Salaam alaykum again to all. I've returned to the Kingdom and things are moving as fast as ever, although it took me a healthy 3 hours to get through customs at the airport in Dammam. As I got back to my place at about midnight, I quickly discovered it is hot all the time here. If you merely stand outside, you will start sweating everywhere, regardless of what you wear. The air is very thick and weighs down at all times, and that's only at night. Daytime is unfortunately worse. Walking around even for 10 minutes in the yard, and I was dripping, and it was only about 110, but with limited humidity. One of my supervisors told me a disturbing tale from one of his experiences in Udhailiyah, where we have another SLB base. During summer a couple years ago, he casually gazed at a thermometer and discovered it was a lovely 65 degrees out. Lets clarify: that isn't 65 degrees Fahrenheit, it's 65 celsius. Let's do some quick math: 65*1.8 = 117. Ah! 117! Holy shit that's hot. Oops, forgot about the other end of the formula: 117+32 = 149. 149 degrees outside! Yes, it was closer to water's boiling point than it was to room temperature outside. Sometimes I wonder why people chose to exist here for centuries. The place was in a location known as the Arabic translation for 'Hell.' He said he took off his helmet (which provides some shade) for a mere 2 minutes and his nose started bleeding and he nearly fainted. Luckily I haven't been close to that temperature yet, but you never know.
I also quickly learned about Ramadan. Working during it sucks, which is why nearly everybody tries to get vacation during it. The fasting lasts from roughly 3:40am until 6:30 at night (sunrise to sunset). Therefore, working during dayshift is tremendously difficult because the lack of nutrition is exacerbated by the immense heat. Guys at the base get to go home at 1pm to go sleep before awaking just before the Iftar, which is the meal that 'breaks the fast.' These are usually large family events with great feasts and are followed by evening prayers. There's also very few places open during these times. The prayers last about an hour during Ramadan, which is about 45 minutes longer than normal, so sometimes actually getting food from 6:30 until about 9pm for those without large Iftar feasts can be difficult. I learned that the non-Muslims generally do any eating and drinking completely in secret, mainly because it's prohibited in public. I kinda went back and forth on whether to try to actually do the fasting as my co-workers do, both as a personal challenge and to develop some empathy for those I work with. I lasted about 2 days. Maybe I'll try next year, especially since one of the American guys I work with said he was able to fast for all of Ramadan a couple years ago, although it was almost a month later in the calendar. So I'm actually more impressed that the guys are able to do it for an entire month, especially considering the working environment. It says something about the dedication to their religion, their extreme self-discipline, and their desire for spiritual cleansing as well. One of the guys stopped a conversation we were having because it started to get a little too 'impure.' At first I was a little pissed off, but I have to say I respect the fact that he was willing to stand by the values to which Muslims are asked to return during Ramadan.
To give you an idea my first week back in Saudi, I got into my apartment Monday night at about midnight, had Tuesday in the office, spent Tuesday night breaking the fast with one of our drivers (he was repaying me for transporting some dates back to America to send to his niece, who lived in Pennsylvania), and then about 3 hours in the office Wednesday before the boss said I was needed on night-shift in nearby Qatif. That night I shared an outdoor Iftar meal with the crew on a large rug they laid out and had some delicious rice and chicken (eaten only using hands of course), sambusa (think 'empanada'), and laban, which has the consistency of milk, but tastes like cream cheese. I was also dripping sweat by the end of it, since the humidity picks up as the sun goes down. That first shift working outside was one of the hardest things I've done in a long time. My boots literally felt like I'd walked across a river. Just drenched with sweat. I probably chugged 5 or 6 bottles of water and found any time I could to spend in the air-conditioned cabin we have on jobs. Luckily the humidity seemed to die down by about 2am, which is when we had our next and final meal. I made sure I purchased an unnatural quantity of UnderArmour HeatGear products before I went back to Saudi, but the verdict is still out on whether they help as much as needed. They certainly absorb a lot of your sweat and that keeps you cooler, especially if there's a breeze, but ironically the moment you step into A/C, you become freezing cold. Interesting predicament.
