Aramco's Unsafe House

In Dhahran, there is the main street you enter the compound in, through the front security gate.


At the end of this main road, there is a house. The street turns left or right, and right in the middle is a house.

So on this main road, you can go faster than on a residential street.

People go out and party, drink (illegally, of course) copious amounts alcohol, come through the front gates, speeding, and drive straight… into the house at the end of the road.

And by people, I mean over the last 50 or so years, maybe 3 or 4 incidents. I wasn’t on the compound for most of them – but the legends of the incidents live strong in the Aramco youth.

One was a drunk guy on a motorcycle – right through the house.

Aramco responded by making a speed bump in front of the house.

One was a guy in a car – he actually fell asleep/had a heart attack/passed out from being so drunk with his foot on the acceleration. He sped up, hit the speed bump, and flew into the house, getting stuck in mid air.

Aramco responded this time by putting a big sign in front of the house, with arrows pointing to the left and right, showing you couldn’t drive straight. They also CONDEMNED the house. Which translates into, they deemed it unsafe. It was to remain forever empty, in case some other fool decided to drive straight into it.

When I was in 10th grade, my sister burnt down our kitchen. Me, my Mom and baby sister, Bob, were in the states at the time (she burnt a piece of plastic with a lighter and then threw it into the trash can, where it exploded and ignited our kitchen).

Maintenance made us move out. Everything we owned had to be packed and moved into a temporary home. But before they could find a vacant home ready to be moved into, they needed a temporary couple night stay home for us.

They put us in the condemned home. I wasn’t here for this – it was Dad, Mikail, Camree and Taylor. Dad was nervous about being in there, and made everyone sleep in the back room, to the furthest corner.

Ah, good times.

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