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Back to Boredom

Arrived safely to Riyadh on Tuesday afternoon. We had tons of fun in New York despite the short amount of time we were given there. Of course two days are absolutely not enough to see even a little part of this big city but we tried our best to use all the time we had while there. The highlight was attending The Lion King in Broadway. The show was truly amazing and the way Times Square was buzzing with people and lights is one of a kind. I guess I will be probably writing a longer post about the whole trip shortly, but for now I’m exhausted and I need to get some rest after all the traveling.

It was ironic that we only had 48 hours in New York and it took us almost as much as that to travel from NYC to Saudi Arabia. We were supposed to leave NYC to Frankfurt and then take another plane to Riyadh. The departure from JFK was delayed and we could not catch our connecting flight. The next flight to Riyadh was about 11 hours later and it had to go first to Abu Dhabi where we also had to wait for another six hours. The return trip was really tough and exhausting.

I want to thank those who nominated and selected me. I want to thank all the people I met in the States during these two weeks. You made this trip so worthwhile and unforgettable. I want to thank my friends who accompanied me on the program for making this trip fun and informative. And finally special thanks to someone who made these two weeks far more enjoyable than I was expecting them to be (you know who you are ;-)

New York, New York

Alabama wasn’t so much fun, but it was absolutely amazing to see the landmarks of the civil rights movement and experience the stories of its history in places like the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church and the house of Martin Luther King. Tomorrow morning we fly to New York which will be the last stop in our trip. Our time in NYC is short but we will get a chance to attend a Broadway show and meet some friends. It should be exciting.

Goodbye Montana

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So today was our last day in the state of Montana. We spent the day doing meetings and had a chance to meet Governor Brian Schweitzer who used to work in Saudi Arabia in the 1980’s and spent seven years there. It was certainly refreshing to meet an American official who lived in our country and know about our culture. Tomorrow morning we will fly to Montgomery, Alabama in our third stop to learn more about the civil liberties movement. It should be interesting.

Yellowstone National Park

Back from Yellowstone National Park. Now I probably have not seen much of the world, but these colorful lands have to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is amazing that when you go to spend some time in the nature you realize how we human beings are always touched by the simplest things in life, like sitting on the grass by the river talking with a friend or walking slowly between the long trees. A lot of emotions and ideas are floating in my head upon returning from Yellowstone but I don’t think now is the right time to bring them out. Some pictures can be found here. I leave you with this fascinating scene of the Old Faithful geyser erupting like it has always done for thousands of years:

Colorful

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Our second day in Bozeman, Montana, was good. Aside from the regular meetings, we got a chance to visit a middle school were we met American kids and answered their questions about Saudi Arabia. We also enjoyed some home hospitality in one the most beautiful places that I’ve ever seen in my life. It was unbelievably awash with colors and had this amazingly peaceful feeling. A group of the Saudi Students Club have come to meet us while we were there, and they even were nice enough to invite us for breakfast. Tomorrow we will spend the whole day in Yellowstone National Park, a place everyone here says is fascinating. Later folks.