Al-Khobar





Our favorite shop to buy pashminas.

Al-Ramaniya mall.  Burnt down almost 15 years ago.

Right next to the Al-Ramaniya mall. There are always tons of trucks lined around the perimeter. Just waiting for... I'm not sure what. With men just sitting and smoking.

The best shawarma shop in all of Khobar!! This is the fruit drink part of the shop, the shawarmas aren't open until evening.

Latif! Our favorite place to eat. Accross from the burnt Al-Ramaniya mall.

It was an exciting day when they split the restaurant, and made a Women's Section. Probably happened 5 or so years ago.

We now have our very own eatng section! Notice the kleenex boxes on the tables? That replaces napkins.

Women's ordering section. You can see a man through the window - the men's section is right on the other side.



Latif menu! See thje item in the middle bottom: Tomato, zatar, olives, cheese? Our family got that on the menu. There used to be no menu. We would always order our favorite, the tomato, zatar, olives and cheese - and when they got a menu, it was on it! We made our mark in the Latif Bakery!







These boxes have been on the wall for over 10 years.



You know you're an Aramco Brat when...

1. You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?" (And when you do, you get into an elaborate conversation that gets everyone confused and/or makes you sound very spoiled)

2. You flew before you could walk.

3. You have a passport, but no driver's license.

4. You think California is cold.

5. You watch National Geographic specials and recognize someone.

6. You run into someone you know at every airport.

7. Conversations with friends take place at 6:00 in the morning or 10:00 at night.

8. Your life story uses the phrase "Then we went to..." five times.

9. You can speak with authority about the quality of various international airlines. (P.S. British Airways is the best)

10. You feel self conscious around all white people.
11. You get offended when someone turns down an offer for food.

12. You live at school and go home for vacation.

13. You treasure pork and alcohol as highly-valued commodities.

14. You have ever had to wait for prayer call to be over to finish shopping

15. You are fascinated by any wildlife bigger than a gecko.

16. You know the true meaning of "football"

17. You know that it's a small world.

18. You have ever gone to the hammam or endured a shamal.

19. You get all the jokes in Aladdin.

20. Rain is still one of the most wonderful sounds in the world.

21. You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price.

22. Your wardrobe can only handle two seasons: hot and warm.

23. Your school memories include duck-and-cover drills and sonic booms.

24. You are used to being stared at.

25. You think VISA is a document stamped in your passport, and not a plastic card you carry in your wallet.

26. You call a chicken burrito a shawrma.

27. Your dorm room/apartment/living room looks a little like a museum with all the "exotic" things you have around.

28. You've heard of hubbly bubbly, and its the only thing you smoke shisha out of!

29. You've woken up in the middle of the night to watch the Superbowl on cable.

30. You have sat in a "men's" or "women's" section in an airport, hospital, or restaurant.

31. You know the geography of the rest of the world, but you don't know the geography of your own country. (Isn't Philadelphia it's own state?)

32. Your best friends are from 5 different countries.

34. You ask your roommate when the houseboy is scheduled to come clean.

35. You read the international section before the comics.

36. You sort your friends by continent.

37. You don’t know where home is.

38. Every time you drink from a water fountain, you think, Water Is Life, Save It.

39. You've run from Security.

40. You can have an educated discussion on the quality/functionality of major International Airports around the world.


I guess I'm just aching to be in Saudi today. In my childhood home, on the streets I know, with the warmth and sunshine and endless swimming pool days. With the racquetball courts down the street, endless sand dunes and quading adventures. Shawarma's and Desi food and crazy Khobar streets, with their gold, stray cats and nauseating odors and fluids. And the beach. Oooh, the beach. The Commissary, its cheesebread, the palm trees, and the gates coming in. 


Yes, I'm an Aramco brat.
My dad works for Saudi Aramco.
I hail to the small compound town of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
I am a TCK (Third Culture Kid).


And I love it.


Love,
Brittney