Graduation was incredible. It came on the heels of an amazing finals week that was dominated more by fishing and basketball than exams. I had time to enjoy all the people, all the experiences, and all the sights that can easily be forgotten amidst the frustrating noise of daily life at Kaust. No maintenance, no ridiculous shopping carts, just fun. I was surprised by just how much I would miss about Kaust.
The ceremony itself was a surprise, too. Given Kaust's unmatched history of ineptitude I fully expected the whole thing to be a disaster. But it wasn't. It was actually really pleasant in its own way. It was simple, and short, and it managed to create an atmosphere that I really liked. It made me feel like we were alone there on the shore of the sea, going about our business just like everyone else in the world. And I felt happy to be there on that day, carrying out this particular bit of business. It was quaint and meaningful.
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| Well done, Kaust. |
Leading up to the ceremony everyone was gathered together in their silly wizard-like robes. There was conversation and laughter, fatigue and heat stroke (just kidding), and all at once you felt like you hadn't had enough time to spend with all of these wonderful people. My days in class, my nights in the library, the many things that I had accomplished at Kaust marched through my mind even as my classmates marched across the stage.
After the ceremony everyone gathered for a reception. It was something of a farewell party for someone like me as this would be the last time I would see most of these people ever again. There were plenty of fond goodbyes. On the surface the mood was light-hearted, but beneath the celebration was a kind of somberness.
Not 12 hours later I was flying out of Jeddah airport, away from Kaust and Saudi Arabia for the last time. I looked down at the city and the sun rising on the coast. I knew that I missed the Kaust of those last few days. But even now that I'm home I feel like I'm not really done with Kaust, partly because I still have weird dreams about it and partly because they still haven't given me my diploma.
One of the highlights of Kaust is being on the coast of the Red Sea. I spent a few good mornings at the campus beach swimming in it. I spent several amazing afternoons learning to scuba dive in it. And I spent many quiet nights on my apartment rooftop staring out over it. The first time I went to Saudi Arabia I was introduced to the Red Sea by way of a midnight fishing trip with some friends, so it was fitting that I bid farewell to the sea in the same way.
During my last couple months at Kaust, my team won the sand volleyball tournament, the prize of which was a plastic medal painted gold and a voucher for a snorkeling trip. After finding out that I could apply the voucher toward a fishing trip I was inspired. But I let time slip away... It was the week of final exams before I finally emailed the marina about the trip and got a few friends together who could go at the same time.
The paperwork made it in just under the wire. I had to send a flurry of emails and run to meet each of the guys that wanted to go. Then, in the middle of my first final exam I realized that I had to deliver the money to the marina in 30 minutes. So I finished the exam in 10 minutes and ran a mile to the marina. In retrospect there was really no need to run, but it seemed pretty heroic at the time. I scheduled the trip for the only day that worked for everyone: the day before my last final. I ended up not studying at all for that exam, which was fine because it was open book. Plus the trip was awesome.
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| Amazing. |
We left the Kaust harbor with impeccable weather at around 3pm and drove out to sea for 20 minutes. The boat was captained by a marina staff member but the expedition was really led by a native fisherman named Abu Naif from the nearby fishing village of Thuwal. The captain made small talk with us and gave us sandwiches and cookies. The fisherman steered silently while gazing constantly at the horizon until suddenly he stopped and shut off the engine.
Abu Naif had dark leathery skin and cloudy eyes. He mostly went about barefoot, wore a turban on his head, and was quiet but dignified so that everyone regarded him with respect at a distance. After dropping the anchor, he pulled out a bunch of styrofoam cubes and small dead fish. And after a moment of wondering about the styrofoam, my friends and I discovered that the cubes were our fishing tackle, with line coiled round and round, and the dead fish the bait.
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| Fishing Tackle Abu Naif |
Silently Abu Naif sliced up the fish and silently he began baiting the hooks. Mumbling, he handed a line to each of us. We dropped in one by one until we could feel our weights hit the bottom and then reeled in about 5 feet of line by re-wrapping it around our fishing "pole"... And then we waited.
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| The hardest part. |
Provided that the fish are biting, I find that it is most fun to fish with a group of people with mixed experience. The more experienced members can educate the others and the newcomers can provide an air of excitement. My friends were all pretty green so there was no shortage of excitement. When Abu Naif pulled in the first fish (predictably), it made quite the impression. He laughed at our admiration, threw back the fish, and dared us all to do better. And one by one... we did.
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| The easiest part. |
In the four hours that we spent on the water, everyone caught something so that by the end of the night we had a dazzling collection of exotic fish and enough meat for a respectable cookout. Which we eventually had. At my place. And then again two days later at someone else's place. It was delicious. Both times.
This fishing trip turned out to be the signature moment of a memorable graduation week. It reminds me of all that's good about Kaust: the students that I'll never forget. It almost makes me want to turn back the clock and do it all over again in spite of everything that went wrong. Almost.
On February 20, 2011 I got an email from Kaust maintenance kindly informing me that my request to fix the low water pressure in my apartment had been met. Note that I received this email 9 days ago as of the publication of this post. I have not been within a 1000 miles of either Kaust or that apartment for two and a half months. Even better, that maintenance request was filed on March 10, 2010.
