College and being on my own is teaching me lots of things:
-I should stop buying clothing that says "Do not Machine wash" on the tag, because ultimately that means ""Will never get washed. Ever."
-Naps make everything better.
- Was learning cursive really necessary?
-Map quest should start directions after step 5, I generally can make it out of my neighborhood just fine
-I'm not sure how it happens but there is an exact moment in my day at school and work when I immediately know that I will do nothing else productive the rest of the day
-The days you dress up and look cute, you see nobody of importance on campus
-When driving I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.
-I dont remember the last time I wasn't at least a little tired.
- I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
-I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
-There is great need for a sarcasm font
-The higher the amount of attractive people in the course, the easier it will be
-With some strategic planning, it is possible to walk up massive old main hill only once a day
..just some thoughts :)
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Best Experience of my life....so far.
My dear friend Lisha convinced me to get a blog...thanks girl :) If you are the only one who reads it, thats completely fine ha. I was going to try to be good and write about my experiences in Saudi Arabia while I was here, but that obviously didn't work out too well. I have grown so much intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. So I will do my best to remember the stories and experiences that have impacted me the most, and trust me, there are lots.
My first impression of Saudi Arabia was that it's hella hot, and the people are grumpy. But I turned out to be completely wrong, at least about the people, the weather was still death. With my internship being in the largest Aramco camp an hour away from where we live, I met a lot of people commuting, and at my job. I have NEVER felt in danger or threatened in any way. Obviously you need to be cautious and respect their religion and culture, but there is a difference between being cautious, and scared ha. And mother Krishna has not grasped that concept quite yet haha. Hopefully she will as she travels and interacts with the people more.
The rule of thumb is everything here takes four times, and it takes four times as long. This has taught me patience as well as to slow down and enjoy life. The work atmosphere is very relaxed, as well as the people...but not when they are behind the wheel! I am glad women can't drive here! I wouldn't want to. If there is one way to die here, its not terrorism, war or violence, it's car crashes! I have seen some horrible ones! You need to pass someone and you are both in the left lane? Just pass them going 180 kmh in the emergency lane...no big deal. You miss your exit? It's fine, just head up on the on ramp that cars are entering the freeway on. Seriously, thats what they do! No wonder they don't want women to drive, they want to keep their ladies alive!
Saudis take care of their own, they are a very caring and loyal people. One of the first days at my internship I went to Toastmasters meeting and I was talking about how my generation is not going to stay in a company for 20 plus years, we are going to go where we have incentive to, etc. I explained that if we want to move up the corporate ladder we need to find some way to set us apart from our competition to have our dream job and the title we want. They ask me, "Well can't we all have our dream job?" I reply, "No! You can't all be president!" They then explain to me that they don't care about titles, or even salary. They just want to do something they love and be with people they love. Ohhh. woops, guess I have the American way of thinking? I should take a lesson from them.
In my internship I worked with the most amazing and intelligent people I have ever met. I worked along side the Senior Vice President's staff, so basically the big wigs in Finance. I was not expecting being able to intern in that high of a position. Most were men, however, there were 2 women I worked with who were probably twice as smart as the men. I guess you have to be if you want to work in Saudi as a woman and actually be respected. All of the employees at least had their masters, and number of years of experience. I learned so much from them. The "guys" would take me to lunch with them a lot, and look out for me with everything. They revised my resume, wrote recommendations for linkedin and introduced me to all of their HR coworkers so I could have a better understanding of the roles in HR and help me decide if I want to specialize in something. I was able to build up my network and connections, which will definitely be very useful in the future. I did everything from excel spreadsheets, to a presentation to my bosses on generational differences in the workplace, and ways to cope with them. I loved every minute of it, and am so grateful for the experience and knowledge I gained from it. I could not have asked for better bosses.
I have loved spending time with my family. I have not lived with them in over 3 years, so it was really fun being able to spend a lot of time with them! We have taken some very fun trips as a family this summer while we were here. We went to a different country, Bahrain, where it was a little more westernized so you dont have to dress in those black cloak things, called abayas. We have explored the back streets and little shops of Kobar, and spent a lot of time shopping in Dahran and Rahimya. When we went to Bahrain, we were able to go into a mosque and learn about the prayers,(which happen about every 4 hours daily) and more about Islamic beliefs. That was definitely a once in a lifetime experience! We have many exciting trips planned for the future to different parts of the world, but we just love spending time together no matter what we do. We love the beach, pool, tennis courts, bowling, working out together, and just experiencing this culture together. Everyone has adjusted very well, and we haven't had the "what did we get ourselves into" thought yet.
