turban on his head and he was holding a sign with my name on it.  After 24 hours of traveling I completely forgot all about having this service and when I saw my name, I got so excited I could have hugged that man! He took us out through a side door.  He never said a word to us, he just held the door, led us to a car, opened the trunk for us to put our carry on bags in, and opened the car door.  I wanted to ask him so bad if my husband was there.  He only had to drive us about 50 feet.  

Once there we needed to go through a security check with our carry on bags but, Hannah spotted Marty and ran to him, bypassing the security .  The security guys just smiled and motioned that it was ok.  We were able to hug Marty and then we were brought to a very nice waiting area.  We were literally the only people there besides the security guards and airport personnel.  They took our passports and they did everything for us.  The really nice Al-Fifa guy named Monther brought us bottled water and offered us coffee and tea.  After a little while Monther asked me to go with him into a little office with some security guards who took my finger prints and my picture.  I couldn't understand what they were asking me to do.  Monther helped me understand .  To take finger prints he sprayed my fingers with something like water and I had to place my four fingers from both hands on a machine that was a glass box with a light inside.  Then I needed to do my thumbs.  We were there for about an hour then Monther came to get us and said we were done and that we could go.  He took us outside to 2 SUV's that already had all our luggage loaded .  We took off to our new home in the Las Dunas Compound in Al Khobar.  On the way to our villa we saw 2 herds of camels and lots of sand .

The girls were so glad to be with their Dad!

Going through security to get into the compound for the first time was a little unnerving .  The security guard looks underneath the car with a mirror and then checks under the hood.  Then there was a second security check point where the guard records the license plate number and checks credentials before opening the gate . 
Monther came back to our Villa later that night with gifts for me and the girls.  A beautiful bouquet of roses for me and an Abaya that was in a beautiful box.  For Hannah and Rachael a beautiful box with Abayas for them and a rose for each of them placed in the box on top of the Abayas.  He said that these gifts were from their Dad.  This was the beginning of our adventures so stay tuned for future posts....