Here is a letter I found amongst some papers… was written by my mother.. marion Gregory ziska… at the time of this letter… she went by marion ziska…( her marrried name to my father )then ( gregory is her maidian name she returned to her maidian name when she and my father were divorced…) anyway…. wish i had all the letters… we lived there most of my child hood… from when i was 6( turned 7 years old in saudi) …… first birthday there was my 7th b-day… until i was 17…about a total of about 10-10 and a half years….. but bording school when i was 14…
So many great and amazing experiences.. so many memories… I actually started crying after reading the letter.. I miss my family so much sometimes… and my sisters.. and recounting these great and funny stories.. a life hardly anyone has ever had anything similar… even the aramcons… never two stories the same… and so unique….. i mean I’m sure it was great growing up in the united states…or Europe… but nothing like my childhhod… I had the oportunities in the states.. in europe.. and in the middle east….
I was actually more shy about telling everyone or anyone where i grew up or what it was like because they will never in a milion years be able to understand… and most people think they know me or what it ws supposed ot be like… they also think they grew up having a great childhood… and i’m sure they did…..but mine and my family… was really unique ..
it makes me laugh at the “new money idiots”.. like the idiot who thought his wad of cash would make him someone.. remember that scum from brooklyn.. gerard… anyway… they don’t get it.. they never will.. and the imposter girls/conartists/.. will never get all the stories right.. or ever know all the stories.. or all the details… or any of the details….they will never know the smells… the tastes… the friendships.. all the conversations…. the memories… the events.. the weather.. the atmosphere…. they always get something wrong..
thought i should put in a note before or after explaining a few things…
1- houseboys… the same as cleaning people… pretty much everyone in aramco had them… they were always men… not women… except once my mom brought over a nanny for us.. and she was a woman.. but mostly we always had a house boy to take care of the house…
2- Aramco usuually took car of al the maintence things.. like gardners.. and there were grooms at the hobby farm.. they took care of our horses….and everything within the compound… many of the aramcons called the company “MOTHER ARAMCO”
3- even though my mom claimed she wansn’t a gormet cook.. she did alright ..knew a few things.. and there was kanario( sp?) he was a cook who cooked for us… for parites or special occassions… )
4- the wine thing…my parents wer never big drinkers… and i think they only did the trail of how to make anything only once or a few times…. and probably for the best… my 6th grade teacher’s husband made some sedeke and and gave it to a local arab and someohoe he got in toruble fo rit and was deported… remember we wer jsut guests in a muslim country….
5- my mom and all of us did like the bargaining for gold and items… funny story about my youngest sister… bargaining for an item…only to pay for it with a large bill…HA! My mom was able to get some amazing finds….
6- in 1973… first trip my mother and father took…the african safari… then she ended up starting her own travel business…trips to africa.. india.. greece the usa…. all types of places..and she always took at least one of her chidren on each of her trips.. some times we all got to go… once in a life opportunities… and such amazing memories…
7- we never did move to Dhahran… livd in Ras Tanura the entre time we were in Saudi…. different houses but same great beach…and community… and people…
8- i cant really remember the lemonaide stand… but i was always doing some type of busness… guess i was a born entrepreneur!!!!!!!!
9- leaving st croix.. my entire family is caucasian…and so the racism my mother was talking about… we were the minority….and different colored skkin from the locals… and therefore targeted for theft.. or murder… not safe for us.. and there had been a golf course mascare…around the same time when my dad decided we needed to leave…
10- she forgot to mention alll the really neat things we did while in Holland…. there are the cutest pictures of the three little blond girls… i jsut remember lots of tullips…HA! and this miniutre town…. rotterdam right? and we even wore clogs when we first moved to saudi… not the really authentic dutch clogs… but these little shoes.. so cute…..
