Week one - post Ireland

Once back in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia I went into the office early the morning that I arrived. Spent half a day there, then met my birding colleague to go over the lesson that she had put together for me to present that night. She had done a really good job with it, so all I needed to do was take it and run with it later that night. And it turned out just great - addressing migration and then focusing on four common birds around the compound. I just have more fun doing these little presentations and getting people engaged in nature.

Then, later that week, I gave a presentation to the Arabian Natural History Association : "The Serpents of the Arabian Peninsula" and that was a resounding success. There was a good crowd in the room and when, at the end, I pulled out a small Hardwick's Rat Snake to show folks, they really livened up. People came up to touch and some to hold the snake (a mildly venomous kind) that was introduced here to control the rat population (that was also introduced). At any rate he did manage to bite me once, as well as a Saudi girl who came up and wanted to hold it. (No harmful effects at all). The girl brought her blind brother over to touch the snake, and to see the smile on his disfigured face was such a thrill to me. My best surprise of the night was to see my dear friend in crime, Nicole, ask if she could hold the snake, without any proding from me. That made my night. Of course she was terrified, but she took that huge step toward relieving that fear. Some day, if I ever find a something like a friendly sand boa, I think I could make another huge step with her fears and dislikes of snakes. Won't ever be a total acceptance, but a relaxed tolerance of the creatures - even a dangerous one at a respectable distance. As I anticipated, I have had numerous requests to provide information and talks about snakes to various groups in Aramco who venture out into the desert. Interesting note: can you believe that in the time that I have been here I have yet to see a snake in the wild!! When I was here back in the 1990's I saw several sea snakes in Halfmoon Bay. The density of snakes is nothing compared to the density that I have experienced back home in Texas - just too blazing hot here! After the past few presentations to the ANHA group I feel that I am making a contribution to the Aramco community beyond the learning design work that brings me here. I trust that if my contract is renewed that I will continue to do these kinds of services to the community.