Thursday/ Friday March 29th & 30th

(Our group of 24 educators from across the United States standing in front of Aramco Headquarters in Houston, Texas.)

(Mrs. Hinrichs and a few new friends she has made on her trip to Saudi Arabia.)





(A Picture of myself and a teacher from Houston who has traveled to Saudi Arabia twice as part of the Educators to Saudi Arabia program. We are standing in front of the many materials she collected for during her travels.)

Assalam' alaikoom! (This is the formal greeting which means " Greetings and peace be with you" The correct reply to this greeting would be "A laikoom assalam".

I have just arrived in Amsterdam after a long, long, long 9 hour flight. We now have a 6 hour layover and then continue on with a 6 hour flight into Damman, Saudi Arabia. I am thrilled to see so many postings and will try to answer many of your questions in this posting.

Presently, I am having difficulty uploading pictures to this blog, but I hope to work out the bugs in the next few days. In the meantime, writing to the blog is working out just fine so I will continue to post daily in the locations that have Internet connections.

Amanda, you asked about setting up accounts to use the blog; You don't need to set up individual google accounts to make a comment. Click on the anonymous button and then you can type your comment and include your name in the comments so that I know who it is from.

I hear that we will get to see camels at a local camel market, but I am not sure if we can ride one. If we can, you can be sure that I will. So far, the food that we have been given has been typical American cuisine, but far more food than I am used to eating. We have been told that we will need to learn to pace ourselves because the Saudi's enjoy entertaining over long meals and elaborate buffets.

The weather here in Amsterdam is very foggy and unfortunately, we don't have time to go exploring. There is the possibility on our return flight from Saudi that we could take a 2 hour tour of Amsterdam during our layover, so I may explore that option.

Our Aramco hosts have given us a rough itinerary which looks like this:

Friday, March 30- Monday April 2nd City of Dhahran
Here we will stay at the Aramco Compound which is like a military base. On this compound, we will be fitted for our abaya's (the long black robes) and we have typical western freedoms to do as we please. We will take day trips from the compound and stay in a hotel-like facility called Steineke Hall. This city is located near the Persian Gulf ( which Arabs refer to as the Arabian Gulf). We will get to see this large body of water and hopefully collect some sand.

*** Late flight to Jeddah

Late Monday night, April 2nd- Friday, April 6 City of Jeddah
In this city, we will stay at the Jeddah Hilton which is located right on the Red Sea. We will be spending 3+ days in this region and on Friday, we will spend the day at a westernized resort, as Friday is the holiest day of the week for the Islamic faith. At this resort, we can jet ski, snorkle and scuba dive. (I will not have to wear the burkini!)

****Late flight to Riyadh

Late Friday, April 6th- Monday, April 9th City of Riyadh
This is the capital city of Saudi Arabia and the last city on our tour. Here we will be required to wear the head covering piece (called a Hajib) along with our abayas as the religious police are quite strict in this region.

I wish I knew more about our itinerary within each city, but even our American Aramco guides have only a tentative schedule. We will be meeting with a variety of important individuals representing a variety of aspects in Saudi society. We will be escorted by two guards during our entire trip and are treated as important diplomatic guests. It really is quite an experience so far.

OK, for Mrs. Leknes (lover of all things math-like)- let's try some arabic counting!

1 wahid .........................................11 hidashar
2 itnayn......................................... 12 itnashar
3 ttalaata....................................... 13 talatashar
4 arbaa ..........................................14 arbaatashar
5 khmsa......................................... 15 khamastashar
6 sitta ............................................16 shtashar
7 sabaa........................................... 17 sabaatasha
8 tamanya..................................... 18 tamaantashar
9 tisaa ............................................19 tisaatashar
10 ashara...................................... 20 ashriin

We'll, I think it is time to end this entry for now. It is 2am your time right now and 9:30am Amsterdam time( a 7 hour time difference). When we travel to Saudi Arabia, there will be a 9 hour time difference; I will be 9 hours ahead of you.

I hope I have answered all of your questions.

Shukran (Thank you) all for traveling with me.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Marhaba everyone! (Hello in arabic)

Today was an amazing start to our trip. We were brought to the Aramco Headquarters where we were given an intensive 8 hour orientation to prepare us for the trip to Saudi Arabia. We were given very basic Arabic instructions so that we can say all the courtesy phrases such as:

Good Morning... Sabah el khair
Good Evening... Masa el khair
Yes... Na'am
No... La
Please... Min Fadhlak
Thank you ... Shukran

We are also learning to count in Arabic. We have to do a head count everywhere we go to be sure that we have all 24 of us together, so we are learning to count up to 24 in Arabic. I am number 11!