11- there were no high schools…. so everyone went away to bording schools… everyone went everywhere…some of the best schools.. some of te wildest schools… everyone picked ther own… even knew two boys who wanted to pick schools based on boy to girl ratio…sont know if they wer allowed.. just a rumor i heard…. anyway… when they came back we were called “returning students” It was great!!!!!! memories of meeting one trip in New york… and almost getting stuck in switzerland… we were all ready for a mini break…HA!
over the 10 years… my mom collected charms for our silver charm bracelet from many of our travels.. and dolls from all the different countries… somehow i only have my dutch doll and the german dolls… the rest of them are susposedly at my mom’s house… hope those didnt get stolen with all the other mementos and memories… the parasites and conartists… have stolen over the years.. like th eking fisel picture… i loved that picture.. and susposedly was given away???????????? i grew up with that picture in my life… God i hate the scum that has torn apart my memories and siffened off the possessions they decided to steal….
so here is one letter… typed word for word (except for the spelling errors..or typing errors.. that is all me..HA!…) but a letter by my mother… … she was such a great writer.. and such a wonderful woman… the opportunities.. she allowed us.. the wonderful and unique childhood.. I will always be so grateful and thankful for all that she and my father provided for me… i was really blessed…
” The ZISKA’S have arrived! We are beginning this chirstmas letter in the middle of May 1973 and we have been living here in Ras Tanura Saudi Arabia since April 28th To all our relatives and friends who have been wondering how this move came about and what happened to us since we left St. Croix the middle of March….
We decided that as beautiful as St. Croix was, it definitely was not a safe place to live and raise a family. There was much racism and hostility on the Island and in 72 we made up our minds tht we were going to move back to the Mainland. Or first desire was to move back to Florida, however we knew that we weren’t quite ready ( financially or emotionaly ) to “retire”. So the resume sending and follow -ups began. We had offers from just about everywhere; Mexico California,
New Hampshire etc. but nothing worth the move. We even flew out to colorado in July where El was interviewed by adolph -coors in golden. they found it hard to believe he turned down their offer becaue we didn’t like the weather! It was aout 50 degrees when we arrived there that “summer” night and i still shiver remembering how cold we were! We stayed in the Denver area for a few days visiting a department store there and seeing ski masks, woolen scarfs and mittens displayed in July only reaffrmd our decision! In December El and i flew to Ft. Pierce florida to investigate another offer. We were so sure this was goign to be it.. afterall it was florida and we wanted to get back to florida or so we thought.
These past six months we were also considering the move to Arabia. El declined the offer form the company in Ft Pierce and we called ARAMCO in New York then and there. The ARAMCO stands for the Arabian American Oil Company and they are the largest oil producing company in the world and have been here in Saudi Arabia since 1936. El was interviewed in Texas by ARAMCO the “summer of 72” but we still had to firm up the offer and work out details. El then flew to New York from St Croix and in December we decide we were going to make “the move”
So this is why we are here to enjoy a new culture, to make some nice money and to get some of the foreign travel out of our system that we’ve wanted for years! Now we feel that once we decide to settle down in the States that it’ll be for good, but until then we are still growing and prepared to meet with all sorts of events. As long as this area remains peaceful and we are safe as American citizens we plan to stay awhile.
Now getting back to March.. From st. croix we flew directly to Tampa and stayed in Brandon ( where we owned a motel) for a few hectic days checking over the motel and then sorted out all the contraband items we had in storage and got our personal effects ready for export shipping! Our girls had been well for an entire year on St. Croix and May jean chose a couple days after our arrival in Florida to come down with the flu! We could have stayed at the aprtments longer but they were filled and people were coming in from fairview in cleveland, so we moved out and ventured onto Disney world for a few days. Now we’ve seen everything twice as there was nothing new since July 72! El swears that he and Matte rode the carrousel at least twenty times this last vist to DW! It was enjoyable and though MJ was still weak from the bug. After orlando we flew to norfolk where we joined a recent and pleasant visit wth the mathews.. In virgina Maura came down with the flu and by the end of the first week Matte had her turn! By the time we got to Cleveland the girls looked half dead and that cold Cleveland weather didnt’ help! We can’t believe that once we thought we never wanted to leave cleveland! We froze our entire stay and we know all our family were tired of hearing our complaints about the cleveland weather!
the time went very fast in cleveland and we had a good visit with the parents and immediate family and apologize to most of our relatives and friends for not calling on them. From Cleveland we went to New York and spent Easter Sunday plus a few days there. El had his briefing in ARAMCO’s New York office a couple days after Easter. It was nice to see St. Patricks cathedral again and it was “entertaining” sitting among the many once -a -year visitors. Compared to our little chapel at St. Ann’s on St. Croix we were lost here both bodily and spiritually. We met some good friends in New York from St. Croix( fellow escapees) and got to see a few shows. One we especilaly enjoyed was “Greece” Can you imagine a play currently on Broadway reminising the 1950’s? No one can be that old! We always enjoy the talent in NY but forgot about the crooks until we were actually there again … like $28.00 for babysitter the first day!
