Airport Adventures

I am not sure if it is just because I am traveling more that these things happen to me but I have had some interesting experiences in airports lately. Nothing quite so out there as my fellow KAUST blogger Ben (see Ben's Adventure) but in their own right I felt they merit a post.

First, I reside in Tampa and if you are from anywhere near there you know it has been extremely cold. It actually snowed in Tampa, the first time since the late 70's so things are really bizarre. During this cold, I had a flight to Austin, TX to spend a few days. I caught the extra early flight so as not to miss a working day, so I found myself at my gate by 5am for a 5:30 takeoff. On arrival I found out that we weren't going to be taking off until around 8:30, due to ice on the wings. How uncommon is ice on the wings? TPA doesn't evan have de-icing equipment. So our strategy was to wait for the sun to come up and use its power to melt the wings. Around 7 we boarded and they pushed back from the gate about 100 yards where we sat another hour and a half so we could work on our tans. Apparently this is extremely rare in Tampa, lucky me! The upside of this was that I rode first class on my second leg!

The second adventure is in coming back to Jeddah. I had to rebook my flight from TPA to JED and so the information was given to me over the phone. I was to fly British Airways to Chicago, then London, then Jeddah. I arrived at the aiport 2 hours ahead of time to find the BA counter completely closed, it doesn't even open on Tuesdays. So of course I began panicking, especially since the wait on the customer service line was estimated as 24 minutes. My flight number appeared on the screen, there was just no British Airways help around. Fortunately an American Airlines flight was listed right next to it flying to the same place at the same time so I checked with them and they found me. However, the flight time given me was 30 minutes later than the actual flight time and it took time to rebook me. My two hours ahead of time arrival to the airport was whittled down to almost not making it. I think I was the last person on the plane and they closed the door soon after I found a seat. For those who know me, I do not find such tense situations pleasant. :)

So that was a weird experience, but the flight from Chicago to Heathrow was excellent. I was put in the largest emergency row I have ever sat in--can we say 10 feet of real estate in front of me? To make things more interesting, last night the agent told me there are 22 people out of 205 on my flight from London to Jeddah. She had never seen anything like it. So who knows, maybe I get an upgrade there too!

Any of you have interesting travel stories?

Happy Holidays

I hope that you all are having a nice holiday season. I am currently away from KAUST and in the US visiting family. I have fallen off of writing so much due to travel and nothing much to say. My main aim of this blog was to keep family informed of what is going on and let them know how I am doing. When I started getting emails from people I realized that probably far more people are doing what I did: searching for KAUST blogs because you are going soon and you want to know more about it.

I left campus mid December so I cannot comment on the current state of things. However, if you are heading to KAUST come January I can suggest a few things that may be helpful. First, there has been a large difficulty in housing the past 4 months. The word was that lots more housing would be done by the end of the year but I am not there to see progress. I know that a large region around the Harbor district was looking more completed by the time I left. If you are coming, be prepared for the possibility that you might first stay in a hotel and commute to campus. It isn't all bad--there are many KAUST people at the hotel and they have been there a while so you get to know a lot by mixing with them. However, I would tend to think that KAUST will have the next wave of housing ready. We are on holiday--they had their holiday the first week of December, so they have had lots of time to work.

I am sure that if you have read many student blogs the picture painted is not terribly positive. In some senses I do not blame these students. The labs that they need to further their careers have not been finished and thus they are stalled and considering other options. If you fall into this category, then I urge you to talk to your advisor/hiring faculty and request the status of things. Be open and frank with them. If your area does not depend so heavily on labs, I encourage you to ignore these criticisms. I am working in the Applied Math department and we are able to be quite productive. Keep a positive attitude, there is little reason to relocate halfway across the world only to arrive and have a bad attitude about things. In addition to not being productive, it causes your friends and family to wonder even more why you have chosen to do this.

My last piece of advice for those coming is not to get sucked into the tendency to complain and get angry. When I got here, I quickly realized that escalating things by making a lot of noise was successful at getting things taken care of. Personally I am not like that and I urge you to resist that urge if you are not like this as well. Also, things are improving all the time, try to notice. It is just that those of us who have been here from the beginning see it less. Remain positive and work hard. KAUST is a great opportunity--don't focus on what is messed up and start taking advantage of the immense resource that the school has provided.

Happy holidays, have a happy New Year, see you on campus :)

Rain: The aftermath

The whole rain experience here in Saudi Arabia was really interesting. First of all the campus really underwent a trial by water (both literally and figuratively?). I had some Aramco people come by my house after the first rain, and they were perplexed by how the houses leaked. The damage seems to have come from one of the following sources:

1. through balcony doors because the drains on the balconies were not functioning
   
2. dripping from the roof because of improper or hurried roof sealing (and dysfunctional drains)
   
3. water backup on the street flooded houses through the front door.

Emergency services were quick to respond and the campus was mostly dry/navigable by that evening. They brought water trucks in to pump the water out of the streets and then take it to drain elsewhere. Some people had their inner ceilings collapse (not the whole roof, but the drop ceilings on the inside) due to water buildup and degradation of the material. Mostly mold is a concern now.

Then there was another storm yesterday although by comparison much less severe. It seems to me that the system for handling storm water is not very developed. Even with light rain there were some flooded streets. The word is that something like this may happen once a year, and then I realized that rain here is like snow was for me growing up. Snow was special because although we lived in Ohio, our area doesn't receive that much snow. And while we have trucks to handle it, if a suddenly strong snow hits us, schools close. Rain here is not so different, they can handle it, but not a lot at once.

