travels

so i finally get to go outside of the city of Riyadh. I will be taking a plane to Medina(second holy city of Islam no infidels allowed) then going up to madain saleh. I am really excited about it. From what I have read it is supposed to be remarkable, and as KSA only issues 1000 tourist visas per year it is virtually without tourists. I have also learned that aside from working here or going on the pilgrimage to Mecca(first holy city also off limits to non Muslims) it is almost impossible to get into this country. Not that many people would want to come. I will of course take some pictures and get them up. My flight leaves at 5 in the morning so it is going to be a long one. Coffee and the joy of travel will get me through. Mostly the coffee i think.

sand

There was a fairly brutal sand storm that blew across the city a few days ago. It blotted out the sun and made life generally miserable. I had a funny experience when I realized that I was being the new guy that I used to find so amusing. When I worked in Boston the restaurant had a bunch of Portuguese cooks and this time of year it would be the first snow for the city. Whenever it happened word would spread that it was snowing and inevitably one of the new cooks would leave his station and go stand out back looking up at the snow. He or she had never seen the stuff before. I always had a good laugh at that because in a few weeks they would be cursing the snow for all the hardships it causes. Well as I got into work I stepped out of the taxi and as the college is north of the city it usually offers a fairly good view of the downtown in the distance. However as there was a sand storm the visibility was down to less than a block and it was all sort of cafe con leche from the ground to the sky. I just stood there looking at it, i knew i was in it but it didnt matter it was so unique so different from other weather I had been in. A few of the students looked at me like I was insane and I am sure had a good laugh inside at the new guy that if this keeps up will be cursing the trouble the sandstorms cause. But for now I am glad I got to see it and I hope next time I have a camera to get a picture, it was truly incredible.