After New York we spent several days in Amsterdam, Holland, which was truly the most scenic portion of our wandering vacation. I still can’t get over the thorough cleanlines of holland woman. We were told by one of the tour guides that the women wash ther windows 5-7 times a week! Have never seen such sparkling windows and fresh lacey curtains in my entire life… would never make it the as a homemaker!
The few people we managed to see or talk with in the states semed very concerned with what we were going to do with “Nipper”( our german shepherd). Well, we thought of the possibility of bringing her with us but in view of all the travel between St. Croix and here it seemed very unrealistic and nearly impossible as Nipper was strictly a one -family dog. She really guarded our famiy on St. Croix and had it not been for her I doubt that we would have lived so long in one house without incident. By the way, Nipper did have her puppies.. eleven(11) of them and that was quite an experience for all of us!
Now that we are getting a little settled here we wish she were here with us. The children especially miss her. I miss her sometimes.. i doubt that we could ever get her back as the continental fellow who bought her was very impressed with Nipper but we have written him inquiring about her. To the girls she’d be worth much more than the $4 a pound it would cost to bring her here. Nipper was our first dog and i have a feeling she was also our last.. but i haven’t told the girls that.
We had pesonally dreaded the Saudi Arabian Customs as we heard how strict they were, howver, we found cusoms here a breeze compared to the US customs leaving St. Croix. Incidently, Dhahran has a beautiful international airport ( built with US funds) which has been awarded a prize in architectue. When the customs officers here approve your luggage they mark it with a piece of white chalk. When we saw that being done in the movie “Romanoff and Juliet” we thought it was an exaggerated joke.. but our new Sabena bags we bought especially for carryons are now “zig-zagged” approved. To all of you who think Arabian women’s faces are half covered with pastel colored soft flowing veils.. it’s not like that at all! I saw my first Arabian woman at the airport as i was stooping to pick up one of the wooden shoes that fell off maura’s holland doll. I could feel someone staring at me and when I turned I saw a Arabian woman sitting on one of the benches there I must say I got a rush. She was completely covered with a black veil and I was quite startled as i immediately thought she looked like a witch. I was surprised to find the children calm as i was really shocked. I since found out that these black veils are very hot and worn by all saudi arabian women out side their homes in the nearby towns and villages. It’s nice to be an American woman. When we go into nearby towns we dress modestly, nothing sleeveless or short, etc. We are guests in ther onty an to dress otherwise would offend them. Plus, it saves visual attacks by some of the Arabs who never see a woman outside of their home!
Now to tellyoua little about the Saudi Arabians themselves. They are a very peaceful, simple people what an unbelievable contarst to the Cruzans of st. Croix. Having lived on the Island we appreciate the luxurious safety here. The Saudis are very generous and friendly and although most of them “all look alike to me” with the thobes and gutras… I do know who my gardner is and the shrimp man! Abdullah comes around once a
week with “fresh from the Gulf” shrimp and his men clean them right in your front yard for you. In addition to shrimp he sells many other things from time to time.. a typical peddler! One day he had some 1inch foam rubber. I had planned to buy something in florida before i left and include it in our shipment but never got around to it. I now have 1 inch foam rubber padding for the bar stools i plan to cover so you might say this peddler was a God send! Like who would think you’d be able to buy foam rubber from a shrimp man in arabia!!!!
A muslem washes each time before he prays and says his prayers facing towards Mecca. A good practicing Moslem prays five times a day, at dawn , at noon, in the afternoon, at sunset and after dark. The first time i saw my houseboy pray outside i was curious and carefully observed him. He stood upright, bendt forward, his hands on his knees, knelt and then bowed down till his forhead touched the gorund. Several times he performed these rituals movements slowly and impressively, while he recited the formal prayers. Our Mattie is very interested and observant and can imitate Ali very well. He gets a big kick out of her, his little friend (sa- dek- e in Arabic) Seeing them pray makes you want to participate and get involved more in your own religion. and then you begin to wonder why religion seperates people instead of uniting them. while deeply respecting their uniqueness, religon can remind all of us that we are all brothers living under the same God.
