"An Expat's View Of Saudi Arabia" Saudi Arabia by clws

On January 18, 2005 my five children and I boarded a plane, to move to Saudi Arabia and be reunited with my husband who had moved here 3 months before. We were all very excited and anxious to see this country that was to be our new home. We had known for 9 months that we would be moving here and the time had finally come. That 9 months seemed to take forever! We have now been here for 8 months and that time has really flown by us. We have been so busy taking in everything around us and trying to do all we can fit into each month, week, day, and hour. We have made many new friends here, and have really enjoyed everything we have seen and done so far!

We all look forward to each new adventure that will come our way. I don't think my husband and I have ever seen our children happier, than in the enviroment that they are in here. They have all been actively participating in activites at school, in sports, and around the community here. It is really nice to get to spend so much quality family time with each other as well. Sadly we missed out on that for years, with the hours my husband had to work, and all the traveling he had to do with his former jobs.

The newest chapter of our life has turned out to be wonderful. From the community we live in, to the Bedoins we happened upon in the desert while digging for desert sand roses, this has truly been an amazing time for all of us.

Curious Camels'

While driving across the desert in search of desert sand roses, we happened upon a herd of camels. They seemed to be everwhere we looked in that area. We were all really amazed at them, especially since we had only seen camels in one color before. That day we were able to see dark brown, tan, beige, and a creamy almost white color.

Sunset over jebel in Dhahran

Since being in Saudi Arabia, we have seen a lot of really beautiful sunsets! This one was taken at the end of the road we live on. We don't have to go very far here to get an amazing view. This picture proves, that even in the desert, with vast amounts of sand, there is beauty. The jebels give a nice addition to this beautiful skyline and sunset.

• Pros:Friendly people, a lot to see and do, and so much wonderful family time!
• Cons:Thousands of miles away from family and stressful driving condiitions.
• In a nutshell:A wonderful adventure!