We fly out tomorrow, Thursday, around 3pm and have a very long 24 hours of flying and traveling ahead of us. When we arrive in Saudi Arabia, it will be Friday at around 8pm. For the first few nights, we will be staying at a hotel on the Aramco Compound. The very first morning there, the women in our group will all be measured for our abayas (the black robes) but we will not need to wear them until we travel to the capital city of Riyadh.

Our hosts have told us so much information already about life in Saudi, that I cannot wait to begin this trip. We have been given video cd's to show in the classroom and power point presentations to use when we return. Aramco seems to have thought of everything and keeps improving their program each year.

My next entry will be from Amsterdam during our 6 hour layover. Salaam.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Hello New Hampshire. I have successfully traveled to Houston, Texas for orientation. One by one, teachers from across the United States have been ,arriving at the hotel this afternoon to learn about how this program will operate. On our agenda this evening, we will be meeting with mentors, teachers from the Houston area who have recently taken this trip to Saudi Arabia. My roommate’s name is Nicole and she is a teacher from the state of Utah.

The orientation schedule has us meeting this evening and then again at 7:45am in the morning, where we will be transported to Aramco’s Headquarters in Houston. Everyone that I have met today is eager to begin our adventure in Saudi Arabia, but we are all dreading the long flight to get there.

Just in case you are wondering, it is a sunny 80 degrees here in Texas and the trees are green with leaves and the flowers are in bloom. I am hoping that Amherst will look like this by the time I have returned from this trip.

I will post again tomorrow and let you know what information they have given us to prepare for our journey. Take care.

Tuesday, March 27th- Time to Leave!

Well it is 5am and I am doing my final list of things before I leave. My team of students and colleagues held a memorable "BonVoyage" party in my honor during school yesterday and sent me on my way with a bag of items to entertain me on the long flights ahead. Many of you posted great comments to my blog last night sending along words of "Best wishes on your trip" and "Ride a camel". I hope to do that and more! Thanks for checking in on my travel blog and posting your comments. It makes me feel like I am traveling with a huge group of people. OFF TO TEXAS for orientation. I'll check in with all of you later tonight.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Two days until this trip begins... that seems unbelievable. After spending a difficult week grieving as a community for one of our students, I am certain that I am well behind in my packing, and I am just trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I will be leaving for this incredible trip in less than 48 hours. I am excited for the opportunity to explore new lands but hestitant about leaving my students, friends and family behind.

The good news is that I have figured out how to operate my new camera and laptop, which are both necessary components for operating my blog while overseas. I keep updating my list of "things to do before I leave", and each time I cross something off the list, I remember one more thing to put on the list!

Today, my daughter helped me to prepare the gift bags that I will deliver to each school I visit. Each school will receive a picture book about New Hampshire, a NH bumper sticker, a NH magnet, several NH pins donated by the Lion's Club and handfuls of NH postcards with messages from our seventh graders here at AMS.

Students and community members are beginning to visit my blog regularly and the Nashua Telegraph even contacted me today saying that they would like to run a piece on my travels when I return! In class on Monday, I will be randomly picking names of students on my team who I will send postcards to while I travel. They can bring in the postcards to school to share with their classmates.

Aramco Services, the company who is sponsoring this trip, has done an incredible job providing each of us teachers across the US with materials, itineraries and mentor contacts so that we can prepare for this adventure. I encourage everyone to continue to visit this site and post their comments. I look forward to seeing the Middle East with all of you!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Today's post is one that I am struggling to make. With just one week until I depart, a tragedy has struck our school community as a young girl on our team dies suddenly during an overnight environmental school field trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Her unexpected death leaves our entire team in a state of shock and we are all reaching out to each other to try and provide comfort to each other. McKayla was an incredibly bright, talented and loving 13 year old that touched the lives of everyone she knew. My love and prayers to go out to all of my students and McKayla's family and friends. The images of McKayla's beautiful smile with be with me as I take this journey. Peace and love to all. Debbie Hinrichs

Travel Itinerary!

Well, today my travel itinerary arrived from Houston along with my E-Tickets from Aramco. Tuesday, March 27th I am depart from Manchester, NH and fly to Houston via Cincinnati, Ohio. When I arrive in Houston I will meet 23 other fellow teacher/ travelers and we will be brought to a hotel in Houston for a day and a half orientation with our Aramco hosts and mentor teachers who have previously traveled to Saudi Arabia.

