Charlie--Thanks for the great questions! (At least I think this is Charlie...if not, who is this :-))

Had I considered going "Lawrence in Arabia Style" in the traditional garb?

I really was interested in wearing the thobe and bhutra. However, it can be considered disrespectful, so our group is not wearing them. The women in our group must wear the abaya to follow the laws, which are rooted in hundreds of years of tradition and Islam, some Saudi men find it disrespectful or distasteful for foreign men to wear the national dress.

Define culture trunk

Cutlure trunk--Collection of artifacts--art, music, dolls, food, advertisements, currency, hand crafts, metals, etc.--coompiled in a container to be used for providing a hands-on approach to Saudi culture (picture below--pringles, books, games, currency, Pepsi--a few of the items she had in her culture trunk)

New Friends!

I have been making connections with a lot of interesting teachers (whose names I am still learning!) I am posed here with a few mannequins dressed in the traditional abaya (women's clothing) and thobe (men's). I look forward to shopping in the souqs (markets) and creating culture trunks, which we learned how to make thanks to a program alumni.

Today was spent at Aramco's headquarters in Houston. Aramco is associated with Saudi National Oil, and the sponsor of our trip. We learned some valuable statistics, including that they facilitate the import of 4 million barrels of crude to the US a month! Since 1975, the company has trained five thousand Saudi workers here in the US. We were privileged to meet numerous members of their staff, who were very helpful and excited to send us on.

Hello from Houston!

Orientation is underway in Houston. The other 24 teachers from the country are really interesting! I was able to practice my Arabic with Nora, a teacher from Virginia. She lived in Egypt for 9 years. Dwayne from Winona is also from Minnesota. He has established sister schools throughout the world, and hopes to do the same with students in Saudi Arabia. I had lunch today with teachers from Washington and Kentucky. They helped me pick out the adapter I needed to plug my electronics into when we're in the Kingdom.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Aramco headquarters in Houston to get some more program basics. There we will be briefed by former participants on topics varying from community outreach to class-curriculum implementation. Still some prep to do, but it's more exciting every day!

Stay tuned! It's only going to get more exciting from here on out.

(If you have questions...post them and I will answer them in future posts!)

South Washington County Bulletin Article

Click on the following link to read Toni Lambert's article on my upcoming trip:
http://www.sowashco.k12.mn.us/ojh/depts/soc/senrick/Saudi%20Arabia/bulletin.htm

One Month and Counting...

With this entry I officially start my blog on my Saudi Arabia Trip. Already in preparation I have read from James Wynbrandt's A Brief History of Saudi Arabia, particularly the sections on Muhammad's life in the Kingdom and modern, 20th century history. I have also read articles from the Arab Times and National Geographic. I have been listening to the Pimsleur Arabic CDs and can say good morning, please, thank you, and other helpful phrases. I sent in both my passport and Saudi Arabian visa application and am anxiously awaiting the official pass to visit the country. I am in contact with a few other teachers, including past and present participants, and we've discussed our backgrounds, teaching styles, follow-on plans and curiousities about the trip. One month from today I will be starting this journey...and I can't wait! I hope that people will tune in to this blog to hear my perspective on Saudi Arabia.