St Croix had beautiful blue waters, however, the Arabian gulf is even more blue. Ras Tanura has a lovely white sand beach and we are enjoying it immensely. Its about two miles long we are getting plenty of exercise walking on it. The weather has not been very hot yet but they say it is coming. Actually it has been more pleasant that florida as we get a beautiful breeze off the Gulf. This beach-type vacation won’t last forever as we will eventually be moving to Dhahran which is approximatley 40 minutes by car from here. We are presently living in the temporary 3 bedroom air- conditioned house and the location is excellent as it’s within walking distance to school, library, post office, restaurnt( surf house ) , beach, pool, aand tennis courts etc. El commutes to Dhahran daily but he gets an allowance for cab fares and lunches until we get permenent housing in Dhahran. El has been driving our car since it arrived but he still gets the $24 a day cab allowance which ARAMCO allows “off the record” they are a very generous company. In Ras Tanura I really don’t need a car since our house is so close to everything. It’s enjoyable to walk places for a change. ARAMCO is going through a major expansion and the housing shortage is acute. Getting back to driving, in the states people think nothing of communting 40 minutes by car, however, the drive on the road here is very hazardous as most Arabs drive less defensively than the cruzans and faster! If there is a wreck you usually don’t have a chance for coming out of it alive. Most Arabs sit 4 abreast in each seat and think nothing of passing on the right of a single lane highway.etc. there are many huge mercedes trucks on the highway and hitting one of those means “kha laas” ( done!) there is an old proverb among ARAMCONS… “It is better to ride a crippled donkey than ask a strnger for a lift”
Writing of the road here reminds me of something we find amusing although rather hazardous.. when an Arab has car trouble on the road he endeavors to pull it off to the right of the road but never quite makes it, and he then marks the section of the road with several large rocks which is a sign that the vehicle in trouble is his property. However, when he eventually removes his car, dokey cart or whatever, he takes off leaving his rocks behind him( This is often referred to as the” permanent Flare”) Also amusing to us “expatriates” is to see a man with a goat boarding a local( townie) bus or to see one hitching with a goat on a rope. The first time we saw the latter our whole family was in the car and the girls of course were very disappointed because they thought it would have been great having a goat in our car. Enough of the road, rocks and goats!
The other night at dinner mary jean asked her Daddy if she could open up a lemonade stand when the weather gets warmer so she can sell it to the Arabs. Everyone had a gardner, and they do the gardening 3-4 times a week so this looked like a great business opportunity to MJ. After her inquiry to Daddy, maura added “Then we could save our money and build a house in the country” To this witty El responded… “What country?” and i still laugh when i recall that conversation. Had anyone told us we’d be living in Saudi Arabia in 1973 I never would have believed it! We never realized what a taste this would give us for foreign travel and overseas employment……
Alchol is contrabrand here so everyone is their own “brewmaster” The company sells kits so it’s employees can make their own “sa-dek-e” That’s the word that means “friend” in Arabic. I didn’t know what it meant until i heard my houseboy calling Mattie his liitle “sadeke” I correctd him and told him I thought it meant “alcohol” ….” home brewed”…. Boy did i have a lot ot learn … The company gives out a booklet called the “Blue flame” with all kinds of recipes for just about everything and anything. I’ve already tried “dark” and “light” and wine and it was all pretty good. We have been given welcome gifts ( bottles) and they’ll last for a long while.
Also, there has been a party just about every week since we’ve been here. Our first week we were invited to a “Come as you are Pajama party” We declined the invitation as we were still catching up on our sleep ( a 9 hour time difference) …. Plus it would have been embarassing! It actually took us a good two weeks to set a new sleep pattern. when it was midnight here , my body knew it was only 3pm and I’d go to bed very late and sleep very late. Luckily El had a couple days off to get acclimated after we first arrived our work week in Arabia is diffeent than in the states. The weekend is not Saturday and Sunday but rather it is Thursday and Friday. I’m getting used to it now but at first it seemed very strange. We go to mass Saturday evenings here.
