Using Amanda’s golf cart while she was out of the country provided me with a much needed mode of transportation here on the RT camp. I am fortunate that I am within walking distance to the commissary, beach, and work…but in 110°-120° heat I am soaked in humidity (literally and it’s not pretty) by the time I walk any where. So mission number 1-was to get me some wheels! I have a few options available to me:
- Buy a car
- Ride a bike
- Buy a golf cart
1- Buying a car to only drive on the compound is stupid! I am looking at investing 25,000-70,000 Riyals! The prices on the camp are ALL over the spectrum and you really have NO idea what you are getting-it’s not like they have CARFAX here or Jacobs Automotive around if something breaks! Hell, when I needed to put gas in Amanda’s golf cart the guy at the automotive shop couldn’t tell me where the gas station was -and it was next door to him!! OKAY, there is NO giant SHELL/EXXON sign. Second, I would only be able to drive it within the boundaries of these walls and I live so close to everything-it would be a waste of money. And third, everyone who has a car is willing to loan it to you (sometimes for weeks!!!) or willing to give you a ride anywhere.
2- Riding my bike will be a great option once I-1) get it and 2) the friggin heat breaks (which I am told is October). My bike is in my overseas shipment which will not arrive until the end of August. I am bringing my super cute Schwinn cruiser with a lovely basket to hold my baguettes that I get from the corner bakery and ride home through the streets of Paris (one can dream).
3- So, buy a golf cart it is.
My friends say RT reminds them of a Florida retirement community, I would have to agree. Because carts are in high demand (for putting around camp and golfing) I had a challenging time finding one on the camp. Currently, there are two for sale. One is a tricked out, red, 4 seater (the Cadillac of golf carts) for 26,000 Riyals, and the other is a an electric, topless model for 6,000 Riyals. Did I mention it is HOT here and I live in a townhouse with NO access to an outdoor electrical outlet? Neither option worked for me so I started to look in near-by communities. Let me be clear, “looking in other communities” for items for sale is not like living in Aurora CO and trying to find something for sale in Parker or from Bangor to Brewer Maine. Since I am not allowed to drive here everything is either a bus or taxi away.
The company’s biggest community is Dhahran-which is 1 hour away on a good day (which means zero traffic) and 1 1/2 hours away the rest of the 364 days a year. Dhahran is the keeper of many things related to my stay here-it is the “keeper” of the mall which sells much needed items such as Nespresso coffee capsules, it is the “keeper” of my iqama and passport! So, if you haven’t guessed by now, Dhahran is an important location and I am about 1 1/2 hours away.
I found the ‘perfect’ gas powered cart, it had the basic necessities such as a roof, windshield and was super-powered to hit speeds way beyond the 22 mph I was clocking in Amanda’s cart! Even better, it was 14,000 Riyals. The guy on the phone told me he was selling it for a friend who was leaving the kingdom and there was already another party interested. I explained my situation and offered him 15,000 Riyals for the cart-sight unseen. I know, I know…my American friends are saying WTF right now, but there is no way you can understand how it works over here. This is something that should NEVER happen in the U.S. but I am dealing with an expat…which is different-trust me. The guy said he would consider the offer but the first person still had dibs over me and he would let me know. Well later that evening he contacted me and sure enough the cart was sold under me. Oh well, that’s how it goes…or NOT.
Feeling “sorry” for me-many expats learn true empathy here in the kingdom, he told me he was going to sell his cart at the end of August when he was leaving the kingdom. However, he would part with it sooner and would sell it to me for 10,000 SAR! He sent me a picture via the “only” reliable communication channel here called What’sApp and I was sold. As we started chatting back and forth, me telling him I would take the cart and send him the money ASAP I discovered he and his wife had taught school in Colorado Springs…continuing our conversation I discovered he was born and raised in Brewer Maine…right next door to Bangor Maine and his wife is from Trenton, Maine!! He went to Brewer High, is a “Brewer Witch” and graduated from University of Maine in Orono. What a small, small world! From Maine, to Colorado, to Saudi Arabia I found a fellow Maine-ah.
I made arrangements the next day to take the bus to Dhahran (during work hours-which becomes a 5 hour trip when you calculate waiting & travel times) and he and his wife picked me up at the bus stop and drove me to their house to look at the cart.
***Seriously, at this point you may be asking why all the little details? And my answer is because NOTHING is easy here…NOTHING. You have to go through multiple security gates and check points to get to point A or B. Buses only go to certain locations and nothing is the same as it happens in the U.S. Everything is doable but it just takes hours longer.
My new expats friends and I bonded immediately over our common ground even though I am 20 years older than the both of them. They are both teachers, Doug and Kirsten, have been here for 5 years-just enough time to get vested in the company pension plan, are ready to leave, and will spend the next year not working and traveling the world. They listened compassionately as I broke down in tears (it is seriously hard to describe what it feels like to find someone with common interests and the “same” point of reference in a foreign country)!!! I complained about the conditions, missing my family and my friends. I described the stupid obstacles and frustrations of this country and they understood-they get it, and have lived it!. Doug gave me sage advice…give it 6 months-just 6 months and things will get better. Kirsten gave me a can of clam chowder from Bar Harbor Maine, so I would be able to feel the comforts of “home” and I gave them my 10,000 Riyals and bought a golf cart! As I left, they gave me warm, and welcoming hugs-reassured me that everything would be okay-as ONLY someone who has lived through this can, and told me, “us Main-ah’s have got to stick together-ah.”
Kate's Mulligan 