So a childhood friend of mine is a budding actress and playwright in London. As most of you know, the large majority of my childhood was spent in Saudi Arabia. I was born there, moved when I was almost 3 to the States, moved back to Saudi when I was 6 and left right after my ninth grade year at almost 16.
What most people don't know, is that I lived in Saudi during the Gulf War. Unbelievable to most, but true. So here's my story:
In May (maybe?) of 1990, my parents packed us all up and moved us back to Saudi Arabia. My parents had originally moved there in 1981, I was born there in 1983 and we left in July of 1986, shortly before my brother, Kyle, was born. My first night there, I remember being terrified by the loud jets flying over our house, but they soon became commonplace and I either ignored them or slept through them. I did really want to ride one, though.
I entered kindergarden there and I distinctly remember learning about green eggs and ham and then making it. Of course, it was fake ham (turkey maybe?) because no pork was allowed in Saudi. I remember that and meeting several people who are still my friends today. The first memory I have of my friend Mina is her hanging upside down on the monkey bars and I was very impressed. While still adjusting to life overseas, in August of that year, Operation Desert Storm and the Gulf War kicked off, sending my mother, Kyle and I to live with my Aunt Kathy, Uncle Bill and cousins Billy and Margie in Virginia. I started first grade there. It was a confusing time but all I can remember is my teacher's name was Mrs. Scott and I didn't really know the Pledge of Allegiance all that well because we didn't say it in Saudi. In September, ARAMCO (the company my dad worked for) deemed it safe for women and children to return to the Kingdom to continue on with daily life. I entered first grade there and was in Mr. Reiersgard's class. It was fun. We wrote stories a lot and he had this Yoda figurine that he put on a student's desk if they were having good behavior or doing really well on a certain assignment. We also got to go to Mr. Reynold's class and sing Raffi songs like "Mr. Sun" and "Baby Beluga". I had a deep love for Raffi because of those times in first grade.
Life was reasonably calm for a while. Gas masks were issued to all living on the compound. Employees had to stand in long lines to receive their gas masks for their families. I thought the gas masks were really cool. My mom wasn't such a fan. One time, my brother and I were playing war in our house and put on our gas masks and hid in his closet. My mom found us and started freaking out saying what we were doing wasn't funny or something to be played around with. I guess she was right. At the time, we were just being imaginative kids and acting out daily life. From September to January, there were many skud attacks and sirens went off often. When sirens went off, everyone convened in my parents' huge walk-in closet with our gas masks, water and various snacks. It never really bothered me because I don't think I fully realized what was going on. It was just daily life for me and I didn't realize how abnormal it was compared to my state side counterparts.
In January of 1991, things went from bad to worse. A full out war was on and ARAMCO deemed it not safe for women and children to be in the Kingdom. The men all loaded their wives and children on large military planes and stayed behind to continue working. I vividly remember leaving the country on that huge military airplane. We were traveling with family friends, the Walters and pretty much stuck by them all the way back to the States. The first thing I remember noticing about the plane was that the seats were not like normal airplanes. They were these cot-looking seats lining the sides of the plane and everyone was packed like sardines in there. I don't think they gave us any meals (maybe a few snacks?). I remember eating a lot of gum that night. I swallowed it because I didn't know where the trash cans were. I threw up all the gum when I got to Madrid, Spain. My mom loved that. The plane was very loud and everyone was required to wear ear plugs the entire flight. We tried to sleep but no one could get comfortable. We arrived in Madrid several hours later and were put in hotels around the city. Our hotel was freezing and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it. My mom tried to get it fixed but to no avail. Again, another night without sleep. The next day, we boarded a normal airplane and I think flew to Dallas. I'm not really sure about that. All I remember is my mom crying at the agent's desk because there wasn't a flight available to get to Ft. Myers, FL, where my maternal grandmother lived (and still does). Mrs. Walters stood by her the whole time. I think we finally got on a plane to Miami and then flew into Ft. Myers.
We were in Ft. Myers, living with my grandparents from January until May, where I entered first grade for the third time. I loved being at my grandparent's house but missed my dad horribly. My school was a private Christian school that had uniforms and my teacher was horribly strict and never took the time to explain anything to me. Her name was Mrs. Steinmitz. I tried really hard in her class, but for whatever reason, she never seemed to like me. The girls in the class were snobby too, so I didn't really have any friends for those 5 months. My dad finally came for repat in April and we rented a condo and stayed there until we left. We got to go to Disney World that year, which was such a treat! I got to eat breakfast with the characters and drank really yummy milkshakes. As school was wrapping up for the year in Florida in May, we were getting ready to return to Saudi, where things had settled down enough for everyone to return. I remember all my classmates in Florida being so confused because I kept telling them that school was not over for me and that I wouldn't be finished until July (we were on a year round system in Saudi - I'll explain this to anyone if neccessary). We returned in May and I went right back into Mr. Reiersgard's class. I didn't mind more schooling, because at that point, I loved going to school and didn't mind spending a couple extra months in first grade.
When we returned, things were pretty much back to normal, or as normal as they can be for life in Saudi Arabia. For the next few years, American troops remained stationed very close by. All our holidays (Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.) were spent hosting troops in our home, giving them a good meal, a comfortable place to nap, a phone call to their loved ones on the home front and just a place to relax and have fun. These were great times! I loved the troops. They played for hours on end with my brother and I, tickling us, letting us try on their gas masks (which were much cooler than ours!) and just being fun. My cat, Ruby, who is still alive to this day (17 years and going pretty strong!) used to play in their boots that were all stacked by our front door. She fit right in there! My mom would also wash their uniforms and layers upon layers of dirt would come out of them. A couple years later, the Army issued letters to all the ARAMCO employees who had hosted troops in their homes thanking them for their willingness to serve our troops. We still have those hanging on our walls.
Also, we were actively involved in a church in Saudi. My dad and his friends would go to all the camps and lead Bible studies and fellowship with the men there. What an amazing, unique ministry opportunity. We often got to tag along, so that was cool to watch. A lot of times, the guys would give us MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) and for whatever reason, all the Aramcons thought they were so cool. They made great camping meals! I'm pretty sure there are still some sentimental Aramcons out there that still have some MREs lying around and I bet they are still good to eat - those things lasted forever! I always thought they were nasty, but everyone around me seemed to think they were treats or something.
One last memory I have is how upset the oil spills made me. I don't remember the details, but I remember watching the news and hating seeing all the animals killed and how mad my parents were at Saddaam Hussein for spilling all that oil. I just remember viewing Saddaam as the enemy, but reading more into his atrocious acts makes me realize how serious that situation truly was. I had no concept of what was going on over there, as would any first grader.
I'm pretty sure I have some more memories of that time somewhere in my brain, but thats all I've got for now. I didn't realize how fun it is sharing part of my unique childhood with others until I was prompted by my friend Kristi to write my memories down for her.
Hope you enjoyed this!
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