This has definitely been the best experience of my life. My family is supposed to be here, and it's not just for financial reasons. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that our testimonies have grown immensely, and we are being watched over. I can't believe how much closer we have grown as a family, and will continue to grow, even while Makena and I are halfway across the world. I love not being tied down to anything or anyone...at least not yet, and experiencing the world while growing as a person and discovering who I really am and what I really want in life. December will come fast, then I can come back to Saudi and see my family and have the adventures continue. I am very sad to go, I will miss my family but have amazing people in my life to go back to, and I am excited to start a new chapter in my life.
My first impression of Saudi Arabia was that it's hella hot, and the people are grumpy. But I turned out to be completely wrong, at least about the people, the weather was still death. With my internship being in the largest Aramco camp an hour away from where we live, I met a lot of people commuting, and at my job. I have NEVER felt in danger or threatened in any way. Obviously you need to be cautious and respect their religion and culture, but there is a difference between being cautious, and scared ha. And mother Krishna has not grasped that concept quite yet haha. Hopefully she will as she travels and interacts with the people more.
The rule of thumb is everything here takes four times, and it takes four times as long. This has taught me patience as well as to slow down and enjoy life. The work atmosphere is very relaxed, as well as the people...but not when they are behind the wheel! I am glad women can't drive here! I wouldn't want to. If there is one way to die here, its not terrorism, war or violence, it's car crashes! I have seen some horrible ones! You need to pass someone and you are both in the left lane? Just pass them going 180 kmh in the emergency lane...no big deal. You miss your exit? It's fine, just head up on the on ramp that cars are entering the freeway on. Seriously, thats what they do! No wonder they don't want women to drive, they want to keep their ladies alive!
Saudis take care of their own, they are a very caring and loyal people. One of the first days at my internship I went to Toastmasters meeting and I was talking about how my generation is not going to stay in a company for 20 plus years, we are going to go where we have incentive to, etc. I explained that if we want to move up the corporate ladder we need to find some way to set us apart from our competition to have our dream job and the title we want. They ask me, "Well can't we all have our dream job?" I reply, "No! You can't all be president!" They then explain to me that they don't care about titles, or even salary. They just want to do something they love and be with people they love. Ohhh. woops, guess I have the American way of thinking? I should take a lesson from them.
In my internship I worked with the most amazing and intelligent people I have ever met. I worked along side the Senior Vice President's staff, so basically the big wigs in Finance. I was not expecting being able to intern in that high of a position. Most were men, however, there were 2 women I worked with who were probably twice as smart as the men. I guess you have to be if you want to work in Saudi as a woman and actually be respected. All of the employees at least had their masters, and number of years of experience. I learned so much from them. The "guys" would take me to lunch with them a lot, and look out for me with everything. They revised my resume, wrote recommendations for linkedin and introduced me to all of their HR coworkers so I could have a better understanding of the roles in HR and help me decide if I want to specialize in something. I was able to build up my network and connections, which will definitely be very useful in the future. I did everything from excel spreadsheets, to a presentation to my bosses on generational differences in the workplace, and ways to cope with them. I loved every minute of it, and am so grateful for the experience and knowledge I gained from it. I could not have asked for better bosses.
I have loved spending time with my family. I have not lived with them in over 3 years, so it was really fun being able to spend a lot of time with them! We have taken some very fun trips as a family this summer while we were here. We went to a different country, Bahrain, where it was a little more westernized so you dont have to dress in those black cloak things, called abayas. We have explored the back streets and little shops of Kobar, and spent a lot of time shopping in Dahran and Rahimya. When we went to Bahrain, we were able to go into a mosque and learn about the prayers,(which happen about every 4 hours daily) and more about Islamic beliefs. That was definitely a once in a lifetime experience! We have many exciting trips planned for the future to different parts of the world, but we just love spending time together no matter what we do. We love the beach, pool, tennis courts, bowling, working out together, and just experiencing this culture together. Everyone has adjusted very well, and we haven't had the "what did we get ourselves into" thought yet.
This has definitely been the best experience of my life. My family is supposed to be here, and it's not just for financial reasons. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that our testimonies have grown immensely, and we are being watched over. I can't believe how much closer we have grown as a family, and will continue to grow, even while Makena and I are halfway across the world. I love not being tied down to anything or anyone...at least not yet, and experiencing the world while growing as a person and discovering who I really am and what I really want in life. December will come fast, then I can come back to Saudi and see my family and have the adventures continue. I am very sad to go, I will miss my family but have amazing people in my life to go back to, and I am excited to start a new chapter in my life.
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