Thursday, March 29th, I will depart from Houston on a 9 hour and 20 minute flight to Amsterdam (5,014 miles). There I will have a FIVE hour layover before I travel another 6 hours on a flight from Amsterdam to Dammam, Saudi Arabia (another 2,925 miles). After over TWENTY hours of traveling, I should arrive in Saudi Arabia and I hope we are scheduled for one LONG nap!

The travel plans inside the country have not been given to us, but I do know that I will be staying at the Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh and the Jeddah Hilton. Check out my web links if you want to see pictures of these gorgeous hotel facilities. Notice the gorgeous health clubs. Unfortunately, as a woman traveler, I will not be able to use those health facilities as they are designated as men's only.

Please continue to check this site frequently so that you can travel with me and learn about life in Saudi Arabia!

Two weeks left !

Hello again!

With only two weeks left until my trip to Saudi Arabia, the excitement is really beginning to build. Each of the 24 teachers who were selected from across the US to travel on this trip have been in regular contact with each other through a listserv set up by our host, Aramco Services. We have mentors who host the listserv who can answer specific questions about our upcoming experience. They have been a wonderful resource.

What am I doing to get ready?
Great question! Aramco provided each of us with a detailed packing list, so each day now, I review the list and add a few more items to my suitcase. The clothing we are allowed to wear is quite conservative, so I am being especially careful to select items which will be both comfortable and professional to wear, while also conforming to the dress code for women.

I also bought a brand new camera to help capture wonderful images of Saudi Arabia while I travel. I plan to bring a laptop from the Amherst Middle School to help record and post daily entries while I travel.

Are your students helping you to get ready?

Yes! My 7th graders are all helping to get me ready by asking lots of great questions. Each student wrote a mini report about Saudi Arabia on a topic of their choice and then presented their research to the class. They shared wonderful information about the local customs, culture, architecture, sporting events and government of the region. I hope to add to the discussions when I return with additional information.

What will you be doing while you are in Saudi Arabia?

We have a rough itinerary which will bring us to the cities of Damman, Riyhad and Jeddah. We are expected to meet with local business men and women, newspaper journalists, school teachers and local community members.

Are you bringing any gifts to give to the schools you visit?

The 7th graders at AMS are helping me to prepare bags to give to each school. The bags will contain a colorful book on the history and culture of New Hampshire, a New Hampshire bumper sticker, NH pins donated by the local Amherst Lions Club, maple syrup samples and NH postcards written by many of the students in the grade.

Don't forget to post your comments and questions each time you visit this site.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Marhaba (Hello!)

It is only one month until my trip to Saudi Arabia begins. The excitement of the trip has been building for months and I cannot wait for it to begin. Using a listserv provided by our sponsors, the educators on this trip are emailing daily to ask questions and learn about each other prior to the trip.

Packing lists have been sent to us along with wonderful books and other pieces of literature to help us prepare for this adventure. I hope that each of you will visit my blog regularly to learn about the culture of Saudi Arabia as I do.

Who is traveling with me?
24 teachers and library media specialists were selected out of 150- 200 applicants to participate in the Educators to Saudi Arabia program.

Who is sponsoring our travels?
This trip is fully funded and sponsored by Aramco Services Company, a wholly-owned affiliate of Saudi Arabian Oil Company. Their national headquarters is located in Houston, Texas, which is where our orientation for the trip will begin.

What is the itinerary for the trip?
Excellent question! We have not been told our exact itinerary, but have been told that during our 10 day visit, we will travel to the cities of Dhahran, Riyadh and Jeddah. We will be experiencing tours, site visits and lectures while meeting with government officials, business people, college students, fellow educators and individuals in the medical field. We will visit one of the largest deserts in the world and may even see a camel race!

What clothing will you have to wear?
While traveling to a strict Muslim country, females are required to dress quite conservatively. Long skirts or pants are worn by women and long sleeve shirts must cover our wrists and the color bone region of our necks. When we arrive in Houston, all of the females in the group will be provided with an abaya, a tailored black garment, which is worn over the clothing items mentioned above. In some areas, we will also have to wear a special scarf, called a hijab, to cover our heads.

What clothing will the men wear?

The men traveling in our group must also wear long pants and collared shirts. Foreign men are not required to wear the more traditional dress of Muslim men who wear a thobe, gutra and igal as shown in the photos on the right.