While the water on campus has subsided, its effects are still clearly seen. There are several places in the streets where there was standing water that are now big holes. Also, there are nice brick crosswalks and these now are degrading in some places. It is amazing how much damage rain can cause, especially when you are living essentially on sand. This reminds me of a song I sang as a child.

As another blogger pointed out, KAUST's response was a good one. These issues were handled quickly and professionally. The people I dealt with were apologetic and helpful.

The Rain in Spain...

...falls mainly on the plain, but in Saudi Arabia it hardly falls at all. Yet I heard rumor that just two days ago it rained for 10 minutes here. It was more like a drizzle but the word is that the drops were large. I imagine it like the rain in florida. Then this evening as I was walking back home I noticed lightning from a storm cloud over the Red Sea. The lightning was a dark color, I am guessing a tribute to the dust in the air. So apparently it does rain! I have yet to see it myself though.

EDIT: Apparently I am a prophet or maybe should consider a career in weather forecasting. I woke up early this morning to noise on the roof and went out to observe it pouring!

EDIT: ...and now my house is flooding!

EDIT: So they shut down school for the day, the entire campus. We are all to stay in our houses. The roads are covered in water and neighbors are heaving buckets out of their top floors. I am guessing that I escaped the worst of it. It ended up pouring for about 2 hours which by all accounts exceeds the expected rainfall for the next 3 years. I was looking forward to having some people over for dinner and getting to break in the new pots and pans... well they got a use, but not quite the one I had in mind! :) Here are some pictures of the event.

There and Back Again

I have always liked this quote yet only now do I fully begin to grasp just how true it is.

It's a dangerous business going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to.

I made it back to KAUST last night after a long trip from Florida. Time away was really great--particularly because I was able to spend time with my wife and loved ones (I am temporarily here without her). While it is hard to be so far away (time zones are often a larger hurdle than distance) I am glad to be here and part of what is going on. The school is a great opportunity to meet and work with a lot of quality people. I hope that time off for everyone else also helps concretize this reality. While here it is easy to focus on what isn't running as good as we would like, but truthfully we should be focusing on the unique opportunities that KAUST offers.

I have been receiving email from many future post-docs and interested students. I am glad that you all feel free to write me, if you are one that hasn't yet I encourage you to ask any question. I will say to those post-docs who are reading that a common question is about our contracts. As of yet, my experience is that we are not given formal contracts. Your letter of offer will serve as a contract and will likely not be very detailed. While for many that is an unsettling feeling, know that KAUST has made good on that letter, I have had no problem nor heard of anyone who has. Also realize that if they are of the opinion that the letter is your contract, then you have no obligations whatsoever, because the letter details none. There is a time period mentioned but no consequences if you decide to leave early.

I look forward to meeting all of you at some point. For those not already planning on coming, keep to your feet. You never know where they may take you.

A House and Home

A few weeks back now I was given my housing assignment and it has been a good experience. Initially I did not move in, mostly because I was busy with other things, but I am now in and enjoying some space I can call my own. Here are a few pictures...

I have found no major issue with the place yet. My favorite feature is the hyperactive AC in the bedroom. It makes it freezing cold in there which suits me just fine. So far I spend most of my time there so the house functions like a big hotel room. It definitely needs a woman's touch. I went to a party that some friends threw for a couple here who just had a baby girl. They have the same house that I do, but theirs looks lovely compared to mine which is more like a hotel. I guess actually living in it makes a difference. So for now what I have is a house, and I am working on it becoming a home.

In other Nathan-news I am heading home tonight. My flight leaves at 3:30am from Jeddah and I will be flying into to Tampa on Sunday afternoon (EST). The purpose of the trip is to attend a conference in Orlando, but that is very close to my house in Tampa. The trip couldn't have come at a better time for me. The past week has been particularly bad for me in terms of loneliness. There are a lot of interesting people here that I enjoy a great deal, but all of these experiences are a poor substitute for the company of my wife who I miss greatly. So I am sure that this trip will be a great time to reunite and enjoy some family time.

Under the Red Sea

I have been here two months and finally got around to getting into the Red Sea. The beach at campus looks nice but there is a fence around it and no word on when we will be able to use it. The next best thing is to go to a private expat beach near Jeddah which is very nice. How is the Big Blue? Well, big and blue, really blue. I love that the water looks blue. I am used to the gulf of Mexico which is nice, but pales in comparison.

This private beach features a little island and bay where you can swim and rent boats. There are plenty of places to sit and food stands as well. The swimming is great--the water is a bit warm, but the view is nice.

We heard rumor of a Coral Reef off the shore a bit and that it took about 15 minutes to swim there. So five of us decided to check it out. The beginning of the reef certainly was 15 minutes swim out. However, it went on and on for quite some distance. I was swimming with just a mask so when the water got too shallow, I had to bail. But the others caught a glimpse of the dropoff (think Finding Nemo). They also got knocked into some nasty coral and ended up with not-so-nice rashes.

The coral was not highly colorful at this location but contained a lot of fish and wildlife. It was a nice swim and great views. I have no pictures to show, but will leave you with a link to an album of one of the scientists here who takes pictures of reefs in the area. Enjoy!