LIVING IN SAUDI ARABIA - PART 1

HOME SWEET HOME

It was last August when I met with the company President and was asked if I would move to Saudi Arabia. For those of you that don’t know the story, I’ll give it to you short and sweet. By the start of 2009, I was the number one candidate to be the successor of our VP Industrial Sales. This position covers sales to refineries, power plants, chemical plants, etc. This is known as the downstream segment of the energy business (The upstream sector involves drilling and oil producing, and the midstream is the pipelines that transfer the oil to refineries and other plants…Ok, Energy 101 class is finished for today.). That’s was a pretty strong vote of confidence in me, unfortunately the opportunity did not feel right. You know that feeling you get when it becomes crystal clear that what’s in front of you is not a positive step? Well I had a swell gathering in me that was screaming just that: “STOP!” Problem was, I didn’t have a lot of options. The economy was already in a massive downward spiral, and I didn’t have an internal nudge to leave Wilson anyway. Inside the company there wasn’t a whole lot. Well it was about this time, that Wilson decided to expand seriously into the Eastern Hemisphere – basically Europe/Africa and east to China. We were going to start by hiring an Eastern Hemisphere Director. God set it on my heart that this was the avenue he wanted me to pursue. Each candidate (3 in total) had to put on a 2-hour presentation to the senior staff covering how we would approach the job expectations and develop the foundation for Wilson in the Eastern Hemisphere. In the end, I lost the job. This was May-June 2009.

In July 2009 I took the longest business trip of my career – 22 days. I started in Oman with my buddy Unni and Mohammed Abu Salah (here Mohammed and I are having morning coffee outside).

 
Then onto Dubai with Peter O’Neill and Jack Muggli.  Check out the famous Burj Hotel.
 
 

 
 
Then the three of us headed to Jordan to meet with our partners, EDGO, where we were treated to the Dead Sea and Petra.  Here are some pictures with some of the management at EDGO, as well as the Dead Sea and Petra.
 

From L to R (Tommy Broussard - Director Wilson Eastern Hemisphere, Jack Muggli - Director Wilson Capital Projects, Peter O'Neill - GM Wilson London Projects, Adel Kanaan - Director EDGO Business Development, Basil Masri - GM EDGO Sales, Matt Etter - Different color pants than everyone else!)

 

The Dead Sea as the sun sets

Petra! Remember Indiana Jones III...

 
 
 

Finally I rounded out my time with 4 days in Singapore and our partners (Shown below is me, Peter O'Neill and Jack Muggli, all on the same trip still - getting tired of each other!)

 
 

 

 

During my time in Jordan I received a call from my then current boss, VP of Industrial Sales. He said that our president wanted to see me. Upon returning from my trip I set-up some time with the president. It was in this meeting that he told me our partners wanted me to move to Saudi Arabia to manage the start-up of the Wilson business. I accepted on the spot, and the rest is history….

So after a semi-long introduction, I fast forward to Saudi Arabia. The next few entries are going to cover life here. It’s not at all what people would expect. I myself had visions of grandeur when I accepted the position. “It has to be pretty nice living because the country has so much money.”

First and foremost, I live on a compound with probably 500-750 other foreign nationals who work in Saudi Arabia. Inside the compound are smaller compounds with various accommodations: villas for large families, apartments for single folk, dual room townhomes for companies with rotating staff, etc. I live in an apartment in the Al Sanad residence of the Oasis Garden Compound. Compounds are meant to provide security to expats and some of the amenities we’re used to back in our home countries, such as sporting facilities that might not be as popular in Saudi, grocery stores with similar food, schools for English/Asian children, etc. Unfortunately, while the compounds do provide amenities, it’s the security that is most memorable. I have an ID card to get in and out of my compound gate. We have a guard who checks this card and walks our car with a mirror underneath the car body to check for bombs, checks our motor compartment and our trunk, all while Saudi military personnel are stationed with machine guns around the outer walls. It’s a major military stronghold on first pass. The walls around the compound are high, with barb wire on top.

Check out how narrow the drive street is inside my compound.  These are all villas on the left...much larger than my apartment, but without the Matt-Feel of course.

Here is my apartment with my living room window. The next window is my neighbor's.

I have two neighbors that I’m friends with. My immediate neighbor’s name is Mark. He’s probably 30 years old. Mark is from Dublin, Ireland. He is working for GE Oil & Gas as a Project Procurement Manager, supporting GE’s construction of their new turbine machine facility in Dammam, their largest in the world. My second neighbor is Neil. Neil is from London and works for Aramco as a travel arranger for the executive staff. Neil moved to Saudi about 18 months ago to get away from London and earn some money. He’s the veteran.

My apartment isn’t large. I remember exchanging email with people in Saudi Arabia exclaiming how nice Al Sanad was and that I had to jump on this last open apartment. When I first visited, all visions of grandeur exited stage left. It is a very simple place. I had to buy a TV and DVD, bed sheets, and cooking utensils. The bottom half of the refrigerator doesn’t seem to cool real well, so everything is plowed into the freezer, which is just a bit cooler than a normal refrigerator, so all works well. The bathroom is clean and serviceable, but there are no windows. The furniture is utilitarian, but honestly I was happy to not have to ship my stuff from Houston. Finally, there is a wall-mount A/C in the living room and one in the bedroom. The apartment is very small, probably only covering 750 square feet.

Check out some of the pictures

Living Room with TV

 
 

 

Living Room from behind the TV

 

Dining Room with my itty bitty table and book shelves (Look at that big, bad Atlas on the rolling table!)

 
 
 

Looking into the kitchen from the Living Room

 

 

 
 
 

Marty, Marta and Aslan insisted on coming with me on my journey

 

Most nights I spend some time reading, having some Bible/prayer time, and watching movies. I grab a few shwarma sandwiches at a local Lebanese restaurant (more to come about those) because I don’t have my personal items yet (pots, pans, etc.). It is my home and I am happy. While I miss motorcycles and like a spacious home, as long as I am in the place God wants me, life is right and he will take care of everything I need. I can honestly say that I love kicking it around my abode…as long as that A/C works!