Although there are 36 self-directed groups one can get involved in here we are playing it cool and enjoying the rest and dedicating as much time to raising the children as posible. I’ve been tempted to take up painting again as there are some excellent teachers here, however, I’ll wait until the children are in school in the fall. The girls are just growing up so fast and we’re trying to treasure what we can of them while they are still ‘”our ” little girls. Right now the beach and the swimming pool seem to be their greatest love so we are enjoying it with them. In a few weeks all the high school and college students return for their summer vacation and we hear there is much activity during their summer vacation and we hear there is much activities activities during their presence. In fact, they have a social director just to organize their activities. A few of these college students give swimming lessons so we will let the girls take lessons and then maybe continue ballet if they want. Mary Jean has turned into a little Ester Willimas but there is always room for lessons. Since living here i found out that the first girl to swim the English Channel was the daughter of an Aramcon. Of ocurs
e, I’m sure no one reading this letter can be old enough to remember Florence Chadwick? She had set many records at the Dhahran pool. At this same pool one of our friends’ daughter’s broke the chadwick back stroke record. These returning students also give acrobatic lessons for the children and Maura and Mary Jean ” want to”.
I just keep thinking of those new teeth MJ’s getting in and hope they’ll last a lifetime, the “tooth fairy” has visited MJ twice since we’ve been here . the first time she toothlessly smiled and reminded mom and dad that the fairy had better leave “real” american money! the second time she said that the Tooth fairy could leave saudi riyals if she wanted to this tme. Mary Jean is learning Arabic in school so she is getting “with it” Free arabic lessons are available to both El and me but neither of us have started taking them yet. My arabian houseboy speaks English well so I am learning a little from him. It’s difficutl for me to come out with those guttural sounds but I’m trying.
I was real proud of myself in Holland as i had the Gildres ( Dutch money ) down pat by the time we left but i’m still confused here. I don’t think I’m really that slow and let me explain why… There are 100 Halalas in one Saudi Riyal. This would make it very simple except that anything that doesn’t cost an even amount in riyals is part Quirsh. ther are 20 Quirsh in one Riyal… That makes 1 Quirsh equal to 5 Halalas. then you have the old money and the new money. The new money is minted in Halalas; the old money was all minted in Quirsh. so when buying from an Arab and his price is in Quirsh and all you have is new money you must divide your new money 5 to get Quirsh. But when the price is Halals and all you have is old money you must multiply your old money by 5 to get Halalas. However, as usually happens you have some old money and some new money… then you hold out your hand full of coins and let him help himself! All merchants are very honest but usually not very bright, howver they will never knowingly shortchange you!
Food is expensive here but we do most of our shopping at the commissary that is run by ARAMCO and we are compensated for the price diffenence in our salary. A few times a week a bus goes to Rahima, a nearby Arab town, and i often make the trip as we all love the Arabian bread made by the local bakery there. It’s flat and circular shaped and so good that sometimes when i bring it home hot the kids and i like it with just butter on it. Of course, our butter, is Danish ( very rich and creamy!) Yummy! We have a good asortment of bread and baked goods form the ARAMCO bakery but its’ just not th esame as he local bread we savor! Actually I’ve been very pleased with the selection at he commissary , but then i’m not a gourmet cook either. When the kids have 4-6 different brand cereal boxes open at once i figure things can’t be that bad. Many of the name brand cereals and other well known Americn foods are made directly in Europe which surprised me a little. Up until now I always associatd the name Kelloggs with Battle creek Michigan, but our Kelloggs products here come from Manchester England. Nescafe from Switzerland etc. Becaue the Moslems are forbidden to eat pork by their religion, Aramcons have to buy buy pork in a special pork store in a section of the commissary and “sign it out” Therefore, bacon, Polish sausage, ham, hotdogs, luncheon meants etc. are all avaialbe to us. Lamb is an arab favorite and luckily for us it is one of ours also and it is the most reasonably priced meat. When our freezer arrives we’ll buy the larger quntities of Danish meats and frozen American vegetables form Dannan which has a very large fraozen food outlet. Fresh vegetables are for sale in th commisary adn Rahimah and frozen vegetables ( birdseye) at the commissary but buying bythe case in Damman is what we’ll do in a co-op grouped and they are very poepular. some of hte most delicious watermellons we’ve ever had we bought in Dammam.
