ALKHOBAR, 11 June 2004 — Sunday, May 30th was a terrible day in the Eastern Province. Satellite news programs were full of reports of the terrorist attacks that had begun in Alkhobar the previous morning. Some of the city’s expatriates were packing to flee. Grim-faced police manned checkpoints throughout the region. Overall it wasn’t one of the better moments in Alkhobar’s history.
Amazingly, that night a group of 13 educators from Houston, Texas arrived in the Eastern Province for a nine-day visit. Sponsored by Saudi Aramco, the teachers and their guides were scheduled to tour Dhahran, Dammam and Alkhobar before moving on to Riyadh and Jeddah. Saudi Aramco had invited the educators to visit the Kingdom to personally interact with the nation and its people. The concept of educators’ trip had been initiated by Aramco Services Company, Houston, while working with the Institute of International Education (IIE) on the Mobile Trunk Lending Program, a part of the Cultural Navigators Project.
The Mobile Trunk Lending Program provides trunks made up of curriculum enrichment materials on Saudi Arabia and Egypt for loan to Houston-area teachers. Specifically, these mobile trunks contain instructional activities, artifacts and a teacher’s guide that in most cases would be prohibitively costly for teachers and districts to develop on their own. The program was begun after world cultures, geography and history teachers expressed a need for quality materials that brought the educational theory, already provided by the school districts, to life.
To contribute even further to the understanding of Saudi culture among Houston-area students, it was thought to be an excellent idea to bring some Houston-area teachers to the Kingdom to experience the country directly. Then these teachers would be able to speak about Saudi Arabia at their schools from a personal perspective, hopefully enhancing knowledge and understanding of the Kingdom in Houston’s classrooms.
The Houston educators’ visit was an example of Saudi Aramco’s best teamwork. In the Eastern Province the group went to many Saudi Aramco facilities including the Saudi Aramco Exhibit, the Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center (EXPEC) and Dammam Well No. 7, where in 1938 the first significant discovery of petroleum was made in the Kingdom. The educators had a magnificent visit to Saudi Aramco’s facility at Shaybah and the group also had the opportunity to interface informally with Abdallah S. Jumah, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco.
Moving on to Riyadh, the Houston educators toured the King Abdul Aziz Historical Center, the Prince Sultan City for Humanitarian Science and Kingdom Center. In Jeddah, Dar Al-Hekma College was honored by the educators’ attendance at the college’s graduation ceremony. The group also visited Effat College, the Safeya Binzagr Gallery and Naseef House. On the final day of their tour, the educators met with Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled Al-Maeena. Additionally, throughout the nine days of their stay in the Kingdom, at most mealtimes the educators were joined by representatives of the local community. Numerous business people, media, teachers and other professionals came to exchange views with the visitors from Houston. This enabled the educators to meet a large number of Saudis during their short stay in the Kingdom.
That the educators had come at a time when the Kingdom is facing many challenges was an issue always kept in mind. All measures were taken to ensure their safety and security throughout their visit. Catching up with the Houston educators for dinner at Sunset Beach in Alkhobar, it was delightful to find the group so obviously pleased with their reception in the Kingdom. Every one of the teachers I spoke with immediately discussed how all their illusions about the Kingdom had been shattered within their first day of arrival in the Eastern Province.
“I just love to travel and this was a great opportunity to see something new and experience something different,” said Roosevelt Colvin, biology teacher, M.B. Smiley High School, Houston. “Everyone back at home except my parents have been telling me not to come, but I’m so glad that I trusted in God’s protection and came here.”
“I am enjoying being here so much,” he continued. “What I have seen has helped me to break down the stereotypes I’ve had of the Kingdom, especially my thoughts in regards to women in Saudi society. This trip has allowed me to see Saudi Arabia in a very different light.”
Colvin mentioned one specific person who had really made an impact on him during the visit.
“When we met the president of Saudi Aramco he was very down to earth and he spoke from his heart,” Colvin remarked. “For a guy with so much influence and power he was very real. I thought he was impressive. I really wish my wife had been here with me to meet him and see everything I’ve seen about this country. More Americans need to come here and see Saudi Arabia for themselves. If that happened, a lot more walls between people would come down.”
Standing by the Arabian Gulf with a light breeze cooperating to keep the temperature pleasant, it was bittersweet to see such a large group of Americans talking of the challenges of teaching and inspiring today’s youth to learn more about the world as a global village. Many of their concerns were similar to those of teachers everywhere. The educators were already planning how they would use their new-found knowledge of Saudi Arabia to enrich the classroom experience for their students.
“I see this trip as an opportunity to be part of a bridge-building effort between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” said John Nance, a teacher of choral music, and music theory and composition at Katy High School, Katy, Texas. “I want to be a part of my world and I am looking for new and accurate information to share with my students. I have already been given a CD of Saudi music. I like the Arabian rhythms very much. I like the feel of the music and I am looking forward to introducing it to my students.”
Nance said he had received pressure from many people not to take the trip to Saudi Arabia. His students though had been very encouraging.
“I told my students that I was coming to Saudi Arabia,” Nance said. “Since they aren’t in tune to the politics they were really excited and thought it would be a glamorous trip. In fact, they are anxious to see what I’m going to show them from this tour in the new school year.”
The Houston educators were a joy to meet because they so obviously desired to learn about Saudi Arabia and the Saudi people. Peggy Tennyson, Elizabeth Battle, Donna Reichel, Dr. Elaine Adams, Debra Brown, Jennifer Leadbetter, Linda Edwards, Janet Leland, Michelle Tillery, Marcia Looper, Donna Sparks, Roosevelt Colvin and John Nance must be congratulated on their decision to remain open minded about the Kingdom so they could absorb as much as possible in such a brief visit. Their stamina while participating in an extremely optimistic schedule of events during their Saudi tour must also be commended.
“I teach literature and I have already ordered a book of Arabic poetry that has been translated. I will use the poetry in my classroom to help share my experiences here with my students,” said Linda E. Edwards, English honors instructor, M.B. Smiley High School. “I am predisposed thanks to my cultural upbringing to find the beauty and wonder of Saudi Arabia. It’s not just the smiling faces here that are so special — it’s the genuineness behind the smiles that is important.”
Edwards did have a serious concern in mind that she was anxious to share immediately.
“One thing which I have already learned since I came here is that many Saudis are having difficulty getting student visas to the United States,” she said. “I find that troubling. What will happen to American universities if they begin losing the richness and diversity that comes from having a broadly-based student body? It is that diversity that has made these universities great. To lose that interchange would be disastrous. I say this as a person who is an immigrant to America. In order to strengthen both Saudi Arabia and the United States, I believe we need to strengthen the strong cultural and social ties that have existed between our nations for so long.”