Trip to Saudi Arabia
- Pipeline
- Saudi Aramco News
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Author: Donna Sparks
Released 13 June 2004
Janet Leland, Bernadette Wolan (Dhahran Teacher) and Donna Sparks
Photograph by Aramco ExPats
Everyone was very gracious to us in Saudi Arabia. We met a lot of wonderful people. We were fed the most delicious Mediterranean food and we were fed quite often. We visited places that others who have been there for years have never even seen. We were frequently asked what our favorite was so far. How can we answer that? It was an honor to meet Mr. Jum'ah, the President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, and all of the other dignitaries of the company. We loved meeting with the businesswomen and businessmen of Saudi Arabia, too. We listened to their thoughts and concerns and sympathized with the problems of this day and time that we are all suffering through as the world is changing. We loved visiting the teachers from the Aramco schools and their students. They greeted us with open arms and opened their homes to us. We also enjoyed touring the colleges and private schools. We were privileged to visit EXPEC and OSPAS and climb the sand dunes at Shaybah. We felt very special being allowed to dine at Sunset Beach. We had a great time shopping for gold and ordering our name necklaces. We dined with Mr. Jum'ah's wife and daughter and she presented us with beautiful gold necklaces that we each wore throughout the trip and will treasure forever. We were presented with many other gifts throughout the trip which we will also cherish. Visiting the museum with our very own special tour guide in Riyadh was fabulous. We had a fantastic view of Riyadh each night as we dined at the two highest restaurants there. We loved Jeddah. The people there bent over backwards to make us happy and even arranged for us to ride a camel. We loved visiting the home in the historical district and hearing the call to prayer with a beautiful view. A real highlight was when we got to relax on a yacht on the Red Sea. We also had the opportunity to ride in a motorboat or jet ski from there. We ended our trip with a fabulous feast of traditional food and we got to see traditional wedding and baby ceremonies. We sang and danced and tearfully said good-bye at the end of the night.
We were VIPs wherever we went and we felt very secure with our entourage of people that surrounded us and whisked us in and out of airports and wherever else we went. We loved all of our escorts at each location. They continually answered all of our numerous questions and we had fun with their sense of humor and they had fun with us as we all got to know each other very well. Saudi Aramco's public relations department in Dhahran, Riyadh, and Jeddah couldn't have treated us better. They were wonderful to us and planned a great itinerary for us. Our cameramen were with us throughout our trip snapping our pictures and videoing us no matter what we looked like. Our security people made us feel safe and secure at all times. We appreciated their presence while we shopped in the malls and accompanied us everywhere. They even bargained for us. We couldn't have survived without our personal guides and assistants. Brad Wilkinson had a sense of getting things we needed before we even knew we needed them. He took such good care of us in Dhahran. Then we had the most wonderful and beautiful Saudi women with us guiding us every step of the way, Mae Mozaini and Lamees Ali. We loved talking with them and asking them questions about their customs, their families, and their way of life. They were awesome. And what can we say about Dhafer Koheji? He was so charming and humorous throughout the trip from the time we first met him at Aramco in Houston until we departed Saudi Arabia. We loved his sense of humor. It was great fun to be with him. We were also privileged to have an EXPAT with us, Vicci Thompson. She was a great help and we needed her perspective on what to do and how to act as well as how it was being an American at Saudi Aramco. She reassured our families in the states that we were safe with her wonderful website showing our pictures and giving them updates on our adventures daily. As for the group itself, we only met each other at our first orientation at Aramco in Houston, but we know each other very well now and we'll have reunions to relive our wonderful adventure. We all became a family and our family included all of the wonderful Saudi Arabians that traveled with us.
It was a trip of a lifetime--one that I will never forget. Thank you so much for giving all of us this opportunity. My life is so much better after this experience and I will look at Saudi Arabia and the people in a different way forevermore.