Shopping in Dammam is very unique because of the Arab influence and this requires bargaining for items. I really enjoy this hasseling with the merchants.
Since our car arrived in June we have enjoyed visiting the nearby Arab towns. Al-khobar is very popular and had just about anything you’d ever want , American or European. I think Khobar is the only place I know of where you can buy vanilla extract “under the counter” Funny! There are a few gold shops in Khobar, however, Dammam has all the famous gold suks, Up until the dollar devaluation gold could be bought there for around $35.00 an ounce. It is about twice that amount now but still less expensive than in Europe. All the established Aramco wives sport a lot of gold bangles and gold jewelry. El bought me (1) bangle for my birthday this month but it looks so lonely on my wrist… We have a good friend who wears about 12 at a time. One woman told me that impatient “ugly Americans” will buy gold no matter how much it costs and then make it bad for everyone else.. i must wait to be more “ugly”
Well, its now July and the temperatures are getting up there! It was 104 degrees today! Everybody sweats, or as the old saying has it, “Horses sweat, men perspire and ladies glisten.” Whatever words youprefer they say it’s a healthy and normal reaction! Luckily everything here is air conditioned, even our car thank God for favors.
Would you believe we are already planning on going on an Afraican Safari? There is going to be a 15-day safari in October by this German woman who has been there 8 times within the last two years. Her husband has been with Aramco since 1948
and they may retire in a couple years to St Petersburg. She has a tremendous reputation among Aramco travelers. Being this close we feel its a good opportunity and after all in October we’ll have been here 6 months and ready for a vacation. Just kidding. We really feel fortunate to be able to take this trip. El gets 43 days vacation a year and this 15 day safari hits two arabian holiday weekends so it’s actually just about 7 days vacation we’ll be using. So… if I still have my head when when I get back I’ll continue this letter…
It’s now December! last month we returned from a fabulous African vacation and we highly recommend Africa to everyone!
Words couldn’t describe the wonderfu expeences of the many thngs Africa is! we were delightfully surprised with th ebeautiful country , th egorgeous animals, mount Kiimanagaro and its surnrise, the modern cities ( especially Johannesburg) frh freshness, the luxury ( Mt. Kenya Safari cllub) th elittle markets ( Madagascar especially!) the peole jsu teverything! If anyone reading this letter ever has a chace to visit that part of th eworld by all means dont pass it up!
A couple days ago we started our “Grape juice wine” so it looks like we broke down before the year ran out on us it’ll set for a month and than we’ll rack it and set for another month. Come February 6th we should have about 2 dozen 24 oz. bottles of our fist typ at home brewing. As I’m typing the closing pararaphs on this letter I can hear the bubbling “sweet noise’ from inside a kitchen cabinet that is telling me it’s getting ready….
To our art enthusiastic freinds.. the Dhahran ARt group held ther 19th Annual Art Show last week and ribbons wee posted at teh end of the week. 32 local artists exhibited inthe shoe. I fell in love with a large oil of King Faisal bu
t never dreamed of actually owning it. Iwas leaving the show I met the artist’s husband and told him if his wife’s painting didn’t sell at the show I might be interested and made him an offer. Well the painting I so admired won 1st prize and he called me after the show! I was so thrilled ! It’s an excellent painting and such a wonderful souvenir. the husband isalso a good artist and I convnced him shold come into Ras Tanura to give lesons, so now all i have to do is get aout a dozen people together and our lessons will begin January 7th I thnk it’s going t be a busy year.
In these last weeks before Christmas our girls ar anxxiously awaiting Santa like children everywhere. Yes, he reallycomes ona camel here.. what else???!! The weather is very pleasant now and we’re told this is going t be a mild winter here .Just sweaters inteh mornings and warm and sunny inthe afternoons.
It’s beena good year and we’ve been blessed with some truly great American and Arabian once in a lietme freinds. We thak God for them adn for our good health. We certainly hope and prya the situation will remain peaceful as we’re truly enjoying living here and would like to stay for a while for years (Inshaallah)( If God Permits)
Happy holidays to all May God bless all of you with Good Health and Happiness! ( she signed it with love: marion, elwin, and mary jean , maura and mattie)