I just returned from a musical/cultural exchange trip sponsored by the State Department and the US Embassy in Riyadh. We put together a band and played for the Embassy and Consulates there.

One day we were invited to have lunch at the home of a most delightful Saudi family and I saw this canoe mounted on a wall outside the home. The matron of the house, Kim, explained it actually was a canoe from India and held 3 people (hard to believe as it is so skinny).

Since there are no large bodies of water anywhere around there it is now a flower pot. (I don't think I could do that to my SR 17!)



We did see several herd of camels:





and finally, since there was no paddling opportunities, check my feeble attempt at "sand boarding":

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/sharpeave/SaudiArabia/?action=view¤t=jvboarding.mp4 (for some reason this video wouldn't embed in the post)

We found the Saudis to be a warm, kind and friendly people who have hopes and dreams just as we do. One gentleman dressed completely in a Saudi gown and head dress (aka gutra) came up and said in broken English, "Please tell your friends in the United Sates that we are not the 9/11 people you might think we are".

It was a very touching and amazing trip of a lifetime...but....its great to be back home!

OneMatch,
It's too bad more people don't have the opportunity to experience cultural exchanges like that. I've been to 17 different countries, some of them not friendly to the U.S, and my experience has been that the general populace of most countries may not agree with what the U.S. is doing around the world, but as individuals we have more in common than we have differences.
Welcome home and thank you for representing us.

OneMatch: Thank you for the totally different trip report. That Indian canoe was very interesting to see. Hope the camels didn't spit on you.

How did it get there from India?

What a cool cool trip!!! Thanks for sharing.

onematch
thanks. very cool. love the pics.

cool trip, thanks for sharing the pics.

How freakin' awesomistical is that? What kind of band? Thanks for sharing!

What a fantastic opportunity you had! Thank you for sharing it with us :)