Anyway, after a couple days out in Qatif, I got the call to go offshore. This was very exciting for me, since it's certainly a unique experience, and also way more difficult than land jobs. I packed up my gear, and headed to our base in Khafji, which is also the jumping off point for rigs in the northern part of Saudi. It's only about 100km from Kuwait. Unfortunately, literally as we were pulling into the base, the supervisor I went with got the call that the job was canceled. Shit, waste of 5 hours of driving. Worst yet, there wasn't room on the transport going back to Khobar, so I got lucky enough to just 'hang out' in Khafji alone for a day. I'm currently in a hotel in Khafji, but I did get another call saying that they had a new job offshore and I'm to leave tomorrow. So, all in all, I just basically had a day off, and I'm looking forward to my first offshore experience and my first helicopter ride! I know I won't have phone or internet signal, so hopefully the job won't last too long. I also won't be able to take pictures, but I'll try to get some aerial shots with my phone from the chopper ride in.
Hopefully I'll be able to have some interesting tales for my next post!
I also quickly learned about Ramadan. Working during it sucks, which is why nearly everybody tries to get vacation during it. The fasting lasts from roughly 3:40am until 6:30 at night (sunrise to sunset). Therefore, working during dayshift is tremendously difficult because the lack of nutrition is exacerbated by the immense heat. Guys at the base get to go home at 1pm to go sleep before awaking just before the Iftar, which is the meal that 'breaks the fast.' These are usually large family events with great feasts and are followed by evening prayers. There's also very few places open during these times. The prayers last about an hour during Ramadan, which is about 45 minutes longer than normal, so sometimes actually getting food from 6:30 until about 9pm for those without large Iftar feasts can be difficult. I learned that the non-Muslims generally do any eating and drinking completely in secret, mainly because it's prohibited in public. I kinda went back and forth on whether to try to actually do the fasting as my co-workers do, both as a personal challenge and to develop some empathy for those I work with. I lasted about 2 days. Maybe I'll try next year, especially since one of the American guys I work with said he was able to fast for all of Ramadan a couple years ago, although it was almost a month later in the calendar. So I'm actually more impressed that the guys are able to do it for an entire month, especially considering the working environment. It says something about the dedication to their religion, their extreme self-discipline, and their desire for spiritual cleansing as well. One of the guys stopped a conversation we were having because it started to get a little too 'impure.' At first I was a little pissed off, but I have to say I respect the fact that he was willing to stand by the values to which Muslims are asked to return during Ramadan.
To give you an idea my first week back in Saudi, I got into my apartment Monday night at about midnight, had Tuesday in the office, spent Tuesday night breaking the fast with one of our drivers (he was repaying me for transporting some dates back to America to send to his niece, who lived in Pennsylvania), and then about 3 hours in the office Wednesday before the boss said I was needed on night-shift in nearby Qatif. That night I shared an outdoor Iftar meal with the crew on a large rug they laid out and had some delicious rice and chicken (eaten only using hands of course), sambusa (think 'empanada'), and laban, which has the consistency of milk, but tastes like cream cheese. I was also dripping sweat by the end of it, since the humidity picks up as the sun goes down. That first shift working outside was one of the hardest things I've done in a long time. My boots literally felt like I'd walked across a river. Just drenched with sweat. I probably chugged 5 or 6 bottles of water and found any time I could to spend in the air-conditioned cabin we have on jobs. Luckily the humidity seemed to die down by about 2am, which is when we had our next and final meal. I made sure I purchased an unnatural quantity of UnderArmour HeatGear products before I went back to Saudi, but the verdict is still out on whether they help as much as needed. They certainly absorb a lot of your sweat and that keeps you cooler, especially if there's a breeze, but ironically the moment you step into A/C, you become freezing cold. Interesting predicament.
Anyway, after a couple days out in Qatif, I got the call to go offshore. This was very exciting for me, since it's certainly a unique experience, and also way more difficult than land jobs. I packed up my gear, and headed to our base in Khafji, which is also the jumping off point for rigs in the northern part of Saudi. It's only about 100km from Kuwait. Unfortunately, literally as we were pulling into the base, the supervisor I went with got the call that the job was canceled. Shit, waste of 5 hours of driving. Worst yet, there wasn't room on the transport going back to Khobar, so I got lucky enough to just 'hang out' in Khafji alone for a day. I'm currently in a hotel in Khafji, but I did get another call saying that they had a new job offshore and I'm to leave tomorrow. So, all in all, I just basically had a day off, and I'm looking forward to my first offshore experience and my first helicopter ride! I know I won't have phone or internet signal, so hopefully the job won't last too long. I also won't be able to take pictures, but I'll try to get some aerial shots with my phone from the chopper ride in.
Hopefully I'll be able to have some interesting tales for my next post!
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